The mirror buckled outward as if a creature were drowning inside it, clawing toward the surface.Shards trembled, vibrating with a shrill, unnatural hum.Evelyn staggered backward, her heartbeat hammering louder than the train's pulse.
Then—
CRACK.
A long fissure split the glass from corner to corner.A pale hand shot through, fingers bending in unnatural angles as it grabbed the wooden floorboards. The reflection's arm slid out next—wet, slick with silvered liquid that smelled like rust.
Evelyn's stomach twisted.
Two monsters. Same face. Same eyes. Same brokenness.
But this new one—the mirror-spawn—had something different.Its eyes glowed a faint, shimmering white, like fog trapped inside glass.No pupils.No emotion.
Just hunger.
The first shadow-Evelyn turned toward the new arrival.Their heads twitched in the same rhythm.They were mirrors of each other—but only one of them cast a shadow.
The mirror-born creature… didn't.
Evelyn swallowed hard, gripping the lantern until her knuckles hurt."Stay away…" she whispered, though her voice barely carried over the low hum of the Heart behind them.
Both creatures snapped their heads toward her.
Slowly.Deliberately.
In unison.
And smiled.
"We remember." the shadow one hissed."We return." the mirror one finished.
The lights exploded in a shower of sparks.
Darkness swallowed the carriage.
But the monsters glowed faintly—one with blackness swirling around its cracked skin,the other with a fog-like aura, as if its body never fully solidified after leaving the mirror.
Evelyn backed up until her shoulders hit the cold metal wall.Breathing shallow.Lantern shaking in her grip.
The shadow-Evelyn crawled toward her, its limbs jerking.The mirror-Evelyn walked instead—smooth, slow, almost graceful, like she was gliding instead of stepping.
The combination was horrifying.
One a predator.One a ghost.
Evelyn's voice trembled."I'm not… I'm not you."
The mirror creature leaned its head, studying her like prey.
"You are exactly us."
The shadow one finished:
"And we are exactly what you fear."
Evelyn swung the lantern wildly—but the mirror creature lifted a hand and the flame bent toward her, as if pulled by invisible gravity.The lantern light stretched, thin as a thread, trembling violently.
It wasn't attacking.
It was feeding.
The lantern started dimming—weakening—
"No— NO—!" Evelyn cried, trying to pull it back.
The mirror creature's fog-like fingers reached for the flame, absorbing it, draining it—
Until the last ember flickered out.
Darkness hit like a wave.
Evelyn stood frozen, breathing the same breath as her monsters.
Alone in the dark.
Except she wasn't alone.
The train whispered:"Your shadow shows your fear.Your reflection shows your truth.And both belong to me."