Bishnupriya_Parida

Aarav awakens in a world that defies logic—a place where time distorts, shadows move on their own, and the walls seem to whisper secrets. He doesn’t remember how he got here, but he knows one thing: he is not alone.

Then he sees her. A girl with piercing golden eyes who speaks in riddles and seems to understand the chaos surrounding them. She warns him—this place is not just a prison, it’s a test. And those who fail? They vanish.

As unseen forces close in, Aarav must navigate a labyrinth of shifting corridors and cryptic messages. Every step brings him closer to the truth, but also to something darker—a secret buried within himself, waiting to be unlocked.

The rules of reality no longer apply. If Aarav doesn’t escape soon, he won’t just lose his life—he’ll lose himself.

The Reflection Paradox

Aarav felt the world tremble. The shadows that had been swallowing his mind halted, as if startled.

The copy's expression, always eerily calm, cracked. A flicker of something—fear? Recognition?—passed over its face.

"How do you know that name?" the copy asked, its voice sharper than before.

Aarav pushed himself up, his breath shaky but determined. Because he knew now. Saira was his anchor. The one part of his memory untouched, the one thing that the void could not erase.

Before he could answer, the mirror behind the copy shattered.

Aarav shielded his face as shards of glass exploded outward, but instead of scattering across the floor, they hung in the air, suspended in time.

The pieces reflected different versions of himself—Aarav laughing, Aarav crying, Aarav standing in a dark room, alone. And in one shard, something that made his blood turn ice-cold.

She stood in a place he didn't recognize, her face twisted in terror. Her lips moved, but no sound came through.

Before his fingers could touch it, a sharp pain ripped through his chest.

He gasped, looking down—his own reflection in another shard had stabbed him.

But there was no blood. Instead, a void spread from the wound, tendrils of blackness crawling over his skin.

"You weren't supposed to remember."

But this time, Aarav saw it for what it truly was.

Not just a copy. Not just an illusion.

It was the thing that had been hunting him all along.

Aarav gritted his teeth, fighting against the darkness creeping up his body.

The glass shards around him began to shake violently, their reflections distorting.

Let go—and lose himself forever.

Or fight—and risk something even worse.

With a deep breath, he reached out—

Not for the copy. Not for the mirror.

The moment his fingers touched the shard she was trapped in, the world collapsed.

The Name That Shook the Void