☠️ 65 Days Remain…
Luffy's eyes fluttered open.
His body trembled as he sat up on the bed, drenched in cold sweat. The cursed mark on his arm pulsed—hot, angry, alive. It wasn't going to stay quiet anymore.
Outside the window, the sky had turned orange. Hours must've passed while he was unconscious… yet, strangely, the sun hadn't moved. The air inside Dorm 666 felt heavier than before, thick with something unseen. Something cursed.
He slowly turned to the mirror on the wall—only to stop cold.
There was a crack across the glass, and in it... his reflection smirked.
But he wasn't smiling.
Luffy's breathing grew shallow. His heart thudded. "What… the hell is going on?"
Before he could process anything further, the door to his room suddenly burst open with a loud BANG.
"Luffy, you idiot! You scared the hell out of me!"
Lilith stormed in, eyes flaring with a mix of fury and panic. Her wild pink hair bounced with every step, and despite the anger in her voice, there was a hint of relief on her face.
"You've been out for hours," she said, panting. "I—I thought you were... gone."
"I…" Luffy opened his mouth, but the words caught in his throat. "I saw something. A version of me. In a void. He… he was full of hatred."
Lilith's expression darkened. "You saw the other you, didn't you? The cursed side."
Before Luffy could ask what she meant, a familiar voice echoed through the air like a playful breeze.
"Yohoho~ Are we doing a horror movie now, or what?"
Ryo, the ghost girl, floated through the wall upside down. Her ghostly silver hair hung down like vines, and her eyes sparkled mischievously.
"You always show up at the creepiest times, Ryo," Lilith muttered.
"Gotta keep things spooky," Ryo said with a cheeky grin. But Luffy noticed… her smile didn't reach her eyes.
She flipped in the air and landed beside the bed. "You okay, Luffy? You looked like a corpse five minutes ago."
"I feel like one," he muttered. "But I'm alive, I guess."
"You guess?" Lilith shot him a glare. "You nearly gave me a heart attack, baka."
Luffy glanced at Ryo again. Something about her… felt off. Her energy was unstable, flickering like a dying flame.
"Ryo, are you feeling alright?"
She blinked, then shrugged. "I'm ghosty as ever~ Though, I did hear whispers while you were sleeping. Something... called your name."
Lilith narrowed her eyes. "You heard it too?"
Ryo nodded, her voice quieter now. "Yeah. Something really old. Real bad vibes."
The lights above them flickered. A shadow crawled across the ceiling—but when they looked up, there was nothing there.
Then—SLAM. The door shut itself.
The temperature dropped. Cold breath hung in the air.
And then… a voice.
"You can't run from me, little baka…"
It crawled into Luffy's mind like a thousand spiders, whispering secrets no one should hear. His mark seared with pain, and he fell to his knees.
Lilith knelt beside him, grabbing his arm. "Don't listen to it. Fight it. You're still you!"
"I don't know if I am…" he whispered.
The mirror across the room cracked further.
And then… Luffy saw it again.
His reflection—smirking, bleeding, eyes glowing red.
"You let me in," it said inside his head. "Now you're mine."
He clutched his head, screaming. The darkness was spreading.
Ryo backed toward the wall. "I-I'm getting outta here before cursed Luffy starts floating. Peace!"
She phased through the wall, but her exit was twitchy. Broken. Like something was controlling her.
Lilith leaned closer. "We need to seal the dorm. Whatever followed you back from that void… it's not just in your head anymore."
Luffy looked at her, his voice hoarse. "Why are you helping me?"
She rolled her eyes. "Because you're my baka. And I'm not letting you get cursed without me."
She offered him her hand with a crooked, dangerous smile—the kind only Lilith could pull off. "Now come on. We've got a demon to kick out of your brain."
He took it.
And for the first time since waking up… he didn't feel completely alone.
But deep inside, the cursed voice still whispered:
"I'm not gone. Just waiting…"
☠️ 65 Days Remain…
End Chapter
When even your reflection wants you dead… you better have a demon girl on your side.