As the final sliver of sunlight bled into the horizon, the town of Vibrara was thrust into unrelenting chaos. The tranquil evening shattered in an instant—a violent earthquake ruptured through the streets, its tremors rolling like a beast stirring beneath the earth. Buildings groaned and twisted, their foundations snapping like brittle bones, while terrified townspeople were tossed about as though the world itself sought to purge them. Panic exploded through the streets in a symphony of screams. Mothers clutched their children as they stumbled for shelter, men shouted futile orders, and animals howled, sensing the doom that unfurled before them. Yet there was no sanctuary—no safe haven from the horror that was about to emerge.

  The earth buckled violently, then tore open in a monstrous eruption of stone and shadow. From the chasm, Phobos, the Greater Mirror Titan, ascended like a nightmare given form. A grotesque colossus of writhing limbs, its hundred arms flailed in the air, jagged and unholy, each moving with deadly, surgical precision. Where its hideous flesh met the moonlight, the surface shimmered—reflecting not light, but despair.

  A single limb lashed out, skewering a man through the chest, lifting him high before hurling his lifeless body against a crumbling building. Another arm coiled around a fleeing elderly woman, tightening like a vice before ripping her in half. Blood rained down upon the ruins of Vibrara, mixing with the dust and screams of those who still fought to escape.

  Yet Phobos’ terror was not limited to its raw, unyielding strength. The true horror of the titan lay within its eldritch dominion—every reflective surface became an open wound in reality, an entryway into its dark domain. Glass windows contorted, their surfaces warping and bubbling like molten silver. Puddles trembled as if disturbed by unseen horrors lurking beneath. Then, from within these cursed mirrors, Phobos’ limbs emerged, snaking through reflections to drag helpless victims into the abyss beyond.

  Women shrieked as their own reflections betrayed them. The moment their eyes met the glass, hands shot out—twisted, jagged, and ravenous. One by one, they were pulled screaming into the mirror realm, their bodies vanishing as the glass smoothed over like undisturbed water. Their voices echoed hollowly, forever trapped in a nightmare that knew no end.

  ——

  At the outskirts of Vibrara, the once-cozy home of Deborah and Catherine had become a cage of terror. The tremors from the earthquake continued to rattle the walls, knocking pictures from their frames and sending furniture toppling over. The faint glow of sunset had been swallowed by the encroaching darkness, and the sisters huddled together in the dimly lit room, their eyes wide with fear.

  Deborah’s voice trembled as she whispered, "We have to leave, Catherine. It’s not safe here." She could hear the distant screams from the city center, growing louder with every passing moment. The sound of destruction, the tearing of buildings, and the eerie silence that followed as another soul was lost to the titan’s wrath filled the air. Catherine, her face pale, simply nodded, too terrified to speak.

  The house creaked ominously as if the very walls were alive, and the air felt thick, heavy with the weight of unseen horrors. Deborah took Catherine’s hand, her grip tight and reassuring despite the panic clawing at her own chest. "Come on, we need to run. Now.”

  As they made their way to the door, Catherine’s foot caught on something—a glint of glass. She paused, glancing down at a small, cracked mirror on the floor. In that instant, her breath caught in her throat. The surface of the mirror began to ripple, like water disturbed by a stone. A jagged, grotesque limb—one of Phobos' hundred hands—began to snake its way out, its twisted fingers stretching toward Catherine with sickening intent.

  Catherine screamed, stumbling backward in sheer terror. But before the monstrous limb could reach her, Deborah leapt in front of her younger sister, throwing herself into harm’s way without a second thought. "No!" she shouted, her arms outstretched as the limb coiled around her waist, its sharp fingers digging into her flesh. Deborah’s body went rigid, her mind assaulted by a wave of nightmarish visions projected by Phobos.

  Deborah’s eyes widened, her face twisted in agony as her worst fears came to life before her. “Deborah!" Catherine screamed, reaching for her sister. But it was too late. The twisted limb dragged Deborah toward the mirror, her body convulsing as the nightmare paralyzed her. With one final, heart-wrenching look at Catherine, Deborah disappeared into the mirror’s warped surface, her scream swallowed by the darkness within.

  Catherine stood frozen, her mind struggling to comprehend what had just happened. Her sister—her protector—was gone. Pulled into a nightmare realm from which there was no return. A sob caught in her throat as she fell to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. The sound of destruction outside faded into the background, replaced by the deafening silence of her own grief.

  For a long moment, Catherine remained on the floor, her body trembling as the weight of loss bore down on her. She could still feel Deborah’s warmth, her protective embrace. But now, that warmth was gone, replaced by the cold, crushing emptiness left in her wake.

  Suddenly, the walls of the house shuddered once more, and the mirrors and windows began to glow faintly—Phobos' influence was spreading, its power growing stronger by the second. The monstrous titan’s limbs slithered across every reflective surface, pulling more and more innocent women into its nightmarish realm.

  Catherine's despair threatened to consume her, but she knew she couldn’t stay. Not here. Not with Phobos lurking, waiting to drag her into the same nightmare as her sister. With shaky legs, she forced herself to stand, her breaths coming in shallow gasps. She had to move. She had to survive.

