Salem woke up with a start, his vision swimming as if the world itself was underwater. The room around him felt off — not just a little, but completely wrong. The walls shimmered subtly, like a bad TV signal struggling to find a channel.
He rubbed his eyes, hoping to clear the haze, but the flickering didn’t stop. His heartbeat quickened as the familiar feeling settled in — something was breaking, slipping between reality and something else.
“Not again,” Salem muttered, voice hoarse. He sat up slowly, glancing around. The sunlight filtering through the window bent unnaturally, casting twisted shadows that seemed to dance just beyond his sight.
A sudden whisper echoed inside his head — Not now. Not here.
He froze. The voice wasn’t his. It was soft, yet urgent. It felt like a warning.
“
