Through the Frosted Mirror

Exhaustion was beginning to take its toll on Ellen. She and Mira had been moving through Hollow Zero for what felt like an eternity. After finding a relatively safe spot to rest—a building half-submerged in the chaotic terrain of the Hollow—they settled down for the night.

Ellen propped her back against a crumbling wall, her upgraded scissors resting beside her. Mira curled up close, clutching Ellen's scarf like a security blanket. The child's breathing eventually evened out, a small comfort in the oppressive silence of the Hollow. Ellen, however, found sleep elusive. Her mind raced with thoughts of their predicament and Mira's inexplicable immunity to corruption.

Eventually, fatigue overcame her. But as she drifted into unconsciousness, a strange sensation washed over her—a pull, as though something was tugging her deeper into the etheric currents of the Hollow.

Ellen's eyes snapped open, and she found herself in an unfamiliar place. It was a surreal landscape, shifting between vibrant hues of blue and violet, with threads of shimmering light weaving through the air. The environment felt alive, pulsating faintly as though it had a heartbeat.

"What the hell is this?" Ellen muttered, clutching her scissors instinctively. Her voice echoed, distorted and strange.

Then she saw her. Standing in the center of the surreal expanse was Mira—but not the timid, crying girl Ellen had come to know. This Mira was different. Her form was taller, more ethereal. Her skin had a pale, almost translucent quality, and her hands to her elbows were jet black, resembling obsidian. Her eyes were pitch-black voids, and a faint glow emanated from a core embedded in her chest, pulsating in sync with the landscape.

Ellen took a cautious step forward. "Mira?" she called, her voice soft but firm.

The girl turned, her ethereal gaze locking onto Ellen. For a moment, there was no recognition—only an otherworldly intensity. Then Mira's expression softened, and her lips moved, though no sound came out. Ellen felt the words rather than heard them, as though they were resonating directly within her mind.

"This… isn't me," Mira's voice echoed faintly, layered with both fear and confusion.

The surroundings began to shift. Images flickered around them, like fragments of a broken mirror. Ellen saw glimpses of Mira's life: laughing with a kind-looking couple, running through a sunny field, sitting by a fireplace as the woman combed her hair. But then the scenes grew darker. Screams, the glow of Etheric corruption, the woman and man shielding Mira with their bodies as Ethereal's swarmed them.

"They're not my real parents," Mira's voice said, trembling. "But they loved me. I didn't know… I didn't know they weren't mine."

Ellen's heart clenched as she watched the couple's final moments. The woman whispered something to Mira before an Ethereal struck her down. The man fell soon after, leaving Mira alone and surrounded.

Ellen took another step closer, her voice steady. "Mira, I don't care where you came from. Those people loved you, and that makes them your family. Whatever this is—whatever you are—we'll figure it out together."

Mira's form flickered, her ethereal features shifting back to her human appearance for a brief moment. Tears streamed down her face. "I'm scared. What if I'm a monster?"

"You're not," Ellen said firmly, kneeling in front of her. "You're a kid. A strong one. And you've got me now. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

As the words left Ellen's mouth, the glowing core in Mira's chest pulsed brightly, and the landscape around them began to dissolve. Ellen felt herself being pulled away, the threads of light unraveling into darkness.

Ellen woke with a start, her heart pounding. Mira was still curled up beside her, sleeping soundly. She looked exactly as she had before, with no signs of the ethereal form Ellen had seen in the dream. But the memory of the vision lingered, vivid and undeniable.

Ellen touched her chest, feeling a strange resonance within herself. The ritual that had fused her with the old Ellen—it was changing her in ways she didn't fully understand. Her connection to Etheric energy was growing stronger, more intuitive. And it seemed to be linking her to Mira in ways that defied explanation.

She glanced at the sleeping child, her resolve hardening. Whatever secrets Mira held, Ellen would uncover them. But for now, one thing was certain: Mira needed her, and she wasn't about to let her down.

Ellen tightened her grip on her scissors and leaned back against the wall, keeping watch as Mira slept. The Hollow loomed around them, but Ellen felt a flicker of hope. They weren't out of the woods yet, but together, they'd find a way.

The Hollow Zero air hung heavy as Ellen and Mira trudged onward, their breaths visible in the unnatural chill. Ellen's senses were sharper than ever, and her mind buzzed with lingering thoughts from her time within Mira's memories. While the images of Mira's Oni-like form and her adoptive parents faded, the questions they raised remained sharp. Who was Mira really? Why had they been drawn to each other in the depths of this Hollow?

But Ellen couldn't afford to dwell too long. Survival took priority.

The oppressive atmosphere shifted. Ellen's tail stiffened, and her ears perked up as the ground beneath her rumbled. Mira clutched Ellen's scarf tightly, her small hand trembling.

"Something's coming," Ellen muttered. She pulled Mira close and scanned the surroundings. The shimmering haze of Hollow Zero twisted and parted to reveal an enormous Etheric beast—a hulking, multi-limbed monstrosity with a core glowing fiercely within its chest.

Ellen's grip on her scissors tightened. She could feel the frost within them stirring, eager for combat. "Mira, stay back. Find cover."

The girl hesitated but nodded, darting behind a fractured column. Ellen stepped forward, her eyes narrowing as she assessed the beast. It roared, the sound reverberating through the warped terrain. The air grew colder as Ellen prepared to strike.

