Silence.
Not peaceful.
Not calm.
This silence felt… fragile.
Like it could break at any moment.
Aarav couldn't feel his body.
He couldn't see clearly.
Everything around him was blurred… distant… fading.
But the knocking—
That knocking—
It was still there.
Louder than ever.
KNOCK… KNOCK… KNOCK
Not outside.
Not in the world.
Inside him.
"…make it stop…" Aarav whispered weakly.
His voice barely existed.
Like he was already disappearing.
Then—
A sound.
Different.
Soft.
Real.
Footsteps.
Aarav's fading vision shifted.
The empty street was still there.
Cracked.
Broken.
Dying.
And in the distance—
Someone was running.
Aarav blinked slowly.
"…who…?"
The figure got closer.
Faster.
Closer.
A girl.
Her face came into focus—
And Aarav's heart stopped.
"…Mira…?"
She reached him and dropped to her knees beside him.
Breathing heavily.
Eyes wide with fear—
But also something else.
Recognition.
"You're still here…" she whispered.
Aarav's mind struggled to process.
"…you… can see me…?"
Mira nodded quickly.
"Yes—listen to me, Aarav, you don't have much time—"
Her voice shook.
But she didn't stop.
"It's already started, right? The knocking… the voice… the door—"
Aarav's eyes widened weakly.
"…how do you know…?"
Mira grabbed his shoulders.
Tight.
Desperate.
"Because I've seen this before."
Aarav's breath caught.
"…what…?"
Her eyes filled with something dark.
Something heavy.
"You're not the first."
Silence.
The words hit harder than anything.
"…no…" Aarav whispered.
Mira nodded slowly.
"I tried to stop it before… but I was too late…"
Aarav's chest tightened.
"…before…?"
She hesitated.
Just for a second.
Then—
She said it.
"My brother."
Aarav froze.
"He started hearing the knocks," she continued, her voice trembling.
"He saw the door…"
Her grip tightened.
"And then one day…"
Her voice broke.
"He wasn't him anymore."
Aarav's mind spun.
"…replaced…?"
Mira nodded.
Tears forming in her eyes.
"He looked the same… talked the same…"
A pause.
"But something inside him…"
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"…was gone."
The knocking inside Aarav grew louder.
Faster.
Violent.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
He gasped in pain.
"Make it stop…!"
Mira's expression changed instantly.
Focused.
Determined.
"Listen to me!" she said urgently.
"You still have time!"
Aarav shook his head weakly.
"…it said… I'm being replaced…"
"I know."
Her answer came too quickly.
Too certain.
"But it's not complete yet."
Aarav's fading vision locked onto hers.
"…how… do I stop it…?"
For a moment—
Mira didn't answer.
Her eyes flickered.
Hesitation.
Fear.
Then—
She spoke.
"You have to go back."
Aarav's breath hitched.
"…back…?"
Mira nodded.
"To the corridor."
His mind struggled.
"…the doors…"
"Yes."
Her voice hardened.
Serious now.
"You chose the wrong one."
Aarav let out a broken laugh.
"…I figured…"
"But there's still one chance."
Aarav's heart pounded weakly.
"…what chance…?"
Mira leaned closer.
Her voice barely above a whisper.
"You have to find your original door."
Silence.
Aarav stared at her.
"…original…?"
Mira nodded slowly.
"The one you came from."
Aarav's mind froze.
"…and if I don't…?"
Mira didn't answer immediately.
She didn't need to.
Because the voice did.
From inside Aarav's head—
"Then you disappear."
Aarav gasped.
The world around them trembled violently.
Cracks spread across the ground.
The sky shattered further.
Mira grabbed him tighter.
"You don't have much time!"
Aarav's body flickered.
Fading.
Glitching.
"…I can't even move…"
Mira's eyes sharpened.
"You don't need your body."
Aarav froze.
"…what…?"
She leaned in—
Right to his face—
"You need your mind."
The knocking exploded.
Louder than ever.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Aarav screamed—
And the world shattered.
Darkness swallowed everything again.
A final whisper echoed—
"Find your way back… before he takes everything."