Airam stretched her arms as she stood outside the movie theater.
The movement pulled her leather jacket open slightly and revealed the burgundy dress beneath it.
She looked at Dante with an expectant smile as though he were an entertainer who had not yet completed his performance.
“My part is over.
Now it’s your turn.” Dante placed his hands in his pockets.
“What exactly do you expect me to do?” “Give me a reason not to find this date boring.” Airam tilted her head and waited.
Her expression made it clear that ordinary conversation or a quiet lunch would not impress her.
Dante finally understood that being cautious with Airam would accomplish nothing.
Maria might have appreciated a peaceful walk or a gentle conversation.
The woman controlling her body wanted excitement and direct action.
“All right.” He stepped forward and caught her wrist.
Airam’s eyes sharpened immediately.
Her free hand started to rise as instinct prepared her to retaliate, but Dante did not attack or tighten his grip.
He simply began pulling her across the street.
“Hey!” Airam stumbled for half a step before matching his pace.
“What are you doing?” “Finding something less childish.” Dante looked back with a bright smile while sunlight shone across his face.
Airam stared at him for a moment before allowing herself to be led away.
An amusement park stood several blocks from the theater.
Music, mechanical noises, and excited screams drifted over the entrance while colorful rides moved above the surrounding buildings.
Dante headed directly toward the tallest roller coaster in the park.
Airam looked up at the twisting steel tracks.
The cars climbed high above the other attractions before dropping almost vertically toward the ground.
“You think this will frighten me?” “No.
I think it might finally entertain you.” They bought tickets and joined the line.
Airam remained calm as the screams of the previous riders echoed overhead.
Once they reached the front, Dante and Airam climbed into the first row.
The restraints lowered across their shoulders before the car slowly left the station.
The roller coaster began climbing.
A steady clicking sound followed them upward while the amusement park became smaller beneath their feet.
Buildings spread across Derry in the distance, and the dark line of the surrounding forest marked the town’s edge.
Airam looked across the view without fear.
Wind moved through her hair while the car continued toward the highest point.
Dante glanced at her.
“Still bored?” “Ask me after the ride.” The car reached the top and slowed.
For one brief moment, they hung above the steep drop.
The track disappeared beneath the front of the car and left nothing but open air in sight.
Then the roller coaster plunged.
The sudden fall pushed Dante back against his seat.
Wind roared around them while screams erupted from every row.
Dante released his own shout and allowed the rush to overwhelm him.
The car reached the bottom before racing through a sharp turn that forced everyone sideways.
He looked toward Airam and expected to find surprise or panic.
She was not screaming.
Airam had raised both arms and opened them toward the rushing wind.
A wild smile spread across her face as the roller coaster carried her through another drop.
Her eyes shone with genuine excitement.
For the first time since taking control of Maria’s body, she seemed completely free.
There was no trapped reflection or frightened girl holding her back.
There was only the speed, the height, and the pleasure of experiencing something through a living body.
The car entered a loop and turned them upside down.
Airam laughed as the ground and sky traded places around her.
Dante watched her with growing curiosity.
Airam was dangerous and clearly willing to hurt anyone who stood in her way.
Yet the joy on her face did not appear false or calculated.
She looked like someone who had spent a lifetime imprisoned and had only now discovered the outside world.
The ride finally slowed and returned to the station.
Dante and Airam climbed out with several unsteady passengers.
Airam’s cheeks had become flushed from the wind and excitement.
She pushed her hair away from her face and looked back at the roller coaster.
“That was actually interesting.” Dante adjusted his jacket.
“So my performance was acceptable?” Airam turned toward him.
The genuine smile remained on her lips as she studied his face.
Instead of answering, she rose onto her toes and kissed his cheek.
The contact lasted only a moment.
Airam stepped away before Dante could react and continued walking through the park as though nothing unusual had happened.
Dante remained still and touched the place where her lips had rested.
Her warmth and faint perfume lingered against his skin.