The battle was relentless. Ellen's scissors slashed through the air, frost trailing behind them as they struck the beast's crystalline hide. It retaliated with massive, sweeping attacks, forcing Ellen to stay on the move. She leaped and dodged, her tail acting as a counterbalance as she twisted and turned in midair.

The scissors shifted mid-swing, their blades elongating and separating into a frost-coated whip. Ellen lashed out, the icy weapon wrapping around one of the creature's limbs and freezing it in place. With a sharp pull, she shattered the limb, eliciting a deafening roar from the beast.

But the creature wasn't finished. Its core pulsed, sending shockwaves of Etheric energy outward. Ellen gritted her teeth, bracing herself as the force pushed her back. Her scarf fluttered wildly, and a sharp pain lanced through her chest. She stumbled but didn't fall.

"Not yet," she muttered. "I'm not done yet.

Ellen's pulse thundered in her ears as she stared at the towering Ethereal before her. Its form was unlike any she had encountered before, a grotesque amalgamation of jagged crystal and shifting black mist. Its core pulsed ominously at the center of its chest, like a malevolent heartbeat.

The creature didn't waste time. It surged forward with impossible speed, its razor-sharp limbs slicing through the air. Ellen barely managed to block with her scissors, the impact sending her skidding backward. Ice bloomed from her weapon, creeping along the creature's arm, but it shattered the frost effortlessly and retaliated with a swipe that grazed her side.

Ellen hissed in pain, clutching her wound. "This thing's no ordinary Ethereal," she thought. The cold air around her thickened as she summoned more Etheric energy, her scissors shifting into their whip form. She lashed out, the icy whip cracking against the creature's crystalline body. It roared, the sound reverberating through the Hollow, and retaliated with a blast of dark energy. Ellen dove to the side, barely avoiding the attack as it gouged a deep trench in the ground.

The fight was brutal and relentless. The Ethereal was both fast and strong, its strikes unpredictable and precise. Ellen's frost-coated attacks slowed it down, but it adapted quickly, shattering the ice before it could take hold. Sweat dripped down her brow as she struggled to keep up, each movement draining her energy further.

"Mira," she thought, glancing toward the child, who was hiding behind a cluster of jagged rocks. Ellen's heart clenched. She couldn't let the Ethereal get anywhere near her.

"Stay down!" Ellen shouted, her voice firm despite the fear clawing at her chest. Mira nodded, her small frame trembling as she pressed herself against the cold stone.

The Ethereal seemed to sense Ellen's distraction. It feinted a lunge toward her before abruptly changing direction, heading straight for Mira. Ellen's eyes widened in horror. "No!" she screamed, pushing her exhausted body into motion. She threw her whip out, the icy tendrils wrapping around the creature's leg and yanking it backward. But the Ethereal twisted, snapping the whip with sheer force, and continued its advance.

Mira's terrified scream pierced the air. She stumbled backward, falling to the ground as the Ethereal loomed over her. Ellen's vision blurred with panic and rage. She couldn't lose Mira—not like this. The thought of the child being hurt, or worse, was unbearable.

Something deep within Ellen stirred, a primal force she hadn't felt before. The air around her grew colder, the frost intensifying into a biting chill that spread outward in waves. Her body felt like it was on fire and freezing at the same time, a searing pain coursing through her as Etheric energy surged uncontrollably.

The Ethereal turned its attention back to Ellen, sensing the sudden spike in power. But it was too late. With a roar, Ellen's form erupted in a burst of frost and light. Her scissors morphed, their sleek blades transforming into an even deadlier, more intricate design. The whip-like tendrils were now lined with jagged, frost-covered spikes that pulsed with Etheric energy.

Ellen's appearance had changed as well. Her shark-like features had become more pronounced, her tail elongated and lined with icy ridges. Her skin took on a faintly glowing frost-like sheen, and her eyes burned with an otherworldly blue light. She felt stronger, faster—unstoppable.

The Ethereal lunged at her, but Ellen met it head-on. Her movements were a blur, her strikes precise and devastating. She wielded her transformed weapon with ease, the frost it emitted now laced with a deadly sharpness that tore through the creature's defenses. Each attack sent shards of ice cascading through the air, freezing the Ethereal's limbs and core in place.

As the creature tried to break free, Ellen delivered the final blow. Her weapon transformed back into scissors, the blades glowing with frost energy as she plunged them into the Ethereal's core. The creature let out a deafening shriek before shattering into a million glittering shards, the dark mist dissipating into the air.

Ellen stood there, panting heavily as the cold energy around her began to settle. She turned toward Mira, who was still curled up on the ground, her wide eyes fixed on Ellen.

"Are you okay?" Ellen asked, her voice softer now. She crouched beside the girl, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Mira launched herself into Ellen's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "I-I thought you were going to die," she choked out. "I was so scared."

Ellen hugged her tightly, her own heart still racing from the battle. "I told you, Mira. I'm not going anywhere. I'll protect you. Always."

As she held the child, Ellen couldn't ignore the lingering sensation of the transformation. Her connection to Etheric energy had deepened, and she knew this was just the beginning. She glanced at her weapon, the frost still emanating faintly from its blades. Whatever had awakened inside her was powerful—and it would change everything.

(A snow storms coming my way so my powers probably going to go out. I'm hoping it don't but that's all for me have a great day and stay safe. See ya!)