Ahaan stepped through the flickering doorway.
For a moment, it felt like walking through cold smoke.
The air was heavy, like breathing underwater.
His ears rang.
Then everything went silent.
He opened his eyes.
He was inside a circular room.
The walls were made of mirrors.
But they weren't normal mirrors.
Each one showed a different version of him.
Some older.
Some younger.
Some smiling.
Some crying.
And some… were not even human anymore.
They had black eyes.
Twisted faces.
Hands that looked like claws.
In the center of the room was a small stone table.
On it was a single object:
A cracked pocket watch.
It was ticking — but in reverse.
Time moving backward.
Tick… tick… tick…
Ahaan took a step forward.
One of the mirrors flickered.
The Ahaan inside looked back and spoke.
But his mouth didn't move.
Instead, the words echoed inside Ahaan's mind.
"I saw the truth. I couldn't handle it."
Another mirror flashed.
A second version of Ahaan appeared.
This one looked stronger — taller, with hollow eyes.
"I stayed in the Hollow Mind too long. I forgot who I was."
A third mirror cracked.
The Ahaan inside was burned, eyes white, mouth stitched shut.
"I tried to leave. It punished me."
Ahaan turned in a circle.
Every mirror was now whispering.
Dozens of versions of himself talking at the same time.
"We are you—"
"You are us—"
"You think you're still real?"
"You think there's still time?"
"You're already changing."
"No," Ahaan whispered.
"This isn't real. You're not me."
But the mirrors laughed.
Softly at first.
Then louder.
Then one of the twisted Ahaans stepped out of the mirror.
His skin was pale.
His eyes were all black.
His teeth were sharp.
He walked toward the real Ahaan, grinning.
"I'm what you'll become if you don't leave now."
Ahaan backed away.
"Why are you doing this to me?"
The twisted Ahaan pointed at the pocket watch.
"That's your last chance."
Ahaan turned to the watch.
The ticking had gotten slower.
It was almost at zero.
He grabbed it.
As soon as he touched it, a wave of pain hit his head.
He saw flashes:
His father screaming.
The orphanage burning.
Children crying in the dark.
Himself, trapped in a mirror, banging to get out.
He dropped the watch.
"No more! I don't want to see this!"
The room went still.
All the mirrors went black.
Except one.
Ahaan looked at it.
This version of him looked normal.
But… he was crying.
He looked right at Ahaan and whispered:
"You can still leave. But you must choose."
"Choose what?"
"Forget what you saw… and live a normal life.
Or remember everything… and carry the truth forever."
Ahaan stepped closer.
"If I forget… will this all stop?"
"Yes. But the truth dies with you."
"And if I remember?"
"You'll never be the same again. But you'll understand your father. You'll know what really happened."
Ahaan looked at the black mirrors.
Then at the broken pocket watch.
Then at his reflection, waiting for an answer.
He took a deep breath.
And said, "I want to remember."
The mirror shattered.
A loud scream filled the room — not from Ahaan, but from all the other versions of him.
Their voices melted into one horrifying cry.
Then—
Silence.
The Echo Room began to collapse.
The floor broke apart.
The ceiling cracked.
Everything around Ahaan crumbled like ash.
He fell again — into darkness.
But this time…
He wasn't afraid.
He remembered who he was.
And now…
he remembered what his father had...
Now...