Vorn didn't move.
The room felt heavier now. Like the air had thickened the moment Seren was carried out. His body had stopped trembling, but only because it was too tired to. His eyes stayed locked on the door, as if she'd walk back in, smiling, laughing, calling him stupid like she used to. But she wouldn't. Not after what he saw. Not after what he heard. That laugh—it wasn't hers.
He pressed both palms to his face, dragging them down slowly, like it might wake him up. It didn't. The cold reality stayed, and so did the silence. He sat there for a long time, unmoving, his thoughts chasing themselves in tight circles. Then, barely a whisper, "Why…?"
His own voice sounded small. Weak. The kind of voice someone makes when the world's too big to fight. He clenched his fists. His jaw tightened. "Why?"
Still nothing. Just that same dead quiet. His breathing grew uneven. A dull pain built in his chest. He forced himself up, feet touching the cold floor, eyes scanning the empty room. "Why her?" he muttered, louder now. "Why me?"
Then the laugh came back.
Not from outside. Not from any corner of the room.
It was in his head.
"Hehehe... you humans always ask that. 'Why me?' 'Why now?' 'Why not someone else?'"
Vorn froze, the air shifted. It didn't get colder—it got closer. Like something stood just behind his neck, breathing without lungs.
The voice chuckled again. "Because you're weak. And weak things make the best toys."
He turned sharply, nothing but he knew, it was still here, watching, enjoying."You... what the hell do you want from me?" he hissed.
"You? Nothing. You're just the latest one. The last one cried more, though. Hmm… maybe you'll scream louder."
Vorn's knuckles cracked as he clenched his hands. The card on the tray twitched again, the system blinked to life across his glasses:
[Unauthorized Entity Detected] [Memory Cost: Deferred]
He staggered backward as the mirror across the room shimmered.
At first, it looked normal. Just his reflection, pale, sweaty, tired. But then… it blinked, then it smiled, he stepped closer. His chest rising and falling fast. The reflection did nothing. It just smiled, calmly, mockingly.
Then its lips moved, without sound.
Beg.
"What…?"
The system responded:
[Blood Mirror: Initiation Begins – 12:00:00] [Requirement: Survive the First Memory]
The reflection vanished. Just like that. Gone. Only his pale face remained now, staring back normally, as if nothing had changed, vorn stumbled back into the bed, heart hammering.
"What the hell is happening…"
The card pulsed it didn't show physicaly outside but in his head. Like a vein throbbing deep in his skull. Then something darker. Warmer.
It reached out.
And the room shattered.
—
He stood on blackened grass.
Smoke filled the air. The sky was sickly grey. Ash rained down in soft flakes. Below the hill, a house burned. Flames danced across the roof as screams from within.
A boy stood in front of it all, age about Ten years old, maybe younger. Holding a piece of paper, he smiled and signed it, the paper pulsed red.
Then everything exploded into black.
—
Vorn gasped, bolting upright. Back in the hospital bed, drenched in sweat, the lights hummed. The tray was still there and the card was still resting silently, he stared at his shaky hands then looked around, no voice, no laugh.
Just the system:
[Memory Fragment Absorbed] [Origin: Unknown] [Warning: Emotional Stability: Critical] [Path: Veiled Noir – 79% Integrity]
He exhaled loudly just that It didn't help, he leaned forward, pressing his hands into his face. It wasn't just exhaustion anymore, It was erosion. Bit by bit, he was slipping.
"What was that?"
No answer, he turned his head toward the mirror again. This time, it was him. Just him.
The glasses flickered again:
[11:58:42]
The countdown had started, he didn't know what the Blood Mirror
was. He didn't want to.
But it was coming.
And he had no idea how to stop it.