Elizabeth Evernight studied me for a long moment, her crimson eyes reflecting the flickering candlelight like pools of fresh blood. Then she rose gracefully from her chair, the long slit in her black dress revealing a flash of pale thigh as she moved.
"Come with me," she said, her voice low and commanding. "There is something you must see."
I followed her through a narrow arched doorway into the next room. The space was dominated by a grand stone fireplace where a fire crackled with unnatural green-tinged flames. Beside it stood a heavy oak table, and upon that table lay the remnants of the mirror I had come through.
Or rather… what was left of it.
The once ornate frame was shattered. Jagged pieces of glass were scattered across the table like broken stars. The mirror no longer reflected anything. It was dead.
I stepped closer, heart pounding, and reached out with a trembling hand. The moment my fingers brushed against one of the larger shards, black fire erupted across the surface — cold, hungry flames that consumed the glass without heat. Within seconds, the entire mirror dissolved into fine black ash that scattered across the table like the remains of a burned-out soul.
I stared at the ashes in stunned silence.
Elizabeth stood beside me, arms crossed beneath her heavy breasts, watching the last traces of the mirror vanish.
"It happened last night," she began, her voice calm but laced with dark amusement. "I was bathing in the hotspring behind this cabin. The water there carries ancient magic — warm, healing… and sometimes revealing. I was completely naked, letting the steam ease my mind and thinking where my curse vanished. "
She paused, a faint smile touching her lips.
"Suddenly, the protective barriers around my home shattered. The air itself screamed. And then… you fell. Straight out of the void and directly onto me in the hotspring. Your body crashed into mine. My breasts were the first thing you desperately grabbed in your panic."
My face burned with embarrassment as the memory clicked into place. The warm "water," the soft flesh I had clung to so desperately — it had been her.
Elizabeth continued, her crimson eyes gleaming:
"The mirror you carried fell beside the stones and shattered on impact. The force of your arrival, combined with the unstable magic of the spring, destroyed it completely. That mirror was never truly from this world. It was a rogue artifact — a bridge between realms that should never have existed. Now that it is gone… the path back to your original world is sealed."
I felt the blood drain from my face.
"So… I can't go back?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Elizabeth turned to face me fully. The firelight danced across her pale skin and the deep neckline of her dress.
"No, Ren Amekawa. You cannot. Not through any ordinary means. The mirror that brought you here was unique. Without it, the veil between your world and this one remains closed. You are trapped here now… just as I have been trapped by this curse for many years."
She stepped closer, until I could feel the warmth radiating from her body.
"But perhaps," she murmured, her voice dropping into something almost intimate, "being trapped together is not the worst fate the cosmos could have chosen for us."
The green flames in the fireplace crackled louder, as if agreeing with her words. Black ash from the destroyed mirror still lingered in the air between us like the remains of my old life.
I was no longer just a visitor in this world.
I had become a permanent part of it.
------
Elizabeth Evernight stood before the dying green flames of the hearth, her crimson eyes glowing with a mixture of relief and something far more complex. The black ash of the destroyed mirror still lingered in the air like funeral dust. She turned to me fully, the deep neckline of her dress shifting with the movement, revealing the smooth curve of her breasts.
"I cannot abandon you, Ren," she said, her voice low and resonant, carrying the weight of centuries. "Even if I wanted to. When I kissed you that night, something extraordinary happened. You… drained the curse from me. Nearly all of it. For the first time in decades, the burning hunger inside my veins has gone quiet. I am almost fully cured."
She took a slow step closer, the fabric of her dress whispering against her thighs.
"But curses like this do not simply vanish. They must go somewhere. And now… most of that ancient, ravenous power resides within you. You have become its new vessel. A pure one. That makes you incredibly valuable… and incredibly vulnerable. If I leave you alone in this world, the mark will consume you within months. Perhaps weeks."
Elizabeth reached out and gently traced the crimson veins on my cheek with a cool fingertip. Her touch sent a shiver through me.
"So I will look after you, Ren Amekawa. Whether you like it or not. You will live here with me in the Whispering Woods. You will learn the basics of magic — enough to survive, to shield yourself, to understand the dangers of this realm. Only then can we safely travel to the Kingdom together."
A faint, teasing smile curved her full lips as she tilted her head, regarding me like an amusing child.
"After all… you cannot return to your old world. Not anymore. The mirror is gone. The bridge is burned. So for now, you are stuck with a young, beautiful witch in the middle of a cursed forest."
She said the words "young, beautiful witch" with deliberate playfulness, her crimson eyes sparkling with mischief.
I couldn't help but smile weakly despite everything.
