The forest was silent.
Too silent.
Branches twisted above like blackened bones. The sky hung low, clouded with crimson mist. Every step Mona took deeper into the woods felt like stepping into someone else's dream—no, their nightmare.
"Niki…" she whispered into the dark.
No answer.
But she could feel him. The bond—shattered but still humming—called to her like a bloodline that couldn't be severed.
She stepped over cracked stones, breath shallow, her pulse echoing against the trees.
Then, she saw him.
Standing at the center of a ruin, where the moonlight didn't touch. Shirt torn, eyes glowing gold-red, veins pulsing dark fire beneath his skin. His presence didn't just fill the space—it owned it.
She opened her mouth to speak, but his voice came first.
"You shouldn't be here."
"Niki," she said carefully, stepping closer. "It's me."
"I know who you are," he replied. "You're the girl who kissed me and made me a monster."
Mona flinched.
"That's not what happened."
"No?" He tilted his head, smiling bitterly. "Then what did happen, Mona? Because I don't sleep anymore. I don't breathe the same. I hear things… things only Veylor heard. I dream his dreams."
She blinked. "You remember him?"
"More than remember. He's inside me. Whispering. Guiding. Feeding off the piece of him you passed into me."
She shook her head, heart racing. "I didn't know. I didn't—"
"You didn't choose me," he cut in. "Not really. You kissed Sunghoon too."
Mona's lips trembled. "It was different—"
He stepped forward suddenly, faster than human eyes could follow.
"And I am different now too."
Their faces were inches apart. His breath was cold. His gaze? Unreadable.
"You came to stop me," he said. "Didn't you?"
"I came to bring you back."
A long pause.
Then he whispered, "Back isn't real anymore."
Meanwhile – The Mansion
Sunghoon stormed through the halls of the archive wing, clutching a scroll wrapped in protective silk. His pulse was pounding in his ears. Behind him, Heeseung and Jungwon trailed, concerned.
"What did you find?" Jungwon asked.
"A ritual," Sunghoon muttered. "Ancient. Bloodborn. It can sever a cursed bond."
Heeseung frowned. "Is it safe?"
"No," Sunghoon said. "It could kill her."
He stopped, turning to them.
"But if she stays bonded to both of us, the darkness will tear her apart."
He stared into the candlelight.
"I can't lose her."
Back in the Ruins
"I can feel your heart," Niki whispered. "Even now. Beating faster."
"It's afraid," Mona replied, her voice trembling. "Not of you. Of what's inside you."
"You think I'm going to become him," Niki said, stepping back. "But what if I already have?"
Mona looked into his eyes and saw it—
Not just Niki. Not just Veylor.
But a soul flickering between two worlds.
"You're still in there," she said. "I know you are."
"Then prove it."
"What?"
"Kiss me," he said, tone sharp. "Not for a ritual. Not to save me. Just because you want to."
Mona froze.
He stepped closer, daring. "If there's still a part of me you love… prove it."
Her lips parted. Her heart screamed. Her head spun.
But she couldn't.
Because suddenly—Sunghoon appeared behind her.
"Mona—don't."
She turned, eyes wide.
Sunghoon's face was pale. "If you kiss him again, the bond will deepen. The prophecy will take you both."
"She already made her choice," Niki said darkly. "Didn't she?"
Mona looked at them both.
One—fire. Steady, protective, burning slowly.
One—storm. Wild, terrifying, intoxicating.
"I didn't choose," she whispered. "Because I love you both."
Silence.
Then Niki's smile broke—cracked like glass. "Then maybe I don't need your love anymore."
His eyes flared—and the earth trembled.
Dark vines erupted from the ground. The ruins lit with bloodlight. And in a blink—
He vanished.
Later That Night – The Ritual Room
Mona stood in the circle of salt and blood, arms bare, the runes carved around her glowing.
"I'm ready," she whispered.
Sunghoon lit the final candle.
"If this works," he said quietly, "you might lose everything that tied you to Niki. Even the good."
Mona closed her eyes. "If it saves him… I'll lose anything."
The ritual began.
But far away—in the darkness of the Hollow Realm—Niki stood at a cracked throne.
And whispered, "Let it break."