"The Secret of the Black Butterfly"
I felt my heart stop for a moment, then start pounding wildly, as if my body had finally realized the terror I was about to face.
"What do you mean… become one of them?" I whispered, my voice barely escaping my trembling lips.
The figure didn't respond immediately. It just stood there, watching me with those strange, glowing eyes.
Then, with a barely-there smile forming on its shadowy face, it said:
"You either stay here… or join them."
I turned sharply to the countless eyes staring at me from the darkness. They weren't just eyes… they were souls, trapped in this place, waiting… for what? My turn?!
"No… this isn't real…" I muttered, hoping—begging—that this was just a nightmare.
But it was real.
"You have one chance, Iris." The figure's voice was calm, yet impossibly heavy. "Choose wisely."
I stumbled back, my breathing erratic, my mind spinning with fear. How was I supposed to choose? How was I supposed to get out of here?
And then—I felt something strange.
Warmth.
I wasn't supposed to feel warmth here, and yet, a faint sensation spread through me… familiar in an eerie way. As if someone—somewhere—was trying to reach me.
Then, I heard a new voice.
It wasn't the figure's whisper. It wasn't the eerie murmurs of those watching eyes. It was something else… soft, warm, calling to me from a place far, far away.
"Iris… wake up."
Wake up? How?
"Iris!"
This time, the voice was stronger. More urgent. As if pulling me away from this place.
I felt my body being drawn toward that warmth… and in the blink of an eye, the darkness vanished.
Then—I opened my eyes.
I found myself in my bed, gasping for air, my hands shaking. My room looked the same—no figure, no dark passage, no eyes watching me.
But… the door was open.
And more importantly—the closet?
It was open too.
To be continued...