Vorn didn't move for what felt like hours.
The room felt different now, heavier. Like the air had turned to syrup the moment they carried Seren out. His body had stopped shaking, but only because it was too damn tired to keep going.
His eyes stayed locked on the door, hoping she'd walk back in, smiling, laughing, calling him an idiot like she used to. But she wouldn't. Not after what he'd seen. Not after what he'd heard.
That laugh, wasn't her laugh.
He pressed both palms against his face and dragged them down slowly, hoping it might snap him out of this nightmare. It didn't. The cold reality stayed put, and so did the crushing silence.
"Why..."
His voice came out as barely a whisper. Weak and small - the kind of sound someone makes when the world's too big to fight back against.
He clenched his fists, his jaw tightened.
"Why?" he said again, louder this time.
Still nothing. Just that same dead quiet that made his ears ring. His breathing got choppy. A dull pain built in his chest like a weight pressing down. He forced himself to stand, bare feet hitting the cold floor.
"Why her?" he muttered, scanning the empty room. "Why me?"
Then the laugh came back.
But not from outside, neither was it from any corner of the room.
It was inside his head.
"Hehehe... you humans always ask that. 'Why me?' 'Why now?' 'Why not someone else?'"
Vorn froze. The air didn't get colder - it got closer. Like something was standing right behind his neck, breathing without lungs.
The voice chuckled again, and it made his skin crawl.
"Because you're weak. And weak things make the best toys."
He spun around, nothing there. But he knew it was still watching, still enjoying his panic.
"What the hell do you want from me?" he hissed at the empty air.
"You? Nothing special. You're just the latest one. The last one cried more, though. Hmm... maybe you'll scream louder."
CRACK.
Vorn's knuckles popped as he clenched his hands. The card in his chest twitched like a living thing, and the system blazed to life across his glasses:
[UNAUTHORIZED ENTITY DETECTED]
[MEMORY COST: DEFERRED]
[THREAT LEVEL: CRITICAL]
He staggered backward as the mirror on the opposite wall started to shimmer.
At first it looked normal. Just his reflection - pale, sweaty, tired as hell. But then it blinked.
Then it smiled.
Vorn stepped closer, chest rising and falling too fast. His reflection did nothing for a moment. It just smiled calmly, mockingly.
Then its lips moved without sound.
Beg.
"What the—"
The system cut him off:
[BLOOD MIRROR: INITIATION BEGINS]
[TIMER: 12:00:00]
[REQUIREMENT: SURVIVE THE FIRST MEMORY]
[FAILURE CONDITION: COMPLETE MENTAL BREAKDOWN]
The reflection vanished. Just like that. Gone. Only his normal, pale face stared back now, like nothing had happened.
Vorn stumbled backward onto the bed, heart hammering against his ribs.
"What the hell is happening to me..."
The card pulsed - not physically, but inside his head. Like a vein throbbing deep in his skull. Then something darker reached out.
And the room shattered like glass.
Suddenly he was standing on blackened grass.
Smoke choked the air. The sky was this sickly grey color that made his stomach turn. Ash fell like snow - soft, warm flakes that stuck to his skin.
Below the hill, a house was burning. Orange flames danced across the roof while screams echoed from inside.
A boy stood watching it all. Maybe ten years old, probably younger. He was holding a piece of paper, smiling as he signed it.
The paper pulsed red.
Then everything exploded into darkness.
GASP.
Vorn bolted upright in the hospital bed, drenched in sweat. The fluorescent lights hummed overhead. The medical equipment beeped steadily. Everything was normal except for the fact that his hands were shaking like leaves.
He stared at his trembling fingers, then looked around the room, No voice, No malicious laughter.
Just the system:
[MEMORY FRAGMENT ABSORBED]
[ORIGIN: UNKNOWN]
[WARNING: EMOTIONAL STABILITY CRITICAL]
[PATH: VEILED NOIR - 79% INTEGRITY]
[CURRENT LEVEL: 1]
[EXP: 45/100]
He let out a shaky breath. It didn't help. He leaned forward, pressing his hands into his face.
This wasn't just exhaustion anymore. It was erosion. Bit by bit, piece by piece, he was coming apart at the seams.
"What was that vision?"
No answer, Of course not.
He turned toward the mirror again. This time it showed just him. Normal reflection, no creepy smiles, no moving lips.
But the glasses flickered with new information:
[BLOOD MIRROR COUNTDOWN: 11:58:42]
[TRIAL STATUS: ACTIVE]
[MEMORIES REMAINING: ???]
The countdown had started.
He didn't know what this Blood Mirror thing was. He didn't want to know.
But it was coming for him whether he liked it or not.
'And I have no idea how to stop it.'