  Gathering the last remnants of her strength, Catherine stumbled toward the door. She glanced over her shoulder at the mirror, half-expecting another limb to lunge out and snatch her. But the reflection remained still, for now. She didn’t dare wait to see if it would strike again.

  She flung open the door and ran into the night, her heart pounding in her chest as she fled from the house. Her feet carried her through the streets, now engulfed in chaos. Flames flickered in the distance, casting eerie shadows on the buildings, and the air was filled with the sounds of destruction—the terrifying shrieks of those being captured, and the relentless thunder of Phobos tearing through Vibrara.

  As she ran, her thoughts were only on one thing: Flo. She had to find her eldest sister. If anyone could stop this, if anyone could save her, it was Flo.

  ——

  Meanwhile, across the city, Flo and Ron raced through the burning streets, the chaos of Vibrara swallowing them whole.The usual scent of roses was now replaced with the acrid stench of charred wood, iron, and blood—a suffocating mixture of destruction and death. Fires raged unchecked, their crackling roars drowned beneath the anguished screams of those being pulled into the abyss of Phobos' nightmare realm. Twisted limbs slithered from shattered mirrors and gleaming puddles, dragging their victims through the glassy surfaces like portals to hell.

  The devastation was unlike anything Flo had ever seen, and she had seen more horrors than she could count. Her heart pounded against her ribs as she and Ron sprinted down the ruined street, dodging falling debris and the writhing mass of Phobos’ nightmare-born appendages. Overhead, the titan’s towering, grotesque form loomed in the blackened sky, its massive body composed of reflective surfaces that captured the carnage below. The flickering flames of the burning city reflected across Phobos’ form, casting a sinister red hue over its body as if it were drenched in blood. Its hundred limbs swung in a chaotic dance of destruction, snatching up screaming townspeople and smashing entire buildings into rubble with a single swipe.

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  Ron pointed towards the sky, his jaw tightening as he took in Phobos' monstrous form. "We need to take that thing down now, Flo. If we don't, it'll rip this entire city apart.”

  Flo didn't answer immediately. Her breath was heavy, and she could feel the heat of the flames licking at her skin. The destruction stretched as far as her eyes could see. People screamed for help, children cried, the wounded groaned in agony. Phobos' monstrous laughter echoed through the night, a low, bone-chilling sound that reverberated through the very foundations of Vibrara.

  “Watch out!" Flo evaded as two enormous limbs crashed down toward them, obliterating an already crumbling building into dust and flames. Without hesitation, she summoned her vines, thick thorny tendrils erupting from the cracked pavement, intercepting the monstrous limbs just before they could reach the fleeing civilians. The vines wrapped around the nightmarish appendages, crushing them with a force that sent cracks rippling across their grotesque surfaces. Black, tar-like ichor spilled from the wounds, sizzling as it met the ground.

  But even as Flo's vines tightened their grip, more limbs burst from the reflections in the pools of water and the broken windows surrounding them. For every arm they destroyed, more seemed to take its place.

  Ron clenched his teeth, his body reacting on instinct as he hurled a blazing sphere of fire from his palm. "Damn it! It just keeps coming!" The fireball collided with one of the writhing limbs, engulfing it in flames before it shrieked and melted into a pool of reflective liquid. But no sooner had he destroyed one than another burst forth from a nearby mirror, lashing out toward his face. He barely had time to duck, feeling the heat of his own flames licking against his skin as he rolled away from the attack.

  "We can't keep fighting like this!" Ron growled, rolling to avoid another swipe. "It keeps coming!”

  Flo swiped her arm, sending razor-sharp rose thorns slicing through the air, severing another set of limbs that had been reaching for a terrified mother clutching her child. Flo turned to them, who huddled behind her barrier of roses. "Stay behind the vines, I will protect all of you!”

  A young boy, clutching a torn stuffed animal, looked up at her with wide eyes. “Promise?"

  Flo hesitated only for a fraction of a second before kneeling in front of him. She placed a hand over her heart and nodded. "I promise.” With that, she turned and took off, sprinting towards Phobos’ direction.

  ——

  As they turned a corner, she barely had time to react before her eyes locked onto a reflection in a broken shop window. A glimmer of movement—her own face staring back at her. The moment their gazes met, a lance of dark energy struck her square in the chest, sending her stumbling backward as her body froze. Her vision blurred, her mind drowning in an abyss of memories long buried but never forgotten.

  Darkness swallowed her whole.

  Suddenly, she was small again, her hands trembling as she clutched at the rough fabric of her mother’s tunic. The acrid scent of smoke filled her lungs. Shadows loomed in the flickering light of burning homes, and through the dense fog of terror, she saw them—her parents, their faces twisted in desperate fear. Her mother held her close, her father standing protectively in front of them. The sound of claws raking against stone sent shivers down her spine, and then, with a deafening roar, it came.

  A Titan.

