Darkness.
Endless.
Silent.
Arjun stood still, his breath echoing in the emptiness around him.
There was no hospital.
No walls.
No sound.
Just a void… stretching infinitely in every direction.
"Where… am I?" he whispered.
His voice didn't travel far.
It felt like the darkness itself swallowed it.
Then—
A faint movement.
Right in front of him.
Arjun's eyes slowly adjusted.
And there it was.
His shadow.
Standing… separately.
Not on the ground.
Not attached to him.
But facing him.
Alive.
Arjun stepped back instinctively.
"This… this isn't possible," he said.
But the shadow didn't disappear.
Instead, it took a step forward.
Mirroring him… but not copying.
Acting on its own.
"Arjun…"
The voice echoed softly.
Low.
Deep.
Unfamiliar.
Arjun froze.
"Who… said that?"
The shadow moved again.
Closer this time.
"I did."
Arjun's heart pounded violently.
"You… can talk?" he whispered.
The shadow tilted its head slightly.
Just like a human would.
"I always could," it replied.
"You just couldn't hear me."
Arjun's mind raced.
"What is this place?" he demanded.
"Why am I here?"
The shadow paused for a moment.
Then it spoke—
"This is where all shadows are born."
Arjun's breath caught.
"The world beneath your world."
A faint red glow flickered in the distance.
Arjun turned.
Far away… something moved.
Something massive.
Watching.
Waiting.
"The crimson one?" Arjun asked quietly.
The shadow didn't deny it.
"It exists here… and there," it said.
"It feeds on fear… on endings… on broken bonds."
Arjun clenched his fists.
"And Aanya?" he asked.
The shadow's form shifted slightly.
"She was chosen first."
A chill ran through him.
"Chosen… for what?"
The shadow stepped even closer.
Now just inches away.
"To become a vessel."
Arjun shook his head.
"No… I won't let that happen."
The shadow didn't react.
Instead, it spoke calmly—
"You already did."
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
"If you hadn't come back…" the shadow continued,
"it would have taken her completely."
Arjun's chest tightened.
"But you returned."
"And now…"
The shadow raised its hand.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
"It wants you too."
Suddenly—
The darkness around them shifted.
The ground beneath Arjun cracked.
A deep, terrifying sound echoed from far away.
The red glow grew stronger.
Closer.
Arjun stepped back.
"What is happening?" he asked.
The shadow looked toward the growing red light.
"It found you."
From the distance—
A massive crimson form began to emerge.
Its shape unclear.
Its presence overwhelming.
Its eyes—
Burning red.
Arjun's legs felt weak.
He couldn't move.
Couldn't breathe.
"It's too late to run," the shadow said quietly.
Arjun looked at it.
"Then what do I do?"
The shadow turned back to him.
For the first time…
Its form became clearer.
Almost human.
Almost like him.
"You choose," it said.
"Become its shadow…"
A pause.
The red glow intensified.
The creature moved closer.
Faster.
"Or fight… and lose everything."
Arjun's heart pounded.
His mind screamed.
His body refused to move.
Behind
"Or fight… and lose everything."
Arjun's heart pounded.
His mind screamed.
His body refused to move.