[Chapter 271: A Blank Spot in Memory]
Ivanka's body trembled as she let out a long sigh of relief, her previously tense shoulders finally slumping.
"Get in the car first," Daniel said calmly.
Sitting in the back seat of the Rolls-Royce, Ivanka removed her sunglasses, her blue eyes still filled with lingering fear.
Ivanka studied Daniel carefully. "Daniel, is that really you? Not an illusion, right?"
Daniel leaned close to her ear and whispered something, causing her face to flush bright red.
At the same time, she relaxed. "Thank goodness, it's really you. I was so afraid I'd been tricked by a fake."
The car drove through the bustling streets of Manhattan and stopped in front of a modern apartment building.
Ivanka owned a top-floor duplex here, with an incredible view overlooking Central Park.
The moment Daniel stepped inside, his Spiritual Sense instinctively spread out.
The interior was avant-garde, dominated by cool-toned stone and minimalist lines, giving off a rational, elite vibe.
Daniel inspected the rooms; the living room, open kitchen, second-floor bedroom, and study.
After the first round, he frowned slightly.
Under the Spiritual Perception Technique, the rooms appeared clean. There was no surging dark energy or that sickening aura of death. Besides an odd, slightly stagnant feeling in the air, this place seemed like a perfect residence.
Yet, he didn't stop there. He continued on a second slow, deliberate round.
Ivanka followed closely, not daring to make a sound.
She felt Daniel pause for several seconds at every corner, as if confronting an unseen presence.
On the third round, Daniel stopped at the end of the second-floor hallway by a minimalist entryway cabinet.
Above it hung a massive, antique mirror.
It clashed starkly with the cool-toned, minimalist furniture. The frame was thick, made of deep-red hardwood, carved with intricate, retro patterns. The patterns resembled entwining vines, or countless tiny snakes tangled together. The mirror's surface was dull, like it was covered by an unwipeable haze.
When reflecting Daniel and Ivanka, the image always appeared slightly distorted.
Daniel stood before it, staring intensely.
On the surface, it looked like a finely crafted old object. But in Daniel's perception, the mirror wasn't so simple.
He gazed at his reflection, cold and stern.
"Ivanka, when did you get this mirror?" Daniel asked, turning to her.
Ivanka hesitated, eyes fixed on the mirror.
She frowned, thinking hard before speaking quietly, "It should've been... last month? Or maybe the month before? I remember buying it at Sotheby's Auction House."
Daniel stared into her eyes. "Are you sure?"
Ivanka rubbed her temples, her expression tightening with pain. "Wait, that's not right. I don't think I attended an auction... Maybe it was a gift from my father for my business opening?"
She shook her head. "No, my father doesn't like old-fashioned things like this."
Her voice grew softer, eyes glazing over. "It's strange. How... how can I not remember where it came from?"
"Where was it bought?" Daniel pressed, his voice carrying a subtle, soul-shaking force.
Ivanka trembled as if struck by lightning.
Her eyes locked on the mirror, her face going pale. "I don't remember. I completely don't remember how it got here. In my memory, it seems... like it's always been here. Or like it just appeared out of nowhere."
The more she thought, the more terrified she became. Her body began trembling uncontrollably.
"Daniel, something's wrong. There's a blank spot in my memory!"
Daniel reached out, fingertips lightly tracing the deep-red wooden frame. It was cold to the touch, with a faintly sucking sensation.
"That fits," Daniel sneered. "It alters your perception, making you subconsciously ignore its presence, treating it like a natural part of the room."
Ivanka stepped back two steps, covering her mouth in horror. "You're saying all those hallucinations I've had... are because of this?"
"It's 'consuming' your reality," Daniel said, turning to shield Ivanka behind him. "It distorts your senses, tearing you between illusion and reality."
Daniel now knew what horror Ivanka had faced this time.
This was the core evil object from the horror film Oculus -- the Mirror of Russell.
This mirror had its own consciousness. It didn't kill directly but twisted the perceptions around it. It could make you see things that weren't there, make you eat a lightbulb thinking it was an apple. It could make you kill the ones you loved with your own hands. Its most terrifying power was altering memories, making victims forget how the mirror even appeared. It was the pinnacle of spiritual control-type evil entities. Even an Exorcist trapped in the maze of its illusions could be lost.
Daniel looked back into the mirror.
Everything inside seemed normal. Daniel and Ivanka's reflections were clear.
He looked at the two images, about to speak.
Suddenly--
"No! Don't come any closer!"
Ivanka screamed, a piercing sound.
She was pushed back as if by some terrifying force, stumbling backward until she hit the wall.
Daniel spun around.
Ivanka's face was deathly pale. Her hands clutched her chest tightly, eyes wide, pupils filled with terror.
"You... don't come any closer!"
Her voice trembled, desperate sobbing underneath.
"No... Daniel... please don't..."
Daniel froze in place, not advancing.
He glanced at the mirror reflecting his cold, stern face.
But he already knew Ivanka had fallen under the mirror's illusion.
To her, he had transformed into a rotting demon wielding a long knife, ready to tear her apart.
Ivanka slid down the wall, bit by bit, watching the "Daniel" approaching step by step. Her teeth chattered as the "demon" closed in and raised a blood-stained axe.
"This isn't real... it has to be an illusion," Ivanka muttered as if trying to anchor herself. "Daniel wouldn't hurt me... he just saved me. He wouldn't hurt me!"
She stopped retreating abruptly.
Even as the "demon" came closer and raised the weapon, she clenched her jaw and stared straight ahead.
"I believe in Daniel... you're not him! Don't you dare trick me!"
Ivanka roared into the empty hallway.
Daniel stood stunned.
He hadn't expected that at the brink of terror, her first instinct would be absolute trust in him.
That trust even suppressed the mirror's sensory erosion.
Daniel's heart trembled slightly.
A tenderness he hadn't noticed before flickered in his gaze toward Ivanka.
*****
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