Learn "If the candle goes out… you don't come back."
Ahaan couldn't sleep.
He sat on his bed, staring at the glowing book on his desk. Outside his window, the night was quiet — too quiet. Not a single dog barked. No wind. No crickets. Just silence.
And that silence felt… wrong.
The book flipped open again, by itself.
A new message appeared on the page.
"You've entered too deep."
"You've seen too much."
"Now you must take… the Candle Test."
Ahaan didn't know what it meant. But under the message, a candle appeared — not drawn, but real — slowly growing out of the paper like a flower from soil.
It was tall, white, and cold to the touch.
Beside it, a single match.
He picked both up with shaking hands.
Then the book whispered:
"Go to the mirror. Light the candle. Do not speak. Do not look away. Do not let it go out."
Ahaan walked slowly to the mirror on his cupboard.
He stood there, staring at his own reflection.
He looked tired.
Scared.
But also… curious.
Always curious.
He lit the match, then the candle.
The flame flickered softly — small and steady.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Then the mirror rippled.
His reflection blurred.
And the world around him faded.
When Ahaan blinked, he was no longer in his bedroom.
He was standing in a long, endless hallway made of mirrors on both sides.
He was holding the candle in both hands now.
It was the only source of light.
And his reflection was still with him — hundreds of copies of himself on either side, stretching forever.
Except...
One of the reflections didn't move when he did.
Ahaan noticed it in the corner of his eye.
He turned to check.
It moved like him again.
He shook his head. "I'm imagining things."
But then he saw it again.
Two mirrors down — a reflection that didn't blink when he blinked.
It just stared.
And then…
It smiled.
Ahaan froze.
The candle flickered.
His heart pounded.
He turned away from the mirror and kept walking forward, just like the book had told him.
Do not look away.
Do not let it go out.
The hallway grew colder.
His breath became visible.
He took slow steps, eyes forward, hands steady.
Behind him, footsteps echoed.
Not his own.
Someone was following him.
He didn't look back.
Couldn't.
Because now, the candle flame started to shake.
Hard.
Like the air itself wanted to blow it out.
He passed a mirror where he saw his mother's face — crying.
Then another, where his father stood — eyes empty, face pale.
Then a third…
Where he was lying on the ground.
Still.
Not breathing.
"No," Ahaan whispered.
The flame danced wildly.
He quickly covered it with one hand, creating a shield, and kept moving.
Each mirror now showed him something different — something terrible.
Him falling.
Him screaming.
Him disappearing.
The hallway whispered around him:
"You're not strong enough."
"You're not supposed to be here."
"You'll become one of us."
He clenched his jaw and walked faster.
But the flame was shrinking.
Too much cold. Too much fear.
He felt it dying.
"No, no, no…" he whispered, voice shaking.
Then, from the mirror beside him, a hand slammed out toward the candle.
It missed by inches.
The reflection grinned — his own face, but twisted, broken, hollow-eyed.
"You'll never leave," it said.
Ahaan ran.
The mirrors blurred as he moved.
One last hallway.
One last step.
And then—
A door appeared ahead.
Glowing.
Warm.
He reached out, holding the candle close.
The flame was tiny now.
One more breath and it would go out.
He pushed the door open.
A bright light swallowed him.
FWOOM.
Ahaan fell onto the floor of his bedroom.
He was back.
The candle was still lit.
Just barely.
The book lay beside him, open to a new page.
And across it, glowing words wrote themselves in golden ink:
"Candle Test: Passed."
"Status: Official Seeker."
"You may now visit deeper legends."
Ahaan let out a shaky breath.
He placed the candle on the floor and looked into the mirror.
His reflection stared back.
Same clothes. Same tired eyes.
But something was different.
In the corner of the reflection's mouth…
A faint smile.
A smile he didn't make.
The reflection copied him again a moment later — normal again.
But Ahaan had seen it.
He knew now:
The Candle Test never truly ends.
That night, before he went to sleep, a final message appeared in the book:
Next Case: The House With No Exit
Difficulty: Deadly
Time: When the moon turns red.
Ahaan smiled softly and whispered:
"Bring it on"
Too be continued