The door slammed shut behind them, the echo bouncing endlessly through the corridor.They stepped into the hall—and instantly the air thickened, cold and heavy, like the breath of a grave.
Mirrors lined every wall, floor, and ceiling. But these were no ordinary reflections.Every one of them moved differently, some mimicking them perfectly, some distorted: eyes too wide, mouths stretched in silent screams, limbs bending impossibly.
Sophie's hands flew to her face. "This… this isn't real, right? This can't be real."
Evelyn gripped the lantern tighter. "It is real… in here. The hall knows everything about us. Every fear, every regret, every failure. It's alive, and it's feeding."
Alex stepped forward, fists clenched. "Then we move. Together. No splitting up."
The hall reacted instantly. A mirror to their left shattered. From the fragments stepped a doppelganger—Alex, perfectly copied, but wrong: his eyes empty, smile twisted.
"It remembers you," the fake Alex whispered, voice echoing like ten versions layered over each other. "Every time you hesitated… every time you failed."
Leo's stomach churned. "It's using our minds against us. The hallucinations… they're learning."
Sophie cried out as dozens of reflections reached for them with outstretched hands. The images were thin and sharp like blades. Each one screamed a different accusation:
"Why didn't you save me?""Why did you run?""You're weak.""You're failing."
Evelyn swung the lantern violently. Light shattered some of the mirrors, but new ones formed instantly—more twisted, more grotesque, each reflecting their deepest fears.
The floor beneath them rippled like liquid, the walls breathed, closing in slightly, as if the hall itself were squeezing them.
From the far end of the corridor, a soft glow flickered—the place where the doppelgangers had vanished.It pulsed rhythmically, almost like a heartbeat.
Evelyn steadied her breath. "We survive this together. We decide what's real and what's fear."
Alex nodded, jaw tight. "Then we go. All of us."
Hand in hand, the four of them stepped forward—into the hall that twisted, breathed, and waited,a nightmare built from their own reflections.
The mirrors shivered. Shadows writhed. And from every angle, whispers began again:
"Every step, every choice, every thought… belongs to us now."