Aryan slowly turned back.
The door… was gone.
In its place—
A wall.
Solid.
Unbroken.
"No… no, no…" he muttered.
His breathing became rapid.
"This isn't real."
The voice on the phone spoke again.
Calm.
Cold.
"You said the same thing."
Aryan's mind snapped.
"What is happening to me?!"
"You're not outside," the voice replied.
"You're between."
"Between what?"
A pause.
Then—
"Before… and after."
Aryan looked around.
The corridor stretched endlessly now.
No exits.
No doors.
No light at the end.
Just darkness.
And silence.
"You opened the door," the voice continued.
"And now… it knows you."