"…Can I call you Aunty, then?" I asked, half-joking.
Elizabeth's expression shifted instantly. Her eyes narrowed, and a dangerous, smug smile spread across her face. The temperature in the room seemed to drop as faint wisps of dark energy curled around her fingers.
"If you dare call me 'Aunty' even once," she purred, her voice laced with mock threat, "I will place a very special hex on you. One that makes certain… parts of your body extremely sensitive for an entire week. And I will enjoy watching you suffer."
I immediately raised my hands in surrender.
"Okay, okay! I'll call you Elizabeth!"
She let out a soft, melodic laugh — the first genuine one I had heard from her. It was surprisingly warm, cutting through the dark atmosphere of the cabin like moonlight through storm clouds.
"Good boy," she said, clearly satisfied. "Elizabeth it is. And you may call me that from now on."
She stepped even closer until we were nearly touching. The scent of night-blooming flowers and smoldering magic surrounded me.
"This world is cruel and beautiful, Ren. Full of wonders and horrors alike. But you will not face it alone. Not while I still draw breath. We are bound now — by this curse, by fate, and perhaps by something neither of us yet understands."
Elizabeth lifted her hand and gently brushed a strand of hair from my forehead, her crimson gaze softening just a fraction.
"Welcome to your new life… Ren."
The fire crackled behind her, casting long shadows across the room as the weight of her words settled over me like a heavy cloak.
I was no longer just lost.
I had a witch for a guardian.
And something told me my time in this world was only just beginning.
-----
Elizabeth Evernight moved with fluid grace toward the small kitchen alcove. She took down an old iron tea jar and two obsidian-black cups, her fingers dancing through the motions with practiced ease. The scent of strange herbs soon filled the cabin — deep, earthy, with hints of nightshade and star jasmine.
"Come," she said, picking up the tray. "The inside of this cabin has seen enough sorrow for one night. Let us drink outside."
I followed her through the heavy wooden door. The moment we stepped into the open air, the atmosphere shifted.
The storm that had once raged violently was gone. The sky above was no longer blood-red but a breathtaking gradient of deep violet and indigo, scattered with unfamiliar constellations that shimmered like shattered diamonds. A gentle, cool breeze carried the scent of night-blooming flowers.
Before me stretched a small but breathtaking garden. Flowers of impossible hues — midnight black roses with silver-edged petals, deep violet lilies that glowed faintly, and crimson blossoms that pulsed like living hearts — swayed softly under the starlight. Bioluminescent vines climbed ancient stone pillars, casting a soft, otherworldly glow across the ground.
In the center of this secret garden sat a simple stone bench carved with protective runes, large enough for two.
Elizabeth led me there and sat down first, arranging her long black dress around her. She poured the tea with elegant precision. The liquid was pitch black, almost like liquid shadow, yet when I took my first cautious sip, the taste surprised me completely.
It was rich, slightly sweet, with layers of dark berry, warm spice, and something mysteriously floral. Far from bitter — it was comforting.
"This tastes… really good," I said, genuinely impressed.
Elizabeth's crimson eyes sparkled with amusement. She took a slow sip from her own cup before replying with a teasing smile.
"Praise me more, Ren. A witch's ego is a fragile thing."
I couldn't help but smile back.
"I thought it would be bitter," I admitted.
She raised an elegant eyebrow, her expression turning playfully dangerous.
"What did you say? Am I bitter now?"
"No, no!" I quickly waved my hands. "I didn't mean it like that. It was just… fun to tease you a little."
Elizabeth leaned closer, her full lips curving into a smug, predatory smile that made my pulse quicken.
"Oh? It's fun to make me angry?" She tilted her head, voice dropping into a sultry whisper. "Then it will be equally fun for me to boil you alive in one of my cauldrons, little vessel."
I froze for a second before blurting out, "No ma'am—! My apologies!"
She let out a soft, melodic laugh that cut through the night like silver bells. The tension dissolved instantly.
"Relax, Ren," she said, still smiling. "I quite enjoy your little rebellions. They remind me I'm not completely alone anymore."
We sat in comfortable silence for a while, sipping the mysterious tea under the alien stars. The black and violet flowers around us swayed gently, as though listening to our conversation.
Then Elizabeth's expression grew more serious. She set her cup down on the stone and turned to face me fully, her crimson eyes glowing faintly in the starlight.
"Now… tell me your story," she said, her voice low and solemn. "From the very beginning. How you found the mirror. What happened when you first came here. And everything that followed. Leave nothing out."
The night air grew still. Even the flowers seemed to quiet their swaying, as if the garden itself was waiting to hear my tale.