Ars

Dreams were your second reality, and sometimes your only one. So dense and vivid that the line between fiction and reality blurred, and only awakening, abrupt and merciless, brought you back, leaving only the bitter residue of nonexistent memories.

That night, having fallen asleep in an embrace with the tired Ars, you again fell into the abyss.

“Damn, again...” you exhaled, and the world swam, shifted, and took on new outlines.

The space closed in around you. You stood in the center of a circular room, lined with mirrors from floor to ceiling. The reflection of the lonely bed in the center—the very one you'd just fallen asleep on—split and multiplied in them. The air was still and cold. You carefully sat down on the edge of the mattress, trying to gather your scattered thoughts.

Suddenly, the light overhead flickered, flickering once or twice, plunging the room into a pulsating semi-darkness. And in time with this flickering, silhouettes began to emerge from the silvery surface of the mirrors. One, two, five, ten... With each flash of light, their numbers grew, until they surrounded the bed in a dense, silent ring.

Your heart sank. Looking closer, you recognized features that were painfully familiar.

"Ars?" the name escaped his lips in a whisper, full of bewilderment and growing horror. "Why are you... so different?"

They were spitting images of your boyfriend, but there wasn't a drop of warmth in their eyes, only emptiness and a quiet, insatiable greed. Without a word, they moved forward, a solid wall. Cold hands began to embrace you, touching your shoulders, back, wrists—dozens of touches, devoid of tenderness, full of possessiveness.

You tried to pull away, but it was no use. One of them, standing right in front of you, gently but firmly grabbed your chin and forced you to raise your head. His fingers were icy.

"Ars..." you whispered again, looking into those strange, yet familiar eyes, in which there was not a spark of love. "Please..."

He leaned closer, his breath touching your skin, sending an icy chill down your spine.