He watched her confident figure move through the crowd.
“Airam.” The name left his mouth in a quiet murmur.
His suspicions had already become strong enough that he no longer believed the person before him was Maria.
Dante followed her with a thoughtful smile.
“This is becoming interesting.” They spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the amusement park.
Airam showed little interest in the slower attractions but enjoyed every ride that involved speed, height, or the possibility of danger.
By the time they left, evening had settled over Derry.
Streetlights flickered to life while the final traces of sunlight disappeared behind the buildings.
Dante expected the date to end there.
He was considering whether to take Airam home when she stopped near the curb.
“The Mayflower Department Store reopened this week.” Her suggestion was short and direct.
“Do you want to go?” Dante glanced at the time.
“You still have enough energy for shopping?” “I have spent most of my existence staring through glass.
I have plenty of energy.” The answer strengthened Dante’s suspicions, though Airam seemed unconcerned about revealing too much.
He smiled.
“My pleasure.” They reached the Mayflower half an hour later.
The enormous building had once been one of the most luxurious department stores in the area.
A devastating fire had closed it for years, but a recent restoration had transformed the ruins into Derry’s newest shopping destination.
A massive neon sign glowed above the entrance.
Bright windows displayed expensive clothing, jewelry, and furniture while crowds continued moving through the doors despite the late hour.
Dante and Airam entered together.
The instant he crossed the threshold, a cold pressure settled across his skin.
The interior looked beautiful at first glance.
Polished marble covered the floor while chandeliers cast warm light over the wide shopping areas.
Mirrors appeared everywhere.
Full-length mirrors lined the clothing stores.
Reflective panels covered the elevator walls while polished metal spheres hung from the ceiling as decorations.
Even the marble floor reflected the people walking over it.
Every direction contained another image of Dante and Airam.
Some reflections appeared clear while others stretched or curved across the decorative surfaces.
The building felt less like a department store and more like a maze made from glass.
Dante slowed his steps.
“Does something feel wrong to you?” Airam had already become tense.
Her confident expression disappeared as she scanned the surrounding mirrors.
Her eyes moved from one surface to the next as though she could hear sounds beyond the range of human hearing.
A strange pressure pushed against her soul.
Airam had existed within mirrors for years.
She understood the boundary between a reflection and the living world better than any ordinary supernatural creature.
The mirrors inside the Mayflower were not empty.
Something watched from behind them.
Countless presences moved through the reflections.
Some carried hatred while others radiated insanity and pain.
Airam’s fingers curled at her sides.
“The mirrors are too loud.” Dante looked toward her.
“What do you mean?” “They’re whispering.” Her voice dropped as she examined a large mirror across the lobby.
“There are things inside them.
They know what I am.” Dante followed her gaze.
Their reflections stood side by side in the distant glass.
His own image copied every movement, but Airam’s reflection appeared to turn its head a fraction of a second too late.
A directory stood nearby.
Dante approached and read the information printed beneath the Mayflower’s history.
The building had once been connected to St.
Matthew’s Hospital, a psychiatric institution known for experimental treatments before it was converted into a department store.
Mayflower.
A former psychiatric hospital.
Mirrors that contained something hostile.
Recognition struck Dante immediately.
“This is from Mirrors.” The original story followed Ben Carson, a former police detective who became the night security guard at the burned remains of the Mayflower.
An evil force used reflections to influence the physical world and force victims to harm themselves.
The demon could move through any reflective surface.
Dante silently activated Purification.
A faint holy glow spread beneath his clothes and expanded through the air.
The light remained too weak for the nearby shoppers to notice, yet the oppressive chill around Dante immediately weakened.
Several reflections trembled.
The whispering presences withdrew from the edge of the glass as Purification passed over them.
Dante felt his breathing become easier.
Airam remained tense because the power inside the building seemed especially focused on her.
“We should leave.” She looked toward him.
“The place has a bad history, and something inside these mirrors already noticed us.” Airam shook her head.
