CHAPTER 33: THE MIRROR

The mirror was messing with me. Had to be.

I blinked. My eyes were still violet. The smoke still poured from me like I was some kind of leaking faucet of cursed energy.

Great. Fantastic. Just what I needed.

Felix was still backing away. "Professor. I don’t want to alarm you, but your reflection is very wrong right now."

Julien squinted at the glass. "Looks normal to me."

Mira glanced at the mirror, then at me. "Yeah, same. What’s he talking about?"

Felix gawked at them. "You guys are blind! He’s literally dripping spooky fog in the reflection!"

They stared at him like he was the crazy one.

I sighed.

So, Felix could see it too.

That was... something.

I turned away from the mirror. "We’re leaving."

Felix exhaled like I’d just saved his soul. "Oh, thank the heavens."

Julien raised an eyebrow. "That fast? No investigating? No ominous warnings?"

I shrugged. "I’m not in the mood for horror clichés today."

Leo nodded furiously. "Finally, some sense in this nightmare."

We ignored the Problem Like a Pro.

We left the mirror alone. No poking it. No touching it. No triggering some ancient curse that would ruin our already terrible lives.

The door didn’t slam shut behind us. The cave didn’t shake. The walls didn’t start bleeding.

Good.

Progress.

Felix still looked paranoid, but that was normal.

Mira was quiet, though. She kept glancing back.

Julien noticed. "Something wrong, Trickster?"

She frowned. "I... thought I saw something move."

Felix froze. "Move where?"

Mira pointed at the shadows behind the shelves. "There."

Leo turned very slowly. "Nothing’s there."

"Not anymore."

Felix groaned. "Oh, screw this. I’m not playing ghost tag in a murder cave."

I agreed.

"We move faster," I said.

No one argued.

As we walked, the purple smoke followed.

Still slow. Still twisting lazily like it had all the time in the world.

I ignored it.

Or tried to.

It was getting harder.

Because now... it wasn’t just floating.

It was forming shapes.

Figures. Shadows. People.

They weren’t solid. They didn’t move. Just stood there, like memories burned into the air.

Faces with no eyes. Mouths slightly open, like they were mid-sentence.

Silent. Watching.

I kept walking.

I did not tell the students.

Felix would probably drop dead on the spot.

We were almost out. I could feel it.

Then we took a turn—

And hit another dead end.

Julien sighed. "Of course. Of course we went the wrong way."

Felix pressed himself against the nearest wall. "Okay, but, hear me out—maybe this isn’t our fault. Maybe the cave is shifting."

Leo gave him a look. "It’s a cave, not a magical labyrinth."

Felix crossed his arms. "You sure? You really sure? Because I feel like we keep taking ’shortcuts’ and ending up nowhere."

He had a point.

The map in my head wasn’t matching anymore.

Mira tested the walls. "Doesn’t feel like an illusion."

Julien frowned. "Then how—"

The ground rumbled.

Leo stiffened. "Oh, no. Nope. I reject this. I refuse to acknowledge whatever is happening."

The air shifted.

Something moved behind us.

Felix turned first. Then stopped breathing.

"...Professor," he whispered.

I turned.

And saw it.

The mirror.

It was standing right behind us.

We had walked away from it. Left it behind. And yet, here it was, standing exactly where we turned around.

Julien swore under his breath. "Tell me we didn’t just loop."

Mira shook her head. "No. That’s not possible. This wasn’t here before."

Felix looked pale. "I hate this. I hate this so much."

Leo groaned. "Can we just break it and move on?"

I was tempted. Very tempted.

But my gut told me that was a bad idea.

Because now?

Now the reflection was smiling.

And I definitely wasn’t.

The thing in the mirror looked like me.

Same face. Same hair. Same stupidly expensive coat I wished I could trade for something more practical.

But its smile was too wide. Too sharp.

It tilted its head, but I didn’t.

Felix saw it too. His breathing turned shallow. "That’s not you. That’s not you."

I didn’t respond.

I just stared it down.

It stared back.

Then, slowly, it raised its hand—

And pointed at Felix.

Felix nearly fainted on the spot. "NOPE. I’M OUT. GOODBYE."

He spun around to run.

But the cave was gone.

No walls. No ceiling. Just blackness stretching into infinity.

Leo made a choking sound. "What the hell is happening!?"

Julien grabbed Mira’s wrist. "Okay, yeah, Professor? Ideas. Now."

The mirror shook.

The reflection’s smile stretched wider.

I exhaled. Then stepped forward.

"Alright," I muttered. "Let’s see what you want."

The moment my boot touched the floor, the mirror shattered—

But instead of breaking, the shards just floated there.

Frozen. Hanging in the air like weightless knives.

And behind them?

A door.

Old. Wooden. The kind you’d see in an ancient mansion, not a cave.

The handle twisted on its own.

Leo held up his hands. "Nope. No way. That’s a cursed door. That’s a ’walk in and die’ door."

Mira narrowed her eyes. "Or it’s the only way out."

Felix whimpered. "Or both."

Julien glanced at me. "Professor?"

I stared at the door.

The purple smoke was leaking from the cracks.

Slow. Silent.

Still twisting into shapes I didn’t like.

I sighed. "We’re going in."

Felix let out a faint sob. "Why do we always go into the horrible places?"

I patted his shoulder. "Builds character."

Leo muttered, "Builds trauma, more like."

But they followed.

Because, really—

What other choice did we have?

The second we stepped through, the temperature dropped.

Not cave cold. House cold. The kind of chill you’d feel in an abandoned building where the air felt wrong.

The door shut behind us.

I didn’t even bother trying to open it.

We weren’t leaving until whoever ran this little haunted house let us.

The room was... off.

Wooden floor. Stone walls. A chandelier that shouldn’t have been able to hang from anything.

A dining table sat in the middle. Dusty. Empty. Except—

Julien frowned. "Professor." He pointed. "That’s your name."

I followed his gaze.

There was a nameplate at the head of the table.

Lucian Drelmont.

"...Huh."

Felix whimpered. "This is bad. This is so bad."

Leo groaned. "It could be worse."

The chair moved on its own.

Leo threw his hands up. "I TAKE IT BACK."

The air rippled.

A shadow formed in the chair. Not a person. Just a shape. A mass of shifting black.

It leaned forward. Two glowing violet eyes locked onto mine.

Felix fainted.

Mira stepped behind me.

Julien tensed.

Leo whispered, "You’re seeing this too, right?"

I nodded.

The shadow spoke.

"Sit."

The voice was distorted, like someone speaking through shattered glass.

I didn’t move.

The shadow chuckled. The sound was wrong.

It didn’t press me. Just... waited.

I glanced at my students.

Then I sighed, walked over, and sat down.

Felix, still on the floor, mumbled, "Professor, no..."

But it was too late.

The second I touched the chair—

The room changed.