It was 5:00 AM. The sun had not yet risen. Suddenly, a scream pierced the air.

  Aryan fell out of bed while trying to wake up. It was that same dream again. It felt as if this nightmare was hunting him—hands soaked in blood, strange lifeless bodies lying beneath his feet, and he was the one who had carved the mark of death upon them. The knife in his hand was still warm with fresh blood.

  "Aryan! Son, was it that dream again?"

  His aunt entered the room, pushing the door open. Deep worry was etched on her face. Ever since the horrific accident when Aryan was seven and nearly died, she had been the one shielding him. On the left side of Aryan’s chest, the old scar remained—a permanent memento of that day, a wound that never truly healed.

  Taking a ragged breath, Aryan said, "I’m fine, Aunt. It’s just... they don't feel like dreams. It feels as if I’ve truly entered an infinite void."

  His aunt remained silent. This happened almost every day, and no doctor had been able to offer a solution. She handed him a cup of tea. Aryan felt his aunt was hiding something, but he didn't dwell on it.

  She then handed him a letter from his sister. His sister was the heir to their family estate, despite being two years younger than him. Aryan knew he would never inherit the property because he was an adopted son. But why now? He hadn't spoken to his sister in fourteen years.

  He opened the letter. It read: “Brother, Mom and Dad are no more. They have passed away. I am also very ill. I am all alone in this massive house. I need you. Please come back.”

  His aunt understood the gravity of the situation. Aryan insisted he wouldn't leave his aunt and uncle; they had no children of their own and raised him as their son. But the situation felt ominous.

  Aryan needed to know the truth behind his sister’s illness and his parents' mysterious deaths. He decided to leave for her house the next day after college. He began packing his belongings, and the day passed in a blur. The next morning, he said his goodbyes and headed to college with his bags.

  Everyone at college was surprised to see him with luggage and made jokes. When he mentioned he was going to his sister's house, they were stunned; no one even knew he had a sister.

  He sat in class for a while, feeling unwell. During the break, he heard from friends that someone had gone missing the previous day. Everything felt strange to him, as if the fabric of reality was warping. His head throbbed with pain.

  He took leave from his teacher and left college to head to his sister’s house. As he rushed out, his sister’s words from the letter echoed in his mind. Suddenly, at a street corner, he collided forcefully with a girl.

  The impact sent his bag flying, and his diary fell out. The girl quickly bent down to pick it up. Aryan noticed she was wearing a stark white hoodie and a large skirt that covered half her body.

  As she handed the diary back, she looked at him with a steady, cold gaze. Her eyes were so deep and mysterious that Aryan felt his old chest wound tingle with pain again. She didn't say a word. Before Aryan could speak, she vanished into the crowd.

  Aryan felt an eerie sensation, as if the world around him had suddenly tilted. The girl’s silence left him with a strange unease. He gathered his things and continued walking, but he felt as though someone was watching him from the shadows.

  The sky had turned a copper hue, as if carrying an ill omen. He boarded a bus and sat by the window. His head was still spinning, and the thought of the letter weighed heavily on him.

  Looking at his reflection in the bus window, he saw dark circles under his eyes, looking as though he hadn't slept for days. Suddenly, he thought he saw someone in the reflection of the crowded bus watching him intently. He jolted and looked back, but there was no one. Only the roadside trees were rushing past.

  After getting off the bus, Aryan’s body felt even heavier. His surroundings were becoming a blur. The copper sky had deepened into a bloody crimson. He had a long walk ahead to reach the address his sister provided.

  By the time he reached the front gate, it felt as if he had arrived at a desolate, silent place far from the city. The noise of the crowd was long gone. The massive house stood alone in an infinite void, just like the one in his dreams.

  As his hand touched the door handle, Aryan’s body went cold. His old chest wound burned as if a wild wolf was tearing at his flesh. The walls began to sway, and the image of reality began to shatter once more.

  He felt the mysterious shadow he had seen in the window reflection now standing right behind him, breathing down his neck. Aryan’s vision blurred. Under the weight of childhood trauma and the current mystery, his brain gave up. He collapsed in front of the door.