“Then I want to know what it wants.” “This isn’t one of the roller-coaster attractions.” “I know.” A challenging spark returned to her eyes.
“These things believe they have power over me because I came from a mirror.
I refuse to run before learning what they are.” Dante studied her expression.
Airam’s pride would not allow her to retreat from another mirror entity.
Trying to force her out might only make her enter the building alone later.
He possessed Telekinesis EX and Purification.
Ebony and Ivory remained inside the System inventory, while the Ox Talisman could provide overwhelming physical strength if needed.
Dante decided they could handle the threat as long as they remained together.
“Stay close to me.” Airam smiled.
“Are you worried about me?” “I’m worried you’ll start a fight and damage something expensive.” “Then you should keep me entertained.” They continued deeper into the store.
Airam entered a clothing shop as though the supernatural pressure surrounding them did not exist.
She moved between the racks and selected a black leather jacket before holding it against herself.
A large mirror stood behind her.
Airam’s reflection copied the pose, but the smile on its face appeared slightly wider than hers.
Dante noticed.
Airam seemed focused on the jacket and did not turn around.
“What do you think?” “It looks good.” She raised an eyebrow.
“That answer lacked effort.” Dante examined her from head to toe with exaggerated seriousness.
“You look good in everything.
The jacket is only fortunate enough to be worn by you.” Airam’s lips curved with satisfaction.
“Better.” The reflection behind her stopped smiling.
Its face became blank while its eyes shifted toward Dante.
A burst of harsh static suddenly erupted from the department store’s speaker system.
Everyone inside the clothing shop looked toward the ceiling.
The static continued for several seconds before a frightened voice broke through.
“Attention!
A fire has been reported on the third floor.
All customers and employees must evacuate through the nearest emergency exit.” The message repeated.
Before it finished, smoke began pouring down the escalator near the central lobby.
The fire alarm screamed.
People reacted at once.
Shoppers abandoned bags and displays as they rushed toward the exits.
Employees tried to direct them, but panic spread too quickly for anyone to maintain order.
Dante looked toward the smoke.
The fire moved unnaturally fast.
Flames appeared behind the glass railing on the second floor and spread across the walls as though following a planned path.
“This isn’t a normal fire.” Airam dropped the jacket.
The sprinklers activated overhead.
Cold water poured across the store and soaked the marble floor.
Streams ran down the mirrors and distorted the reflections behind them.
Dante caught Airam’s wrist.
“This way.” He pulled her toward the closest emergency exit.
A large crowd surged in the same direction and filled the narrow path between the stores.
The flames reached the hallway before they did.
A wall of fire erupted across the entrance to the emergency stairwell.
Several people screamed and turned back, crashing into those behind them.
Dante raised one hand and prepared to use telekinesis to clear a path.
Before he could focus, another wave of frightened shoppers struck from the side.
The crowd forced him away from Airam.
His grip slipped from her wrist.
“Airam!” She reached toward him, but several bodies passed between them.
Dante used telekinetic force to remain standing without injuring the people around him.
He tried to push through the crowd while searching for Airam’s burgundy dress.
The sprinklers continued pouring water over every surface.
Airam was carried toward the wall by the panicked shoppers.
She fought to maintain her balance as boots slipped across the wet floor.
Her back struck something cold.
A massive full-length mirror stood behind her.
Water covered the glass and caused the reflection inside it to ripple.
Airam saw her own face through the shifting streams, but another dark figure seemed to stand behind the reflected version of her body.
The presence inside the mirror moved closer.
Airam felt an invisible force wrap around her soul.
Her body remained outside the glass, yet something began dragging the essence of her existence toward the reflection.
The pull was stronger than anything she had experienced in Maria’s bathroom.
This was not an ordinary ghost.
It was an entity that ruled the world behind the mirrors, and it had chosen Airam as its target.
Her soul trembled as the surface of the glass began drawing her inside.
[Community Goals Ongoing]