Chapter 1: The Day My Shadow Moved
I always thought I was normal—skinny, ignored, and terrible at math. But that was before my shadow tried to strangle me.
It started on a Tuesday, which was already cursed because of double period math. I was walking home from school, dragging my backpack like it owed me money, when I noticed something weird. My shadow was… late.
Yeah. Late.
I stopped under a streetlight and turned. The shadow should've copied me. But it was still in the walking pose, frozen mid-stride like it hadn't gotten the memo that I stopped.
I blinked. Rubbed my eyes.
Then it looked at me.
I don't mean "I thought it looked at me"—I mean it turned its face and stared straight into my soul.
And then it whispered.
"He's waking up."
I ran so fast I left my slipper behind. Didn't care. My heart was pounding like it wanted to escape my chest. When I reached home, I slammed the door and leaned against it, panting.
My mom barely looked up from the kitchen. "Eiran, where's your other slipper?"
"Uh... demon took it."
"Okay. Wash your hands. Dinner's ready."
Classic Mom.
That night, I tried to sleep, but I could feel it. My shadow. Watching. Waiting.
At 2:13 AM exactly, my window creaked open. A cold wind blew in. And something stepped into my room.
Not a monster. Not a ghost.
It was me.
Or... someone who looked exactly like me. Except his eyes were glowing red, and flames danced around his fists.
"Wake up, Eiran," he said. "We're both going to burn."
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To Be Continued...