The door creaked open with a soft groan, its hinges protesting the movement. Li An stepped forward, her heart pounding in her chest as though it was trying to escape her body. The light she had seen earlier flickered weakly in the room ahead, casting long, trembling shadows that danced across the floor like living things.
For a moment, she hesitated. She couldn't shake the feeling that this was the point of no return. The moment when everything would either make sense or break apart forever. She had come too far to turn back now, but at the same time, there was a gnawing fear deep in her gut that told her the truth waiting on the other side might be too much to bear.
But she didn't have a choice. She had to keep going. She had to find the truth.
She pushed the door open further, and the light in the room grew brighter, cutting through the oppressive darkness like a blade. It illuminated a small, sparse room, the air heavy with the scent of old wood and dust. The walls were lined with mirrors—dozens of them, reflecting back countless versions of herself, each one slightly different, each one more distorted than the last.
Li An swallowed hard, stepping into the room. Her eyes darted nervously from one mirror to another, searching for any sign of movement, any clue that would tell her where Zhang Xian was. The reflection of the room in each mirror seemed to shift, like the glass itself was alive, each reflection slightly out of sync with the reality in front of her.
And then, she saw it.
In the largest mirror, at the far end of the room, there was a figure standing—tall, dark, and motionless. For a moment, she thought it was just another reflection, another illusion, but then she saw the eyes—dark, empty, yet unmistakable.
It was Zhang Xian.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she took a step forward, drawn to the figure like a moth to a flame. But as she moved, the figure in the mirror did not respond. It remained frozen, staring at her with those hollow eyes, as if it were waiting for her to do something.
She reached out, her hand trembling as she approached the mirror. The glass was cool to the touch, smooth and solid, yet it felt… wrong. As though it didn't belong in this world, as though it were some kind of barrier between her and the truth she sought.
Is this real? she thought, her fingers tracing the surface of the mirror. Or is it just another illusion?
Her heart raced, a sharp pain shooting through her chest as she watched Zhang Xian's figure in the mirror. He remained motionless, never blinking, never moving. His face was expressionless, but there was something in his eyes—a sadness, a resignation—that twisted the knife in her heart.
This is it, she thought. This is the moment I've been waiting for.
But no matter how much she willed it to happen, no matter how hard she searched for a sign, there was no answer from the figure in the mirror. It didn't speak. It didn't move. It simply stood there, a silent witness to her torment.
She stepped back, her mind racing. What does this mean? What am I supposed to do now?
And then, as if in response to her confusion, a voice broke through the silence—soft at first, like a whisper, but growing louder with each passing second. The voice was distorted, as if coming from the depths of a tunnel, but there was no mistaking it. It was Zhang Xian's voice.
"You still don't understand, do you?"
Li An's heart skipped a beat. The voice was so clear now, so close, as if Zhang Xian were standing right beside her. Her breath caught in her throat, and she spun around, searching the room for him, but there was no one there. No figure, no presence. Just the flickering light and the endless mirrors, reflecting nothing but her own wide-eyed fear.
"You've been running from the truth all this time," the voice continued, growing colder, sharper. "But the truth isn't something you can escape from. It's inside you. It always has been."
Li An's legs wobbled, and she collapsed onto the floor, her mind reeling with the implications of his words. She wanted to deny it. She wanted to scream and push away the voice, but the words wrapped around her like chains, binding her to the ground.
"You did this, Li An. All of this. You brought us here."
The words echoed in the room, reverberating off the mirrors, growing louder, until they felt like they were coming from every direction, filling her head, drowning out all other thoughts. She clasped her hands over her ears, trying to block it out, but it was no use. The voice was inside her now, in her very soul, and she couldn't escape it.
"You're the reason he's lost. You're the reason this place exists."
Li An squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shut out the voice, trying to shut out the truth. But it wouldn't stop. It wouldn't leave her alone. The guilt, the responsibility—it was all her fault, wasn't it?
I've ruined everything.
The tears came suddenly, burning her cheeks as they fell. She sobbed quietly, her body shaking with the weight of everything she had done, everything she had failed to do. She had been so focused on finding Zhang Xian, so obsessed with uncovering the truth, that she had never stopped to consider the consequences of her actions.
She had dragged him into this. She had dragged them both into this nightmare.
"You can't save him, Li An," the voice whispered, now just a breath against her ear. "You can't save yourself."
The words sent a shiver down her spine, and for the first time, she felt completely, utterly alone. There was no way out of this. No redemption. No escape.
And yet…
Something in her resisted. Something deep inside her refused to give up. She wouldn't let this be the end. Not like this.
"I will save him," she whispered to the empty room. "I will save us both."
Her voice was a fragile thing, trembling with fear, but there was something else in it now. Something like defiance.
The mirrors around her seemed to shudder, the glass rippling as though it were alive. Li An rose to her feet, her legs unsteady but determined.
"I won't let this be the end," she said again, louder this time. "I will find the truth, and I will find him."
And with that, she stepped forward, toward the mirror—toward the truth, no matter what it cost.