The apartment was silent, save for the low hum of the refrigerator. Lin Xinyi dropped her bag onto the couch, her movements stiff, mechanical, as though every limb weighed double its usual weight.
The jacket Shen Liang had given her still clung to her shoulders. His warmth lingered faintly on the fabric, but it did nothing to calm the icy dread curling in her stomach. She peeled it off slowly, folding it neatly even though her hands trembled.
Her gaze flicked to her phone on the table. It lay face up, dark now, but she didn't trust it. The words still burned behind her eyes:
The mirror never lies. He is already closer than you think.
Xinyi pressed her palms over her face. "It's not real. It can't be real."
But hadn't she seen the reflection? Heard the voice? And that figure at the gate—
Her phone buzzed again.
She flinched violently, knocking over the glass of water she'd left from morning. The phone screen lit up with another notification. Her breath caught.
It wasn't from the unknown number this time.
[Shen Liang]: Did you get home safely?
Her lungs loosened. She snatched the phone up, replying quickly with shaky fingers.
[Xinyi]: Yes. Thanks for walking me. Don't worry.
Almost immediately, his reply came.
[Shen Liang]: I'll worry anyway. Sleep well, Xinyi. Dream of good things.
Her lips curved despite herself. Trust Shen Liang to say something so ordinary and gentle, grounding her when her world tilted.
But that night, sleep was the last thing she found.
When exhaustion finally dragged her under, her dreams were anything but ordinary.
---
The darkness stretched endlessly.
She stood barefoot on a ground that wasn't solid, like mist thick enough to hold weight. The air smelled faintly metallic, sharp, as though soaked in rain. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering, but no warmth came.
A mirror appeared before her. Not a small one, not framed or delicate. This one towered—massive, ancient, its frame carved with twisting runes she didn't recognize. The glass rippled like water.
Xinyi's heart hammered. She didn't want to look. She didn't want to see herself smiling again.
But the pull was irresistible.
Her reflection stared back. This time, it wasn't smiling. Its eyes were dark, endless pools, as though the glass itself had swallowed stars. Slowly, the reflection lifted a hand.
"Do not fight it," it whispered. The voice was hers, yet not hers. "He is bound to you. You are bound to him."
The words wrapped around her throat, constricting like chains.
"Who?" she choked.
The reflection's lips moved again, but the answer wasn't hers to hear. Instead, the surface of the mirror rippled violently, and a shadowed figure stepped into view.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. His features obscured, yet she could feel his gaze—piercing, burning, heavy like the weight of centuries.
Her pulse stumbled. Her knees weakened.
Something deep in her chest whispered his name. She didn't know it, and yet her soul seemed to remember, aching with familiarity.
The figure raised a hand toward the glass.
Xinyi's own body betrayed her, her fingers lifting as though drawn by an invisible thread. The cold surface kissed her skin—
And a shock shot through her veins, flooding her with fire.
She gasped, stumbling back. The mirror cracked, a jagged line splitting down the middle. From within, whispers poured out—low voices, hundreds of them, chanting in a language she didn't understand.
The ground beneath her shuddered.
The shadow's voice cut through the chaos, deep and commanding.
"You are mine."
The glass exploded.
---
Xinyi bolted upright in bed, her throat raw with a scream she hadn't realized she'd let out. Her sheets clung to her with cold sweat.
Her phone was buzzing on the nightstand. She snatched it up, heart pounding. The screen glowed with Shen Liang's name.
She answered breathlessly. "Shen—"
"Xinyi?" His voice was alarmed. "I heard you scream. I was passing by your building, and—"
She froze. Passing by? At this hour?
Before she could reply, a loud knock pounded at her door.
Her blood ran cold.
Shen Liang's voice continued faintly from the phone, muffled now, as though drowned by the sound of the knocking. "Xinyi? Open the door, it's me."
Her gaze darted between the door and the phone.
Both claimed to be him.
Which one was real?
---