𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙨 || 𝘑𝘢𝘺𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘯 & 𝘞𝘰𝘯𝘬𝘪

14

A/N: A little more progress from Wonki's side is in here :)

The group slowly moved forward. Their hearts beating in their throat as the sensed something was terribly wrong seeing how Ni-Ki sensed it.

The moment they stepped into the house, the sight that greeted them was nothing short of a nightmare.

Thick, dark smoke filled the room, swirling like a living entity, its tendrils creeping along the walls and floor. The smoke seemed to pulse with a sinister energy, and the air was thick with the smell of something foul and rotten.

In the middle of the room, Jay lay unconscious on the floor, his body disturbingly still as if drained of life. Ni-Ki's heart pounded in his chest as he rushed to Jay's side, dropping to his knees. He shook Jay gently, his voice laced with panic, "Hyung, wake up!"

But Jay didn't stir. His skin was cold, and Ni-Ki's fingers barely found a pulse—weak and fading. "He's alive," Ni-Ki whispered, but his relief was tainted with the overwhelming fear that something terrible had happened.

Their attention was suddenly drawn to the far end of the room, where Sunghoon stood,

 completely still, as if frozen in time. 

A hand—long, bony, and unnervingly pale—was covering his eyes, holding him in a state of unnatural stillness. The hand didn't belong to Sunghoon.

Beside him stood a woman, her presence so chilling that it seemed to suck the warmth from the room. Her hair was as black as the smoke that filled the air, cascading down her back in unnaturally smooth waves. Her skin was  pale, but it was her eyes that sent a wave of terror through the group—they were a deep, blood-red, glowing with a malevolent light that seemed to pierce through the darkness.

For a moment, the only sound was the crackling of the smoke as it twisted and writhed around them. 

Then, the woman spoke, her voice low and cold, like a whisper from the grave. "Youngjae has been looking for him for a while now."

Her words hung in the air, heavy with a menace that made their blood run cold. She didn't move, but the hand over Sunghoon's eyes tightened, causing his body to tremble slightly, though he remained eerily still.

Lin's voice was barely more than a breath as he stepped forward, "Sunghoon. . . .please. . . . wake up."

The woman's gaze shifted to Lin, and her lips curled into a smile—if it could be called that. It was more a twisted, cruel mockery of a smile, filled with an eerie amusement that sent shivers down their spines. "He's quite peaceful like this, isn't he?" she murmured, her tone almost tender, though it was laced with something far more sinister. "Why would you want to wake him?"

Heeseung's fists clenched at his sides, his voice a low growl, "What did you do to him?"

The woman's smile widened, and the dark smoke seemed to pulse in response, the room growing colder. "I simply gave him some time to... rest, Heeseung," she replied, her voice dripping with mockery. "He deserves a little break, don't you think?"

Lin's hands twitched, the beginnings of a spell forming at her fingertips, but the woman's eyes flashed dangerously, and the smoke surged forward, surrounding them, pressing in on them like a living shroud. "I wouldn't try that if I were you," she hissed, her voice a venomous whisper. 

The threat hung heavy in the air, and Lin hesitated, her eyes flicking to Sunghoon, who remained unresponsive, his body a lifeless shell.

"He's coming with us," Sunoo said, his voice firm despite the fear gnawing at his insides. "We're not leaving without him."