Chapter 4 : The prisoner of the tower

Domgis stopped in front of the door, his breath short, his fingers trembling on the icy iron handle. Behind him, the darkness of the corridor seemed to weigh on his shoulders, as if the shadows themselves were pushing him forward. The door, carved with incomprehensible patterns, emitted a faint, almost imperceptible glow.

When he opened it, a bright light forced him to blink. The sight before him was both strange and captivating: a long tunnel entirely lined with mirrors. Every surface reflected his image infinitely, sometimes slightly distorting his face or elongating his limbs like a grotesque joke. Yet, that wasn't what worried him.

Domgis stepped forward cautiously, his feet clacking on the perfectly polished floor. Each step created a cascade of reflections, his own movements multiplying through the space. But quickly, a dull sensation crept into him: a feeling that something wasn't right.

He stopped. The mirrors continued to reflect his image. But was it truly his? He turned sharply to his right and noticed a detail that froze his blood: one of the reflections hadn't moved with him.

He squinted, scrutinizing his motionless double, and fear gripped his throat. The image facing him was smiling. Not a friendly smile, no, but a twisted, malevolent grin. Domgis took a step back, and immediately, the mirror to his left reflected a version of himself that seemed to… fade. The contours of his face slowly dissipated, replaced by an opaque void.

He turned, searching for an exit, but the tunnel seemed endless. Yet, he was certain he had covered some distance. How could he still be in the center, surrounded by identical mirrors, as if he hadn't moved at all?

He placed a trembling hand on the nearest surface. Cold. Solid. But when he tried to see himself in the glass, his own reflection had disappeared.

Breathless, he wanted to rush backward, but the door through which he had entered was gone, replaced by another reflective wall. And behind him, in one of the mirrors, a dark figure appeared, slowly advancing. It wasn't a reflection.

"Who's there?!" Domgis shouted, his voice echoing strangely, as if the tunnel distorted it.

Silence answered, broken only by a distant echo… a laugh, or perhaps the mocking whisper of shadows.

Domgis felt panic rising. He began to run, not knowing where he was going, but each step brought him back to the same place. The tunnel of mirrors seemed to fold in on itself, weaving a trap he didn't yet understand.

And for the first time, a terrifying thought crossed his mind: What if I can never escape?

---

As he ran, the mirrors began to change. The reflections no longer showed only Domgis, but versions of himself he had never seen. An aged Domgis, wrinkled, with hollow eyes. Another, young and carefree, laughing heartily. A third, wounded, bloodied, reaching out a hand toward him as if asking for help.

"Stop!" he screamed, closing his eyes, trying to shield himself from these visions.

But when he reopened them, the tunnel had changed. The mirrors were no longer mirrors, but windows opening onto impossible scenes. A forest where the trees grew upside down, their roots sinking into a black sky. A city where buildings floated, suspended in the air without any logic. A sea of sand, with waves breaking in silence.

Domgis stopped, panting, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

"This isn't real," he murmured, repeating the words like a prayer.

But the scenes continued to unfold, faster and faster, more and more chaotic. The images blended, overlapped, until everything became an unbearable visual cacophony.

And then, suddenly, everything stopped.

The tunnel fell silent again, the mirrors became mirrors once more. But something had changed.

Domgis now found himself at the end of the tunnel, facing a door he had never seen before. It was identical to the one he had entered through, but something about its appearance told him it led elsewhere.

He hesitated, then reached out a hand toward the handle.

Before he could touch it, the door opened on its own, revealing an empty, black, and infinite space.

And before he could react, an invisible force pushed him forward, propelling him into the void.

Domgis fell, but he never hit the ground.

***

When he reopened his eyes, he was back in the caves, in front of the door he had initially opened. The light floated beside him, flickering and uneasy, as if it had seen everything.

"What was that?" he murmured, still trembling.

The light flickered faintly, as if to say: *I'm not sure.*

Domgis looked at the door, now closed and silent, as if nothing had happened.