David stared at the mirror under the iron chair for a few minutes, lost for words.
He slowly wiped the tears off his face and sat on the chair, picking the mirror up.
Two things, or rather... two decisions, were battling in his mind, both made up of unanswered questions.
First, he wanted to believe the mirror was just being sarcastic, given its behavior. And also, what did it mean by "help"? It wasn't a doctor... or was it? No, no... The mirror couldn't be a doctor. It didn't have arms, legs... It didn't even have a body!
Yet, were doctors the only ones who could save his daughter? Come to think of it, the mirror fiend kept saying, "who can save her from something so vile?" What was that supposed to mean? Had humanity been looking at this pandemic at the wrong angle all this while? Was this pandemic not medical?
Doctors could treat symptoms, yes. They could fight seizures, slow infections, put people on life support. But if the mirror was right... had humanity been fighting shadows with scalpels all along?
David's heart pounded. His daughter's face flashed in his mind... pale, trembling, fragile.
What if this pandemic... wasn't even something that should be called a pandemic?
And worse... what if the mirror knew why?
How could it? Unless... it wasn't human at all. The way it kept sneering "human" at him, as if the word itself were beneath it.
He then came to two decisions, which were currently battling in his mind:
... Believe or do not believe.
David thought for a while, back to his composed self. He contemplated the right reply... or rather, the right question to ask.
Then, David tightened his grip on the mirror until his knuckles whitened.
"...What are you really?" he muttered.
The shadow inside stirred, as if it had been waiting for the question all along.
The voice was silent for a few seconds. Just as the mirror fiend was about to say something, the window nearby abruptly flew open, the chill wind of the cold night finding its way into the hospital. The wind blew David's hair, making him lose focus for a moment.
The curtains flapped violently, the rods rattling as if some unseen hand had forced them loose. A nurse down the hall shouted something about the draft, but to David, the sound was distant and muffled.
He turned back to the mirror, his pulse hammering in his ears.
The shadow inside had shifted. Its vague outline seemed taller now, sharper, as though it was pressing harder against the dark glass.
A low chuckle seeped out, hushed and drawn out, immediately drowned by the howl of the wind.
Then the voice said in a cold, scary, inhuman, and almost... evil voice:
"What I am..." the voice whispered, lingering over each word.
"...is what your kind fears most when your clever tools and white coats fail you. When your truth is out, you seek us and blame us... yet you run from us..."
David's mask of composure broke again. This time it was... fear.
David's fingers trembled around the mirror's cold frame. His breath came in shallow bursts, each one fogging the glass for a moment before fading.
He could throw it away and break the mirror now... Yes, he could possibly do that.
... But another voice in his mind argued back:
What if it's the only thing that can save Lily? What if throwing it away means losing her forever?
His knuckles whitened as he lifted the mirror higher, ready to hurl it against the tiled floor. For a heartbeat, he could already imagine it shattering, pieces scattering like spilled night.
But he froze. His arm wouldn't move.
The voice said nothing, as if it was enjoying seeing David slowly lose his sanity.
"...Damn it..." he whispered hoarsely, lowering the mirror again, his chest tight with indecision.
"Damn it, damn it..."
"Son?"
The voice made him jolt. He turned, startled, and saw an old woman standing a few feet away. Her hair was thin and silver, tucked beneath a faded shawl. Her wrinkled hands clutched a worn satchel, and her sharp eyes seemed far too clear for her age.
"You're shaking like a leaf..." she said gently, her tone both chiding and kind.
"What's got you worked up like this?"
David blinked, realizing he must look insane... sweating, whispering to an object in his hands as if it were alive.
The woman tilted her head, peering at him.
"And stop talking to yourself, dear. People will think you've lost your wits. This is a hospital, not the streets. In fact, don't behave this way anywhere..."
David clenched his jaw, lowering the mirror into his lap, trying to steady his breathing. He wanted to snap, to say he wasn't talking to himself, but the words stuck in his throat.
Instead, the old woman placed a hand on his shoulder, surprisingly firm despite her frailty.
"Whatever it is, don't carry it alone. Fear grows heavier if you keep feeding it."
Her touch lingered, grounding him. For a brief second, the storm in his chest eased.
David gave a small, weary nod, though his eyes slid back to the mirror.
He wasn't sure if she had calmed him... or only reminded him how completely he was losing control.
The voice then laughed menacingly. A very loud and taunting laughter.
"... Humans... So stupid. Was that... supposed to be a motivation? What does she mean by 'feeding fears'? Humans are so stupid."
To David's surprise, the woman didn't react. What was he expecting? No, but something else struck him. People can't hear the mirror's voice nor see it!
David's expression paled.
"Ooh... Now you see it... You see, you're very special... Very special, anguished human... You're not a Warden, yet you can understand, see, and communicate with a being that can shape your life in a mere second... So special... Splendid!"
The voice laughed again, mocking David.
David's grip on the mirror tightened until his palms burned. The laughter reverberated inside the glass, sharp and mocking, yet no one else reacted.
The old woman remained still beside him, her hand resting on his shoulder with an oddly steady calm. She didn't even flinch.
David's breath caught.
"...You... you didn't hear that?" he asked, his voice low and hesitant.
The woman blinked at him, her brows knitting.
"Hear what?" she asked, her tone flat with confusion.
His mouth went dry. He turned toward her, searching her expression for any sign that she was joking, mocking, or lying. But her face was unshaken, her eyes clear. She had heard... nothing.
