Chapter 3
Aeren stood frozen.
He could see a figure in the distance.
It wasn't clear — just a dark shape, blurred by the fog. But it was standing still… and it was facing him.
He tried to speak, but his voice didn't come out.
His throat was dry, his body stiff. His heart pounded in his chest like a warning drum.
The figure didn't move.
It just… stood there.
Aeren took a slow step forward.
The figure shifted slightly — like it was reacting to him.
Aeren stopped again.
Was it real?
Was it alive?
Or was the void playing tricks on him again?
The voice he had heard earlier was gone now. Only silence remained. Heavy, cold, and thick like fog.
He looked around. No place to hide. No place to run.
It was just him… and it.
Another step forward.
Still no reaction.
He raised his hand, slowly, and waved.
Nothing.
He took a deep breath, trying to stay calm, and whispered,
"Who… are you?"
No reply.
But then—
The figure moved.
Not a step.
Not a walk.
It glided, almost silently, through the fog… toward him.
Aeren stepped back, panic rising in his chest.
And just as he turned to run—
He heard it.
The same voice from before.
But this time…
It was right behind him.
Aeren froze again.
The voice was right behind him now — soft, low, and full of something he couldn't describe.
Not anger.
Not comfort.
Something… in between.
He didn't dare turn around.
His breath quickened.
His legs refused to move.
Every part of him screamed to run — but curiosity held him in place.
The voice spoke once more.
This time, he heard it clearly.
"Aeren…"
His name.
It had said his name.
His blood ran cold.
He hadn't told anyone his name in five years. He hadn't heard it from another mouth in five years.
His lips trembled. "W-Who are you?"
Silence.
He turned around slowly.
Nothing.
The space behind him was empty.
No person. No shadow. Not even a footprint.
But something had definitely spoken.
And it had known his name.
Aeren looked back toward the dark figure in the distance.
It was gone.
Vanished.
He spun around again — searching, panicked.
Nothing.
The cold around him deepened, like the void itself had pulled closer.
And then… from all around him…
The voice returned.
But this time, it wasn't just whispering.
It was laughing.
End of Chapter 3
(To be continued...)