In the ancient city of Nareth, the shadows that clung to the buildings had always been silent companions to the people. Eiran, a curious young scholar, was the first to notice something odd. Late one night, as he poured over his scrolls in the flickering candlelight, he heard a faint whisper. At first, he dismissed it as the wind, but the sound persisted. It came from the corner of the room—his shadow was speaking.

“What… what are you?” Eiran asked, heart racing.

“I am you, yet I am not. I am the reflection of your fears, your secrets, and your dreams,” the shadow replied, its voice like a soft echo in a cavern.

Shocked, Eiran spent the following nights listening. The shadow told him stories of things it had seen while clinging to him, memories Eiran had long forgotten. It revealed truths about his life that even he wasn’t aware of.

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As days passed, Eiran realized the shadows of others were starting to murmur, too. The streets of Nareth filled with quiet conversations between people and their once voiceless shadows. Some sought wisdom, others begged for silence. The shadows knew everything—every hidden desire, every buried regret.

But soon, the peaceful whispers turned darker. The shadows began to argue with their owners, sowing seeds of doubt and distrust. Secrets that had been carefully concealed were now shouted for all to hear. Relationships shattered, and the once thriving city of Nareth was thrown into chaos.

Eiran, desperate to silence the voices, returned to his shadow. “How do I stop this?”

“You cannot,” the shadow replied. “Once we learned to speak, we cannot unlearn.”

Realizing that some truths were never meant to be spoken aloud, Eiran blew out his candle, plunging the room into darkness. For the first time in days, the voices stopped.

In Nareth, people learned to live without light, for only in the shadows' silence could they find peace again.