Reflected in Shards

In the fog‑choked town of Mirageton, reality is never as solid as it seems.

A man is found dead behind a shop's glass door - frozen in terror, blood smeared beneath his hands. He's the latest victim in a string of killings, each body discovered in abject horror, as if they had seen - and fought - something impossible.

Across town, Ian Hale is coming apart. Plagued by migraines, violent dreams, and a reflection that doesn't always move when he does, he knows one thing for certain: something inside him is wrong. Something watching. Waiting.

He wants to run, to leave the rot of Mirageton behind. But the town won't release him. Not his father, who treats him like a debt to be collected; not his own fracturing mind; and certainly not Elaine - sharp, relentless, and the daughter of the lead detective. She's hunting the truth behind the murders. And Ian may be the only thread that leads to it.

One wrong move won't just expose him. It will shatter his life, hers, and everyone's in between.

As suspicion spreads, an old legend bleeds into waking life. Reflections linger. Glass remembers. And the line between monster and victim begins to crack.

The horror in Mirageton isn't just what's hiding in the mirrors.
It's what's looking back.

ONC 2026 Prompt 76: Your reflection smiles before you do and then begins mimicking things you never did.