The cavern did not breathe.
It waited.
Elara stood alone before the towering silver surface, her reflection now still—quiet, almost innocent again. But she knew better.
That thing hadn't disappeared.
It had retreated.
Watching.
Listening.
Learning.
The air pressed against her skin like a warning.
Or a challenge.
Her pulse slowed deliberately as she forced herself to stand straighter. Fear was still there—sharp, coiled—but it no longer ruled her movements.
"Come out," she said into the silence.
Her voice echoed, swallowed, then returned in a softer, distorted whisper.
Come out…
Nothing happened.
Elara exhaled slowly.
"Fine," she muttered. "Then I'll come to you."
And before her hesitation could return—
She stepped forward.
Straight into the mirror.
Cold.
Not the kind that touched skin—
The kind that seeped into bone.
Elara gasped as the world twisted around her. Silver light shattered into fragments, spinning, stretching, breaking apart until—
