The intensity of Ha-Yoon’s departure left a vacuum in the air, filled only by the thudding panic in Jiyeon’s chest. Elias's hands were cold against her cheeks, his desperate urgency a terrifying, new reality.

“When I looked into the mirror…” Jiyeon began, her voice a fragile whisper, forcing herself to recall the chilling vision despite the instinct to bury it. “I saw your face superimposed over mine. But you were different. Gaunt, terrified… and there was a dark, spreading wound over your heart—not blood, but shadow.”