The Chair That Demands a Life — Part 2 - The Voice Behind the Smile

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Chapter 3: The Voice Behind the Smile

The chair moved.

By itself.

Riyan's legs nearly gave out beneath him.

The old wooden chair slowly turned toward him, its legs scraping across the floor.

Creeeak...

The sound echoed through the house like a scream.

"RUN!" Aanya shouted again.

This time, Riyan didn't hesitate.

He rushed toward the front door.

But the moment he grabbed the handle—

The darkness reached it first.

Black shadows crawled over the wood like living insects.

The handle burned with freezing cold.

Riyan pulled his hand away instantly.

"It's locked!" he shouted.

The room trembled.

Behind him, the chair creaked again.

Slowly.

Patiently.

Waiting.

Aanya stepped between Riyan and the chair.

"No..." she whispered.

The darkness around the chair began rising.

Like smoke.

Like hundreds of shadowy hands reaching upward.

Then the voice returned.

"Move aside."

The walls shook violently.

Riyan backed away.

His heart hammered against his chest.

"Who are you?" he shouted.

Silence.

Then—

The shadows twisted together.

Forming a shape.

Tall.

Thin.

And smiling.

"I am what remains."

The air turned ice cold.

Riyan couldn't breathe.

The thing looked human.

But it wasn't.

Its eyes were endless darkness.

Its smile stretched too wide.

And somehow—

It looked familiar.

As if it had once been a person.

Aanya stood frozen.

"No..." she whispered.

The shadow looked at her.

Almost affectionately.

"My keeper."

Riyan looked at her in shock.

"What does that mean?"

Aanya's face filled with pain.

For a moment—

Her empty eyes looked human again.

Tears formed.

"I tried to stop it..." she whispered.

The shadow laughed.

"And yet here you stand."

The room darkened further.

Riyan suddenly felt dizzy.

His vision blurred.

Then—

Images flooded his mind.

A hospital room.

Blood on white sheets.

A crying woman.

A grave.

His own name carved into stone.

RIYAN.

"No!" he screamed.

The vision vanished.

He fell to his knees gasping.

The shadow smiled wider.

"The future."

Riyan's body shook.

"No..."

"Your future."

The chair creaked again.

Inviting him.

Tempting him.

Riyan stared at it.

A terrible thought entered his mind.

If I sit... maybe I can change it.

The moment the thought appeared—

Aanya's eyes widened in horror.

"No!"

She grabbed him by the shoulders.

"That's what it wants!"

The shadow's smile faded.

For the first time—

It seemed annoyed.

"Enough."

Suddenly, Aanya screamed.

Dark chains burst from the floor.

Wrapping around her arms and legs.

Dragging her backward.

"Riyan!" she cried.

The human part of her was fighting desperately now.

"Listen to me!"

The chains pulled harder.

She was disappearing into the darkness.

"The voice in the chair—"

She gasped.

"That's the real me!"

Riyan froze.

"What?!"

"The thing standing here isn't Aanya anymore!"

The shadow roared.

The entire house shook.

The chains tightened around her.

"Find the mirror room!" she screamed.

"It's the only place where it can't lie!"

The darkness swallowed her completely.

And she vanished.

Silence.

The shadow turned slowly toward Riyan.

Alone now.

Smiling once again.

"She talks too much."

Riyan backed away.

The chair creaked softly.

And somewhere deep inside it—

A faint voice whispered:

"Mirror room..."

"Find me..."

The lights went out.

And in the darkness—

Something began walking toward Riyan.

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