I froze in place, my eyes locked onto the shadow standing inside the passage. It didn't move. It didn't speak. But I could feel its breath… or maybe I imagined that?
No, this isn't my imagination.
Something was there. Something real.
My mind screamed at me to run, but my feet refused to move—caught between terror and curiosity.
And then… something made me shiver even more.
The shadow started to move.
It didn't walk—it glided through the darkness. No sound, no footsteps, just that heavy, suffocating presence filling the room with every inch it drew closer.
"Iris…"
I gasped. The voice was a whisper, hollow, like it was rising from the very depths of the passage itself.
No. I can't stay here.
I spun around and dashed toward my bedroom door, but—
It wouldn't open.
I twisted the handle frantically, my hands shaking, but the door was locked tight.
As if something didn't want me to leave.
Slowly, heart pounding, I turned back around. The dim moonlight barely illuminated the shadow, but I could see it now.
Closer. Clearer.
And then, I saw part of its face… or rather, its eyes.
Strange, glowing blue eyes—wide, eerie, flickering like faint flames in the dark.
This isn't human.
It was watching me. Studying me. Like I was a piece of a puzzle in a game I didn't know I was playing.
Then, before I could even process what was happening, it raised its hand.
And for the first time, I saw it clearly.
Its hand looked exactly like mine.
But how? Who is it? And why… does it look like me?
To be continued…