Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary! Chapter 586: Mirror [1]

"...Eh?"

The moment my eyes scanned the chamber, I froze. For a fleeting heartbeat, stillness reigned. Nothing stirred; nothing gave any sign of life. The room appeared entirely desolate.

Instead, my vision drifted toward the floor, where a smartphone lay abandoned. Its screen remained illuminated, casting a sickly, pale radiance across the floorboards. The weak glow flickered, causing the surrounding shadows to stretch and contort against the walls like reaching fingers.

Pushing the door fully open, I let a long, drawn-out creak echo through the stale air. I stepped inside with caution, the beam of my flashlight cutting through the gloom as I swept it around the space.

The chamber was relatively spacious. Aside from a bulky wardrobe pushed against the side wall, my attention was drawn to the window. Like the one out in the hall, it stood wide open. A persistent breeze drifted inside, carrying a chill that brushed against my skin as I stared, unmoving, in its direction.

Or at least, that was the illusion it tried to project.

I continued to assess the space, letting my gaze linger over every detail. The flashlight beam crawled slowly across the floor, the walls, and the decaying furniture, catching motes of dust dancing in the darkness.

Then, something caught my eye.

My pupils constricted slightly as a faint glint reflected back from the glare of my torch. The flash persisted from a specific angle. I focused the beam on that spot, squinting to see more clearly.

Initially, I couldn't discern the object's identity. Its silhouette was concealed beneath a piece of white cloth draped loosely over it, the fabric rippling rhythmically in the cold draft.

I took slow, deliberate steps forward. My pulse quickened, and my breathing grew erratic as I reached out and clutched the edge of the fabric. With one sharp tug, I pulled it away.

Swoosh!

The cloth fluttered to the ground, unveiling an enormous mirror. Though ancient, the glass was startlingly pristine. It captured my features with unnerving clarity. I lowered the torch slightly, shifting the angle to examine my own reflection.

Perhaps due to recent events, the dark circles under my eyes seemed deeper, and when I peered into my own gaze, I felt a fundamental shift—a cold emptiness.

They looked... even more dead.

I possessed enough awareness to realize that much.

"So, did it truly flee?"

I kept my eyes locked on the looking glass, observing it in heavy silence. I slowly waved my hand in front of the surface, checking for any lag or discrepancies in the reflection.

Nothing changed.

The image mocked every movement perfectly.

"Nothing. I guess it really has scurried off."

I exhaled, feeling a sense of anti-climax. After all the effort it had put into trapping me here, this felt hollow.

Shaking my head, I stepped toward a nearby chair and gripped the frame, my fingers white against the wood. In an instant, my demeanor hardened. With a violent motion, I hoisted the chair up and hurled it directly at the mirror.

BANG!

The furniture smashed into the glass. The impact sent a spiderweb of cracks racing across the surface, and the entire frame shuddered violently against the wall. As the chair clattered to the floor, I kept my eyes pinned to the broken mirror.

And sure enough—looking at the fragmented reflection, I saw my own lips parting, as if I were about to speak.

'Hm?'

I furrowed my brow, attempting to decipher the movement, but the more I strained, the less sense it made. What was it trying to convey?

I took a step closer, my concentration entirely focused on the cracked reflection. The lips moved again.

'Bee...'

I leaned in even further.

'Behi... nd?'

My steps halted. I didn't glance away. I kept my gaze anchored to the mirror. Just because it commanded me to look back didn't mean I would oblige; it was likely a trap. Instead, I opted for a different tactic.

I planted my foot firmly on the floor, and the shadow beneath me began to ripple. From within the darkness, the Realmwalker emerged behind me. I watched this through the shards of the mirror, simultaneously tapping my camera to ensure no trace of this was captured.

'Nothing?'

Seeing the Realmwalker acknowledge nothing, I offered a smile to my reflection, which smiled back.

But the mirth was short-lived. From the periphery of my vision, I caught a sudden flicker of motion. The Realmwalker turned abruptly, its elongated hands reaching toward my neck. The attack was swift and sudden, catching me off guard, and subconsciously, I turned to parry, only to find myself face-to-face with the Realmwalker's empty stare.

Huh?

Realization flooded my mind as I scrambled to turn back to the mirror. But the delay was fatal.

Suddenly, I felt cold fingers clamp onto my neck and throat. With a brutal surge of strength, I was yanked backward, dragged across the floor. The Realmwalker lunged instantly, grabbing me in a desperate attempt to brace against the force, but the power behind the pull was absurd. Even the Realmwalker could barely impede the dragging force.

I tried to trigger [Herder] on whatever was gripping me, but the skill failed to activate.

"——!"

The force coiled around my ankle as well. My balance shattered, and I collapsed, sliding across the floor at an accelerating speed.

Mirelle appeared on the periphery, her eerie giggles echoing through the room, but her presence did nothing to halt my trajectory. I clawed at the floorboards, my fingernails screeching against the wood, as burning pain surged through my fingers in a futile attempt to anchor myself.

Nothing worked. Not even the Realmwalker's secondary ability could pull me into the shadows; the hands pinning me were too strong.

I strained my neck to look back at the mirror one last time. My eyes widened in horror.

From the fractured surface, thousands of human hands were reaching out toward me. Countless faces pressed against the glass, mouths agape and eyes wild with mania, all clawing and desperate to pull me inside.

Then, the truth finally dawned on me.

The anomaly...

The Mirror was the anomaly.