The city's skyline shimmered in the distance as Li An drove through the night. Her car hummed softly, but inside, her mind was a storm of questions, none of them with easy answers. The map that Chen Wei had handed her seemed like a fragment of a dream, its cryptic symbols and strange drawings too unsettling to ignore. She couldn't help but feel that Zhang Xian's discovery had been far more than just a scholarly obsession. It had been a warning. And now, that warning was echoing in her mind with every passing second.
The headlights of her car illuminated the winding road ahead, but the world around her remained cloaked in shadow. The streetlights flickered as she passed, casting brief moments of illumination before returning the world to darkness. It was as if the very fabric of reality was slipping away, inch by inch.
She had no idea where the map would lead her. No idea what she might find at the end of it. But she couldn't turn back now. The pieces of this puzzle were slowly falling into place, and she could feel herself being drawn further into its depths. The mirror, Zhang Xian's obsession, the strange symbols, the warnings—everything pointed to one thing.
The rift.
The word seemed to pulse in her mind, like a warning bell that refused to quiet. Chen Wei had mentioned it briefly. "A doorway." A way to step beyond the world they knew. But to what end?
The road twisted and turned, growing narrower as she neared the outskirts of the city. The houses grew sparse, the streets emptier. It was a place that didn't belong to the modern world—a forgotten corner of the city where old buildings still stood, crumbling at the edges, as if time had left them behind. Li An's instincts told her she was getting closer to something. Something she couldn't see yet, but could feel in her bones.
The Abandoned House
Li An parked her car at the foot of a long, overgrown driveway. A rusted gate stood ajar at the end of it, and beyond that, a dilapidated house loomed in the darkness. The windows were boarded up, the paint peeling from the sides of the structure. The place looked like it hadn't been touched in years, but there was an undeniable presence to it—something that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
She grabbed the map from the passenger seat and scanned it one more time. The markings on the page seemed to align with the house in front of her. This was it. This was where the map had led her.
With a deep breath, Li An stepped out of the car and walked toward the gate. The night air was thick with the smell of damp earth and decay, but she pushed forward. The gravel crunched under her feet as she made her way up the driveway, her mind racing with questions. What had Zhang Xian found here? And why had he come to this forsaken place?
The gate creaked as she pushed it open, its rusted hinges protesting the movement. A chill ran through her as she entered the property, the weight of the unknown pressing heavily on her chest. There was something about this place, something that didn't feel right. It was as if the air itself had been thickened by centuries of secrets, trapped within these walls.
The house was silent, its eerie stillness broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves in the wind. Li An reached the front door and, after a moment's hesitation, twisted the handle. To her surprise, it opened easily, the heavy door groaning in protest as it swung inward.
Inside, the house was dark, but there was a faint glow coming from the far side of the room. Li An's eyes adjusted to the dim light, and she saw the source of the illumination—a single candle, flickering weakly on a table. It was the only thing in the room that seemed alive.
Her gaze traveled around the room, taking in the cracked wallpaper, the dust-covered furniture, the scattered papers on the floor. It was as if someone had been here recently, but the place had been abandoned for years. It didn't make sense.
Then she saw it.
In the center of the room, a large, ornate mirror stood against the wall. It was almost identical to the one Zhang Xian had described in his notes. The frame was gilded, but the gold had long since tarnished, leaving only traces of its former grandeur. The glass was clouded, obscured, but as Li An stepped closer, she felt the temperature in the room drop sharply.
The candlelight flickered wildly, casting strange shadows on the walls. And then, she saw it.
In the reflection of the mirror, a shadow moved.
Li An froze, her heart skipping a beat. The shadow in the mirror wasn't her own. It was tall, indistinct, with no clear form—only darkness. But there was something about it, something that made her stomach churn with unease. She took a tentative step forward, her breath catching in her throat.
"Who's there?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
The shadow shifted, its form elongating, stretching toward her. It was as if the mirror was breathing, exhaling the darkness into the room. Li An's hand hovered near the mirror's surface, and with a sudden surge of fear, she pulled her hand away. She couldn't explain it, but she knew—this was no ordinary reflection. It was a doorway.
A doorway to something far darker than anything she had imagined.
The First Encounter
Li An stumbled back, her heart racing. She turned to leave, but the door—the door she had entered through—was gone. The room was now a maze of shadows and distorted shapes, twisting around her. The only thing that remained steady was the mirror, still reflecting that same shadowy figure.
She reached for her phone, but the screen was cracked. The signal had gone dead.
A cold voice echoed through the room. "You shouldn't have come."
Li An whirled around, her eyes wild with panic, but there was no one there. Only the shadows. The voice seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at once.
She backed toward the mirror, her mind racing. The shadow in the reflection was growing larger, its edges beginning to sharpen, its form becoming more distinct. And then, just as it seemed to reach out for her, she heard another sound.
The front door, creaking open.