Classes passed in a haze. Alina barely registered the professor's voice droning on about ancient timelines civilizations lost to time. Her fingers drummed nervously on the desk, but her thoughts were trapped elsewhere. In a dream. A mirror. A voice that shouldn't have existed.
Something had changed. It wasn't just a reflection anymore it felt like someone had reached through the glass.
Back home, a strange envelope lay just inside her door. No name. No stamp. Just... there.
Her heart skipped.
She bent down slowly, picking it up like it might explode. Heavy paper. Old-fashioned. Elegant. Across the front, written in gold ink:"For the Herald."
Her hands trembled as she tore it open.
Inside wasn't a letter just a single card. One line, glowing faintly in the same golden ink:
"At midnight, the door will open. Be ready. Trust no one."
No signature. No clues.
She glanced down the hallway empty. No footsteps. No shadows. No signs that anyone had come or gone.
It was like the envelope had just appeared.
Midnight.
That was only a few hours away.
Her chest tightened. Whatever was coming… it was already on its way.