The glass beneath my palm stops feeling solid.
At first it is subtle. The cold surface softens slightly, like ice beginning to melt beneath warm fingers. The reflection staring back at me ripples, its outline wavering like disturbed water.
Then the glass gives way.
My hand sinks through it.
Before I can pull back, the entire surface collapses into liquid darkness.
The ground disappears.
I fall forward into my own reflection.
For a moment there is no up or down. No sound. No air rushing past me. Just a sensation of sinking through something thick and endless.
Then everything becomes black.
Not darkness like night.
Darkness like my eyes are closed.
I blink several times. My eyelids move. I can feel them open and close, yet nothing changes.
Panic starts to creep into my chest.
Am I blind?
I raise both hands and slap my face lightly, just to make sure I am actually awake. My skin stings from the contact.
Good. That means I am still here.
I take a cautious step forward.
The ground beneath my boots feels strange. Soft. Mushy. Like stepping into wet soil after heavy rain. Every step sinks slightly before rising again.
There are no walls.
No wind.
No sound except my own breathing.
"Hello?" I call out.
My voice does not echo. It is swallowed instantly by the darkness.
Then something flickers in the distance.
Shapes begin forming slowly, like a memory struggling to come into focus.
I see two figures running.
My heart stops.
Mom.
Dad.
They sprint past me like I am not even there. Their coats flap behind them as they run desperately toward a tall building ahead of us.
A hospital.
At least I think it is.
The structure rises several stories high, white walls glowing faintly beneath fluorescent lights. Large glass doors swing open as they rush inside.
I chase after them.
"Wait!" I shout.
They do not slow down.
When I push through the hospital doors, the inside looks almost normal. Rows of medical beds line the halls. Machines beep quietly beside patients. Doctors and nurses move quickly from room to room.
And there they are.
My parents.
Standing beside a patient, examining charts, speaking quietly with each other.
For a moment everything feels peaceful.
Confusing.
But peaceful.
"Where am I?" I whisper to myself.
The air here feels thick. Like time itself is moving slower.
I step closer to them.
"Mom?"
No response.
"Dad?"
Still nothing.
I reach out and place my hand on my father's shoulder.
The moment my fingers touch him, the world flips.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
The entire room twists violently like reality has been grabbed and turned upside down.
The lights flicker.
The machines stop beeping.
My parents slowly turn their heads toward me.
Their expressions are blank.
Cold.
"You will fail us," my father says.
His voice echoes strangely through the hallway.
My stomach drops.
"What do you mean?"
My mother steps forward beside him.
"You will fail us."
The lights above us dim.
The hallway stretches longer.
"You will fail."
Their voices begin repeating.
Over.
And over.
"You will fail."
"You will fail."
"You will fail."
Each repetition grows louder.
More distorted.
The air becomes suffocating.
"This isn't real," I whisper.
Then the mirror appears again.
Just a simple reflection floating in the empty air.
And inside it is me.
Or at least something that looks like me.
The reflection is smiling.
But tears are running down its face.
Thick streaks sliding slowly along its cheeks.
My stomach twists.
I approach it slowly.
"What are you?"
It does not answer.
Instead, it raises its hand.
I raise mine.
Our fingers touch the glass.
The mirror warps again.
The hospital dissolves.
The world changes.
Now I see them.
Jordan stands first.
Maya beside her.
Cameron next.
Then Zack.
Then Ava.
They stand perfectly still in a straight line, staring forward without blinking.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Relief floods my chest.
"Guys!" I shout, running toward them.
No one moves.
"Hey, what's wrong with you guys?"
Still nothing.
I walk down the line, looking each of them in the eyes.
They feel wrong.
Empty.
Then it happens.
A metallic sound cuts through the silence.
SHNK.
A blade bursts through Jordan's chest from behind.
Blood sprays across the floor.
My brain freezes.
Before I can react another blade pierces Maya.
Then Cameron.
Then Zack.
Then Ava.
The sound is sickening.
Metal sliding through flesh.
One by one they collapse to the ground.
"NO!"
I rush forward but the world flips again.
The scene changes instantly.
The lieutenant stands before me.
Pale skin.
Black hair.
Claws darker than night.
His hand is buried deep inside my mother's chest.
He pulls out her heart slowly, blood dripping from his fingers.
In his other hand he is choking my father, lifting him effortlessly off the ground.
My team lies scattered at his feet.
Lifeless.
Broken.
"STOP!" I scream.
I reach for my sword.
My hand grabs nothing.
The weapon is gone.
The world shifts again.
Bodies.
Everywhere.
Mountains of them.
Friends.
Strangers.
People I know.
People I do not.
Blood spreads across the ground like a lake beneath my feet.
And in the middle of it all stands my reflection.
"You did this," it says quietly.
The tears are gone now.
Only empty eyes remain.
"How did I do this?" I shout. "I didn't want any of this!"
"If you were never born," it replies calmly, "everyone would have lived."
My legs give out beneath me.
I fall into the pool of blood.
"Then tell me how to stop it."
"You cannot."
"Why?"
"Because it is already happening."
My chest tightens suddenly.
My heart begins pounding violently.
"Already on your knees," the reflection says softly.
"This is only the beginning."
It snaps its fingers.
The world begins repeating.
Jordan dies again.
Maya dies again.
Cameron dies again.
Over.
And over.
And over.
Each time the sound of the blade is louder.
Each time the blood spreads further.
My breathing becomes shallow.
My chest feels like something is crushing it.
I try to scream for help but no sound comes out.
The air disappears from my lungs.
My throat feels dry.
I look down at my hands.
They are soaked in blood.
"Maybe you should just die."
The voice comes from behind me.
I turn slowly.
My reflection stands there again.
No smile.
No tears.
Just calm certainty.
I collapse.
Darkness swallows everything.
When I open my eyes again, I am somewhere else.
Another black room.
But this one is different.
Fire burns slowly to my left.
It crawls along the ground like a living creature, inching closer toward me with every passing second.
To my right, darkness spreads like veins across the floor. Thin black strands twisting and reaching toward my body like wires searching for a connection.
The ground beneath me feels like mud.
Soft.
Heavy.
Pulling me down.
I do not move.
"I am useless," I whisper.
"I do not deserve to live."
"I am dangerous."
The words repeat quietly in my mind.
Again.
And again.
Then another voice speaks.
Not Eclipse.
This voice is older.
Ancient.
Powerful.
It feels like something massive coiled around the world itself.
A dragon.
"Give in."
My eyelids grow heavy.
The fire creeps closer.
The darkness spreads further.
My body feels numb.
My fingers lose feeling one by one.
My eyes slowly begin to close.
And the last thing I hear before sleep takes me is the dragon whispering again.
"Stop fighting."
"Let the darkness finish what fate already began.
