Shadows Beyond the Mirror

It was 2:13 AM when the clock in Adrian’s apartment stopped. The refrigerator stopped humming. A silence fell over the room.

Adrian sat in his armchair, staring at the black TV screen. But it wasn't the power outage that scared him.

It was the knock on the door.

Three soft taps sent shivers down his spine. No one should be outside at this hour. He hadn't ordered food, hadn't been expecting anyone.

The knock came again. Louder. More insistent.

Adrian hesitated, his heart pounding. Every instinct told him not to open the door. But curiosity made him get up.

He approached the door, his hand trembling. “Who’s there?” he called, his voice shaking.

Silence answered him, thick and unnerving. He looked through the peephole—nothing.

But the knocking kept going.

He opened the door slowly, the chain still on. The hallway was dim, and empty, with a smell of wet concrete.

A plain brown envelope was at his feet. No markings, no address. Just his name in what looked like blood.

Adrian's stomach twisted. He slammed the door shut, bolting it. His hands shook as he picked up the envelope, hesitating before he tore it open.

Inside was a card with simple black ink: “You’ve been chosen.” Beneath the words, is a location. A warehouse near the river. Time: 3:00 AM. No other instructions.

His pulse quickened. Chosen? For what?

Suddenly, a cold breath brushed the back of his neck, a presence creeping up behind him.

Adrian spun around, but no one was there.

The room felt wrong like the air was too thick to breathe. His reflection in the mirror looked back at him, eyes wide with fear. But something was off—his reflection seemed… delayed like it was reacting slower than he was. It twitched slightly, a hint of movement that he hadn’t made.

Adrian backed away, his heart thudding in his chest. He had to leave. Whatever this was, it wasn’t right.

By the time he reached the warehouse, the city felt foreign. He had no idea why he came, but something had been pulling him here. A force stronger than his fear, stronger than his instinct to flee.

The warehouse loomed ahead—an old, decrepit structure. Its windows were shattered, and its exterior was rusting away. The door was slightly ajar, a thin sliver of light spilling into the night.

He stepped inside.

The warehouse was vast, the air damp and cold. Strange symbols were painted on the floor, lines of salt running along the walls. In the center stood a circle, and in the middle of the circle was a large, antique mirror.

But it wasn’t the mirror itself that frightened Adrian. It was what he saw within it.

Reflected in the glass wasn’t the warehouse or himself, but a dark, endless void. Shadows and distant, unseen figures swirled within. The air around him thickened, pressing against his chest, making it hard to breathe.

“You’ve come,” a voice said.

Adrian spun around, but again, no one was there. The voice seemed to come from the very walls, from the air itself.

“Who are you?” Adrian demanded his voice barely a whisper. He felt watched like hundreds of unseen eyes were locked on him.

“We are what remains,” the voice answered. “And you are the key.”

The symbols on the floor started to glow. They pulsed with an eerie light. The mirror hummed and vibrated as shadows swirled fast.

Adrian’s legs felt weak. He stumbled backward but had nowhere to go. The warehouse door slammed shut behind him, trapping him.

“Let me out!” he screamed, pounding the door.

The figure in the mirror smiled. Its mouth stretched wide, showing jagged teeth. It crawled out of the mirror, twisting its body.

He ran but the warehouse seemed endless. No matter how fast he went, the exit was always far away.

The figure’s hand grabbed his ankle, pulling him down. Adrian screamed, trying to break free. But its grip only got tighter, pulling him toward the mirror.

“This is your purpose,” the voice said. “You were chosen to bridge the gap.”

The mirror loomed ahead, its surface like water. The closer he got, the darker the world became. Shadows swallowed everything until only a void was left.

And then, just as his body touched the glass, everything stopped.

The hand released him. The warehouse vanished. He stood alone in endless nothingness. The sky was a swirling black, the ground soft like ash.

He heard voices again. Louder and clearer.

“You’ve crossed the veil, Adrian. There’s no turning back.”

He looked around, panic rising. “What do you want from me?!” he shouted into the void.

“Everything,” the voices answered together.

A figure stepped forward, from Adrian’s reflection. It looked like him but its eyes were cold and empty.

“You were chosen to take my place,” it said, grinning with malevolence. “Now, you belong to the void.”

Before Adrian could react, the ground cracked. He fell into the abyss. The voices grew louder, more insistent, more hungry.

The last thing he heard was his voice from the shadows: “Welcome home.”

…………….