A surge of intense pain gripped my head. The pain was so searing that it made me stumble and falter in my step. Instinctively, I pressed my hands against my temples, hoping for relief from the relentless ache.

{Crack…Crack…}

Even with this enormous pain, a sharp cracking sound rang in my ears. My vision started to become blurred. Despite that, I struggled to gaze upward and search for the source of the cracking sound.

I scanned the room frantically until my gaze landed on Paxon's hand. That thing was fracturing right before my eyes. A sense of foreboding gripped me as I realized that whatever was happening wasn't a good thing.

{Crack}

I reacted quickly, reached out, and clasped Paxon’s other hand and told him, “Paxon, throw it out of your hand. It’s breaking. Paxo... Urgh.”

As the pain in my head intensified, a low groan escaped my lips, and I shut my eyes momentarily, seeking reprieve before turning my gaze back to Paxon. A shiver coursed down my spine as I met his eyes. I involuntarily released his hand and retreated a few steps.

Paxon stayed motionless, yet his unsettling stare was fixed on me, and his lips curled into a chilling smile. Struggling to find my voice, I managed to utter in a trembling tone,

"I... I... I need to call someone."

With a trembling breath, I took a hesitant step to run. The throbbing pain in my head and Paxon’s behavior urged me to flee. Yet, before my foot could touch the ground, Paxon held my hand and tightened his grip around it.

“No,” he said it firmly.

It's the same familiar voice I hear every day, but now it instills fear deep within me. Paxon's grasp was unyielding, making it impossible for me to break free. I said to him in a trembling voice, “Paxon, let me call….”

“No,” he interrupted me again.

“Paxo..."

"Nooo," Paxon's voice rose in a sudden outburst. As his grip tightened, the pain surged to an unbearable intensity, making it difficult for me to breathe properly, and I started to feel dizzy.

Struggling to draw my breath, I was on the brink of losing consciousness. However, the door suddenly burst open, and a figure pulled me away from Paxon's hold. As I looked up in a haze, the pain began to subside, and my breathing gradually steadied. It was my mom, her eyes wide with fear as she looked at me. At that moment, I felt relieved at the sight of her.

Paxon's mother also immediately came after Mom and asked, “Paxon, why are you…?” but she stopped mid-sentence. Her voice turned from confusion to anger as she asked, 

“Why do you have that, Paxon?”

My gaze shifted to Paxon’s mother, her brow furrowed and her eyes fixed on Paxon. When I turned back to Paxon, I was taken aback to find him staring at his own hand with a mix of confusion and disbelief.

He looked at his mother and said, "I... I don't know," Paxon stammered and uncertainty was written all over his face. He continued, 

"I had no idea why this was in my hand."

However, despite his genuine answer, Paxon's mother's expression hardened as she scolded him, "How could you take it without our permission?" Her tone was laced with a mixture of anger and disappointment.

I could tell fear and confusion were swirling within him. In a moment of desperation, he turned to me. His eyes welled up with the threat of tears that he would cry at any moment. Then he turned to his mother and said,

“Bian told me to bring it.”

Stunned by the sudden accusation, I became completely speechless. Before I could form a response, my mom interjected sharply, "Is that true?"

Mom's voice cut through the tense atmosphere as she directed a pointed question at me. My eyes widened in disbelief as I locked gazes with my mom.

{Crack}

“Of course not, Mom.” An unexpected question and that ‘crack’ sound created a knot of unease in the pit of my stomach. Caught in a web of confusion, I attempted to clarify further. However, before I could say anything, Paxon interrupted.

“She is lying. She was looking at it last time.” 

Frowning at Paxon, I tried to explain, "I was only looking..." 

"Bian." but my words were drowned out by the chilling sound of my mom's voice cutting through the room.

As my mom turned to Paxon’s mother and offered an apology, she ushered Paxon out of the room. Though I sensed Paxon’s gaze lingering on me briefly, my attention remained fixed on my mom. Just as she was about to leave, I questioned her,

"Why didn't you let me explain, Mom?"

