Aiden walked for what felt like hours, his legs growing heavier with each step. The forest thinned out, giving way to a strange, shimmering landscape. In the distance, he saw it—a city, gleaming under the purple sky like a jewel in the heart of this strange land.
It was beautiful, but there was something unsettling about it. As he approached, Aiden realized why.
The entire city was made of glass.
Towering spires, arches, streets—everything was clear and fragile, reflecting the strange light in a thousand fractured colors. He stepped onto the glass road, the sound of his footsteps echoing unnaturally in the stillness.
The city was empty.
No people, no animals, no sign of life. Just a ghostly, beautiful silence.
Aiden wandered the streets, feeling the weight of loneliness pressing in on him. The reflections in the glass seemed to move on their own, shifting and twisting as though the city itself was alive. As he passed by a towering glass statue, he caught a glimpse of something in its surface—his own reflection, but... different.
The version of himself in the glass stared back, eyes filled with sorrow and longing. Aiden blinked, stepping closer to the statue. His reflection raised its hand as if to touch the glass, but Aiden hadn't moved.
"What...?" Aiden whispered, his breath fogging the surface.
The reflection's lips moved, and though no sound came, Aiden heard the words in his mind.
You are not meant to leave. Not yet.
Aiden stumbled back, heart racing. The city whispered to him in a voice he couldn't escape, its secrets buried in every reflection, every shard of glass.
But somewhere, in this shimmering maze, there was a clue—a way out.
And Aiden was determined to find it.