John didn't scream.
He couldn't.
His body had locked itself between instinct and disbelief… trapped in a moment that refused to move forward.
The reflections were still there.Not fading.Not distorting.Multiplying.
Layer after layer—each version of him standing just a fraction behind the other… like time itself had fractured and stacked him across something unseen.
And all of them—Smiling...Not the same smile.
No.
That was the worst part...Some looked amused...Some looked… relieved.
And one—One looked hungry.
"Don't look at them."
Elias's voice cut through the silence like a blade.
Too late.
John couldn't tear his eyes away.
"They're not reflections anymore," Elias said, stepping back slowly, his voice lower now… controlled… but strained. "They're anchors."
"Anchors to what?" John whispered.
Elias didn't answer.
Because the glass—Moved.Not shattered.Not cracked.
Moved...Like liquid trying to remember how to be solid.
The reflections leaned forward—slightly out of sync with each other—and for a split second, John saw something impossible:
They weren't all looking at him.
Some of them—Were looking past him...At Elias.
Elias froze.
"…No."
One of the reflections raised its hand.Then another.
Then all of them—Mirroring the same motion… but not at the same time.
A ripple of intent...A signal.
"John," Elias said slowly, "we need to leave. Now."
"Leave?" John almost laughed—hollow, broken. "You think a door is going to—"
The lights flickered...Once...Twice...Then died...Darkness swallowed the room.
But the window—The window still glowed...Soft...Pale...Alive.
And in that glow…The reflections stepped forward.
Not out of the glass—But closer to it...Pressing against the barrier.Testing it.Learning it.
"Elias…" John's voice trembled. "They're coming through."
"I know."
"You knew this could happen?!"
"I knew something would answer the signal!" Elias snapped. "I didn't know it would recognize you!"
"That thing said it was waiting for him—not me!"
"Yes," Elias said quietly.
"And that's exactly the problem."
A sound.
Soft.
Wet.
Like fingertips dragging across the inside of glass.
John watched as one reflection's hand—Pressed through...Not fully.
Just enough for the surface to ripple outward.
Reality bending like skin under pressure.
"No…" John stepped back. "No, no—"
"Don't run."
John turned to Elias in disbelief. "Are you insane?!"
"If you run," Elias said, his eyes locked on the window, "they'll follow the version of you that panics."
"…What?"
"They're not copying you anymore, John. They're choosing."
The hand pushed further.
Fingers elongating slightly… distorting as they forced their way through something that wasn't meant to be crossed.
Then—A second hand appeared beside it.
From a different reflection...Then a third...The glass began to breathe.
In.Out.In.Out.
Each pulse bringing them closer.
"What do we do?" John whispered.
Elias reached into his coat slowly… carefully… and pulled out the metallic key-like object.
But now—It wasn't dim.It was glowing.Faint at first.
Then stronger.Responding.
"They came because of the signal," Elias said.
"Then destroy it!"
"I can't."
"WHY?!"
"Because it's not just a signal anymore…" Elias's grip tightened around the object. "It's a door."
The first reflection's hand broke through.
Fully...It didn't fall.Didn't struggle.
It simply—Rested on the surface of the floor...Solid...Real...Wrong.
John stumbled back, his breath catching in his throat.
"That's not me…"
"No," Elias said.
"It's not."
The hand twitched...Then pulled.
And slowly—Something began to emerge...But it wasn't the same reflection.Not exactly.
Its face was John's.
But the expression…Was empty...Hollow.
Like something wearing a memory instead of a soul.
Behind it—The others pressed harder...Faster now...More desperate...More certain.
"They're accelerating," Elias muttered.
"What does that mean?!"
"It means…" Elias swallowed.
"They've found the correct version."
The creature stepped halfway out.
One leg still inside the glass.
Its head tilted slightly as it looked at John—Not with curiosity...Not with malice.
But with recognition.
"You opened it," it said.
Its voice—Wasn't echoed...Wasn't distorted.
It was clear...Real...And completely… wrong.
John shook his head slowly. "No… I closed it… I threw it away…"
The thing smiled.
Not like the others.
This one—Understood.
"You closed a door," it said softly.
"But not the one that matters."
Elias stepped forward suddenly, raising the metallic object.
"Get back!"
The creature's eyes shifted to him.
And for the first time—It hesitated.
"…You."
Elias's jaw tightened
"Yeah," he said quietly.
"Me."
The room shook...Not violently...But deeply.
Like something far below had just turned its attention upward.
The creature's smile widened.
"Then it's true," it whispered.
Elias didn't respond.
John looked between them...Confused...Terrified.
"What is it talking about…?"
Elias exhaled slowly.
And when he spoke—His voice had changed...Colder...Heavier.
Like a truth he had been holding back for too long.
"It's not just you they were waiting for, John."
John's stomach dropped.
"…What do you mean?"
Elias looked at him.
Really looked at him.
For the first time since all of this began—There was no control in his expression...No calculation.
Just—Regret.
"They needed both of us."
The creature stepped fully out of the glass.
And behind it—The others—Were almost through.
The lights flickered back on...For a single second.
And in that moment!!
John saw something that made his blood freeze completely.
Not one...Not ten...Not a hundred...Thousands.
Stretching endlessly behind the glass.
Each one slightly different...Each one watching...Each one waiting for their turn.
Then darkness again...And the creature spoke one last time.
Right before the glass finally began to break.
"Now," it said.
"Let's begin properly."
...
" If they needed both of us… then which one of us was never meant to exist?"