The fiend inside the mirror cackled louder, its voice scraping like rusted chains.
"See? Only you, David. Only you hear me. Only you see me. Does that not make you special?"
David's stomach twisted. His heart thudded painfully in his chest. The realization pressed on him like lead: the mirror was real, the voice was real... but to everyone else, it would look like he was losing his mind.
"Careful, son..." the woman murmured, patting his shoulder once before withdrawing her hand.
"... Madness is a heavier burden than grief. Don't let it take root."
She walked away slowly, her shawl dragging slightly across the sterile floor, until she disappeared around the corner of the hall.
David sat frozen, the mirror still heavy in his lap. He stared after her, his throat tight, before his eyes slid back to the glass.
The fiend's shadow leaned closer, its grin pressing against the inside of the mirror like cracks in darkness.
"Did you see? Even when they stand right beside you, they cannot touch this truth. You and I, David... we are alone. But that makes us stronger. Don't you think?"
The words coiled around him like smoke, pressing into his ear.
"Now tell me... will you keep resisting, or will you finally listen?"
For the first time in ten years, David's composure was broken. Compared to the last ten years, this was different. It was broken in less than a night... not by a human... but by a talking mirror.
David stared at the mirror, yet again, lost for words.
"How can you save her?"
The voice fell silent for a while then said in its usual carefree but inhuman voice, a bit of amusement finding its way into his voice:
"It's very simple, we will just enter her inner world, kill the demon that is trying to use her as a host, and come out again... No big deal."
A deep frown appeared on David's face. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a deep masculine voice.
"Are you Mr. Nathaniel Davidson?"
David looked up and raised an eyebrow. In front of him was a nurse and... a cop.
The man looked to be in his late forties, tall and broad with a bit of weight around the middle. His uniform was neatly pressed, though the creases at the shoulders showed it had been worn all day. A faint scar ran from the corner of his mouth to his chin, giving him a serious look even when he wasn't trying. His gray eyes studied David carefully, steady and unreadable.
"Are you Mr. Nathaniel Davidson?" he asked again, his voice low and even, carrying the calm authority of someone used to being obeyed.
"Yes... That's my name. Uhm... How may I help you, officer?"
David's throat tightened. The mirror felt suddenly heavier in his lap, as though the fiend inside was leaning on it, eager to see what would happen next.
The officer's gray eyes didn't blink.
"Mr. Nathaniel Davidson... you've been reported."
David stiffened.
"Reported? For what?"
The nurse shifted nervously, clutching her clipboard tighter. The officer's tone sharpened as he continued to address David.
"For knowingly harboring someone infected with NDS under your roof. You understand the consequence if that disease spreads outside regulation? You're aware it's a state-level crime?"
David's heart skipped. This has always been what he wanted to avoid... the rules of the government.
The mirror's voice purred low, dripping with amusement.
"Oh... how delightful. Caught between me and them. Which master will you bow to, anguished human?"
David ignored the voice, forcing his lips to move. "My daughter is sick, yes... but I wasn't hiding her. I was trying to help her... she's just a child!"
"Just a child?" The officer's eyes hardened, a flicker of pity buried under his practiced steel. "Sir, NDS is not just a fever. You've seen what it does when containment is ignored. People turn, and whole families go under. And you thought you could keep her at home?"
"I..." David faltered. His knuckles whitened around the mirror.
The officer's jaw clenched. "You think you're the first parent to say that?" He shook his head. "You're not. And every time someone makes that choice, more people die."
David swallowed hard, throat dry. He wanted to argue, to explain, but what could he even say? That the thing killing Lily wasn't a virus, but something worse? That a mirror with a voice told him so? They'd lock him up before he even finished the sentence.
The fiend chuckled in his ear, loud enough that he nearly flinched. "Tell him, David. Tell him the truth. That what your science calls disease is something far older. That they cannot save her... but I can."
David's breathing grew ragged. His composure cracked further under the officer's stare.
The cop's eyes softened for just a second, then hardened again. "Look, I get it. You're scared. But by keeping her home, you put every neighbor, every passerby at risk. That's why it's a crime. You don't get to gamble with other people's lives because she's your little girl."
"Mr. Davidson..." the officer continued, voice flat, almost rehearsed.
"... By law, you should be detained for endangerment. The only reason you're not in cuffs already is because your daughter was brought here before escalation. But this is serious. You will still face charges, but not as lenient. Do you understand?"
David's chest tightened. He wanted to scream, to explain, to plead. But if he told the truth... that his daughter's illness wasn't just medical, that a demon was feeding on her soul... then he'd be locked away for madness instead of crime.
The mirror fiend whispered again, cold and seductive.
"See how they turn on you? The humans you cling to? They call you criminal... I call you savior. Only I can give you the blade you need."
David squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, sweat sliding down his temple.
The officer leaned forward slightly. "I'll ask once more, Mr. Davidson. Do you understand the charges against you?"
David's hand trembled over the mirror, caught between hurling it away and clutching it tighter. His voice was hoarse when he finally spoke:
"...Yes. I understand."
"Good..."
The officer handed him a booklet and continued. "You're to visit the police station tomorrow... I pray your daughter gets well. Thanks for your time, Mr. David."
The officer and the nurse left David alone with the mirror fiend.
He understood one thing now. This visit by the officer is just the beginning until he will totally lose Lily to the crazed government antics. Now, he had only one option left...
He turned to the mirror with a determined expression and said in a cold voice:
"How do we enter her soul?"