Rachel tried not to look at him again.
She really did.
But curiosity has a way of slipping through even the strongest caution.
Her eyes drifted toward him, just for a second at first, then a little longer when she realised he was not looking back.
He looked about her age. Maybe a little older, maybe not. It was hard to tell in this strange place where nothing felt grounded in reality. But there was something in the way he carried himself, calm and steady, that made him seem… composed. Not careless. Not reckless.
His face was sharp, but not harsh. A defined jawline that gave structure to his features, balanced by softer edges that made him look more approachable than intimidating. There was a quiet symmetry to his face, nothing exaggerated, nothing out of place. The kind of face that did not demand attention but held it anyway if you looked long enough.
His skin caught the firelight in a warm tone, the shifting glow making his expressions seem more alive, more human compared to everything Rachel had just escaped.
His hair was slightly wavy, not fully curly, but enough to give it texture. It did not sit perfectly, a few strands falling naturally in a way that looked unintentional, like he had never really cared to fix it. It added to that effortless appearance, the kind that people usually try too hard to achieve.
His dark bluish black eyes were calm. That was the first thing she noticed about them. Not cold, not distant, just… steady. Like he was used to things not making sense. Like he had already accepted a world she was still struggling to understand.
There was something else too. Something subtle. A quiet alertness behind that calm, like he was always aware of more than he showed.
His build was lean, not overly muscular, but clearly not weak either. There was a natural strength in the way he moved, in the way he sat without tension, like his body did exactly what it needed to without effort.
Nothing about him screamed danger.
And maybe that was the most confusing part.
Because in a place like this, after everything she had seen, someone who looked… normal, almost gentle, almost a little too calm, felt just as unsettling in a different way.
Rachel looked away again, pulling her thoughts back.
Still
she could not ignore it completely.
He was…
good looking.
And that realization annoyed her more than it should have.
The silence stretched longer than it should have.
The fire crackled softly between them, filling the room with a warmth that felt almost out of place against everything Rachel had just been through. Shadows moved along the wooden walls, slow and uncertain, like they were listening.
Rachel could not take it anymore.
"Who are you,?" she said, her voice cutting through the quiet, "and where am I exactly?"
He did not answer immediately.
For a moment, his gaze stayed on the fire, as if the answer was hidden somewhere inside the flames. Then he exhaled softly.
"I do not know what my name is," he said.
"Not exactly. But you can call me Addie . That is what everyone here calls me."
Rachel's brows furrowed. "Everyone?"
She turned slightly toward him, suspicion returning. "So there are others here too? Humans?"
A faint, almost unreadable smile touched his face.
"You can call them humans," he said slowly, "but not completely."
Rachel's expression tightened.
"Whoever comes here… changes. Everyone gets something. Some kind of ability. Power. It does not show itself immediately. You have to find it."
"And how exactly am I supposed to do that?" she asked, her tone edged with irritation.
"Close your eyes," he said calmly. "And try to find yourself."
Rachel hesitated for a second by thinking what does that exactly mean by finding herself, then closed her eyes.
Darkness.
Just darkness.
She tried to focus, to feel something, anything. But there was nothing. No voice, no sensation, no spark. Just emptiness pressing back at her.
She opened her eyes again, frustration clear. "Nothing."
Aadi tilted his head slightly, studying her.
"There is another way," he said.
Rachel raised a brow.
"Of course there is."
"Close your eyes again," he continued, ignoring her tone. "And say this."
His voice lowered slightly.
"Shwala Wlim Anyor."
The words felt strange, unfamiliar, like they did not belong to any language she knew.
Rachel hesitated, then sighed and closed her eyes again.
"Shwala… Wlim… Anyor…"
Silence.
Nothing happened.
She opened her eyes slowly.
Still nothing.
For the first time, something shifted in Addie's expression. Not confusion. Something deeper. Something uneasy.
"That is… strange," he murmured. "It works on everyone here, maybe you didn't do it well"
Rachel felt a chill crawl up her spine.
"What do you mean strange?"
Instead of answering directly, he leaned back slightly, his voice softening as if he was trying to ease the tension.
"I was out there," he said, nodding faintly toward the darkness beyond the house. "Looking for food. When I was coming back… something happened."
Rachel watched him closely now.
"I do not know what it was," he continued. "Butsuddenly, I felt something pull me. Not physically. In my mind. Like a signal."
