The darkness was infinite—an unbroken void that stretched far beyond reason. There were no doors, no paths, no light. No whispers of time or space. Just a suffocating stillness that clung to my skin like a second death. It was as if the world itself had exhaled and forgotten to breathe me back in.
I was trapped.
Not in a prison made of bars—but in something far crueler. A cage without walls. An abyss without exit.
And the cruelest part? This was supposed to be the end.
The war was over.
The blood had dried.
The future I had dreamt of—fought for—was finally within reach.
But instead, here I was.
Drowning in shadow.
Figures my luck would run out after everything.
Yet bad luck wasn't my biggest concern. Not anymore.
Because something stood before me.
Wearing my face.
It smiled—a wide, unnatural curve stretched across its lips, too calm, too pleased.
Its eyes shimmered like oil slick over tar, empty yet watching.
