The guy at my door wasn't just handsome.
He looked like someone the universe handcrafted after watching too many K-dramas and deciding, "Yeah, this is the level of chaos she needs in her life."
Tall.
Sharp jawline.
Hair dripping rainwater.
Eyes warm but terrified.
And he was staring at me like I was both:
1. His long-lost soulmate
2. And his worst nightmare
Simultaneously.
Great. Love that for me.
"Do you…" I swallowed,
"…do you need help?"
He stepped closer, his voice trembling.
"Anshu… please tell me you remember me."
Bro, my heartbeat actually did a backflip.
"I don't," I whispered honestly. "I've never seen you before."
His face cracked—like I just stabbed him in his soul.
Then he exhaled shakily.
Painfully.
Like this was the answer he feared.
"I was afraid of that."
Something cold crawled across my spine.
Before I could ask anything else, the hallway light flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then froze mid-flicker.
Not off.
Not on.
Just… glitching.
And the air got heavier.
Thicker.
Wrong.
The handsome stranger's eyes darted to the ceiling.
"No… no, no, no…" he whispered.
He grabbed my hand.
"Anshu, step back. Don't breathe too loudly."
"What? Why?!"
He didn't answer.
Because we both heard it.
SCRAAAATCH.
Something dragged itself across the corridor ceiling.
I didn't want to look.
I knew I shouldn't look.
But my neck betrayed me and turned anyway—
And I froze.
A long, black, distorted shadow clung to the ceiling like a parasite.
Faceless.
Limbs too long.
Head stretching unnaturally, like broken rubber.
Its skin flickered like static on a dead TV.
My soul immediately packed its bags and left this planet.
"What—WHAT IS THAT?!" I whisper-screamed.
The stranger squeezed my wrist.
"It's here because someone remembered you."
"BRO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!"
He pulled me behind him protectively.
"It hunts based on memory.
If someone thinks of you too deeply… it comes."
Oh.
Great.
So apparently getting remembered is now hazardous to my health.
Perfect.
The creature lowered its head, sniffing the air like it could smell my existence.
The stranger whispered urgently:
"Don't move. And whatever happens, don't say your name."
"Oh, trust me," I hissed. "I don't even remember my name right now."
The creature's head twitched—fast—like a corrupted file.
Then it hissed:
"…Anshu…"
My knees gave up on life.
"BRO IT KNOWS MY NAME?!"
The man grabbed my shoulders.
"It knows EVERY version of you.
Every timeline.
Every death."
I blinked.
"BACK UP—MY WHAT???"
The creature shrieked.
The walls shook.
The light snapped back on in a violent burst.
And in that microsecond of brightness, I saw the creature's body clearly:
Thousands of glowing memory shards floating inside its chest.
Each one showing versions of me.
Me dying.
Me screaming.
Me running.
Me falling into darkness.
My stomach flipped.
The man stepped in front of me, shielding me with his body.
"It's not here for your life," he whispered.
"It's here for your memories."
The creature lunged.
The man grabbed my hand.
"RUN!"
We sprinted down the hallway.
The creature scraped the walls behind us, making the whole building tremble.
I tried to breathe but panic was chewing my lungs.
"Where are we going?" I shouted.
"Somewhere it can't reach you!"
"And WHERE is that???"
He looked at me—eyes terrified but determined.
"Anywhere you're not remembered!"
Yeah sure, let me just stop existing, no problem.
We turned the corner—
And the world glitched.
Like someone pressed Ctrl+Alt+Delete on reality.
The floor stretched.
The ceiling warped.
My vision pixelated.
I stumbled.
He caught me by the waist.
"Stay with me," he whispered.
His breath warm on my cheek.
His grip gentle but desperate.
Time stuttered around us.
"Why are we running?" I gasped.
"Because, Anshu…"
He looked into my eyes like he'd known them for lifetimes.
"That thing knows how you die."
My heart froze.
"And I know how to stop it."
He pulled me closer.
"But I need you to trust me—
because in one timeline, you didn't."
"And it killed you."
---