The first night back at the castle, I tried to convince myself everything was under control.I had locked the doll inside an iron chest in my room, bound with chains. Selene helped me secure it, though the worry in her eyes was stronger than any lock.
"Promise me that if that thing does anything strange, you'll tell me," she said before leaving.
"I promise," I answered — though I already knew it was a promise hard to keep.
That very night, sleep overtook me. But what I found wasn't rest.
I was walking down one of the castle's corridors, endless and dark. Every step echoed hollowly, and the torches on the walls flickered as though they were snuffing out at my mere presence.
At the far end, a child's laughter froze my blood.I knew immediately where it came from.
The doll sat on the floor, its glass eyes glowing in the dimness. But it was no longer chained. Its head moved slowly, like a child playing with a broken toy.
"Nyx…" its voice reverberated through the walls of my mind. "Why did you chain me?"
I tried to step back, but my feet were rooted to the ground.
"I am not your enemy…" it continued, crawling toward me in an unnatural way, as though the shadows themselves were pushing it forward. "I want to escape too. Just like you."
I woke up with a strangled gasp, drenched in cold sweat. The chest was still there, untouched. But the silver chains closing it bore cracks, as though something had tried to force them open from within.
The following days, small occurrences began to unsettle me.The lamp in my room would flicker out whenever I approached the chest.My books would lie open on pages about trapped souls, though I hadn't touched them.And sometimes, when I walked through the castle corridors, I thought I heard a faint metallic tinkling behind me — like the dragging of tiny chains.
Selene noticed my tension."You're not sleeping," she said one morning, gently touching my face with concern. "You're paler than ever."
"They're just dreams," I lied, looking away.
Deep down, I knew they weren't dreams at all.
That night, as I tried to rest, the whisper returned:
"I'm not your enemy… I am your reflection. Let me in… and I will give you strength."
The shadows in my room swirled as if answering the voice, and for an instant, I almost gave in.
But then I remembered Eris's words: "Desperation always seeks escape."
I bolted upright, my heart pounding like a drum. I opened the chest, needing to see for myself.
The doll was waiting, its glass eyes glowing with an unnatural light.And in that moment I knew: it wasn't asleep.It was watching me.