Elias sat at the edge of his bed, staring at the floor. His mind felt like a shattered mirror, each fragment reflecting a reality he could no longer trust. The whisper still echoed in his ears—soft, yet insistent.
Wake up.
Pushing himself up, he moved cautiously through his apartment. Every shadow felt too deep, every sound too sharp. The walls felt closer than before, the air heavier. He glanced at the clock.
7:42 AM.
Again.
A pulse of dread tightened his chest. Was he trapped in some kind of loop? His thoughts spiraled, and for the first time, he realized he couldn't remember the last time he had seen another person. Had he gone to work yesterday? Had he even left this apartment?
He grabbed his phone, scrolling through messages, emails—anything to anchor himself to a timeline. But everything looked the same. No new messages. No missed calls. It was as if the world outside had frozen. The timestamps remained unchanged, the news feed displaying stories he had already read.
His hands trembled as he dropped the phone onto the table. This wasn't just paranoia. Something was undeniably wrong.
A knock at the door shattered the silence.
Elias's heart nearly stopped. His breath hitched as he turned toward the sound. The knock came again—slow, deliberate, measured, as if whoever was on the other side knew he was hesitating.
For a long moment, he stood frozen, listening to the oppressive quiet that followed. Then, gathering every ounce of courage, he stepped forward. His pulse pounded in his ears. With each step toward the door, the air grew heavier, thick with an unseen pressure.
He reached for the handle.
The door swung open.
And the world fell away.
Elias felt himself being pulled into something vast, something endless. His vision blurred, the walls of his apartment stretching and distorting as if reality itself were being rewritten. He reached out, trying to grasp onto something solid, but there was nothing—only the sensation of falling, deeper and deeper into an abyss where time no longer held meaning.
Then, just as suddenly as it began, the sensation stopped.
Elias found himself standing in an unfamiliar space. The air was thick with mist, swirling lazily around his feet. Shadows stretched unnaturally in all directions, and distant murmurs whispered in the dark, voices speaking words just beyond his comprehension.
Ahead of him, a figure emerged from the fog. Its form was human, yet indistinct, as if reality had refused to fully shape it. Though he couldn't see its eyes, he felt its gaze settle upon him, heavy and knowing.
"Elias," the figure said, its voice both foreign and familiar.
A shiver ran down his spine. He tried to speak, but no words came out.
The figure took a step closer.
"It's time to wake up."