  Aryan’s eyes snapped open. He was drenched in sweat, his heart pounding. He felt as if he had been sinking into that infinite void again. But this time, when he looked around, he saw no darkness or copper sky—instead, he was in a well-decorated room with soft light.

  "Brother? Are you awake?"

  Aryan startled at the voice. He saw a young woman sitting by his head, applying a wet towel to his forehead. Her face was very familiar. Aryan realized this was the sister he hadn't seen in fourteen years.

  "Are you... Nihira?" Aryan asked in a low voice.

  The girl smiled. "Yes, Brother. You fainted right in front of the door. I was so scared. You are still very weak."

  Aryan felt his old wound calm down a bit. As he tried to sit up, Nihira stopped him. "Don't get up yet. You’re exhausted. Since Mom and Dad died, this house has become so silent. Having you back means everything to me."

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  A thousand questions swirled in Aryan’s mind—the mysterious deaths, the girl in the white hoodie. But looking at Nihira’s tired eyes, he thought it best to stay quiet for now. However, looking at his diary in the corner of the room, his unease returned.

  Night deepened. The royal mansion blended with the outside darkness to create an eerie atmosphere. Though Aryan lay in bed, his ears were tuned to the balcony outside. Nihira had served him food and gone to her room, but Aryan felt as if the house itself was trying to speak to him.

  He stood up. The wound wasn't burning, but he felt a strange complexity within. Looking at the diary on the table, he remembered the cold gaze of the girl in the white hoodie.

  Aryan tiptoed out of the room. The corridor walls were lined with large oil paintings. His father’s portrait was there too, but their smiles seemed artificial to Aryan now. Suddenly, he noticed a door at the very end of the corridor slightly ajar, emitting a bluish light.

  That was his father’s old library on the second floor. The last time he saw his father, he had told him, "If doubt ever arises in your mind, go there; all the answers are there." Since then, he had never spoken to his parents again.

  Aryan remembered he was the adopted son. Was there a conflict over inheritance? Or were his parents keeping him away to protect him from some danger?

  He didn't know if Nihira was pretending to sleep, but he had to get to that locked library. While walking through the corridor, Nihira spotted him and asked why he was up. Aryan told her about going to the old library.

  But she wouldn't let him go. She told him to go back to sleep, citing his poor health. Aryan didn't argue further and returned to bed, but his curiosity only intensified.

  The next morning, Aryan packed his bag for college. However, his mind was still occupied by the library and Nihira’s interference.

  At college, the campus seemed draped in an unusual silence. In class, he heard a new transfer student was joining. At that moment, a young man named Raiyan entered. Raiyan’s face was pale, and there was a strange emptiness in his eyes. He sat directly next to Aryan.

  During the break, Raiyan suddenly said to Aryan, "I am just like you." Aryan was shocked. He realized Raiyan wasn't ordinary; he seemed to stand somewhere between life and death.

  Aryan didn't speak to him for the rest of the classes and left college immediately after without a word.

  Walking down the busy street, Aryan felt someone following him. Turning a corner, he saw the girl in the white hoodie standing there.

  Aryan stopped. He had so many questions. "Who are you?" he asked, his voice rising with agitation.

  "My name is Niha Valerius-Chronos," the girl said. "It's a long name, you can just call me Niha." Aryan replied, "My name is Aryan Nishat. You can call me Aryan."

  Niha stared into Aryan's eyes as if trying to read a secret deep within his soul. The street noise suddenly faded for Aryan.

  "Aryan," Niha said in a low but clear voice, "You might not be entirely human." Aryan asked in a terrified voice, "What do you mean?" Niha stepped toward the crowd and said, "Nothing, just... be careful."

  Before Aryan could stop her, she vanished into the crowd. Aryan stood there helplessly. "What do I need to be careful of?" the question echoed in his mind. What was happening? Where did this chest wound come from? He remembered nothing.

  Aryan stood frozen at the street corner. It felt as if the familiar city was just a veil hiding another world.

  Just then, a hand landed on his shoulder. He spun around to see the new student, Raiyan.

  Raiyan’s pale face was now grave. He looked into Aryan's eyes and said coldly, "Why are you standing in the middle of the street? You should be hiding right now."

