15 Shadows In The Mirror

Archie woke up in his bed the following morning. He was well aware of the murder that he had committed. That Night Terror, Ann, had thoughts and emotions as he did. She was only acting in fearful defence. Archie sat in his bed with his legs hanging over the edge as he sat in silence, trying to cope with what he had done. Archie took a look at his digital bedside clock. It was just after five in the morning. He still had three about three hours before he needed to get up to go to school.

Archie opened the door to his room and walked across the hallway to go to the toilet. After Archie had done his business, he flushed and went to wash his hands. As he cleaned his hands, he looked at himself in the mirror. There was a brief flash of a dark shadow behind him, causing Archie to turn around in fright. However, nobody was there. He turned back to face the mirror, and there was no shadow. 'I must be losing my damn mind.' Archie said to himself, walking out of the bathroom and back to his room. He closed the door behind him, locking the door as he did. He walked over to his bed, and with a heavy, yet silent, sight, he crawled into bed, closing his eyes to fall asleep.

A pair of eyes flashed into his vision. Deep red eyes appeared to hypnotise him. Archie's eyes shot open, red lines lining the outsides. His room was completely dark. He turned around to check the time but noticed his clock was turned off, a pale red light emanating from a book on his bedside table, illuminating the surrounding area. The System Of Silence. Archie stared at the book for a moment before grabbing it, wondering what was happening. The second his fingers touched it, it flipped to a specific page. Page 502. The page was titled "BAD GATEWAY". The system in his mind began transcribing that page for him.

[You have won in your first Night Terror encounter in which you were aware of their emotions. You have unlocked the "BAD GATEWAY".]

'No, no, I don't want this! I don't want to think about this stuff! Why is there a page in this book about this?!' Archie yelled as he pushed the book away, watching it land on the floor. However, the system in his mind began narrating the document for him.

[You cannot lock away the "BAD GATEWAY". You can only acknowledge its existence until it becomes beneficial to you. Once you embrace the "BAD GATEWAY", you will show those who wronged you why nobody should cross your path. The "BAD GATEWAY" is your path to power.]

{Do you wish to accept the "BAD GATEWAY"?}

'No! No, no, no! I don't want the bad gateway!' Aaron yelled in response, watching the red aura that surrounded the book fade away.

[You have selected {No} as your answer.]

["BAD GATEWAY" has not been accepted.]

Archie watched as his room returned to its original lightning, his clock turning back on. It was now ten minutes past five. 'What the fuck...just happened?' Archie asked himself, no answer coming to his head. It reminded him of those predatory pop-up ads you'd find in video games. They were trying to entice you into buying a product you'll hate later.

Archie tried to go back to sleep, but all he could hear were screams and clockwork running. Ann's final words and screeches kept repeating in his mind as he tried to piece together his emotions. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel. In one way, it was in his mind. On the other, they had personalities. They had emotions and memories. Ann seemed genuinely sorry for her actions while he pulled out the key. It had disintegrated alongside her body, so he couldn't remember her with an item.

Archie let out another silent sigh as he slowly waited for eight to roll around. He didn't have school today since he was pretty sure that it was Saturday, but at this point, he didn't know. The fact that he couldn't remember the time after school and when he went home to sleep was concerning. Visions of him pulling the key out of her body repeated in his mind, knowing that doing that simple action damned her to death.

Archie watched as his clock ticked to eight, and there was no knock on his door. His hunch was correct. He had no school today. Archie got up from his bed and decided to take a look at his status menu.

[Total Of Stats: 12 (+9 Status Point Enhancers (SPEs) Ready For Use)]

[Strength: 2 (+1)]

[Endurance: 2]

[Agility (Reaction Time): 2]

[Speed: 3]

[Stamina: 2]

'System, put two points into everything except speed, which you should only put one.' Archie commanded the system, and it was immediately done for him.

[Total Of Stats: 21 (0 Status Point Enhancers (SPEs) Ready For Use)]

[Strength: 4 (+1)]

[Endurance: 4]

[Agility (Reaction Time): 4]

[Speed: 4]

[Stamina: 4]

Archie felt his body becoming a tiny bit lighter as he put those points into speed and agility. Archie checked the ring on his finger, noting its +1 strength buff. 'I wonder when I'll really need this. It's best to keep it on for the moment, though.' Archie thought to himself, walking towards his door. He noted the distinct silence in the house, which wasn't normal. Usually, the halls would be bustling with sounds at this hour. Archie walked downstairs, carefully avoiding the few traps left for him by the stairs.

He walked into the kitchen, seeing a note on the table for him. Archie narrated it to himself. 'Good morning, Archie. I and the others have gone out to do some shopping. We'll be back soon!' Archie read to himself before checking the clock. It was currently eight in the morning, but his mother doesn't go shopping until at least eleven when she's fully awake. Something wasn't adding up.

[Welcome to the second Night Terror.]

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