The Whispering Void

Aarav's pulse pounded as he took a hesitant step forward. The air inside the door was thick, pressing against his skin like invisible hands. The closer he got, the colder it became, but at the same time, an unnatural heat simmered beneath his skin.

Saira stood motionless, her face pale under the dim glow of the shifting symbols on the walls. The shadow beside her was still—watching.

"Aarav," Saira whispered again. But there was something… off about her voice. It lacked urgency. It lacked the warmth he knew.

He ignored the unease clawing at his chest. "Saira, we have to go. This place—"

The shadow moved.

Not stepped. Not turned. Just… shifted.

Like the air itself bent around it.

Aarav flinched as a whisper coiled around his ear. Not spoken aloud, but felt.

"He does not belong here."

The voice wasn't human. It slithered through his mind, curling like smoke around his thoughts, twisting, pressing.

Saira flinched, squeezing her eyes shut. "You need to leave."

"What?" Aarav took another step. "No. We're leaving together—"

"No!" Her eyes snapped open, filled with something he had never seen before. Fear? Guilt?

Or something else?

The shadow rippled, and suddenly, it was standing between them.

Aarav stumbled back. He hadn't seen it move, hadn't even felt its presence shift. One moment it was beside her, the next—it was right there.

And then it spoke.

Not in words, not in whispers.

But in his mind.

"She stays. You go."

Darkness exploded.

Aarav felt his body being hurled backward as if an unseen force had grabbed him and thrown him away. The last thing he saw before everything went black was Saira, reaching out—but not moving.

As if she were trapped.

As if she couldn't move.

And then, nothing.