The Hollow Exchange

Darkness. Silence. A sensation like falling through endless space.

Then—pain.

Aarav's body jerked as he hit something solid. He gasped, lungs burning, his mind a tangled mess of fractured thoughts. Where was he?

The last thing he remembered—his other self. The lifeless copy standing in the shadows. You took too long. Now, I take your place.

Had it happened? Had he been replaced?

Aarav sat up, his fingers scraping against a cold floor. His breathing slowed, but unease twisted inside him. This wasn't the room he had been in. No whispering figures. No shifting walls.

It was… familiar.

His room.

The same bed. The same books stacked haphazardly on the desk. The soft hum of the fan overhead.

Was it real?

Aarav's gaze darted to the mirror. He had to see himself.

Slowly, he stood. His legs felt unsteady, like they belonged to someone else. He approached the mirror.

And froze.

The reflection looking back at him—wasn't his.

It was close, so painfully close. The same face. The same eyes. But there was something off. Something missing.

His reflection smiled. Aarav did not.

He stumbled back. No, no, no.

"What's wrong?"

The voice. His voice. Coming from the reflection. But Aarav hadn't spoken.

The smile widened.

"You look like you've seen a ghost."

Aarav turned, his heart hammering. The room blurred for a second, flickering like a glitching screen. And then—

Footsteps.

Someone was coming.

Not from the door. From behind the mirror.

The glass rippled. Like water.

And then… something stepped through.