The mutated bunny raises its paw above Leo's limp body on the ground, yet miraculously, the image freezes just before the fatal impact.

Glowing words etch across the glass: "This moment has not occurred, but there are not many minutes left till it does."

Hardly daring to breathe, Orianna turns slowly, as she faces the mirror. Within its depths, what gazes back is not her reflection, but the visage of a woman formed entirely of shimmering light.

Though lacking true substance, the outline of a slim figure is clear, with long, straight hair cascading down her back.

"What the..." Orianna mumbles, stumbling backwards in surprise. Looking at the woman, she once again pinches her arm,’Did my house land on a witch? What is going on?’

"I will guide you to him," she speaks directly into Orianna's mind. "But you must aid me as well, I need to find someone. Take me with you."

Orianna takes a slow, deep breath, willing herself to remain calm. 'A talking mirror…' she thinks, wanting to scream. 'My mind is telling me I should leave… but..'. Pressing both palms to her face, she steeles her nerves.'Panic helps nothing. Maybe I can bargain with this lady...ask only enough help to save Leo while limiting more involvement.’

"You're too large for me to carry," Orianna responds cautiously. "Can’t you just point me in the right direction? Then I can come back and help you?”

'Too ‘Large’?' The spectral figure's eyebrow twitches slightly, "Or your pitiful bird can die," she retorts.

Orianna's eyes snap shut, a wave of embarrassment washing over her. 'That was a fail..' She lightly grabs at her pajama pants,'There's no other choice' she realizes with a grit of her teeth. Resignation settles in as she meets the unflinching gaze in the glass. "Alright," Orianna sighs, “just.. how? I heard it was impossible to move the mirrors"

Wordlessly, the mirror woman dissolves into a glimmering mist, flowing and forming into a gleaming pin emblazoned with a four-leaf clover now affixed over Orianna's heart.

Orianna grasps the pin reflexively in her muddy palm, mystified by the magical manifestations spiraling wildly outside her grasp of reality. She blinks hard, biting her lip, feeling her soul ready to fly right out of her body. "…There's so much happening right now.."

Though knowing she's running out of time, she saves her questions for later. Orianna tightens her jaw, fixing the mirror with a desperate glare. "Where do I need to go?"

The pin pulses gently against Orianna's breastbone, and the woman's soul appears from inside. Her voice resonates with quiet authority inside Orianna's spinning mind:

"Before I tell you, a bird doesn't seem worth the risk..." The woman looms close with a face of confusion, "why not let it die and go home safely? Whatever you decide to do is not your fault."

"I won't abandon him," Orianna states simply.

A charged pause follows her firm words. Then, the woman's voice a shade warmer, she replies, "You're like a moth…I like you. I shall guide your steps without delay to him. Follow precisely as I instruct," she gently commands.

Orianna ignores her strange compliment and plunges into the midnight woods without another moment's doubt.

As she weaves through the dense thicket, her thoughts race. 'This is a huge gamble... but for Leo, it's worth it.' The forest seems to fight her every step, with thorns snagging her skin and underbrush slowing her pace. Despite the stinging cuts and the fire in her lungs, she pushes on, driven by the urgent whisper guiding her deeper into the night.

Thorny branches lash at Orianna's cheeks, but she does not slow her frantic pace. Log after mossy log, her feet pound over them without breaking stride. Streams gush past in a blur as she hurdles their rocky banks.

Chest heaving, Orianna scans the forest ahead. There, a rocky ravine gapes open, far too wide to jump. She skids to a halt with a frustrated groan. "How much farther could they have gone?"

The spectral woman floats up beside her. "We must go around. Follow these directions." She gestures to a winding path that circles the ravine. "It will take longer, but there is a better chance of living. You will not make that jump."

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Orianna steps back, peering down at the ravine's craggy depths. Her fists clench tightly, the only outward sign of her inner turmoil. 'No time for doubts,' she tells herself, a whisper lost in the howling wind.

As she steels herself for the jump, a strange warmth kindles in her eyes, turning her brown irises into pools of molten gold. It's a change she's oblivious to, caught up in the gravity of her decision.

The spectral woman's voice, tinged with alarm, reaches out to her. 'Little moth, wait—'

Ignoring the warning, Orianna leaps. Time seems to stretch, her body suspended over the void. The far side of the ravine looms suddenly closer, and she crashes against the jagged rocks, a jolt of pain shooting up her arms

Claws of rock bloody her fingers as she scrambles for a grip, finally dragging herself onto solid ground.

She collapses, chest heaving, as blood courses down her forearms. "I-I actually made it," she gasps.

The spectral woman stares at her from across the ravine, mouth agape, her hollow eyes wider than Orianna had ever seen them. "You were not meant to live..." she whispers. She closes her eyes and shakes her head in dismay. "There's no way..."

