Darkness didn't feel empty.
It felt occupied.
Karan couldn't see anything—no walls, no floor, not even his own hands—but he could feel it.
Something was there.
Close.
Too close.
Breathing.
Watching.
---
His chest rose sharply as he tried to inhale.
The air felt thick.
Heavy.
Like it didn't belong to him.
"Who's there?" he asked, his voice echoing strangely, as if the space around him was too large… or too deep.
No answer.
Only silence.
But not the kind he had felt in the house.
This silence wasn't still.
It was waiting.
---
Then—
A faint sound.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
Coming closer.
---
Karan's body stiffened.
"Show yourself!" he snapped, forcing strength into his voice.
But it didn't sound strong.
It sounded desperate.
---
The footsteps stopped.
Right in front of him.
So close—
He could feel the presence now.
Cold.
Sharp.
Aware.
---
And then—
A voice.
Low.
Calm.
Familiar.
---
«"You finally reached this part."»
---
Karan's breath caught.
"…Atharav."
---
Silence.
Then—
A soft chuckle.
---
«"So you do remember names. That's good."»
---
A faint light flickered into existence.
Not bright.
Just enough to reveal a silhouette.
---
A boy.
Standing a few steps away.
Hands in his pockets.
Head slightly tilted.
---
As the light grew stronger—
The face became clear.
---
Atharav Vaidya.
---
Karan's jaw tightened.
"You…"
---
Atharav smiled faintly.
Not warmly.
Not coldly.
Just… knowingly.
---
«"Me."»
---
Karan stepped back instinctively.
"How do you know me?"
---
Atharav raised an eyebrow.
---
«"That's the wrong question."»
---
Karan frowned.
"What?"
---
Atharav took a step forward.
The light around them shifted slightly—
Not expanding.
But bending.
Like it wasn't natural.
---
«"The real question is…" he said softly,
"…why don't you remember me?"»
---
Karan's chest tightened.
"I—I've never seen you before."
---
Atharav's smile widened just a little.
---
«"You've said that before too."»
---
Karan's patience snapped.
"Stop saying that!" he shouted. "What do you mean 'before'? I just came here!"
---
Atharav watched him calmly.
Unbothered.
Unmoved.
---
«"No," he said quietly.
"You came back."»
---
The word hit differently this time.
He didn't just hear it—
He felt it.
---
Karan shook his head.
"No… that doesn't mean anything."
---
«"It means everything."»
---
Silence.
---
Karan clenched his fists.
His mind racing.
Nothing was making sense.
Nothing felt real.
---
"Where am I?" he asked finally.
---
Atharav looked around slowly.
As if observing the darkness itself.
---
«"You're between."»
---
"…between what?"
---
Atharav's gaze returned to him.
Sharp now.
Focused.
---
«"Between what you remember… and what you buried."»
---
A chill ran down Karan's spine.
"I didn't bury anything."
---
Atharav didn't reply.
Instead—
He lifted his hand.
And snapped his fingers.
---
The darkness shifted instantly.
---
The ground appeared beneath Karan's feet.
Cold.
Solid.
Familiar.
---
The walls formed around them.
Slowly.
Piece by piece.
---
Karan's eyes widened.
"No…"
---
It was the room.
The same room.
The one with the trapdoor.
---
But not empty this time.
---
This time—
It was different.
---
The walls were covered in scratches.
Deep.
Violent.
Desperate.
---
The floor was stained.
Dark patches spread unevenly.
Old.
Dried.
---
And in the center—
The trapdoor.
Open.
Wide.
Endless darkness below.
---
Karan's breathing turned uneven.
"This… this wasn't—"
---
«"It was."»
---
Atharav's voice cut in calmly.
---
«"You just didn't see it."»
---
Karan shook his head slowly.
"No… no, I saw this room. It was empty—"
---
«"That's what it showed you."»
---
Silence.
---
Karan turned toward him sharply.
"What does that mean?"
---
Atharav stepped closer to the trapdoor.
Looking down into it.
---
«"The house doesn't show truth," he said.
"It shows what you can handle."»
---
Karan's stomach dropped.
"…and this?"
---
Atharav glanced back at him.
---
«"This is what you couldn't."»
---
Karan's breath hitched.
---
A faint sound echoed from below.
Soft.
Familiar.
---
"…Karan…"
---
He froze.
"No…"
---
The voice came again.
Clearer this time.
---
«"…why did you leave me…?"»
---
Karan's hands started shaking.
"Stop it…"
---
Atharav didn't move.
Didn't react.
Just watched.
---
«"You hear it now," he said quietly.»
---
Karan backed away.
"I don't know that voice!"
---
«"You do."»
---
"No!"
---
His voice cracked.
Louder.
More desperate.
---
"I don't remember her!"
---
Silence.
---
Atharav tilted his head slightly.
Studying him.
---
«"That's the problem, Karan."»
---
Karan's chest rose sharply.
---
«"You don't remember… but she does."»
---
The words echoed.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
---
Suddenly—
The room flickered again.
---
Karan gasped as the walls shifted.
The scratches deepened.
Fresh.
Bleeding.
---
The floor darkened.
Wet now.
Not dried.
---
And the sound—
The voice—
Was no longer below.
---
It was behind him.
---
Karan turned slowly.
His entire body trembling.
---
She stood there.
---
Shrishti.
---
Not in the mirror this time.
Not in a reflection.
---
Real.
---
Standing a few steps away.
---
Her clothes were torn.
Her face pale.
Her eyes—
Empty.
---
But not lifeless.
---
They were full of something else.
Something deeper.
---
Recognition.
---
Karan's breath caught.
"…Shrishti."
---
She didn't move.
Didn't blink.
---
«"You came back."»
---
Her voice was soft.
Broken.
But clearer than before.
---
Karan shook his head.
"I—I don't understand—"
---
She took a step forward.
---
Karan instinctively stepped back.
---
«"You said you would."»
---
Her voice didn't rise.
Didn't change.
---
«"You said you wouldn't leave me."»
---
Karan's chest tightened painfully.
"I didn't—"
---
«"You did."»
---
The words cut through him.
Sharp.
Final.
---
Tears formed in his eyes.
"I don't remember…"
---
Shrishti stopped moving.
A few feet away now.
---
For a moment—
Something flickered in her expression.
---
Pain.
---
But it disappeared quickly.
Replaced by something colder.
---
«"I know."»
---
Karan's breath hitched.
---
«"That's why it keeps happening."»
---
His heart skipped.
"…what keeps happening?"
---
Silence.
---
Then—
Atharav spoke.
From behind him.
---
«"This."»
---
The room trembled.
---
The walls cracked.
---
The floor shifted beneath Karan's feet.
---
And suddenly—
Everything collapsed.
---
Karan fell.
---
Into darkness.
---
Again.
---
But this time—
He didn't stop.
---
He kept falling.
---
And as he did—
Voices surrounded him.
---
Whispers.
Echoes.
Fragments.
---
«"You promised…"
"You left…"
"Come back…"
"Don't open it…"»
---
Karan screamed.
Covering his ears.
But it didn't stop.
---
Because the voices weren't outside.
---
They were inside his head.
---
And one voice—
Louder than the rest—
---
Was his own.
---
«"I'll come back."»
---
Karan's eyes widened.
---
Because he remembered saying it.
---
Just once.
---
Long ago.
---
Right before—
---
He let it go.