Grey's body screamed in agony, every nerve alight with a fire he couldn't extinguish. His mind spiraled, sinking into a suffocating fog as his skin cracked and stretched, as if something monstrous was trying to tear its way out of him. He gasped, trying to pull himself together, but his breath caught in his throat. It felt like his lungs were filling with water, like drowning from the inside. The panic was overwhelming, the pain unbearable.
He opened his eyes, and everything blurred in and out of focus. His arms were swollen grotesquely, his skin cracking open as if something inside was desperate to burst out. His bones felt like they were expanding, pushing against his flesh, and every second, his body threatened to split apart.
"Wh—what the…!" he tried to scream, but his voice came out a strangled rasp, barely audible over the cacophony in his head.
"Calm down." Elsa's voice broke through, steady but distant, as if she were speaking to him from the other side of a thick wall. She knelt beside him, her hand glowing faintly as she pressed it to his chest. "Just breathe, Don't think of anything... Just keep breathing"
But her voice barely registered. The world around him warped, twisting in ways that defied reality. He looked at her with hazy eye her white skin her blue ocean like eyes and her striking red hair.... her red hair..... red hair..... hair.... snake "ughhhhhh!!!!" grey let out a pained groan as her red hair flickered in his vision, and suddenly, the whispers returned. They slithered into his mind, hissing, dripping with venom.
RED HAIR... KILL... SNAKE…KILLLLL HER!!! SNAKE!!1 RED HAIR!!! KILL THE RED HAIR!!!! KILLLL!!!
KILLL.... KILLL!!! SNAKE!!1 RED HAIR!!! KILL THE RED HAIR!!!! KILLLL!!!
KILLL!!! KILLL!!! HAIR!!!! RED HAIR!!!
The voices echoed, growing louder and louder, pounding against his skull until it felt like his head would split open from the pressure. His vision warped; Elsa's form twisted and mutated in his eyes, her red hair writhing like snakes, her face a grotesque mask of death.
SNAKEEE!!! DEVOUR??!! BR!!??? BROTHER!!?? LITTLE BROTHER!!! COME HERE LITTLE BROTHER!!?? ! BLOOODDDD!!!! SISTER ISNT GONNA HURT YOU!!!! SISTER!!!1 SISTER!!!! SISTER!!! LITTLE BROTHER!!!!! KILLLLL!!! DONT BE AFRAID.... HEHHEH!!! AFRAID!?...HEHEHHEHE~
The madness consumed him, clawing at his mind, distorting every thought, every sense. It was a storm, chaotic and violent, a whirlwind of nightmarish images, half-formed horrors, and relentless whispers of kill, devour, blood. His body cracked, his skin tearing as the madness fed on him, pulling him deeper into the abyss.
His muscles seized up, his hands clawing at the ground, blood seeping from the cracks in his skin. The pain was unbearable, but it wasn't the physical torment that broke him. It was the voices. They tore at his sanity, dragging him into a spiral of fear and rage.
Red hair... snake… kill…
Grey clutched his head, his fingers digging into his scalp as he rocked back and forth, trying to force the madness out, but it only dug deeper, sinking its claws into his very soul. His vision blurred again, and all he saw was red—red like blood, red like flames. Red like the hair of the woman standing over him.
Kill her… devour her…
And then—smack!
A sharp, stinging pain exploded across his cheek, cutting through the storm in his mind like a blade slicing through fog. The madness halted, as if shocked into silence, and for a second, the world snapped back into focus. Grey blinked, dazed, his hand instinctively reaching up to touch his cheek where the burning sensation lingered.
"..."
He looked up at Elsa, her hand still hovering where she had slapped him. Her expression was a mixture of annoyance and concern, but there was a glimmer of satisfaction in her eyes, a smirk playing on her lips as she shook her head.
His mind reeled from the sudden clarity. The pain in his cheek felt… real. Grounding. But there was something else—rage.
Did this bitch just slap me? Me???
The thought hit him like a lightning strike, and anger surged within him, burning away the remnants of the madness. His killing intent flared, cold and sharp, his gaze narrowing into a deadly glare. The bloodlust that had been directed inward moments ago shifted, now focused entirely on her.
The thought hit Grey like a lightning strike, igniting a surge of rage that burned through the madness. His eyes narrowed into a deadly glare, his killing intent sharpening like the edge of a blade. The madness and bloodlust that had been tearing him apart moments ago shifted, now directed entirely at her. A suffocating wave of murderous intent washed over Elsa, pressing down like the weight of a tsunami.
But she didn't flinch. Not even for a second. Instead, she looked at him with her usual annoying smile, her blue eyes coldly assessing him.
"Still out of it, huh?" Elsa's words cut through the fog. Her lips curled into an amused smile, but there was a predatory glint in her eyes. Before Grey could fully comprehend her words, her hand latched onto his shoulder, fingers digging in with an unsettling firmness. She shook him hard, her grip unyielding, as if testing just how far she could push him. "Snap out of it, Grey!" she barked, a hint of amusement dancing in her voice. Her eyes sparkled with mischief. "Should I slap him again?"
