The moment it touched me—
Everything stopped.
Not slowed.
Not distorted.
Stopped.
My breath—
Gone.
My thoughts—
Blank.
The world around me—
Gone.
Darkness.
Endless.
Silent.
"…Ayaan."
A voice.
Familiar.
Distant.
Luna?
Kiara?
I couldn't tell.
Because I wasn't there anymore.
I was—
Somewhere else.
My body felt… weightless.
Like I wasn't standing.
Not falling either.
Just—
Floating.
"…What is this?" I whispered.
No answer.
Only darkness.
Then—
A flicker.
Light.
Far away.
Small.
Faint.
But there.
My eyes locked onto it.
And without thinking—
I moved.
Or maybe—
I was pulled.
The light grew closer.
Brighter.
Clearer.
Until—
I saw it.
A door.
Floating in the darkness.
Alone.
Massive.
Ancient.
Covered in strange patterns.
Symbols.
The same ones—
As the mark on my chest.
My breath hitched.
"…No way."
I stepped closer.
Slowly.
Carefully.
The air around it felt heavy.
Wrong.
Like it shouldn't exist.
And yet—
It did.
Right in front of me.
"This is what it meant…" I whispered.
You will open it…
My hand lifted.
Without thinking.
Without permission.
"…Don't."
The voice echoed.
Behind me.
I froze.
That voice—
Wasn't Luna.
Wasn't Kiara.
It was—
Me.
I turned.
And my heart stopped.
Standing behind me—
Was someone.
Same height.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Me.
But not me.
His eyes—
Dark.
Not black like the entities.
But deeper.
Colder.
Empty.
"…What the hell is this?" I whispered.
He tilted his head.
Mirroring me perfectly.
"You already know."
"No, I don't."
"You do."
His voice—
Calm.
Controlled.
Familiar.
But wrong.
"This is you," he said.
"No."
"Yes."
"I'm not—whatever you are."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"You're becoming it."
My chest tightened.
"…No."
"You felt it, didn't you?"
"I resisted."
"You responded."
That shut me up.
Because—
He wasn't wrong.
The mark burned faintly.
Even here.
"You opened the connection," he continued.
"I didn't mean to."
"That doesn't matter."
Silence.
Heavy.
Cold silence.
I looked back at the door.
"…What is this?"
"A threshold."
"To what?"
A pause.
Then—
"To everything."
That didn't help.
At all.
I turned back to him.
"And you?"
Another small smile.
"I'm what's left when you stop resisting."
My stomach dropped.
"…No."
"Yes."
"Shut up."
"You can't."
"Watch me."
I stepped back.
Away from him.
Away from the door.
"This isn't real."
"It is."
"No."
"It is."
"NO."
The darkness around us—
Shifted.
Reacted.
Like it was listening.
Like it was alive.
"You're scared," he said.
"Of course I am!"
"You shouldn't be."
"Easy for you to say!"
"Because I understand."
"I don't want to understand."
"You will."
"No, I won't."
"You already are."
My fists clenched.
"Why are you here?" I asked.
"To guide you."
"I don't need guidance."
"You do."
"I have Luna and Kiara."
At that—
He laughed.
Soft.
Cold.
"They can't help you here."
That hit.
Hard.
"They don't even know this place exists," he continued.
"…That's not true."
"It is."
Silence.
I didn't want to believe him.
But something—
Felt off.
"What happens if I open that door?" I asked.
A pause.
Then—
"Everything changes."
"How?"
"You stop being human."
My breath stopped.
"…No."
"You become something more."
"That's not better."
"That depends."
"On what?"
"On whether you're strong enough to survive it."
Silence.
I looked at the door again.
The symbols—
Glowing faintly now.
Reacting.
To me.
To the mark.
"…I'm not opening it," I said.
"Not yet."
His words made my chest tighten.
"Not yet?" I repeated.
"You will."
"No."
"You will."
"I said no!"
"Then prove it."
Before I could react—
The darkness shattered.
Like glass breaking.
The world snapped back.
I gasped.
Air rushed into my lungs.
My body staggered.
I was back.
In the corridor.
Kiara was holding me.
Tight.
"Ayaan!"
Luna stood in front of me.
Eyes sharp.
Focused.
"Are you with us?" she asked.
"…Yeah," I breathed.
Barely.
"What happened?" Kiara demanded.
"You just froze."
"I…" I hesitated.
How do I even explain that?
"I saw something."
"What?" Luna asked.
I looked at her.
Then at Kiara.
Then—
Back at my hands.
Still shaking.
"…A door," I said.
Silence.
Both of them froze.
"…What kind of door?" Luna asked slowly.
I swallowed.
"…One I'm apparently supposed to open."
That silence—
Came back again.
But this time—
It was worse.
Kiara stepped back slightly.
"…No way."
Luna's expression turned serious.
More than before.
"How much did you see?" she asked.
"I don't know."
"That's not good."
"That's becoming a pattern."
I exhaled slowly.
"There's more."
They both looked at me.
"…I wasn't alone."
Silence.
"Who else was there?" Kiara asked.
I hesitated.
Then said the one thing—
That made even them go quiet.
"…Me."