Ethan's breath caught as the air turned thick and damp around him. He blinked rapidly, trying to adjust his vision to the unfamiliar place. The fluorescent ceiling light of his bedroom was gone, replaced by a broken, violet-tinted sky streaked with cracks like shattered porcelain. Beneath him, the ground pulsed faintly — smooth like glass, yet covered in a thin layer of dark dust.

  He stood in what looked like a decayed reflection of Greyford — warped buildings bent at impossible angles, alleys stretched unnaturally long, and glass shimmered in fractured mirrors embedded into the surfaces around him. Some showed his reflection. Others didn’t.

  “What the hell is this place?” he whispered, heart hammering.

  The wind howled in the distance, like a breath from something ancient and immense. His body felt lighter than usual, but his mind struggled to stay calm. He remembered falling asleep… the dream… no, the mirror. Then darkness. Now this.

  A sudden sound snapped him to attention — claws scraping against pavement. He turned. That’s when he saw it.

  A massive doglike creature stood at the end of the street. Its fur was matted and charcoal-black, its legs long and sinewy like a panther’s, but its face…

  Its face was a polished pane of glass, jagged and asymmetrical, with cracks spreading outward like spiderwebs. Behind that face, something moved, flickering — like a pulse of energy, or eyes hidden behind a veil.

  Ethan took a slow step back. The creature growled, a deep, distorted vibration that buzzed through the soles of his feet.

  And then it charged.

  “Shit—!”

  He ran, his legs pumping through the warped streets. Glass beneath his feet cracked and groaned. The beast was fast, far faster than anything that size had a right to be. Ethan dove into a crooked alley, heart pounding, his breath sharp and ragged.

  He ducked behind a fallen mirror wall, barely daring to breathe. Through a cracked pane beside him, he caught sight of something that made his blood run cold — not the monster, but… himself.

  Or rather, his reflection.

  It was Ethan, but standing upright in a classroom, looking perfectly composed and confident. His hair combed back. Shirt neatly pressed. He was speaking to Mia — laughing even — as if nothing in the world could shake him.

  The real Ethan, crouched in the dirty alley of this hellish place, watched as his reflection leaned closer to her. Mia smiled. The reflection looked happy.

  But for Ethan, the moment shattered as the monster’s roar echoed again. The dog was close. Too close.

  He pushed himself up and ran again.

  ........................................................................................................................................

  The uneven ground beneath Ethan’s feet warped like shifting glass, creaking ominously as he sprinted between crumbling alleyways and towering mirrored shards. Each turn felt like it would lead to salvation — but each one ended in more twisted buildings and reflections that didn’t obey him.

  Behind him, the monster howled. Its claws scraped along the walls, kicking up sparks as it crashed through obstacles with feral, relentless strength.

  Ethan stumbled into an open plaza — or what once might have been one. Giant broken glass pillars rose into the air, bent toward the shattered sky. A fountain in the center wept black mist instead of water, surrounding everything in a fog of gloom.

  Ethan ducked behind the fountain, pressing a trembling hand over his mouth to muffle his panting breath. His heart slammed against his ribcage.

  Then, he heard footsteps.

  Not the beast — no claws this time — but calm, deliberate, human steps.

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  He turned slightly.

  From between the fog emerged a tall figure cloaked in dark fabric, a cowl casting shadows over his face. But his voice, when he spoke, was rich and clear — aged, but powerful.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” the stranger said. “Not yet.”

  Ethan staggered back. “Wh—who are you?! What is this place? What is that thing chasing me!?”

  The stranger didn’t answer. Instead, he extended a hand, a strange metallic sigil glowing faintly on his palm. With a motion, he drew a circular pattern into the air — a ripple formed, revealing what looked like a mirror floating in midair, shimmering with a portal-like swirl of energy.

  “That is a Sentinel Beast. It guards the fragile places where our worlds touch,” the stranger explained. “And you… are not meant to cross just yet.”

  The monster howled again — louder, closer. Its glass claws screeched against the ground.

  “Go,” the stranger urged. “Before it finds you again. Through the mirror. You will wake… for now.”

  Still shaking, Ethan hesitated only a moment before diving into the portal. The sensation was cold and fast — like plunging through ice.

  Darkness swallowed him—

  And then, breath.

  He gasped and sat up.

  He was back. In his bed. Room normal. Alarm clock blinking quietly beside him. The sun filtered in faintly through the curtains.