However, my inquiry was met with a cold stare and a terse response: "That wasn't necessary...... anymore." With that, she departed without a second glance, leaving me alone in the room. I looked at the place where she had stood moments before. I was bewildered by the way Mom behaved and looked at me; it reminded me of Dad.

Abruptly, the throbbing ache in my head returned. It was more overwhelming than it had been moments ago. My senses became hazy in an instant. I clutched my head in agony as the world spun around me, yet it made me collapse to the ground. Just before slipping into unconsciousness, I heard another sound.

{Snap}

As I blinked my eyes open, the room was already dark. I attempted to rise from my bed but only realized I was actually lying on the ground. It's funny that no one came into my room until now. I looked around the room and said,

“It might be midnight.”

I got up from the ground and took a step forward to find a light switch. However, after taking a few steps, a sense of unease crept over me because my room wasn't big enough for me to keep walking for a considerable time without touching anything.

A troubling realization pierced through my confusion, "where was my room's window?" No matter how dark it was or how my window was covered with curtains, there should have been a faint glimmer of outside light filtering in. I stood rooted to the spot. Grappling with the unsettling absence of even a sliver of light left me paralyzed by a mixture of confusion and fear.

“Mom… Mom… Vivi… Zain… please open the door?” I called out, hoping someone would respond and open the door. But only silence answered me. Fear now overshadowed my confusion, even though I summoned my courage and took another hesitant step forward.

As I moved, my outstretched hand collided with something. All of the negative emotions vanished when I realized I had been in a half-asleep state this whole time. That's why I couldn't find anything and was wandering aimlessly in circles.

Gathering my resolve, I reached for the doorknob and pushed the door. As the door opened slightly, the place brightened a little, but my eyes widened in shock at the unexpected sight that awaited me on the other side of the door.

Stumbling back in disbelief, I turned and started running to get away from this. But panic gripped me when I realized that this was not my room at all. I scanned my surroundings, and other than the eerie presence and the door, I couldn't sense or see anything.

I kept running, my mind clouded with fear. I can't even remember how long or in which direction I ran. Yet, every path brings me back to one place: in front of this giant door.

{Clatter…Clatter…}

In this silent place, the only sound I could hear was the clash of chains. It drew my attention towards the door.

"Don't look... don't look... I won't look, I don't want to look.....sniff." I continuously repeated it to myself, each of my words resonating with the harsh clashing of chains that filled this space.

As I fought against those urges that told me to turn my gaze towards the door, a sudden rustle echoed in this place. I clenched my eyes shut and covered my ears with trembling hands. 

However, now those sounds have been ringing in my mind, leaving me in a state of despair. I couldn't bear it anymore and finally looked at the other side of the door.

On the other side, a dark shadow enveloped everything, and the darkness was deeper than anything I had ever seen. The light that brightened the space around me failed to illuminate even a fraction of the obscurity that veiled that area. 

And the eerie presence on my side could not even compare to the overwhelming aura emanating from the other side. Every fiber of my being screamed and warned me not to cross the door. Yet there was one person.

That person is a bit older than me. Their expression was heavy with sorrow and they were shackled by chains. As our eyes locked, tears flowed down their cheeks, landing on a flower in their hands.

As I observed this scene, I instinctively touched my own face and felt the tears streaming down my cheeks, too. This encounter left me devastated. My heart was weighed down by a sense of despair. I still couldn't believe the surreal sight before my eyes.

[Creak: Eeeeeek]

As if the door's purpose was finished when it gradually began to close, inch by inch until it sealed shut completely. The figure's mournful gaze remained fixed on me, tears flowing until the very last moment.

With the door now closed, I saw my reflection on its surface. What had appeared as a portal moments before now acted as a mirror and showed me a reflection of myself on the other side of the door—a person identical to me.