Blood Curse of the Shaman

Lucy felt her breath hitch,then Her back tensed, and cold sweat trickled down her temple.

The reflection in the mirror was still smiling… but it wasn't her reflection.

Because she wasn't smiling.

Slowly, her body began to tremble. Her mind scrambled to find a logical explanation, but her instincts had already warned her,this wasn't a dream.

Lucy took several steps backward, her heart pounding furiously.

The reflection remained in place. But its smile widened, as if it was savoring the fear radiating from her.

And then…

The reflection moved.

Not mirroring Lucy's actions, but on its own… its bony, pale fingers reaching out, pressing against the mirror from the inside. As if something was behind it.

Lucy swallowed hard.

"I'm still here," the voice soft whispered, even though the reflection's lips no longer moved.

Panicking, Lucy grabbed a vase from the table and hurled it toward the mirror.

"PRANGGG! " CRASHH

The mirror shattered into countless shards. Glass fragments scattered across the floor, some even grazing Lucy's feet. But the pain was nothing compared to the terror gripping her.

She gasped for breath, frozen in place.

The room fell into silence, and the reflection was gone. Only her own fractured image remained in the broken shards.

But then, she saw something that made her blood run cold.

In one of the largest shards… the reflection was still there.

Still smiling.

In the distance…

"Lucy...?" Malik's voice trembled.

Lucy turned slowly, her face pale, her eyes vacant.

"She's still here…" she whispered.

Malik swallowed. She stepped forward, but before he could reach Lucy, something happened.

BANG! BANG!BANG!

A loud noise came from the window.

As if something outside was trying to get in.

Malik instinctively turned and approached the window, pulling back the curtain.

And what he saw outside…

Was Lucy.

Another Lucy.

Standing in the front yard with a blank expression, her eyes pitch black, utterly inhuman.

And wearing… the same sinister smile as the one in the mirror.

Malik stumbled back, his breath caught in his throat.

No.

He turned to look at Lucy inside the room.

This Lucy was still standing there, hugging herself. Still human.

But the one outside…

Was not.

What the hell is going on?!

***

Outside the House…

Uncle Wiryo finally returned, his face looking older than before. There was a deep exhaustion in his eyes, as if he had just endured something beyond comprehension.

As he approached Lucy's house, he suddenly halted.

Something caught his attention.

Standing in front of the house… was a girl.

She looked like Lucy. But Uncle Wiryo knew.. this was not Lucy.

A cold aura surrounded her. Her face was pale, her eyes dark as the void, and her smile… deeply unnatural.

Uncle Wiryo swallowed hard. He reached for the pouch of kemenyan he always carried and cautiously stepped forward.

"Who are you?" His voice was firm, though deep down, he already knew the answer.

The figure merely smiled wider.

Then, in a voice far deeper than it should be, she whispered

"Me? … I am the real Lucy."

Pak Wiryo frowned. He sprinkled some kemenyan onto the ground and began chanting a protective mantra.

But the entity only chuckled.

"Do you think that's enough to banish me?"

And then… something happened.

The figure's shadow began to shift. Her body stretched unnaturally, her skin growing even paler, her face warping further from anything human.

Her grin widened… stretching almost to her ears.

And from her mouth… came a whisper, not of this world.

"Lucy already belongs to meeee."

Then, in an instant, she vanished morphing into a black shadow that shot straight into the house.

Uncle Wiryo's eyes widened in horror.

This was bad. Very bad.

Without wasting a second, he sprinted inside.

****

Inside Lucy's Room…

Malik remained frozen, staring at Lucy inside the room and the other Lucy outside.

Then, suddenly, the room's lights flickered.

An eerie chill seeped into the air.

Before Malik could react, the door slammed shut.

BANG!

"Kyaaaaaa!!!" Lucy screamed in shock.

The reflection in the mirror shards began to move. Faster and faster, until finally..

The figure inside the mirror crawled out.

From the scattered glass, the shadowy being slithered out in jerky, unnatural movements. It slowly rose to its feet, gazing at Malik and Lucy with empty eyes.

And then… it smiled.

The same haunting smile.

But this time, it didn't just stand there. It stepped forward. Its body… no longer human.

Just then, the door burst open.

Uncle Wiryo stormed in, finding Lucy collapsed on the floor, trembling.

And across the room… stood the thing. The shadow that should have remained trapped inside the mirror.

Without hesitation, Uncle Wiryo dug into his pocket and pulled out a handful of sirih leaves and coarse salt, already blessed with incantations.

"Begone!" he shouted, throwing the leaves at the shadow.

But what happened next made his blood run cold.

The shadow only laughed.

Not a human laugh.....no. It was the sound of cracks, whispers, and an echo that seemed to come from a place far beyond.

"You think this is enough?" it hissed.

The air around them grew even colder.

The shadow took another step forward.

"It's too late," it whispered. "She has already chosen."

Uncle Wiryo narrowed his eyes. "Who has chosen?"

The shadow smiled.

"LUCY."

Uncle Wiryo turned to Lucy.

She was still on the floor… but something was different.

Her eyes.

Her eyes were now pitch black.

And her smile… was the same as the one in the mirror.

Lucy slowly rose to her feet.

Her blackened eyes gleamed as if two spirits battled within her Lucy and something else.

Uncle Wiryo gripped his prayer beads tightly.

"Lucy! Fight it!" he urged.

But Lucy only smiled.

A chilling, alien smile.

Then, with a whisper that seemed to carry two voices at once, she said....

"I... don't want to leave."

Malik felt his blood run cold.

Uncle Wiryo exhaled sharply.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Who the hell knocks at this hour?" Uncle Wiryo muttered.

"No normal person would knock on this door right now," Malik said flatly.

But the knocking persisted...growing louder and more impatient.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Then… a voice.

A soft, whispering voice.

"Lucy… open the door… help me…"

Lucy's blood turned to ice.

She knew that voice.

It sounded like her mother.

Her hands trembled as she took a step back.

"No way…" she whispered.

The voice came again,desperate.

"Lucy… my tiny girl… why are you ignoring your mom…?"

Malik tensed. His eyes sharpened.

"Don't open it."

Lucy hesitated. "But… that voice…"

"That's not your mom," Malik said firmly. "Whatever's out there… is not human."

Lucy's heart pounded in her chest.

It sounded like her mother gentle, loving, just as she remembered before she died.

Then, the voice changed.

It became a moan, low and unsettling, followed by the sound of claws scraping against wood.

SCRAAATCH! SCRAAATCH!

Lucy clutched her ears, shaking.

Malik took a step forward, lifting his hand.

"This is no ordinary spirit," he murmured.

Lucy gasped as something slithered from beneath the doora black shadow, pulsing like a living thing.

Then, the whispers filled the room.

"We see you… We know who you are… You cannot escape your fate…"

Lucy's breath hitched.

"Malik… what is this?" she whispered.

Malik's expression darkened.

Then, he began to chant.

And outside the door

A scream erupted.