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đ Chapter 5: Echoes of Doubt
(TĂȘn gá»c: KĂœ ức giáșŁ)
> I woke up once more.
Another doorâgone.
Four now sealed.
I scanned the surroundings, desperate for something familiar.
But there was only the hallway...
and more doors.
"What have I done?"
I stepped into the next one, against every instinct.
And woke again.
This time, in bedâat home.
I crept downstairs, trembling.
There they were. My parents.
Smiling.
Breathing.
Real.
"Oh, you're up early," my dad greeted, warmth in his voice.
I froze. My eyes welled with tears.
"Bad dream?"
I couldn't answer. I just cried.
My mom stepped in, gently holding me.
"Shhh⊠it's okay, sweetie. We're right here."
She glanced at my dadâsome silent message passed between them.
He moved to set breakfast down.
But there he was.
The man who killed them.
Standing silently in the kitchen.
My breathing stopped.
Why couldn't they see him?
I backed away.
My hands trembled.
The illusion shattered.
And againâ
I was thrown out, gasping, clutching my head.
Another door shut behind me.
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đ Chapter 6: Absolute Faith
(TĂȘn gá»c: Niá»m tin tuyá»t Äá»i)
> Five doors. Five fractures in my soul.
And yet... the corridor stretched onward.
But something was different now.
A shadow stood watching me.
Still. Silent.
Waiting.
I ignored it, stepped into the sixth door.
This one was quiet.
Too quiet.
I was in a hospital waiting room.
Alone.
A distant cryâa baby's first breath.
A nurse approached with a warm smile.
"It's a girl."
She handed me a newborn.
I held her gently.
My heart swelled with something⊠unfamiliar.
Then a friend passed by.
One I hadn't seen in years.
"You made it through, huh?" he said softly.
I looked at the baby in my arms.
"Yeah... I did."
In this world, my parents were goneâbut I had a wife, a daughter, a reason.
For the first time⊠I felt peace.
I entered the room, smiling.
My wife looked up and smiled back.
But thenâ
The shadow.
It reappeared behind me.
And its hands wrapped around my neck.
My vision blurred.
My peace shattered.
Darkness took me again.
Another door flung me out like trash.
And the shadowâŠ
was closer now.
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