Chapter Three:
The Shadows Creep In
Noor awoke to the soft sound of rain tapping against the windows, but it did nothing to ease the heaviness in her chest.
The world around her looked familiar… yet somehow it wasn't.
Every movement, every sound, every glance made her feel that the other version of herself was still there—watching her, waiting for the perfect moment to break through.
On her way to university, she felt strange eyes follow her. Faces she didn't recognize smiled at her in an unnatural way, as if something in her world had begun to shift.
Then she caught something chilling in the reflection of a shop window:
Her reflection was different.
A sinister smile, grey glowing eyes, and the same eerie presence from the large mirror—appearing now in her everyday reflections, even if only for a second.
In class, she tried to ignore it, but she felt her classmates staring at her as if they knew something she didn't.
Panic tightened around her chest as her mind flashed back to the mysterious message on her phone:
"You are not the one who's supposed to be here… get ready."
On her way back home, she felt something brush against her shoulder from the shadows. She turned around—
No one was there.
She whispered to herself, "Is this even possible? Or am I losing my mind?"
When she entered her apartment, the old key was on the table again.
She hadn't touched it, yet it echoed in her mind, calling her back to the abandoned room.
She hesitated, but she knew she couldn't ignore what was happening anymore.
She entered the abandoned room and lifted the cover from the large mirror.
Her other self was there—smiling more boldly this time, her grey eyes gleaming as if saying:
"Welcome back… I've missed you."
"What do you want?" Noor cried, her voice tightening with fear.
The reflection stepped closer, one step after another, breaking every rule of time and space.
Then the grey man appeared behind her, his eyes following Noor's every move—silent, expressionless.
The air around her thickened.
Everything in the room twisted and distorted, moving in a slow, unnatural rhythm.
"I'm here to show you the truth… the truth about you, and about this place,"
the grey man whispered, his voice low yet filled with an unsettling power.
Noor trembled with fear and confusion, but she understood one thing:
The game had just begun.
And every step she took from now on would be filled with danger.
In that moment, she realized the reflection was no longer just an image…
It had become a real force invading her daily life, reshaping reality, testing the limits of her mind.