  He sat still, chest heaving, drenched in sweat.

  It was… real.

  He touched the floor with his feet, grounding himself — but something felt wrong. He turned slowly toward the mirror across the room.

  His reflection was already standing.

  Arms folded. Head tilted.

  Wearing a different outfit. The reflection smiled, but there was no warmth in it. Only annoyance.

  “Took you long enough,” it said, though its lips never moved.

  Ethan’s mouth opened in stunned silence. But before he could speak, the reflection stepped back — disappearing, like smoke on glass.

  And the mirror returned to normal.

  Ethan couldn’t bring himself to move.

  He just stared at the mirror, heart still racing from the chase, chest tightening from the surreal encounter. The voice—his reflection’s voice—still echoed in his skull: “Took you long enough.”

  He slowly reached out and touched the mirror’s surface. Cool glass. Solid. Normal. No ripples, no shimmer. But he didn’t feel normal. Not anymore.

  Everything about the world felt... off.

  He walked toward the bathroom in a daze. Turned on the faucet. Splashed cold water on his face. Looked up—

  The mirror over the sink showed him.

  Just him.

  Dark bags under his eyes. Cheekbones sharper than he remembered. His skin paler. His once-thick curls now slightly disheveled, the side of his hair stuck to his sweaty forehead. He hated how tired and hollow he looked—too slim, too ghostly.

  And behind the eyes… a weight he couldn’t explain.

  He dressed quickly and left for class, mind still spinning. Outside, Greyford was exactly as it had always been—grey skies, long sidewalks lined with rusted fences, old brick buildings leaning slightly from age. But Ethan’s eyes lingered a little longer now on the reflections in windows, puddles, store glass...

  Nothing unusual.

  Yet.

  When he got to campus, things felt stranger still.

  As he walked up the stairs, he saw Mia by the lockers, laughing with another girl. Then—

  “Hey, Ethan!” she called out, smiling.

  His heart jumped. She never greeted him first. She barely noticed him most of the time.

  “You okay? You were kind of quiet yesterday, but… today you seem different.”

  He blinked. “Yesterday?”

  Before he could ask more, the classroom door opened, and people began filing in. He followed, stunned, and took his usual seat near the back.

  Mr. Halvorsen, the psych professor, walked in with his usual towering stack of books. “Alright, let's begin. Pop quiz—no warning.”

  The room groaned. Students began panicking. Pens scrambled on paper.

  But Ethan didn’t even have time to lift his pencil before Mr. Halvorsen stopped mid-sentence and looked directly at him.

  “Ethan,” he said, adjusting his glasses. “That observation you made yesterday about Carl Jung’s shadow self… brilliant. You might want to explore that for your research project.”

  Ethan froze. “I… what?”

  The professor smiled. “Don’t be modest. You quoted from ‘The Red Book’ verbatim.”

  Everyone turned to look at him. He caught Mia’s curious stare. He just nodded weakly and looked down.

  His hand was trembling.

  He never spoke in class.

  He never quoted Jung.

  Someone else had been living in his place.

  Someone confident. Smart. Charismatic.

  His reflection.

  After class, on the way home, Ethan took a shortcut through the old pedestrian tunnel.

  Halfway through, he heard voices. Three guys stepped out of the shadows—Nick and his friends. Campus bullies. Petty criminals. Ethan’s heart sank.

  “Well well,” Nick said, cracking his knuckles. “It’s our quiet little ghost. You’ve been walking around like you own the place. Let’s remind you where you stand.”

  They advanced on him—but Ethan raised his hands. “I don’t want trouble. I just—”

  Before he could finish, Nick lunged.

  But suddenly, the world shifted—

  A ripple in the tunnel wall caught his eye. A fragment of broken mirror, lodged in the bricks.

  And in that reflection… it wasn’t him.

  It was his other self.

  Smirking. Confident. Unafraid.

  The reflection raised a hand and pointed directly at Nick. Ethan didn’t move—but the bully suddenly tripped on air and slammed into the wall face-first, groaning.

  His friends backed away in panic.

  “What the hell was that?!”

  Ethan, still frozen, watched his reflection wink at him before vanishing.

  He ran all the way home.

  Once in his room, he collapsed onto his bed, heart pounding.

  He glanced at the mirror.

  It was empty now.

  But the weight of two lives was beginning to press on his chest.

  He hadn’t dreamed the other world. It had pulled him in.

  And now, the other version of him… was handling everything better.