Ethan slammed his fists against the closet door, screaming Ryan's name.
But the room outside was empty.
No struggle.
No blood.
No sound.
Just… gone.
Aria stood frozen, her back to the wall, arms wrapped around herself. "It took him. Just like it almost took me."
Ethan turned to her, desperate. "You've been in here longer. You know this place. How do we get him back?"
She looked up, tears in her eyes. "We don't."
"No." He grabbed her shoulders, voice shaking. "Don't say that. We got you out. We can get him too."
Aria hesitated.
Then slowly nodded. "There's one place. The Mirrorheart Room. It's where the house keeps what it steals. Memories. People. Souls."
Ethan's blood ran cold. "Where?"
Aria swallowed. "The attic. But Ethan…" Her voice dropped. "That room—it's alive. And it'll make us see things. Feel things. If we go there, we may not come back."
He looked her in the eyes. "I'm not leaving without him."
They climbed the staircase slowly. Every creak was a scream. Every shadow a threat.
The attic door stood at the top—tall, cracked, covered in runes.
As they touched it, a shock of pain split through their skulls.
Visions flooded Ethan's mind.
Ryan, screaming, submerged in a black liquid.
Aria, reaching for him, her body dissolving into ash.
Ethan himself—walking away, smiling, alone.
He fell to his knees, gasping.
Aria clutched his hand. "Ignore it. It's not real. Not yet."
They pushed the door open.
The attic was massive—impossible in size. Mirrors lined the walls, floor to ceiling, all shattered but one.
The Mirrorheart.
It pulsed like a heart. Beat like one, too. Every thump echoed through their bones.
And inside it—they saw Ryan.
Floating. Eyes closed. Like he was dreaming something too dark to survive.
Ethan rushed forward.
Aria grabbed his arm. "If you go in, the house will offer you a trade."
He looked at her. "What kind of trade?"
But she didn't answer.
Because the mirror was already speaking.
"One for one."
"A soul for a soul."
"Take him… and one of you stays forever."
Ethan stared at Ryan's unconscious face.
Then at Aria.
"No," Aria said immediately. "Don't. Don't you dare even think about it."
Ethan stepped back, trembling.
Aria moved forward.
"I'll do it," she whispered. "He needs to go back. So do you."
"No!" Ethan pulled her away. "Don't. I—I'll do it."
"You love me," Aria said softly. "Don't you?"
Ethan's voice broke. "Since the day we met."
She gave him the saddest smile in the world. "Then let me do this."
Before he could stop her, she pressed her hand to the Mirrorheart.
And it opened.
Light exploded.
Ryan fell out, unconscious, into Ethan's arms.
And Aria…
Aria screamed.
Her body pulled into the glass—bone by bone, nerve by nerve.
She looked back at Ethan one last time, lips trembling.
"Don't let me be forgotten."
Then she was gone.
And the mirror shattered.
To be continued...