The silence that followed Ellie's plea was deafening.
Victoria stood motionless, her form flickering between the girl she once was and the vengeful spirit she had become. Shadows curled around her feet, whispering like restless ghosts. Her dark eyes locked onto Ellie's, searching, measuring.
Then—Victoria laughed.
A low, humorless sound that sent an icy chill through the air.
"You want to save me?" she murmured, tilting her head. "After everything I've done?"
Ellie swallowed hard, but she didn't look away. "Yes."
Victoria took a step closer, her gaze unreadable. "You're either very brave or very stupid."
"Maybe both." Ellie's voice wavered, but she stood her ground. "But I meant what I said."
For the first time since this nightmare began, Victoria hesitated.
A flicker of something—doubt? Pain?—crossed her face.
Then, her expression hardened.
"Fine."
Ellie's breath caught. "Fine?"
"I'll let you help me," Victoria said, her voice like ice. "But it comes with a price."
The air shifted.
Something dark curled around Ellie's chest, squeezing—not painful, but suffocating. She felt it weighing down on her soul, pressing against something unseen.
"What do you mean?" Ellie asked cautiously.
Victoria's lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile.
"I want my life back."
Ellie's stomach dropped. "What?"
Victoria took another step closer, her presence looming over Ellie. "I want to feel again. To breathe again. To be alive again." Her eyes darkened. "And you're going to give that to me."
Ellie's pulse pounded. "How?"
Victoria leaned in, her breath cold against Ellie's ear.
"By giving me your body."
Ellie froze.
Her mind reeled, the words slamming into her like a train.
"What?" she choked out. "You—you want to possess me?"
"No." Victoria's smile widened. "I want to become you."
Ellie staggered back. "That's insane!"
Victoria's expression didn't change. "Then I guess I'll just go back to haunting you. Haunting Ben. Making sure you never know a moment of peace until the day you die."
Ellie's breath came in sharp gasps.
This wasn't a choice.
This was a trap.
"I can't do that," Ellie whispered. "I—I have a life. A future. I love Ben—"
Victoria's eyes flashed. "And I loved him first!" Her voice cracked with fury. "And where did that get me, huh? Drowning in the dark while he walked away?!"
Ellie flinched.
Victoria inhaled sharply, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, her voice was softer. Almost pleading.
"I don't want revenge anymore, Ellie."
Ellie's heart clenched.
"I just don't want to be nothing anymore."
The room fell into silence.
Ellie's mind screamed at her to say no. To run. To fight.
But another part of her—the part that had felt Victoria's grief, her pain—hesitated.
Could she really condemn Victoria to an eternity of suffering?
Victoria watched her, waiting.
Ellie's throat was dry. "And if I say yes?"
Victoria's lips parted, and for the first time, Ellie saw it—
Not anger.
Not hate.
But hope.
"Then I'll finally be free."*