The clock was almost four a.m. when Nathan found himself standing in front of the building. His phone vibrated twice in his hand, signaling the confirmation: a message. His stomach turned, as it always did before something happened, but this time, it was different.
The air around him had a certain heaviness, like it had been waiting, like it had known this moment was coming.
He stared at the building, the tall structure looming in the fog. Everything about it felt wrong, like it didn't belong there, like it had been stitched into the skyline in the dead of night. Nathan wasn't one to believe in superstitions or oddities, but something about this place gnawed at him. There were no lights on, not a single sound. Just the empty hum of the city far behind him.
The message had come from an unknown number. It had been clear in its instructions: Come alone, be here by 3:45 a.m. or face the consequences. Nathan's eyes flicked to the time on his phone. It's now or never. His chest tightened.
It had started with an invitation, disguised as an offer from an old friend. That should've been his first clue, but Nathan had been desperate. His life had been in a constant downspin. Lost his job. His car had broken down. His bank account was perpetually empty. A few weeks ago, he couldn't even remember the last time he'd laughed.
The offer was simple. A "test" of loyalty. No real details at first—just the promise that if he passed, he'd be given what he wanted most. So Nathan, foolish and weary, agreed to whatever it was. How could he turn down an opportunity, especially one that promised to end his suffering?
He didn't know why he expected a grand entrance, or why he thought someone would greet him. There was no one. Just silence. The door in front of him had a single rusty doorknob, like a forgotten relic of another time. His breath caught in his throat, but he reached out. He twisted the knob, the rusty squeal echoing through the void as the door creaked open.
Inside was a small room. The walls were coated in peeling white paint, the floor a cracked concrete mess. There were no windows. No furniture. Just an empty chair sitting alone in the center. And the faint smell of something metallic, like copper. His heart rate quickened as he stepped inside.
Before he could react, the door slammed shut behind him. His pulse raced, his hands cold and trembling. What the hell is this?
A voice suddenly filled the room, echoing from nowhere. The words didn't come from a speaker, but from something inside the walls, like they were etched in the air itself.
"You've been selected for a test. A loyalty test."
Nathan didn't know what to say. The words seemed meaningless, but the room, the silence, made it feel like they mattered.
"A simple task," the voice continued, "A simple choice. And with it, you will gain the reward you deserve. But fail... and you will lose more than you know."
A rustling sound came from the corner. Nathan's eyes darted in the direction of it, but saw nothing. Then the voice came again, this time colder.
"Answer truthfully, Nathan. Tell us what you desire most, and we will make it yours. Your reward. Your life's worth."
Desire. Nathan had been through a lot, but nothing had ever tested him like this. He had no idea what he was meant to say. No clue what the right answer was, if there was one. He clenched his fists, trying to force out the words.
"I—I just want... I want my life back. I want a chance to fix things."
There was a pause, a long, drawn-out moment that stretched on like a sickening eternity. Then the voice returned, more mocking now, as if it had been expecting something else.
"Your loyalty is in question. Prove it. Prove you're worthy."
Before he could react, something strange happened. The room seemed to close in around him. The air, thick and oppressive, made it hard to breathe. The temperature dropped, chilling his bones, and his vision blurred. He staggered back. The chair in the center of the room creaked, shifting by itself.
Something shifted behind him. The air felt strange. The walls are watching me.
Suddenly, Nathan heard it. A whisper of a sound, almost like a breath. No, not a breath—a voice, but not from any living thing. It was something else. A presence. A presence that had no name, no shape.
His legs trembled, but he forced himself to stand tall, unwilling to show fear. But deep inside, his insides twisted. He wanted to run. It's not too late. You can leave.
The door behind him slammed open again. A cold gust of wind rushed into the room, sending a chill up his spine.
And then... the figure appeared.
At first, it was just a shape in the darkness. A silhouette. But as it moved forward, it became more. It was a person, standing just beyond the threshold of the room. The figure was tall, their face hidden under a hood, but their body seemed oddly familiar.
Nathan squinted, his breath shallow. His throat felt tight. There was something unsettling about the figure's posture, about the way it moved toward him—like it was both a person and not a person at all.
As it drew closer, Nathan's heart skipped a beat. The shape became clearer, and Nathan realized with horror that the person in front of him was... him. A perfect copy, right down to the tiniest detail. The same messy hair. The same unshaven face. The same clothes.
But there was something wrong. The figure was not him, but it was. A reflection. A nightmare.
The figure smiled, or what might have been a smile, its lips stretching unnaturally wide.
"Your loyalty will be tested. Do you trust yourself?" the figure whispered.
Nathan stumbled back. His legs gave out, sending him crashing to the floor. This couldn't be happening.
"You... you're not me," Nathan gasped, his voice shaky.
The figure tilted its head. "Are you sure?"
A horrible feeling washed over Nathan, like he was suffocating. This couldn't be real. This wasn't real. He had to escape, he had to—
The figure moved forward, and with every step, Nathan could feel the walls closing in. The room seemed to stretch and warp around him, as if everything he had known had become a lie.
"No. No, this is a test. This is just a test."
"You think so?" the figure whispered again, its voice no longer just a voice. It was inside his head now, a part of him, a memory, a lie, all swirling together. The words echoed over and over.
Nathan's vision blurred again, but this time, it didn't stop. The world around him dissolved, the figure of his own reflection closing in on him.
It was too much. Too much to understand. He reached for the door, desperate, but something held him back. A cold, invisible force.
"Tell us who you are. Tell us what you've become. And if you can prove your loyalty..." The figure's voice dropped into an icy growl. "You will no longer be Nathan."
Nathan screamed, but the sound was drowned out by the crushing, suffocating silence.
And in that moment, everything changed.
His reflection didn't vanish. It consumed him. His body twisted, reshaped, and merged with the figure. He felt himself slipping away, losing control, losing himself. His identity shattered.
When it was over, the room was still empty.
There was no sign of Nathan.
Only the figure remained.