Karan stood frozen at the bottom of the staircase.
His eyes were fixed on the corridor above.
On the door.
The one that had been closed.
The one that should have stayed closed.
Now—
It was open.
Just enough to reveal darkness inside.
Not normal darkness.
Not the kind that comes from lack of light.
This was deeper.
Thicker.
Like something was inside it.
Watching back.
---
Karan's throat went dry.
"I didn't open that…"
The words came out as a whisper.
Almost like he was afraid the house might hear him.
Because at this point—
It felt like it could.
---
For a moment, he considered running.
Back to his room.
Locking himself inside.
Pretending none of this was happening.
But something stopped him.
That same pull.
The same force that made him touch the handle before.
Stronger now.
Clearer.
It wasn't just curiosity.
It was… compulsion.
Like the house didn't just want him here—
It needed him to see.
---
Karan took a step toward the stairs.
Then another.
Slow.
Uncertain.
Each step creaked under his weight, the sound echoing too loudly in the silence.
The deeper he went, the colder the air became.
By the time he reached the top—
His breath was visible.
---
The corridor stretched ahead.
Still.
Silent.
But no longer empty.
Because now—
There was something different.
The other doors.
The ones that had always been slightly open—
Were closed.
All of them.
Every single one.
Except one.
---
The open door.
---
Karan's heartbeat quickened.
"No… this isn't normal."
His voice trembled.
But his feet didn't stop.
They moved forward.
Step by step.
As if guided.
As if pulled.
---
The closer he got—
The heavier the air felt.
Like pressure building around him.
Pushing against his chest.
Making it harder to breathe.
---
He stopped just a few feet away.
The darkness inside the room didn't move.
Didn't shift.
Didn't react.
But it felt alive.
Aware.
Waiting.
---
Karan swallowed.
"I'm just going to look," he whispered. "Nothing else."
He didn't know who he was saying it to.
Himself.
Or the house.
---
His hand slowly reached out.
The door creaked softly as he pushed it further open.
The sound echoed unnaturally—
Stretching longer than it should.
As if the house wanted him to hear it.
To feel it.
---
The room revealed itself slowly.
Piece by piece.
Wall.
Floor.
Corner.
And then—
Everything.
---
It was empty.
Completely empty.
No furniture.
No windows.
Nothing.
Just bare walls.
And darkness.
---
Karan frowned.
"That's it…?"
Relief flickered in his chest.
Brief.
Fragile.
Maybe this was all just in his head.
Maybe—
---
Thak.
The sound came from inside the room.
Karan froze.
"That wasn't—"
Thak.
Again.
Closer this time.
From the center of the room.
---
His eyes moved slowly toward the sound.
The floor.
Plain.
Dusty.
But—
There.
A faint mark.
A line.
Like an outline.
---
Karan stepped inside.
Carefully.
The moment his foot crossed the threshold—
The air changed.
Instantly.
Colder.
Heavier.
Wrong.
---
Behind him—
The door slammed shut.
---
Karan spun around.
"NO—"
He rushed to the door, grabbing the handle.
Pulled.
Nothing.
It didn't move.
Not even slightly.
"Open!"
He banged on it.
Hard.
Again.
Again.
"OPEN!"
---
Silence.
No response.
No sound from outside.
Nothing.
---
His breathing became uneven.
Panic rising fast.
Too fast.
"This isn't happening… this isn't happening…"
He turned back toward the room.
Trying to think.
Trying to understand.
---
That's when he noticed it.
The mark on the floor.
It wasn't just a line.
It was a shape.
A rectangle.
Like—
A door.
---
Karan's chest tightened.
"No…"
He stepped closer.
Slowly.
His eyes scanning the edges.
It was slightly raised.
Barely noticeable.
But real.
---
A trapdoor.
---
Tap.
Karan froze.
The sound came from below.
From under the floor.
---
Tap… tap…
His heart started pounding again.
"No… no, no…"
He stepped back.
But the sound followed.
Louder.
Closer.
---
Then—
A voice.
Muffled.
Faint.
But clear enough.
«"…Karan…"»
---
His entire body went cold.
"No."
---
«"…you found it…"»
---
Karan shook his head violently.
"No, I didn't—this isn't—"
---
«"…open it…"»
---
The same words.
Again.
But different voice.
Not from the wall.
Not from the mirror.
From below.
---
Karan backed into the wall.
"I'm not opening anything!"
His voice cracked.
Fear spilling out.
Raw.
Uncontrolled.
---
Silence.
For a moment—
Everything stopped.
The tapping.
The voice.
The air itself.
---
Then—
A soft laugh.
From below.
---
Karan's breath caught.
Because it didn't sound desperate.
Or trapped.
---
It sounded…
Amused.
---
«"…you always say that…"»
---
His mind went blank.
"What…?"
---
«"…every time…"»
---
Karan's eyes widened.
Every time?
What did that mean?
---
He shook his head.
"No… no, this is the first time—"
---
«"…no, Karan…"»
The voice interrupted.
Soft.
Almost gentle.
---
«"…this is where it starts again."»
---
The room grew colder.
Darker.
The walls seemed to close in slightly.
Or maybe—
It just felt that way.
---
Karan's breathing became shallow.
Fast.
His thoughts scattered.
Nothing made sense.
Nothing felt real.
---
Then—
Something shifted.
---
The floor.
The outline.
It moved.
Just slightly.
Like something underneath it had pressed upward.
---
Karan stumbled back.
"Stay back!"
---
Another push.
Stronger this time.
The trapdoor lifted—
Just a little.
A thin gap forming.
Darkness leaking through.
---
And from that gap—
A hand emerged.
---
Pale.
Thin.
Trembling.
---
Karan screamed, backing into the corner.
"No—NO!"
---
The hand gripped the edge.
Pulling.
Slowly.
Dragging itself up.
---
And then—
A second hand appeared.
---
Followed by—
A face.
---
Karan's breath stopped.
Because the face—
Was his.
---
Same eyes.
Same features.
Same expression.
---
But wrong.
Completely wrong.
---
The version of him below smiled.
Slow.
Broken.
Familiar.
---
«"You took your time…"»
---
Karan's legs gave out beneath him.
His mind refused to process it.
"This isn't real… this isn't real…"
---
The other Karan tilted his head.
Just like the reflection had.
---
«"It never is… the first time."»
---
The trapdoor opened wider.
The darkness below stretching endlessly.
---
And then—
The other Karan whispered—
---
«"Now… come back."»
---