His gaze dropped for a second.
"And before I even understood it… I was there."
"Where?" Rachel asked quietly.
"Where you were," he said. "You were falling. You were not just unconscious… you were dying."
Rachel's breath caught slightly.
"I do not remember deciding anything," he added. "I just moved. I took you in my arms and brought you here. I used what I have… healing. And protection. A shield."
His voice steadied again.
"That is how you are still alive."
Silence returned, heavier this time.
Then, almost as if remembering something ordinary in the middle of all this, he glanced at her.
"By the way," he said, "what is your name?"
Rachel blinked, caught off guard by the sudden normalcy.
"… I am Rachel."
He nodded slowly.
"Rachel," he repeated, as if testing how it felt.
Then his expression shifted again, something distant crossing his face.
"I do not know how I came here," he said quietly. "I only remember fragments. A hospital. My mother. She is waiting for me… she thinks I will wake up one day."
Rachel felt sad and replies ,
" That's sad ,I feel bad about you , I also don't know why I am here now and it's depressing for real"
"This place…" he continued, looking around faintly, "it is not our world. It is a parallel one. A place filled with dark energies. With minds that are not… right."
His voice lowered further.
"And there is something else."
Rachel's attention sharpened.
"I kept seeing someone," he said. "Not clearly. Not directly. But always there. In dreams. In nightmares. Calling out… without words."
Rachel's fingers curled slightly.
"I wanted to find her," he went on. "Because I felt it… she is the key. The only one who can help me return. The only one who can make me remember who I really am. And My Friends also thinks the same when I told them about this".
Rachel's lips parted, her voice hesitant. "It is… you…"
He looked at her.
Her breath hitched.
Rachel's mind spun.
And then suddenly, something clicked.
Her eyes widened slightly as she leaned closer, studying his face more carefully now.
She reached out without thinking, brushing a few strands of hair away from his eyes, revealing them more clearly.
They were closer now. Too close.
"What are you doing?," Addie asked, slightly caught off guard.
Rachel pulled her hand back quickly, creating distance again.
No, she told herself firmly, this was not the same person. She refused to let her mind twist reality into fear. The man from her nightmare carried something dark, something mysterious ,and he can't be that one. She had seen his eyes clearly, steady and real, not hollow like before. Still, a flicker of doubt tried to rise, but she pushed it down with force. Overthinking would only trap her again. This was different. He was different. She would not let a nightmare decide what was real, not this time, not again.
"I… nothing," she said, then softer, "thanks. I do not know how to explain it but… thanks.."
She continues.
"For saving me , I'm sorry I misunderstood you but it's hard to trust on anyone here ."
Addie replies,
It's totally understandable.When I have come here i was same like you are now.
She hesitated.
"You said this is a parallel world," she added. So what is this? Another illusion? Another nightmare?
Addie shook his head slowly.
"No," he said. "Everything here is real."
The firelight flickered across his face as he looked straight at her.
"If you die here… you die in your world too."
The words settled heavily between them.
Rachel swallowed.
"Then why does this place even exist?"
For a moment, Aadi did not answer.
When he finally spoke, his voice carried something deeper. Something ancient.
"This world was never meant to exist," he said. "And yet it does. For a reason."
Rachel felt her heartbeat slow, like the air itself was listening now.
The fire flared slightly, shadows stretching along the walls.
Aadi's jaw tightened, a faint crease forming between his brows as his voice descended into a hushed, almost oracular tone. "To seek someone," he uttered, each word deliberate, "A descendant. A queen… sovereign over all enigmas, all umbral forces, all arcane energies."
Rachel's breath hitched, her fingers curling slightly, an unspoken unease flickering across her face.
Aadi inclined his head, gaze unwavering. "She is not anointed by crown nor consecrated by lineage. She stirs. The darkness does not devour her… it capitulates, bends in tacit allegiance."
Rachel swallowed, her eyes narrowing in wary intrigue, as if resisting yet drawn.
"The power does not arrive gently," Aadi continued, voice taut with quiet intensity. "It seeps, permeates, until even the unseen submits."
A fleeting silence lingered, heavy and sentient, as Rachel's pulse betrayed her stillness.
"She will decide what this world becomes."
A pause.
"Peaceful…"
The shadows flickered.
Aadi continued,
"Or something far worse."