At last, she spots Leo's limp bodyguards on the ground. The Monster bunny stands over his crumbled form, paw raised for a final blow.

Heart pounding, Orianna instinctively hurtles herself across the short distance separating them. With adrenaline coursing through her veins, she swings the hammer with all the strength she can muster.

The impact against the creature's head is like striking stone. A grunt of surprise escapes it, and its grotesque face turns towards her, eyes burning with primal fury. Orianna's blow bounces off solid muscle, the force only making the creature stumble slightly to the side rather than falling.

"Leo!" Orianna cries, sliding to her friend's side. Relief floods her, noticing his chest slowly rising and falling - he is still alive.

She hoists his limp body onto a nearby boulder with tears stinging in her eyes. Made not of sorrow but exhilaration.

Orianna faces the skinny beast, its twisted bunny-like visage belying its sheer brawn and lethal intent. She grips her hammer more tightly, its weight a small comfort against the beatings of her heart.

As she narrowly evades its first savage strike, she springs uo a thought –'It barely flinched when I first hit it…' Orianna's breath comes in ragged gasps, her mind racing for a strategy. 'Brute force isn't the answer here...'

The creature swings a heavy fist. She nervously rolls to its blind right side, springing up to land a counterblow against its torso that barely leaves a dent. Her breath releases, 'It's not very fast thankfully'. She ducks another swipe of its deadly talons, seeking weaknesses in its defenses but finding none.

She smashes her hammer against its knees to minimal effect - the spindly joints refuse to break or bend. Twisting desperately away from raking talons longer than her forearm, Orianna aims a blow at its bulbous ribcage. But the freak's disproportionate physique makes landing strikes difficult.

She stumbles back, chest heaving, knuckles white around the hammer handle. It isn't working. The hammer feels useless, clumsy. She needs a different weapon.

"Ugh!" Orianna hurls the hammer and it spins end over end before crashing into a tree trunk across the clearing. In the same motion, her eyes dart desperately across the ground

There - a jagged rock.

She dives for it, fingers closing around the rough stone just as claws slice the air overhead. She frantically rolls before the attack lands. "I can do it, I can do it," she says, gasping for air.

Orianna then vaults atop a rock, using the added height to drive the weapon straight down onto its shoulder. Rancid blood spurts but mottled hide quickly re-knits over the dent.

"It can heal itself!?" Orianna exclaims in dismay.

With whiplash speed, the creature spins on her and its powerful arm swings out to backhand Orianna's slender frame. Air is driven from her lungs as she hits the frozen ground hard, rolling several feet before sliding to a stop.

Fiery pain blooms up her side. Struggling to pull air back into her spasming chest. Gritting her teeth, Orianna claws her way to unsteady feet, ducking behind the shelter of nearby trees. At the same moment, the creature pierces through tree trunks, thinking she's behind.

Cradling her throbbing ribs, she darts from tree to tree, continuously using the trees like shields. Her shoes slip on frozen leaves and twigs as she struggles to keep her footing, evading the monster's seeking grasp.

When she circles around behind the creature, Orianna presses her back against the bark. Pulse racing. The beast sniffs at the ground, its lone beady eye darting about alertly.

Orianna lifts her pajamas to her nose. Immediately she suppresses a gag at her own stench of fear-laced sweat. 'Shit! I can even smell myself!' she thought frantically, her mind scrambling for options.

Peering at the creature from behind a tree, her eyebrows shoot up - its left eye remains a pulpy ruin. She looks down with her hands caressing her chin, 'His eye...why isn't it healed?'

Before she can ponder further, its paw snaps out. Claws almost graze her shoulder. But Orianna dodges just in time and sprints back into the clearing on shaky legs.

Staggering but unrelenting, the beast presses its advantage, landing a savage slash to her ribs that sends her sprawling with a cry.

Agony lances through her side, she clasps a hand to the deep lacerations. Blood seeps over trembling fingers. Biting through the pain, she raises her hammer in defiance.

But broken ribs hinder her next block, allowing the beast to smash its fist into her jaw.

Stars burst across her dimming vision and a deafening ring pierces her ears. Orianna hits the dirt hard. Dazed, blinded by dancing black spots, she gropes desperately for her fallen hammer. But her limbs betray her, unresponsive in her direst moment. The only sound piercing the fog in her ears is the ominous rhythm of the creature's approaching steps.

"Move, damn it!" she growls through locked teeth.

Her fingers scrape through dirt and dried leaves, desperate for anything to grab hold of. As her senses start to clear, she sees the hammer's wooden handle lying just out of reach.

Yet, by the time her hand manages to close over the hilt, time is already spent. The creature slashes her arm off, making her attempt useless.