THE SHADOW THROUGH THE DOOR

As Ella stepped through the door, a sensation unlike anything she had ever felt washed over her —like stepping through the surface of still fire yet there was no hotness, no resistance. The moment she crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut behind her with a hollow boom.
Of course it did, plunging everything into darkness.

In small dots, like fireflies burning through the darkness, green light flickered to life, revealing an expansive vast space. The air was thick, ancient, as if it hadn't been disturbed for centuries. The strange symbols covered the walls, the same ones she had been seeing all over the forest. Her fingers curled tightly around the compass as it vibrated slightly before going completely still, signalling it had reached the end of its journey.

The space around her wasn’t quite a room, but it wasn’t the forest either. It was... nothing. A vast, dim expanse where the ground felt solid yet looked like a swirling void beneath her feet. As she moved forward walls formed around her with the symbols. At the center stood a figure.

It was tall and shadowed. She recognized it instantly. The same silhouette that had haunted her in the forest. The one that had lingered at the edge of her vision, whispering, pulling her forward.

Now, there was no mistaking it. It was here, in front of her.

"You made it," the figure spoke.

Its voice deep and smooth, almost human—almost.

A chill ran down her spine, sweat started to form on her forehead but she forced herself to stand her ground, tightening her grip on the journal.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

The figure took a slow step forward. As it moved, light followed his body illuminating the edges of its form. It wore a tattered coat, its edges unravelled as if it was torn apart by wild animals. Its face—if it had one—remained obscured, shifting like ripples on water, never settling, never revealing.

"You already know," it said.

The familiarity in its voice was evident. Not in the way her grandfather’s had been, but in a way that scratched at her memories, just beyond reach.

"You're the one who's been following me," Ella said, her voice steadier than she felt.

"I have been watching, yes," the figure corrected. "Just as I watched him."

“You mean Tom.”

The figure nodded.

"He came through this door?" Ella continued, taking a hesitant step forward. "What happened to him? Where is he now?"

The shadow figure lifted a hand and, in response, the journal in Ella’s grip burned hot. The ink inside twisted violently and rearranged itself at an unnatural speed, forming new words.

"He was given a task."

[Vision Sequence Begins]

Ella’s eyes widened and the walls around her shimmered and suddenly the space was no longer empty. A vision unfurled before her eyes and she was taken back to the past, all those years ago. She could see Tom clearly standing in this very space. He was speaking to the shadow figure. He still looked younger but more exhausted, as if he had spent days searching for something only to find himself trapped in this moment.

"I don’t understand. Why me?" Tom asked.

"Because you were chosen," the shadow answered.

Tom looked down at his own journal, its pages filled with frantic notes. His knuckles looked pale. His gaze shifted to the darkness around him then to the symbols on the walls.

"And if I refuse?"

The figure’s shadow form shifted slightly. "Then you will never leave this place."

[Vision Sequence Ends]

The vision dissolved like mist and Ella found herself back in the present, gasping for air.

“Doesn’t anyone ask before sending a girl weird visions anymore?” she muttered, trying to steady her breathing.

The figure remined motionless. Watching.

“So what you’re saying is…” she exhaled slowly, her thoughts racing. “Tom was sent on a mission. By you.”

The figure nodded. “He had a choice. Just as you do now.”

The figure stepped aside, and for the first time, Ella saw what stood behind him.

Another door.

Not wooden like the one she had just walked through. This one was massive, made of ancient stone covered in the same twisting symbols.

At its center, embedded deep within the rock was a handprint.

She thought back to the vision she had seen in the Whispering Grove—Tom, arguing someone, desperate and afraid. The more she thought about it the more it did not make any sense. If this was all about making a choice, then why would Tom warn her to not speak to this shadow figure. Why had he said that the shadow figure had taken him? She had to know.

“What choice?” she demanded. “What task did you give him?”

Shadows around them shifted, flickering like dying embers.

“Choose.”

Ella took a deep breath. This was it. the moment of truth, where everything converged. The mystery—the puzzle—the thing she had been chasing since the beginning… it all led here.

What will Ella choose? And what will it mean for her?