That last remark ignited something within him. The rage that had been simmering beneath the surface erupted in a flash. His hand shot up, seizing her wrist with all the strength he could muster. His golden eyes locked onto hers, burning with fury. Every inch of him screamed to strike back, to lash out, to silence the incessant taunting.
"Get your hand off me," he growled through gritted teeth, his voice low, dangerous, a thin veil over the storm raging inside him.
For a moment, Elsa paused, her brow raised at his sudden intensity, but she didn't flinch. Her grip remained firm, her smirk only growing. "What, mad because I slapped you?" she teased, her voice dripping with nonchalance. "Trust me, you needed it."
The words burned like acid in his ears. Needed it? Needed *this?* His jaw clenched tighter, but no words escaped his lips. His mind was still reeling, trying to make sense of what had happened to him. The voices... the twisted visions... They were still there, whispering at the edges of his consciousness, waiting for him to falter. His breaths were shallow, too fast, like he couldn't get enough air into his lungs.
Elsa, noticing the brief falter in his resolve, softened just slightly, though her amusement never fully disappeared. "The Mirror Realm messes with your mind," she explained, crouching in front of him now. "Makes your darkest fears, your worst thoughts, come alive. It twists you, breaks you down... until there's nothing left." She glanced around, gesturing toward the warped landscape, her voice dropping to a lower, almost solemn tone. "If you're not strong enough... it'll turn you into something monstrous.
Grey's eyes narrowed. That word again. *Weak.* She didn't say it directly, but the implication was clear. He hated it. Hated the way it sat on his skin like an accusation. His whole life had been a struggle to prove otherwise, to prove his worth. But now? He had barely survived. He wasn't weak. He *couldn't* be. And yet…
"You're lucky I was here," Elsa's grin returned, flashing brightly like the moon above. "This place? It devours people like you." Her voice was light, but her words stung. "Weak-minded fools... they turn into mindless beasts, wandering these woods forever."
A sharp glare was all Grey could muster. She had no idea what he had been through, what he had endured. And yet here she was, talking as if he was just another fragile soul who had almost succumbed to the madness. But she was right. He had been on the edge, a step away from oblivion.
The whispers had quieted now, but they were still there, like distant echoes. He could still hear them... faint, but undeniable.
*Red hair... snake... kill... devour...*
"is there is way to stop it"
grey asked, Elsa looked at him and smile
"of course there is a solution, its simple you just have to do is..."
she pause as if thinking whether to tell him or not, in the end she let out a sigh as she open her mouth slowly and the words come out...
"...DONT THINK"
grey blinked as if he didn't understand "what!? is that all?"
she smirk as if she know what he is thinking "its a most common method and the only usefully method"
with this she stood up, stretching her arms as if nothing had happened, exhaling smoke from her cigarette. "Come on, we don't have time for you to fall apart again." She glanced at him sideways, still smirking. "Unless, of course, you want me to slap you one more time?"
Grey dragged himself to his feet, his body aching, every movement heavy and strained. He could feel the aftershocks of the madness still buzzing beneath his skin, making his muscles twitch involuntarily. But he wouldn't fall again. He couldn't afford it. Not in front of her.
The ground beneath him was no longer the forest floor they had walked upon earlier. It had changed—*everything* had changed. The forest was twisted now, gnarled trees standing like skeletal sentinels, their branches twisted and reaching toward the inky black sky. Two moons hung overhead, casting a sickly light across the land, and the once-lush greenery had been replaced with rotting, decayed remains.
Grey's stomach churned as his eyes landed on the apples—dark, rotten things hanging from the trees, their cracked skins crawling with worms. The stench of decay filled the air, and his stomach heaved.
*I was about to eat one of those...*
The line between reality and illusion had blurred so much, he didn't even know what was real anymore.
"You were about to faint again, weren't you?" Elsa's voice broke through his thoughts, teasing and sharp. "If I have to slap you one more time—"
Grey shot her a look, his exhaustion seeping into his expression. She laughed, shaking her head as she handed him a cigarette. "Here. It'll calm your nerves. You look like you've been through hell."
He hesitated for a moment, then took it, too drained to argue. As he inhaled the bitter smoke, the last remnants of the madness seemed to retreat, leaving only the eerie silence of the twisted forest and Elsa's unnerving grin.
"So," she said, exhaling a cloud of smoke, her red hair shimmering under the moonlight. "What did you see? Something fun?"
Grey stared at the cigarette for a moment before exhaling slowly. His eyes traced the grotesque scene before him, the nightmare still vivid in his mind. He didn't answer her. He couldn't.
*Red hair... kill... snake... devour...*
The whispers were still there, lurking. Waiting.