The shards of the mirror dissolved into dust as Claire and Evan stepped through the glowing doorway. It didn't feel like walking through glass—it felt like falling through memory. Warm at first, then cold. Very cold.
And then—
They were inside the basement.
But not the same basement they had seen before.
This one was older. Alive. Its stone walls pulsed faintly like veins. The air was thick, not with dust, but with voices—softer now. Listening still. But no longer hostile.
Claire looked around. A single hanging bulb flickered above. In the corner, her brother sat huddled. His eyes met hers.
"Claire," he said.
She ran to him, dropping to her knees. He was real. Breathing. Gaunt and pale, but alive.
"How long have you been here?" she whispered.
He looked past her, eyes clouded.
"The house kept me… in memories. In whispers. I thought you'd never come back."
Claire swallowed the guilt burning in her throat. Evan stood nearby, watching the walls breathe.
"We need to get out," Evan said. "Before it changes its mind."
Claire helped her brother to his feet. The mark on her palm had dimmed now. Its glow almost gone.
They walked together, deeper into the basement. A hallway emerged—one that wasn't there before. This time, the house was opening a way out.
Each step forward brought flashes of the past—moments of fear, betrayal, silence. But also love. Regret. Forgiveness.
The whispers grew louder as they reached the end of the hall.
A door stood before them.
Simple.
Wooden.
Unmarked.
Claire reached for the knob.
And paused.
"What if it's a trick?" Evan asked.
Claire looked back at him.
"Then we face it together."
She turned the knob.
The door creaked open—no darkness this time. Sunlight. Real. Warm. Pouring through trees.
The outside world.
Claire stepped out first, feeling the cool wind on her skin, smelling the grass, hearing the absence of whispers.
Evan followed.
Then Claire turned around.
The house… was gone.
Vanished.
No mansion. No cursed rooms. No echoing screams.
Just an empty field.
As if the house had finally… let go.
Or maybe it had simply moved on.
To someone else.