The Brenner apartment was shrouded in oppressive dimness, the lights flickering as if the very air were saturated with malevolent energy. Quinn lay on her bed, her face pale and sweaty, the red marks on her neck more visible under the faint light of a lamp. Elise Rainier, seated beside her, took deep breaths, her hands trembling slightly as she prepared to enter "The Other Side" again. Cassian, standing by the broken window, held his ceremonial dagger, his face serene but his eyes gleaming with icy determination. Sean, Specs, and Tucker formed a nervous semicircle around the bed, their faces reflecting a mix of fear and hope.
Elise broke the silence, her voice firm but laden with exhaustion.
"I'm going in again. I don't want to, but there's no other choice. Carl told me I'm stronger than I think, and with you here, Cassian, maybe I have a chance. Are you sure you can anchor me from this side?"
Cassian looked at her, adjusting the crucifix around his neck with a slow movement.
"I'm sure. I'll enter with you, not physically, but my will will be there. I'll use the dagger and holy water to confront it. You release what you can; I'll contain it. But if the Bride in Black comes back, don't hesitate. Call my name, and I'll pull you out."
Sean, arms crossed and voice trembling, interjected.
"And what if it doesn't work? What happens if both of you get lost in there? I don't understand how this is going to help Quinn. She can barely breathe—look at those marks! We need a doctor, not more weird rituals!"
Cassian turned to him, his tone cold but calm.
"There's no doctor who can cure this, Mr. Brenner. What has hold of Quinn isn't a disease of the body—it's an assault on the soul. Elise can see it; I can strike it. If you don't trust us, stay quiet and hold her hand. That's all you can do now."
Specs, nervously adjusting his glasses, raised his voice.
"Hey, wait a second. We're the experts here, aren't we? We can record this, analyze it. Maybe if we put a microphone nearby, we'll catch something that tells us what to do. What do you think, Tucker?"
Tucker, holding a clunky camera, nodded enthusiastically.
"Sure, Specs. We've recorded a poltergeist before; this can't be that different. We can upload it to the blog later, 'The Battle Against the Man Who Doesn't Breathe.' It'd be epic!"
Elise looked at them with a mix of exasperation and pity.
"You have no idea what you're dealing with, do you? This isn't some ghost for your videos. It's a demon, and if you don't know what you're doing, it'll drag you in too. Stay quiet and let me work with Cassian. We don't need any more noise."
Cassian nodded, sprinkling holy water on his hands before gripping the dagger.
"She's right. This is a war, not a spectacle. Elise, when you're ready, go in. I'll be with you."
Elise closed her eyes, her breathing slowing as she entered a trance. In "The Other Side," she found herself in a dark hallway, the air thick with the stench of decay and stale oxygen. A small figure—a girl with disheveled hair—was chained to the wall, her pale face and hollow eyes staring blankly. Elise approached, whispering:
"Don't be afraid. I'm here to free you. Who are you? What did this to you?"
The girl didn't respond, but a rattling sound echoed behind Elise. The Man Who Can't Breathe emerged from the shadows, his cracked oxygen mask and hunched body moving with terrifying slowness. Cassian appeared beside Elise in the spiritual plane, his ethereal form glowing faintly, the dagger in hand.
"Stay away from her," Cassian ordered, his icy voice resonating in the void. "Release the girl, and face me."
The demon turned toward him, but before he could attack, a tall, dark figure—the Bride in Black—appeared, lunging at Elise with a guttural scream. She cried out:
"Cassian! Help me!"
Cassian spun, throwing holy water from his spiritual flask. The liquid sizzled as it touched the Bride, forcing her to retreat, and he used the moment to strike the Man Who Can't Breathe with the dagger, cracking his mask further. The demon roared, but Elise freed the girl, whose chains dissolved into smoke. The young woman whispered a "thank you" before vanishing.
Elise, gasping, turned to Cassian.
"There's more here. I feel Quinn, but she's not whole. Look… over there."
A faceless version of Quinn loomed in the distance, her body sprouting deformed limbs as the demon manipulated her. Before they could advance, a familiar figure appeared before Elise: Jack, her late husband, with a sad smile.
"Come with me, Elise," Jack said softly. "Let it all go. Stay here. You don't have to fight anymore."
Elise stared at him, tears welling in her eyes.
"Jack… is that you? No, you wouldn't say that. You'd never tell me to give up."
Cassian grabbed her arm, his voice sharp.
"It's not him. It's the demon. Reject it now!"
Elise nodded, stepping back as the form of Jack transformed into the Man Who Can't Breathe, his eyes glowing behind the mask. Cassian and Elise returned to the physical world with a gasp, she trembling and he impassive, wiping the dagger clean with a cloth.
Sean approached, his voice breaking.
"What happened? Why are you like this? Please, say something!"
Cassian looked at him, his tone calm but grave.
"Quinn is split. Half of her soul is under the demon's control. I wounded it, but I didn't kill it. She has to fight this battle alone; we can only guide her from here."
Specs, pale, dropped his camera.
"Alone? How is she supposed to fight if she can't even move? This is insane—we should leave. Tucker, let's go."
Tucker shook his head nervously.
"No, Specs, wait. If we leave, it'll look like we ran away on the blog. Maybe Cassian knows what he's doing. What do we need to do, friend?"
Cassian ignored his tone, turning to Elise.
"Hold her hands. She needs strength. If Lillith is near, she might help. Did you hear anything while you were there?"
Elise frowned, concentrating.
"A voice… feminine. Not the girl I freed. It could be Lillith. Let me look for something."
She rummaged through Quinn's journal on the bedside table, finding a folded letter.
"Here it is. It's from Lillith, written before she died. It says… 'I'll always be with you, Quinn, even when you can't see me.' This could bring her."
Cassian took the letter, reciting in Latin: "Domine, per hanc vocem, guida animam matris ad filiam suam." The air vibrated, and Elise nodded.
"All of you, take her hands. Quinn, fight. Your mother is coming for you."
Sean, Specs, and Tucker joined in, holding Quinn's hands as she moaned, trapped in her internal struggle. In "The Other Side," Lillith appeared, her radiant form confronting the demon alongside Quinn. In the physical world, Cassian and Elise watched, the air heavy with tension, as the girl fought to reclaim her soul, the demon's rattling echoing in the distance.