The moon hung low — redder than usual — its glow bleeding through the cracked windows of Blackthorn Manor. Inside, Aarav lit another candle as Maya rolled out the map, her finger pointing to the southern wing.
"The chapel is next," she said. "That's where they performed the first blood-binding ritual."
Aarav's face tightened. "Let me guess… the fifth mirror?"
Maya nodded. "And the most dangerous one so far. It's called The Liar's Glass. Once you enter the chapel, nothing you hear — not even your own thoughts — can be trusted."
The doors to the chapel creaked open with a sound like bone scraping stone.
The room beyond had once been sacred. Now, it was defiled. Candles burned black along the walls, their flames flickering sideways. A broken altar stood at the center, stained dark with something older than dust.
Above it hung a massive mirror — wide and jagged, framed with thorny gold. At its base were words carved in Latin:
"Veritas est dolor."
(Truth is pain.)
Aarav stepped forward, but Maya held his arm.
"Once we enter, don't believe anything the mirror shows you. It feeds on lies… and memories."
As they crossed the threshold, a strange sensation washed over Aarav — as if the room had inhaled, and he was now trapped inside its lungs.
Suddenly, the chapel lit up — not with fire, but memory.
Aarav was no longer beside Maya. He was standing in a familiar classroom… one from his childhood. His old school. His younger self sat at a desk, scribbling notes. His father stood at the front of the class.
"You'll never be enough," his father's voice said. "Not for us. Not for her."
Aarav blinked. "This isn't real."
"You sure?" the voice whispered in his ear.
"Some lies are just truths no one wants to hear."
Elsewhere in the chapel, Maya faced her own nightmare.
She stood in a hospital corridor.
Her grandmother lay on a gurney, eyes wide open, mouth moving silently.
"You failed me," the old woman mouthed.
"You were supposed to end it."
Maya shook her head. "You're not her. You're the mirror."
The lights flickered. Blood began to pour from the walls. The gurney burst into flame.
Aarav's vision shifted again — now he was in the chapel once more, staring at the mirror.
And there he saw Ambrose Blackthorn, his own face twisted in robes of shadow.
"You're not running from the curse," Ambrose said. "You're circling it. You want to finish what I started."
"No," Aarav whispered. "I want to end it."
"Then prove it."
Aarav raised his hand — the pendant glowed — and hurled it at the mirror.
The glass shattered, screaming.
In its place, golden letters formed:
Father Marius Blackthorn
The Liar
The fifth soul… released.
But Not Alone
As the mirror's magic faded, Maya found Aarav kneeling at the altar, gasping.
"I saw Ambrose again," he said. "He knows. He's watching."
Maya helped him up, voice shaking.
"They're all watching now. We just freed the fifth spirit. Two mirrors remain."
Then the candles went out.
And in the silence, something laughed.
Not a child.
Not a woman.
Not human.