Between the Ruins of Reality

The world shattered.

Aarav expected to feel the sharp sting of glass slicing his skin, the unbearable pull of the void swallowing him whole. But instead, he fell.

Not through darkness.

Not through light.

Through memories.

Flashes of his past blurred past him, some familiar, some unrecognizable. A boy laughing by a lake—was that him? A girl running beside him, her dark hair trailing in the wind—Saira? And then—shadows. Figures moving in the dark, whispering his name.

Aarav tried to reach for something, anything—but there was nothing to hold onto.

Then, suddenly—impact.

The fall ended abruptly. He hit the ground hard, the breath knocked from his lungs. But it wasn't the void.

It was... a city.

Or rather, the ruins of one.

Massive buildings stood crumbling under a sky that flickered between day and night, as if time itself was undecided. Streets stretched ahead, eerily empty, except for the whispers.

Aarav stood slowly, his body aching, his mind racing.

Where was he?

A movement caught his eye.

Down the street, standing between two decaying structures, was a figure in white.

Not the copy. Not a shadow.

It was Saira.

She was facing away, unmoving. As if she hadn't noticed him.

"Saira!" Aarav called out, his voice raw with desperation.

She turned slowly.

And that's when his heart nearly stopped.

Her eyes—once so full of warmth—were blank. Empty.

And then she spoke.

"You shouldn't have come here."

The whispers around them grew louder, crawling through the streets like living things. The air thickened, pressing against Aarav's chest.

Something was wrong.

This wasn't just about finding Saira.

This was a trap.

And he had just walked right into it.