Pain was the first thing I felt.
It sat heavy in my head, sharp and constant, like something was pressing against my skull from the inside. I tried to open my eyes, but the pain spiked the moment I did, forcing them shut again.
Then the visions came.
They didn't arrive gently. They crashed into me all at once, flooding my mind with images that didn't belong to me—or maybe they did. I couldn't tell. My body refused to move. I couldn't lift a hand. I couldn't turn my head. All I could do was watch.
A woman stood in front of me.
She was close enough that I could see the details of her face clearly. Long dark hair framed her features, and her skin looked pale under a dim, undefined light. What drew my attention immediately were her eyes.
They were purple.
Not a soft shade. Not natural. A deep, vivid purple that seemed to glow faintly as she looked at me.
She was smiling.
It wasn't a cruel smile. There was something gentle about it, something almost familiar. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, slipping down her cheeks as she stared at me like she was saying goodbye.
My chest tightened.
I wanted to speak. I wanted to ask who she was, why she was here, why my head hurt so badly. I tried to move my lips, but nothing happened. My body remained frozen, unresponsive.
The woman lifted her hand.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she reached up toward her face. I felt a sharp sense of wrongness twist inside me, even before I understood what she was about to do.
She pressed her fingers against her eye.
My breath hitched, though no sound came out.
Slowly too slowly she dug her fingers in and pulled.
Blood spilled down her cheek as her eye came free, resting in her palm. It should have horrified me. It should have made me scream.
But I couldn't.
I could only watch.
The purple eye sat in her hand, glowing faintly now. The woman didn't cry out. She didn't flinch. Her expression remained calm, even as tears continued to fall.
She took a step closer.
I tried to move back.
Nothing.
I tried to scream.
Nothing came out.
Panic set in, sharp and sudden, clawing its way through my chest. I struggled against the invisible weight holding me in place, but my body refused to respond. It was like I wasn't there at all like I was trapped behind my own eyes.
The woman reached out toward me.
Her hand was warm when it touched my face. I felt the pressure of her fingers, gentle but firm, as she held my head still. My heart pounded violently, my breaths uneven and shallow.
She lifted the eye toward my face.
No.
I wanted to shake my head. I wanted to beg her to stop. I wanted to close my eyes.
I couldn't.
She removed one of my eyes.
I felt it happen.
The sensation was strange not painful, not sharp. Just a sudden absence, like something had been quietly taken away. My vision on that side went dark instantly.
Before I could process it, she pressed the purple eye into its place.
The moment it connected, a wave of heat rushed through my head. My vision flared, colors blurring together violently. The pain in my skull intensified, then vanished just as suddenly.
The woman's face softened.
She smiled one last time.
Then the vision shattered.
I gasped and sat upright.
Light flooded my eyes, bright and blinding. I squeezed them shut instinctively, my hands flying up to my face as my heart raced. My chest rose and fell rapidly as I struggled to catch my breath.
I was breathing.
I was alive.
Slowly, carefully, I opened my eyes.
Sunlight streamed through a large window, casting warm light across white walls and pale floors. The air smelled clean sharp, sterile. Machines hummed softly somewhere nearby.
I looked around.
A hospital room.
The bed beneath me was unfamiliar. The sheets were neatly tucked in, my body wrapped in thin fabric instead of the blood-soaked clothes I remembered. A dull ache lingered in my chest, but it wasn't overwhelming.
There was no one else in the room.
My hands trembled as I looked down at myself. My body felt… wrong. Lighter. Smaller. I lifted my arm, noticing the IV needle taped to the back of my hand, clear fluid dripping steadily into my vein.
Did I… survive?
The thought didn't feel real.
My heart pounded harder as I pushed myself off the bed, ignoring the sudden dizziness that hit me. My feet touched the floor, and I staggered slightly, catching myself against the side of the bed.
Across the room, a reflective surface caught my eye.
A mirror.
I forced myself toward it, every step unsteady. When I finally stood in front of it and looked up
My breath caught painfully in my chest.
The girl staring back at me wasn't the woman who had died in the snow.
She was younger.
Her face was smoother, her features softer. There were no signs of exhaustion carved into her expression, no shadows under her eyes. Her hair fell loosely around her shoulders, glossy and untouched by blood.
Beautiful.
My hands shook as I lifted them, touching my face, my cheeks, my eyes.
My eyes.
They stared back at me, wide and unfamiliar.
A sharp spike of fear ran through me.
I stumbled back from the mirror, my thoughts spiraling. None of this made sense. The hospital. My body. The vision.
I needed to leave.
Panic drove me forward as I rushed toward the door, grabbing at the IV line without thinking. I yanked it free, pain exploding through my hand as the needle tore out.
I gasped, clutching my hand as blood welled up, but I didn't stop.
I pushed the door open and stepped into the hallway.
The moment my foot hit the floor, my legs gave out.
Pain shot through my body as I collapsed, my shoulder slamming into the wall. The impact knocked the air from my lungs, my vision flashing white.
I tried to push myself up.
My arms failed.
The ceiling blurred above me as the last of my strength drained away.
Then—
Everything went black.