  The massive, grotesque creature struck with terrifying speed, its claws slicing through her father’s chest. Blood sprayed across Flo’s face, warm and slick. His body crumpled like a broken marionette, eyes wide with shock, mouth moving but forming no words. A strangled scream tore from her mother’s throat as she lunged forward, shielding Flo with her body. But the Titan’s fangs sank into her side, lifting her into the air as she howled in agony. Flo could do nothing—she was frozen, powerless, helpless.

  Then came the worst part.

  Her mother turned her head, eyes meeting Flo’s one last time, love and sorrow bleeding into her expression. "Run," she gasped, voice barely above a whisper before the Titan's maw closed around her, silencing her forever.

  "No!" Flo screamed, her voice raw, her small hands reaching out in futility as her mother’s body was torn apart. Her parents’ blood soaked the ground, mingling with the screams of the dying. The memory wrapped around her throat, suffocating her. The weight of that helplessness, that loss, crushed her, and suddenly, she was that little girl again—weak, powerless, drowning in grief.

  “Flo!"

  The voice calling her name was distant, a whisper against the tidal wave of horror consuming her. But it grew stronger. Familiar.

  "Flo, we need you.”

  Her breath hitched. Deborah’s voice. Not from the past, not from memory, but now. In the present. Her heart surged with new strength. Flo’s eyes snapped open, the images of her sister's voice pulling her out of the nightmare. She remembered her promise, the one she made at her parents' grave—that she would protect her sisters, no matter what. She could not fail them now. She would not.

  Flo surged back to her feet, her fingers curling into fists, her nails digging into her palms. The pain grounded her, reminded her of the now. She would not let Phobos take another person she loved. She refused. With newfound determination to protect what she held dear, her ring glowed even brighter. The roses that covered Vibrara pulsed with an otherworldly light, their petals shimmering as though infused with starlight. She had awakened the true power of her ring, and with it, she would stand against the darkness.

  Unnoticed beside her, Ron was struggling against his own demons. Phobos' mental attack had wrapped its claws around his mind, sinking him into his own past. The scene was all too real—Titan's Keep, the battlefield where he and his unit had made their last stand. The stench of burnt flesh filled his lungs, the taste of blood thick on his tongue. Around him, his friends fell one by one, torn apart by monstrous hands. He could hear their screams, their dying gasps. And then, in front of him, the massive form of a Primordial Titan loomed, fire reflected in its endless, abyssal eyes.

  He tried to fight. He raised his hands, flames igniting at his fingertips, but his body felt sluggish, heavy with exhaustion. The Titan came closer, its towering form blocking out the sky. He was going to die. Just like his friends. Just like them.

  His knees buckled. The fire in his hands flickered, dimming. His vision swam, darkness threatening to consume him. Then a throbbing sensation pulsed from his pocket, insistent and rhythmic. He hesitated before slipping his hand inside, his fingers closing around a ring. The ring he had been carrying, the one he had planned to give to Flo. As his grip tightened around it, an odd sensation coursed through his palm—a pulse, a shifting form. The silver band twisted, reshaping itself as delicate rose vines began to emerge, wrapping around his fingers. A white rose bloomed at its center, its scent cutting through the illusion like a blade of clarity. Ron’s breath hitched.

  A spark ignited in his chest, a force stronger than Phobos' nightmare. It surged through his veins, burning away the illusions. His eyes widened, the battlefield dissolving around him, replaced by the burning streets of Vibrara. And beside him, Flo—alive, standing strong.

  He gasped, sucking in air as though he had been drowning.

  Flo turned to him, her own eyes alight with fierce determination. The ring on her finger, Gorgon Rose, pulsed with power, but something about it had changed—its glow was different, more radiant than ever before. The ground beneath her trembled, and from the cracked, blood-soaked streets, roses began to bloom in a mesmerizing cascade of colors. Vines surged forward, curling around the legs of civilians, lifting them out of Phobos’ grasp and shielding them in a barrier of shimmering yellow petals, each infused with protective enchantments. The golden glow of the roses repelled the dark energy, forming an unbreakable sanctuary amidst the chaos.

  The stench of death was momentarily drowned by the fragrant, almost intoxicating aroma of the enchanted roses, a scent that carried warmth and solace. The battlefield shifted as the power of Gorgon Rose flourished—an undeniable force against Phobos’ nightmare-fueled terror.

  As Ron looked around the city in awe of Flo's newly awakened power, recognition dawned on him. This glow, this overwhelming force—he had seen it before. The power of an Emperor Ring. The city itself seemed to breathe anew, reshaped by Flo's will, as the light from her ring spread like wildfire, pushing back against Phobos' creeping darkness.

  Flo turned to him, her jaw set, her voice steady despite the chaos. "Ron, we need to take that thing down. Now.”

  Ron exhaled, the last shreds of his nightmare burning away. He clenched his fists, fire erupting once more along his knuckles.

  "I’m with you," he said, his voice firm. "Let’s burn this thing to the ground.”

  Together, they turned to face Phobos, the monstrous figure looming over the ruined city, its limbs still hunting, still devouring. But now, it would have to face them.

  And it would know fear.