That night, sleep wouldn't come. The seconds on the clock grew louder in the heavy silence, and I felt eyes watching me—from the darkest corners of my room. Suddenly, my phone buzzed sharply on the bedside table. A message from an unknown number blinked on the screen: *"You're not who you think you are, Laina."*
My heart thundered. Before I could respond, the lights flickered and died, plunging me into complete darkness. In that blackness, a whisper slithered along my spine: *"Find me before I find you."*
Hands trembling, I grabbed my flashlight and made my way to the attic—an ancient place I'd never dared enter before. The door groaned open, revealing a dusty mirror carved with strange symbols. When I wiped the glass clean, my reflection flickered—and behind me, a shadowy figure wearing a dark, glowing crown grinned with chilling eyes.
"Who are you?" I whispered, voice cracking. The figure only tilted her head, amused, then vanished like smoke.
A gust of icy air slammed the attic door shut, and a voice echoed around me, low and commanding: "Your real story begins now."
Time fractured after that night. Secrets clawed their way to the surface, and the world I thought I knew faded into a shadowed memory.
What I didn't know then was that the darkness wasn't just waiting—it was hunting.