Night. Not far from a village, about a hundred meters away, stood a lone house. Both the house and the village were nestled within a dense forest. In this house lived our protagonist, a fifteen-year-old boy named Michael. However, something seemed off—as he slept, sweat covered his face, and his expression was one of fear, as if haunted by something terrifying.
Suddenly, he jolted awake, sitting up abruptly.
"Huff! Huff! Huuuuff! That nightmare again..."Â Michael panted. "Why do I keep having the same nightmare every night? When will this finally end?"
It seemed like nothing unusual was happening, just another restless night. However, directly across from his bed stood a wardrobe, and beside it hung a mirror. As soon as Michael finished speaking, his reflection in the mirror changed. It no longer mirrored his fear—it looked calm, almost sinister, as if it had never experienced a nightmare at all. In fact, it no longer looked like a reflection of Michael, but like an entirely different person. The reflection's eyes glowed bright red—like the eyes of a demon—and it stared at him with a merciless, piercing gaze.
Michael immediately felt the intensity of this malevolent stare and turned towards its source, but all he saw was his usual reflection, mimicking his every movement as it should.
"Was it just my imagination?"Â he wondered.
As soon as he spoke, he felt another chilling gaze—one filled with pure malice and madness. The unexpected sensation made him shudder slightly.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha..."Â A sinister laughter echoed through the room.
"Who are you? Where are you hiding!?"Â Michael demanded.
But the laughter only grew louder.
"You're such a weakling!"Â the voice sneered.
"Weakling? What do you mean by that?"Â Michael asked, but no response came.
"Answer me, please!"Â he pleaded.
Receiving no reply, Michael eventually calmed down and lay back on his bed, hoping to drift back into sleep.