Mei and Yuki walked through the quiet palace halls. The air was still, and every step they took echoed around them. Suddenly, a sharp noise came from outside the window.
"Did you hear that?" Yuki whispered, her heart racing.
Mei frowned. "What noise?"
"Something’s outside. I think it’s watching us."
They turned to the window, but all they saw was darkness.
"Yuki, stop messing around," Mei said, though she felt uneasy.
"I’m serious. I heard something," Yuki insisted, her eyes wide with fear.
Suddenly, a faint tapping sound came from the window. Slow. Rhythmic. Like fingers drumming against the glass.
Mei froze. Yuki grabbed her arm.
"You heard that, right?" Yuki whispered.
Mei nodded, her throat dry. "Maybe it's just the wind..."
The tapping stopped. Silence filled the air again. Then..BANG!
Something slammed against the window. The glass shook. Yuki let out a small gasp, stepping back. Her grip tightened on Mei's arm.
They stared at the window, afraid to move. Then, slowly… a shadow passed by.
"What... was that?" Mei whispered.
Yuki shook her head, unable to answer.
Then the handle of the window started to turn.
The window handle creaked as it slowly turned. Mei and Yuki stood frozen, their breath caught in their throats.
Then CLICK! The lock gave way.
Yuki grabbed Mei’s wrist. "We need to run."
But before they could move, the window swung open, and a rush of cold air flooded the hall. The candlelights flickered violently, casting eerie shadows on the walls.
Something… or someone… was there.
A faint whisper drifted in. Not words, just a low, chilling hum. The kind that made the hairs on their arms stand on end.
Then tap. tap. tap. Footsteps.
Slow. Steady. Coming from inside the room beyond the window.
Mei’s fingers dug into Yuki’s arm.
"That… that can’t be possible," she breathed. "We’re on the third floor."
The footsteps stopped.
A long, cold silence.
Then a voice soft, almost playful spoke from the darkness.
"You can see me… can’t you?"
Mei and Yuki didn’t dare move. Their hearts pounded as the voice drifted through the open window smooth, calm, almost teasing.
"You can see me… can’t you?"
The wind blew again, sending a shiver down their spines. Yuki swallowed hard.
"Mei… we need to leave."
Before Mei could respond, a figure stepped into the moonlight.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. Dressed in flowing black robes with silver embroidery that shimmered in the night. His face was half-hidden in the shadows, but what they could see was… breathtaking. Sharp jawline. Piercing, golden eyes that seemed to glow.
Mei felt her breath catch. "Who… who are you?"
The man tilted his head slightly, amusement flickering in his gaze. "Interesting," he murmured. "You don’t recognize me?"
Yuki clutched Mei’s hand. "We don’t know you. You’re not supposed to be here."
The man took a slow step forward. "Oh, but I’ve always been here," he said, a smirk playing at his lips. "Watching. Waiting." His golden eyes locked onto Mei’s. "And now, you’ve finally noticed me."
A chill ran through her, but not just from fear. There was something else. Something strangely familiar about him.
Yuki tugged on her arm. "We have to go. Now."
But Mei couldn’t move. Her eyes remained fixed on his. "Who… are you?" she asked again, her voice barely above a whisper.
The man’s smirk deepened. "I am the one you’ve been searching for."
Silence hung heavy in the air. Mei’s fingers trembled slightly in Yuki’s grip, but she didn’t pull away.
The man took another slow step forward, his robes brushing against the cold stone floor. The silver embroidery gleamed under the moonlight, shifting like liquid metal.
Yuki’s grip on Mei’s arm tightened. “We need to leave,” she whispered urgently.
But Mei still couldn’t move. Something about him felt like a whisper in the dark, too distant to grasp yet impossible to ignore.
The man watched her with quiet amusement. Then, he slowly raised a hand.
A soft wind stirred around them. The torches flickered violently, casting dancing shadows on the walls. The temperature in the hall seemed to drop, sending goosebumps up Mei’s arms.
“Searching?” she finally managed to say, her voice quieter than before. “I wasn’t… searching for anyone.”
The man chuckled. A deep, velvety sound. “Not yet,” he said. “But you will.”
Yuki took a step back, pulling Mei with her. “Stay away from us,” she warned.
The man tilted his head, his golden eyes gleaming in the dark. “You’re afraid.” His gaze flickered to Mei. “But you’re curious, too.”
Mei opened her mouth, but no words came out.
The wind surged again, and before either of them could react, the torches went out. Darkness swallowed the hall.
Yuki gasped. “Mei—” And then, just as suddenly as it came, the wind died. The flames returned.
The man was gone.
Only his voice lingered, drifting through the empty corridor. "We’ll meet again"
The torches flickered back to life, their glow weak and uncertain. Mei and Yuki stood frozen, the weight of the encounter pressing down on them.
"He’s gone," Yuki whispered, exhaling shakily.
Mei turned to her. "Yuki… what just happened?" Her voice wavered.
Yuki frowned. "What do you mean?"
Mei blinked. "The man. The one who was just here. The stranger."
Yuki’s expression twisted in confusion. "What stranger?"
Mei’s breath caught in her throat. "The man we saw! The one who spoke to us! Yuki, he was right there!"
Yuki shook her head. "Mei, no one was here but us."
Mei opened her mouth to argue, but something in Yuki’s eyes stopped her. She wasn’t lying. She truly had no idea what Mei was talking about.
A cold shiver ran down her spine. Mei turned back to the window, her hands trembling. There was nothing there. No footprints, no lingering presence. Just the night, stretching endlessly beyond the glass.
Yet, in the depths of the darkness, two golden eyes flickered, watching.
And then, they vanished.
