MidReal Story
Starlight Ore: Beneath Earth's Veins
Scenario: A mineral called "Starlight Ore", which is a rare stellar remnant with unique energy properties. In the story, a brave miner accidentally discovered this mineral while deep in the earth's core and his tale of exploration and adventure begins from there.
Create my version of this story
Lucas Greene
young apprentice to John and Sarah's protege, looks up to both as parental figures, tall with a lean build and brighteyed, eager and resilient
Sarah Jennings
geologist and John's confidante, friends with John and mentor to Lucas, petite with sharp features and analytical eyes, intelligent and cautious
John Mercer
adventurous miner, friends with Sarah and mentor to Lucas, rugged appearance with deepset eyes and calloused hands, brave and curious
Chapter 1
I was never one to believe in fairy tales.
Sure, I’d heard the stories as a kid—about the rarest of all minerals, Starlight Ore, and how it could grant you any wish your heart desired.
But I wasn’t a kid anymore.
I was a miner, and I knew better than anyone that the only thing Starlight Ore could do was make you rich beyond your wildest dreams.
And that was exactly what I intended to do with it.
The only problem?
No one had ever found it before.
Not in my lifetime, at least.
But there was always a first time for everything, right?
I just never imagined I’d find myself in this situation of all things.
Deep underground with no one around for miles, in the middle of nowhere, in a shaft that hadn’t been used in years.
And yet here I was, still alive and breathing after all these years.
I had no idea how long it had been since I'd started my descent down the ladder—I’d lost count somewhere around the 50th rung or so—but as my feet finally hit solid ground, I knew there was no turning back now.
I stood there for a moment, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness around me.
It was so quiet down here that I could hear my own heart beating in my chest—and if I listened closely enough, I could almost swear I could make out the sound of water dripping from somewhere off in the distance.
It was an eerie feeling, being down here all alone.
I'd been in plenty of mines before—both big and small ones—but this one felt different somehow.
More… remote.
The thought sent shivers down my spine as I wondered how long it would take for someone to find me if anything went wrong while I was down here.
But as soon as I looked down at my hands and saw what was in them, I quickly pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind.
It wasn't just any rock that I held now—it was something else entirely; something magical.
Something so powerful that it could change everything.
I knew that now, without a shadow of a doubt.
As I stared down at the rock in my hands, I couldn't help but notice how it almost seemed to glow from within.
In fact, when I held it up to my face and squinted at it in the darkness, I could see that it was actually giving off its own light—a soft blue hue that radiated from its center and slowly spread outwards until it enveloped the entire rock in an ethereal glow.
It was beautiful… surreal even.
Sarah Jennings and Lucas Greene were about to leave the mine.
I watched as the two of them descended the ladder, disappearing one rung at a time until they were finally out of sight.
They looked back at me before leaving—if I didn't know any better, I would've said that they were worried about me.
Or maybe it was something else?
Either way, their expressions told me everything I needed to know; we were in serious trouble.
And if we didn't do something soon, there was a very good chance that none of us would ever make it out of here alive!
With a heavy heart, I watched as Sarah and Lucas descended the ladder and disappeared into the darkness below.
For several minutes after they were gone, I could still see the light from their lanterns flickering in the distance.
But eventually even that vanished, leaving me completely alone in the dark.
I tried my best not to think about it; instead, I focused on counting the seconds in my head as a way of keeping myself occupied.
It was a stupid thing to do, I knew that—but at the same time, I couldn't help myself!
There was nothing else around for me to focus on: no noise, no movement…nothing!
And so in my desperation, I clung onto whatever sense of normalcy that I could find—even if it was something as simple as counting the seconds one by one.
It wasn't long before my other senses began to dull as well; between the lack of food and water and the oppressive silence all around me, my mind began to wander further than ever before.
I didn't know how long it had been since Sarah and Lucas left or how much longer it would take for them to return—but at this point, I didn't care anymore.
My voice echoed through the darkness, but there was no response.
It wasn't surprising, really—after being stuck down here for so long, I had almost forgotten what it felt like to be around other people.
But even so, the sound of my own voice did little to ease the anxiety that was building up inside me with each passing second.
As time went on, the air in the shaft continued to thin, and my need for food and water only grew more urgent.
Every now and then, I would close my eyes and try to sleep—to conserve whatever energy I had left—but every time I did, the same thought would come back to haunt me: What if you don't wake up?
What if you fall asleep forever?
The idea terrified me more than anything else; even so, it was getting harder and harder to keep my eyes open as the hours dragged on.
The longer I lay there, the more restless I became—and the more desperate for a distraction of some kind.
The darkness all around me was stifling, leaving me with no choice but to focus all my energy on the things that mattered most: if Sarah and Lucas would make it back in time, if they had run into any trouble on their way down, or if something else had happened to them altogether.
As far as I knew, there was no way for me to contact them now—all I could do was wait and hope for the best.
It seemed like an eternity before anything finally happened; after what felt like hours or even days, I thought I could hear voices calling out to me from above.
At first, they were too far away for me to make out what they were saying; but the closer they got, the more clearly I could hear them—and the more relieved I became.
"John? John, are you down there?"
It was Sarah's voice—or at least I thought it was.
Though she sounded different somehow—almost muffled—as though she was talking through a thick layer of fabric or something.
Still, it didn't matter; the fact that she was looking for me was enough to put my mind at ease…if only for a moment.
"I'm down here!"
I called out as loudly as I could manage.
It wasn't long before I could see the faint glow of a lantern bobbing up and down in the distance, getting closer and closer by the second.
Even so, it was still hard to make out the faces of the people who were carrying it; all I could see were shadowy silhouettes dancing across the walls of the tunnel as they made their way toward me.
"John?"
Sarah called out again.
"Can you hear me? Are you all right?"
By now, her voice had grown much clearer than before—though there was still something strange about it.
Or rather, something strange about her choice of words.
Of course I'm not all right!
I wanted to scream—but even if I'd had the strength to do so, it probably wouldn't have made much difference.
Luckily, it didn't take long for them to reach me after that; within minutes, Sarah and Lucas came into view, their faces illuminated by the flickering light of the lantern as they approached.
To my surprise, however, neither of them looked relieved to see me—in fact, quite the opposite: both of them stared at me with wide eyes and open mouths, as though they couldn't believe what they were seeing."John…"
Sarah said at last.
Chapter 2