  Aryan looked at him with bewilderment. Niha’s words about him being "incomplete" were still ringing in his ears. He asked Raiyan, "Hide? But why?" Raiyan replied, "Do you think disguising yourself as a student solves everything? It's a good method, but you shouldn't be wandering the streets like this." Aryan remained silent.

  Raiyan sighed and scanned the surroundings. In a low voice, he said, "Do you really not know what’s happening around you? To survive the danger that is coming, you must be much more alert. It won't take him long to find this place. And yet, you’re still dreaming in the middle of the street."

  None of this made sense to Aryan. Before he could ask more, Raiyan hurried away.

  Aryan decided to head home; it was getting late and his sister would be worried.

  Near the house gate, he saw Niha standing there. Surprised, he asked how she got there. Niha replied, "Reading your fate." Aryan was astonished. Seeing his state, Niha said, "You probably didn't like what I did. I won't read your fate again." Aryan replied, "I don't know what you can do. But don't harm me or my family."

  Niha said, "Do I look like a monster to you? Since you didn't like my work, I won't do it anymore. Besides, I know where you live now. If there's trouble, I'll come here."

  Aryan wasn't focused on that. He only asked, "Who are you?"

  Niha replied, "I am an Ethereal Primarch. I am the last and strongest of my kind. Where I live, everything is made of imagination and is perfect. That place exists beyond infinite dimensions, so I am above the flow of causality."

  Aryan said, "Don't talk nonsense." Niha continued, "What are you saying? I’m having trouble staying in the physical world. Can't you feel the glitches in reality? This happens when my power gets a bit out of control."

  Aryan thought to himself, "Actually, I can feel it." But he still refused to believe. He thought for a moment and said, "Why am I talking to you? I don't know you, and why would you talk to me?"

  Niha said, "I hadn't thought of that either. But when you look into the abyss, the abyss looks back at you."

  Aryan gave her a frustrated look. "What does that mean? Am I the abyss?" Niha replied, "Maybe. Or maybe you are something even more terrifying."

  Aryan said, "You are a complicated person." Niha replied, "A person? Well, we’ll see about that later. I'm going far away to gather information. I have to stop him. Though you all are in danger now. But there is a bigger danger that will turn the world into a nightmare. It seems you won't be able to defeat the one who is after you. Wait for my return and stay alive. Perhaps your sister, Nihira Nishat, saw us from the window."

  "How do you know her name?" Aryan asked, shocked. Niha said, "I remember everything about those I see. But you are very different—you can look into my true eyes and speak. Others would lose their souls if they did."

  Hearing this, Aryan got angry. "What are you talking about? Look at yourself, you're just an ordinary girl." Niha laughed and said, "That would have been nice, but alas. I'll see you later. Beware of the shadows. A piece of advice: know yourself."

  Aryan didn't know what to do. It all felt like a dream, but one that was falling apart. The thought of ending it all even crossed his mind.

  But the next moment he thought, "What will happen to Nihira if I'm not here? And what must she be thinking seeing me with that girl? I have to explain it to her."

  Aryan walked slowly through the front door. Nihira was sitting in the drawing-room, a look of grave doubt on her face. As soon as she saw Aryan, she stood up.

  "Who were you talking to outside, Brother?" Her voice had a sharp edge. "Who is that girl? She looks like someone very close to you."

  Aryan took a deep breath. He knew he had to face this. "That's Niha, someone from college. She came to give some notes," he said, crafting a lie. He didn't want to involve Nihira in this supernatural mess.

  Nihira stared into his eyes for a moment and sighed. "Your body hasn't fully recovered, and you're wandering around with people. Eat and get some rest."

  Nihira then introduced him to two servants. "They were on leave, but I brought them back to take care of you two. They are sisters—Maliha and Malisa."

  Aryan thought, "Were they brought to take care of me, or to stop me from going to that room?" Putting those thoughts aside, he ate, talked with Nihira, and went to bed.

  In his room, Aryan lay down. He wouldn't be going to the library tonight. It had been a mysterious and strange day. He tried to clear his mind and fall asleep.

  Little did he know what darkness was about to rise.