I want to thank Littlewolf65 for their WONDERFUL fanart! I can't thank you enough for the art you made for Falling to Rise, and thank you for letting me use your quote for the first chapter of Destiny Calls. This chapter is dedicated to you! 

P.S. Your quote is literally so perfect for this book, you don't even realize how yet. XD

Also before we begin, if anyone else here ends up drawing fanart for any of my stories, don't be afraid to send me a link or notify me somehow. I'd love to see them all. <3

NOW to the FIRST chapter of Destiny Calls, which I am posting early because we just reached 300 followers! Thank you, thank you, thank you for this! Now, a new adventure begins with Max in the Realm of Ethereal. May he be guided by the gods, and may his journey be a good one. CX

The first few paragraphs should give you exactly when this story starts in comparison to Falling to Rise.

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Destiny Calls

Chapter 1

"Sometimes we choose Destiny...Other times Destiny chooses us."

-Day I-

It was more like a flash...at least that is what he thought. One moment he was surrounded in complete darkness, the next he was stumbling out of a dark cave, his dead and tired eyes focused on one sight as he exited into the dim moon light

A blazing red fire that stretched into the sky was the only thing he saw as the smoke billowed high into the air. His eyes were trained on the mesmerizing sight of the beautiful red blaze, like he hadn't seen light in years, though truth is he didn't know how long it has been. It just felt like this was the first time he's ever seen a light so bright.

He stopped walking and just stood facing the flames, never once letting his dark eyes blink, fearing that if he did he would wind up back in the darkness.

He remembered pitch black. That was easy. But he also remembered that the darkness was so dark he could barely see 2 feet in front of him, let alone his fingertips.

He remembered the feeling of falling, falling up or down he wasn't sure. As he fell through this bottomless darkness he came face to face with bedrock. As foggy as his memory was, he could never forget bedrock, the impossible to break block, making it impossible to access the other side.

However this was different, there was one small opening, blocked by wooden planks, as if to keep things out, but what was it keeping out? Him? But why?

He didn't know and didn't care. The only thing on his tired mind was escape. Leave. Freedom.

He punched and punched and punched at the planks until they finally broke. He felt a little disheartened with what he saw.

More darkness. Though this time he was met with solid surroundings, even if he could not see them. They were cold and rough to touch. He remembered pulling himself out of whatever void he had come from and collapsing on the cold hard ground. He remembered slipping away into unconsciousness for the first time in what felt like forever, and when he woke he had the sudden urge to get up and leave.

Though he didn't know how, he stumbled and felt his way around what he later remembered to be called a cave until he saw the faintest glimmer of a light. Having seen nothing like it if the longest of time, he was like a bug caught by the pull of a flame. He slowly but surely inched his way closer to the light that eventually brought him the sight of distant but large flames.

As he stared up at those flames another memory came to surface. Not just a memory, he remembered a voice, a gentle and sweet voice. An alluring voice that made him want to listen to it forever, a kind feminine voice that repeated the same words over and over to him. A set of directions he'd imagine. But with his brains so clouded and foggy, he hadn't a clue where or how to get there.

He just kept repeating the phrase he heard in his head over and over to himself, "Where Duhitian lies, my kingdom thrives, among black and purple stone."

Like he had previously said, he hadn't a clue where that was or what it meant, not to mention who had said it to him. But it just felt extremely important to him.

He felt his legs wobble and he fell to his knees still watching the fire before passing out from pure exhaustion. His tired mind slowly ebbing away into sleep. It was peaceful.

He dreamed of the bright sun, something he felt like he hadn't seen in ages. This being the first time he has ever dreamed in a while. Subconsciously he forced himself to think of who he was and where he was from, because for the life of him he could not remember.

What did come to mind however were sunny days in a busy city. In his dream he saw four people exit a small home. One with shocking purple hair with green streaks, two with red hair like the fire he had seen, and the last with a calm and mellow expression and sand colored hair, nothing extremely shocking about his appearance. Except he was wearing a sweater on a really hot day, but so were the two redheads. One grey, the other red.

The four of them seemed to be enjoying their time as the walked through the town. Was he perhaps one of them?

As he dreamed he saw one of the redheads with an over zealous personality say, "Guys follow me, I found this really cool place just east of here. If we hurry we can make it there and back before midnight!" He then rushed off running, a small golden pendant bouncing around his neck. The other three shouting for him to slow down ran quickly after him.

He wondered if they were real.

He kept watching this dream, or perhaps a memory unfold. It lead him to a cave out in the middle of nowhere in this swampy place. He watched the redhead from before lead them through the twisting turns of a cave down to the lowest level. There lay a hole in the ground that opened up to darkness. All four of them sat around it.

"H-Hey, what is this?" The quieter and pale skinned fellow with a shy personality and curly, sand colored hair spoke up.

"Well! I'm glad you asked! This is a hole!"

"A hole? I think we could've figured that, but what about the hold?" The second redhead with a bright red sweater spoke up.

He watched as the four sat around the hole and the one that lead them there brought out an apple and dropped it down the hole, "Just watch."

They peered down the hole as the apple fell. After a few minutes nothing happened, then suddenly, it was like gravity had reversed and the apple flew up and out of the hole. It landed in the open palm of the first redhead.

"Isn't it cool?"

It went like this for several hours it seemed dropping and catching things from the peculiar hole. But when things got a little boring doing the same thing over and over, things got a little rowdy, like most things do with a group of teen boys. Joking, messing around, playful fights. At one moment the playful fights had gotten a little too extreme. The first redhead, the one that lead them all here stumbled around the hole. He balanced precariously around the edge. He wobbled, his friends watched in shocked fright.

And before anyone could move to save him, he fell. He fell and fell, and his three friend peered over the edge calling and reaching out to him. They screamed as he vanished within the darkness, and his own dream ended with empty black.

Their cries still echoing out to him in his head.

He didn't know if this dream was real or false, if it had happened or not. He didn't really know his own name. He didn't know where he was from, or who he knew.

He only remembered a voice and complete darkness.

And though that may seem really repetitive, it was the honest truth.

In his restless sleep he made a promise right here and now. He would find the owner of that voice, but he would also find those people in his dreams. If they exist of course, but he hoped they did. If they were real, it would be all the more likely that he knew them. And maybe they could tell him something of his life.

Maybe.

:D The first chapter of Destiny Calls! Once again thank you so much for 300 followers! I can't tell you how much this means to see so many people enjoy my stories.

I hope the beginning wasn't to lame.

NOTE: I'm going to try and post as many Destiny Calls chapters as I can because well, the ending of this book does kinda get spoiled in Grasping Fate since the stories are connected but not connected, kinda.

So yea, if as this story continues there are a lot more DC chapters than GF chapters, it is because I want to reach the end before the end is spoiled in GF. 

~WrittenDarkness