The Door That Shouldn't Exist

Aarav sprinted forward, his breath ragged but his resolve firm. The shadows were gone, but something worse awaited him.

At the end of the crumbling corridor, a door stood where there should be none.

It was massive—carved from something that looked like black stone, pulsing faintly as if alive. Strange symbols twisted across its surface, shifting when he tried to focus on them.

Aarav hesitated. Every fiber of his being screamed at him not to touch it.

But Saira was beyond that door.

Taking a deep breath, he reached forward. The moment his fingers brushed the surface, a searing pain shot through his skull.

Memories that weren't his flooded his mind.

A girl, crying in the rain.

A city swallowed by darkness.

A voice, whispering: "This is where it ends."

Aarav gasped, yanking his hand back. His vision blurred, the ground tilting beneath him.

Then the door opened on its own.

A wave of heat and cold hit him at once. The air beyond was wrong, heavy with an energy that sent a shiver through his bones.

And there, standing in the center of the darkness, was Saira.

But she wasn't alone.

Beside her stood a figure cloaked in shadows, its form shifting like a living void. It had no face, no eyes—just an overwhelming presence that filled the space like a storm about to break.

Saira turned slowly, her expression unreadable.

"Aarav," she said, her voice strangely distant.

The shadow moved. It was waiting for him.