CHAPTER 7, The evening sky had already begun to darken by the time Jay reached home.
A faint orange glow lingered at the horizon, slowly fading into deep blue. The streetlights flickered on one by one, casting long shadows across the quiet road.
Jay walked the last few steps to his house in silence.
His mind wasn't calm.
That one word—
"Soon…"
It kept echoing inside him.
He had heard it clearly.
Not imagined it.
Not dreamed it.
Something inside him had spoken.
And that realization made his chest feel heavy.
Jay pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
He placed his bag near the table and walked toward his room without saying a word.
The moment he entered, he closed the door behind him and leaned against it.
For a few seconds, he just stood there.
Breathing slowly.
Thinking.
Then he walked to the mirror.
His reflection stared back at him.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Nothing different.
Jay stepped closer.
His gaze locked onto his own eyes.
"Red…" he whispered.
He waited.
Nothing happened.
No glow.
No change.
Just his normal dark eyes staring back at him.
Jay clenched his jaw slightly.
"What are you…?"
There was no answer.
Only silence.
He looked away and sat down on the bed.
The room felt heavier than usual.
As if something invisible was present.
Watching.
Waiting.
Jay lay back slowly, staring at the ceiling again.
The crack in the corner seemed more noticeable now.
His thoughts began to drift.
The classroom.
The fight he couldn't remember.
Aisha's words.
"You were calm… too calm."
The boys' warning.
"There was something wrong with you."
And then—
The shadow.
That endless dark space.
That silent figure.
And finally—
That voice.
"Soon…"
Jay closed his eyes.
"Stop thinking about it," he muttered to himself.
But his mind refused to listen.
Slowly…
Without realizing…
He drifted into sleep.
—
Darkness.
Endless.
Cold.
Jay opened his eyes.
He was standing there again.
The same place.
No walls.
No ground.
No sky.
Just emptiness stretching forever.
This time—
He wasn't surprised.
His breathing remained steady.
His eyes slowly scanned the darkness.
"I know you're here," he said quietly.
Silence.
But he could feel it.
That presence.
Watching him.
Waiting.
Jay took a step forward.
Then another.
Each step echoed strangely, even though there was no floor.
"Show yourself."
His voice was calm.
Firm.
A few seconds passed.
Then—
A shape began to form in the darkness ahead.
At first, it was just a blur.
A distortion in the void.
But slowly—
It became clearer.
The shadow.
Tall.
Still.
Its form shifting slightly, like smoke trapped in human shape.
Jay stopped a few feet away from it.
This time—
He didn't feel fear.
Only curiosity.
"You spoke earlier," Jay said.
No response.
"You said 'soon'."
The shadow didn't move.
Jay's eyes narrowed slightly.
"What does that mean?"
Silence.
Again.
Jay clenched his fist.
"Why won't you answer?"
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
Then—
The air around them changed.
The darkness seemed to tighten.
Like pressure building in the void.
And slowly…
Very slowly…
The shadow lifted its head.
Jay felt it.
Even though he still couldn't see its face clearly.
It was looking directly at him.
For the first time—
A voice came.
Low.
Deep.
Not loud.
But it echoed everywhere at once.
"You are not ready."
Jay's heartbeat quickened slightly.
"…Ready for what?"
A pause.
Then—
"For truth."
The word sent a strange chill through Jay's body.
"What truth?" he asked.
No answer.
The shadow took a step forward.
Or maybe it didn't move at all.
It was hard to tell.
But suddenly—
It felt closer.
Much closer.
Jay didn't step back.
He stood his ground.
"If you're part of me," he said, "then stop hiding things."
The shadow tilted its head slightly.
"Part of you…?"
The voice sounded almost amused.
"Wrong."
Jay's eyes widened slightly.
"Then what are you?"
Silence again.
But this time it didn't last long.
"You will understand."
"When the seal breaks."
Jay's breath caught.
"Seal?"
The moment he said the word—
A sharp pain exploded inside his head.
"Ah—!"
He grabbed his head and dropped to one knee.
The darkness around him began to shake violently.
Fragments of something flashed before his eyes.
Broken images.
A battlefield.
Fire.
Screams.
A pair of glowing red eyes—
Not his.
Something else.
Something far more terrifying.
Jay's breathing became uneven.
"What… is this…?"
The shadow stood still, watching.
"The past you forgot."
Its voice echoed again.
Jay tried to look up—
But the pain intensified.
It felt like his mind was being torn apart.
"Stop—!"
Suddenly—
Everything shattered.
—
Jay's eyes snapped open.
He gasped for air.
His entire body was covered in sweat.
The room was dark.
Only the faint light from outside entered through the window.
Jay sat up quickly, holding his head.
His heart was racing.
"That… wasn't a dream…"
He could still feel it.
The pain.
The fear.
Those images.
Jay looked around his room.
Everything was normal.
But something inside him wasn't.
He slowly stood up and walked toward the mirror again.
This time—
When he looked into his reflection—
He froze.
For a split second—
His eyes flickered.
A faint red glow appeared…
Then disappeared.
Jay stepped back slightly.
His breathing slowed.
"…It's real."
He looked at his hand.
Clenched it.
Unclenched it.
"That thing…"
"It's inside me."
Outside—
The wind suddenly picked up.
The trees swayed violently.
The night felt heavier.
As if something had awakened.
And deep inside Jay's mind—
In that endless dark space—
The shadow stood silently.
But this time—
A faint red glow appeared within it.
Growing stronger.
Waiting.
—
Because the "seal"…
Had already begun to crack. 🔥👁️