Listen "It's not the monsters you see that are the most dangerous. It's the ones hiding in the silence."
Ahaan lay on the ground, gasping for breath.
His arms were scratched, and his chest felt like it had been stomped on. The stone door to the Whisper Archive had vanished. No trace of it. No sign of the man in the coat.
But the glowing book in his lap said it all:
"You are now being hunted."
A chill ran through his body. It wasn't just fear — it was something deeper. A feeling like the shadows were pressing closer. Like the fog itself had eyes.
Ahaan stood slowly, brushing dirt off his shirt. He clutched the book tight, holding it like a lifeline.
"Okay," he whispered to himself. "Stay calm. Think."
But thinking wasn't easy here.
Not in the Whisper Realm.
Not when you knew something was watching you.
He started walking.
There was no path this time. Just fog. Thick, heavy fog that made it hard to see more than a few steps ahead. His feet crunched over dry leaves and cracked twigs.
Every sound made him jump.
Was that a footstep?
A whisper?
A growl?
He couldn't tell anymore.
And that's when he noticed something strange.
His shadow was moving... the wrong way.
It didn't match his steps.
It twitched, then stopped, then stretched out across the fog.
Ahaan froze.
Slowly, he turned around.
No one was there.
But the fog in front of him began to shift — like it was being pushed by something invisible.
Then came the sound.
A slow, deep voice — echoing from all directions:
"You opened the door... now the door opens for me."
Ahaan spun around. "Who are you?!"
No answer.
Just silence... and the book in his hand, flipping wildly through pages on its own.
Words formed quickly:
WARNING: The Lost One is awake.
Do not follow his voice.
Do not stop walking.
Do not look behind you.
Ahaan's breath caught.
The voice whispered again — closer this time.
"You read too much, little reader. You're trying to solve stories… but you forgot you are one now."
He turned and ran.
The fog became a blur around him. His shoes slid on wet leaves, branches scratched his arms, but he didn't stop.
He didn't look back.
Not once.
The book glowed brighter and brighter in his hands until it almost hurt to hold. The voice behind him grew louder.
More distorted.
More wrong.
"Stop running, Ahaan… Let me tell you a story. Let me show you what happened to the others."
"To Hari Prasad."
"To the ones who failed."
"To the ones who trusted me…"
Ahaan pushed himself harder.
And then — up ahead — a light.
Flickering. Like a campfire.
He ran toward it.
He broke through the fog and stumbled into a clearing — a wide circle of dry ground, surrounded by the dark forest.
At the center sat a fire, burning low and blue.
And beside it?
A girl.
Maybe fifteen. Wrapped in a long brown cloak. Her eyes were sharp and alert, like a fox. She held a glowing stick in one hand — a torch — and in her other hand?
A copy of the same book Ahaan was holding.
She stood up quickly when she saw him.
"Whoa!" she said. "You're not one of the shadows."
Ahaan caught his breath. "You… you're like me."
She nodded. "Name's Zara. Been here a while. Hiding, mostly."
Ahaan looked around. "From what?"
Zara gave him a look.
"You already know."
"The Lost One," he whispered.
Zara sat down again and poked the fire. "He watches everyone who touches the book. At first, he whispers. Then he follows. Then… he takes."
Ahaan sat too, his legs finally giving out.
"Why is he after me now?" he asked.
"You saw too much," Zara replied. "The Archive. The truth. And the worst part? You said his name. That's like an invitation."
Ahaan stared at the fire.
He was silent for a long time.
Finally, he said, "Who was he? Before he became The Lost One?"
Zara hesitated, then leaned closer.
"He was the first Seeker. The first one who used the book. Just like us. But he broke the rules. He tried to write his own story into the book — tried to make himself more powerful than the legends."
"What happened?"
"The book turned on him. It swallowed him. Now he's stuck between stories. Not dead. Not alive. Just… lost. Forever."
Ahaan felt cold all over again.
"He wants out," he said quietly.
Zara nodded. "And he needs a body to do it."
Suddenly, the fire flickered high.
A single page fell from Ahaan's book.
Zara caught it.
Her eyes scanned the words, then widened.
"CASE FOUR: The Forgotten School"
Location: Jasranpur. Your town.
Time: Midnight Tonight.
Warning: Do Not Enter Alone.
Zara looked at Ahaan. "You live in Jasranpur?"
He nodded slowly.
Zara stood up fast. "Then you need to go. Now."
"What? Why?"
"Because if the book is pulling the next legend into your town—"
She didn't finish.
She didn't have to.
Ahaan already knew.
This wasn't just about haunted mirrors or ghost trains anymore.
This was real.
And now the danger was following him home.
Story begins