**That night.**
I couldn't sleep.
Even though I had returned to my room, even though everything seemed back to normal, I knew… it wasn't.
The bed across from me was empty. No John. No trace proving he had ever existed. But I could feel it.
Something was still watching me.
I clutched my blanket tightly, trying to calm myself. Maybe it was just an illusion, just my stress messing with me.
But then—
*Creak.*
A sound echoed.
I opened my eyes.
The wardrobe door… was slightly open.
The wind couldn't have done that.
I swallowed hard, my heart pounding. The room's light cast a faint glow into the wardrobe, revealing nothing inside. But I knew—
I hadn't opened it.
And then…
A hand reached out from the darkness.
I screamed.
I sprang up, backing into the corner of the room.
That hand… pale, bony, with long, sharp nails as if they had never been cut. It gripped the edge of the wardrobe, slowly pulling the door wider.
I held my breath, frozen.
And then… that face appeared.
John.
But he was no longer the same.
His skin was wrinkled, his eyes sunken, his twisted grin stretched unnaturally wide.
*"Are you hiding?"* His voice was distorted, echoing in the space.
I couldn't answer.
John tilted his head, stepping closer. *"I told you. You can't leave."*
I wanted to run, to scream, but my body wouldn't move.
John knelt before me, his hollow eyes staring deep into mine.
*"I've been waiting for so long…"*
His ice-cold fingers brushed against my face. I shuddered.
*"Why are you still here?"* I whispered, my voice hoarse.
John didn't answer right away. After a moment, he smiled.
*"Because you never left."*
His words struck me like a blade to my mind
I never left? What did he mean?
I turned, scanning my surroundings.
This was my room. The dormitory. The place I had lived since I enrolled.
But… something was off.
Everything… looked too perfect.
Not a speck of dust. Not a single wrinkle on the bed. This room… was unnaturally still.
I trembled, turning back to John. *"You're lying."*
John chuckled, a dry laugh echoing throughout the room.
*"Who do you think is the real liar here?"*
I opened my mouth to protest, but then—
I saw myself.
I saw *another me* in the mirror.
But that wasn't me.
That person's eyes were pitch black. Their skin was deathly pale. A twisted grin stretched unnaturally across their face.
I shook my head, stepping back. *"No… That can't be…"*
John stood up, looking at me with pity.
*"You never left this place."*
My throat went dry. I wanted to scream. To deny it.
But memories surged back.
The repeating dreams.
The distorted images.
The unfamiliar faces whispering in the dark.
Had I ever left this place?
Had I ever truly lived?
Or was I just a shadow trapped in this room, just like John?
The lights flickered out.
The room plunged into darkness.
And I heard John's laughter echo inside my head.
---
END OF CHAPTER 5