Mikael ran.
Not away from the Director. Not even from the stage.
He ran from the truth.
His footsteps echoed through twisted hallways that shouldn't exist—walls made of curtains, floors of old, splintered stageboards. The world pulsed like a heartbeat behind the scenery, as if something alive hid in the woodwork.
But no matter how far he ran, the whispers followed.
Playwright. Murderer. Liar. Director.
"Elise!" he shouted, turning a sharp corner.
She was already there, waiting in the corridor of mirrors. Each mirror reflected not his body—but costumes he'd never worn: a king, a killer, a child with blood on his hands. The faces were all his. All smiling.
"I'm sorry," Elise said, voice low.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Mikael's voice broke.
"Because if I had, you wouldn't have helped me escape."
"So I'm just a tool?"
She stepped forward. "No. You're a broken key. And I still believe broken things can unlock the truth."
The mirror behind her cracked.
A marionette burst through it—its limbs dangling from silver strings, its porcelain face frozen in an expression of eternal grief. It jerked forward on invisible commands, mouth opening in a voiceless scream.
Mikael raised his arms to shield himself, but Elise stepped between them and held out her hand.
"Remember," she whispered.
The marionette stopped.
And then—it bowed.
Mikael blinked, breath shallow. The puppet lifted its head and met his eyes. Behind the painted eyes was something… human. Familiar.
"I know you," he murmured.
The strings vanished.
The marionette collapsed in his arms—no longer wood, but flesh.
A girl.
Pale, bruised, younger than him, breathing raggedly.
"Elise… who is she?"
"One of the first," Elise said. "One of the children you tried to protect. One you failed."
Mikael clutched the girl tighter, guilt tightening around his chest like rope.
"Why is she still here?"
"Because the story never ended, Mikael. You left it half-written. And in this place, unfinished tales fester."
He looked up at her.
"Then I'll finish it."
She gave a small, sorrowful smile. "You say that now. But the ending is not what you think."