Confession under the crown of thorns

Countdown Curse 00:13 AM

Victoria stood in front of the full-length mirror, counting the thirteenth drop of blood seeping from her collarbone tattoo. As the drop fell, her phone on the vanity automatically lit up, displaying an urgent message from William:

**"Don't touch your tattoo. Come to the usual place. —W

"It's too late," she murmured to the air.

The blood droplets hovered eerily in mid-air before landing, arranging themselves into the exact same numbers as those on William's pocket watch:

12:34:21

12:34:20

12:34:19

The reflection in the mirror suddenly reached out and touched the blood droplets—while the real Victoria stood frozen in place. The moment the finger in the mirror touched the blood droplets, the entire mirror shattered, and countless fragments floated in the air, each reflecting a different scene:

William inserting a key into the lake pavilion

Emily's birthmark turning into metal

Herself kneeling on the ground with a rose thorn piercing her chest At the same time:

1. William's pocket watch suddenly stopped counting down at 07:13:00

2. The birthmark behind Emily's ear erupted with a bright light, illuminating the entire dormitory building

3. The sound of an antique ship's bell echoed from Old Rockefeller's bedroom

Three messages automatically popped up on the phone screen:

- William: "The third key is with you?"

- Emily: "I heard my grandmother crying"

- Unknown number: "The mirror needs Montague's blood."

Cost and Choice 3:00 AM

Victoria looked at her blood-soaked collarbone in the mirror. The wound wasn't bleeding, but instead continuously releasing tiny rose petals. Each petal had a date written on its back:

-1893.4.15 (Birthday of the Soul-Binding Mirror)

2003.2.15 (Uncle William's death anniversary)

2023.9.1 (Today)

When she grabbed the third key, all the petals suddenly burst into flames, and the ashes on the vanity formed a navigation chart—the final course of the ship that sank in 1893.