All of them stepped into the forest with pounding hearts, their hands tightly clasped together, not letting go even for a second. The forest air was icy, creeping into their skin and making them shiver. Thick fog still clung to everything, allowing them to see nothing but the towering trunks of pine trees.
It was quieter than they had expected. No birdsong. No movement. Nothing at all. And somehow, that silence only made their unease grow heavier.
Yu unconsciously glanced back. There was nothing behind them now—only endless fog. Dali's carriage was completely gone from sight. That meant they had already walked quite a distance. But with fog this dense, none of them had any idea how far they'd come.
Perhaps they still weren't there yet. Nayeon couldn't hide her anxiety. She turned to Yu, gripping her hand as if it were a lifeline.
"Are you sure Shana and Duyen are really on the other side of this forest? What if we can't make it through?"
Yu couldn't answer—because she wasn't sure either. She didn't know everything. All she had were fragments of information left behind by that other "Yu."
Why hadn't she come back?
Why did she refuse to face Shana directly?
Still, Yu didn't want Nayeon to worry. She looked at her. Even though her face was as expressionless as a machine's, there was a faint blush where her hand held Nayeon's.
"…As long as we stay together, we'll be fine."
At least, that was what Dali had told her.
"Yeah… thank you," Nayeon replied.
She knew Yu was trying to reassure her, but there was no way she could truly calm down in this situation. Her legs ached badly from walking for so long.
Watching the two of them still look oddly intimate in a situation like this didn't escape Dao's or Mina's notice. Mina snorted coldly and continued walking ahead, while Dao frowned in confusion.
"Honestly… this forest seems pretty normal. I don't see anything that terrifying here. I don't get why Dali told us to be that cautious."
Mina let out a scornful laugh.
"…That bitch was probably just bluffing to scare us. Once I get out of here, I swear I'll put a bullet in her."
"Hey!" Dao shot her a warning look. "You shouldn't joke about that."
Mina didn't care. "What joke? I mean it. I'll kill her," she said flatly, rolling her eyes.
"…I really don't like her."
Hearing that, Nayeon covered her mouth—and burst out laughing. The sound was sharp, cruel, completely at odds with her cute, innocent-looking face.
"I think you hate her because she tells the truth too well. Honestly, if there were more people like her, it'd probably be a blessing for you. You should get used to hearing the truth. You're way too fragile."
Mina shot Nayeon an icy glare, her hand slowly creeping toward the gun holstered against her chest. Everyone felt a chill run down their spine.
"…Say one more word, and don't blame me if you die without anyone knowing."
But Nayeon wasn't scared. She even stepped closer, openly provoking her, despite Yu trying to pull her back.
"Haven't you already tried to kill me once? Wanna try again? I'm not scared. Go on. Pull the trigger. Let's see how you explain that to Duyen."
That did it. Nayeon had hit Mina right where it hurt. Mina's eyes turned razor-sharp, her hand moving fast for the gun—but Dao rushed forward, throwing herself between them.
"Please, both of you! This is not the time to fight! Do you even realize where we are right now?!"
Reluctantly, Mina lowered her weapon. But if Dao hadn't intervened, she might really have killed Nayeon.
Nayeon laughed triumphantly. Those two truly couldn't stand near each other without clashing.
Suddenly—
A deafening alarm siren blared through the forest, echoing violently in every direction. All of them cried out in shock, clapping their hands over their ears.
Nayeon gritted her teeth, the sound sending chills straight through her body.
"What the hell is that?!"
But her voice was drowned out by the piercing siren.
It continued for nearly five minutes—before slowly fading away into silence. They stared at one another, stunned, not understanding what had just happened. Dao was completely shaken.
"What was that just now? Why would there be a siren like that in the middle of a forest?"
Nayeon rubbed her ears, struggling as her hearing slowly returned.
"It sounded like a warning alarm… Does that mean someone lives here?"
Her question sent a chill through everyone. Someone… living here?
Sure, they'd already encountered someone strange like Dali—but she was an anomaly in herself, someone who shouldn't have been able to survive in a place like this.
So why a warning siren? What were they being warned about?
Then—suddenly—Rustling sounds surrounded them from all sides.
Everyone instantly went on high alert, huddling close together, hands still locked tightly.
"What's happening?!" Dao panicked.
"Probably wild animals," Mina said, already gripping her gun.
Yu tightened her hold on Nayeon's trembling hand.
The sounds kept circling them, as if whatever it was were observing them. And the damn fog only made everything more terrifying.
"What is this…?" someone whispered.
No one had an answer.
Mina didn't waste a second. She yanked the gun free from its holster.
"Wait! Mina, don't!" Dao cried out, trying to stop her.
Mina ignored her. Cold and focused, she raised the gun, scanning the surroundings, listening carefully.
Then—the noise stopped.
Her finger rested on the trigger, ready to fire—no matter what it was. An animal… or even—A human.
"Got you…" Mina muttered.
But suddenly, something drifted into her line of sight. A pale, blurry white shape hovered in the fog.
Mina froze.
She stared at it, trying to make out what it was. Slowly, the shape twisted and formed into a face—one that was painfully familiar to her.
A man.
He was looking at her with a cold, horrifying smile.
"…Valko," Mina whispered, nearly dropping her gun.
Then Dao screamed.
"Everyone—look! The blue flame!"
All eyes snapped forward. Just as Dao said, a blue flame flickered eerily in midair, floating within the thick fog.
The sight made everyone's blood run cold.
"What do we do?! What do we do?!" Nayeon panicked.
Terrified herself, she still forced herself to shout orders.
"Close your eyes! Everyone—close your eyes!"
"Close them!"
They all obeyed at once. Before Dao could say anything else—
Two ice-cold hands appeared from behind her, covering her eyes. A whisper brushed against her ear, chilling her to the bone.
"Close… your eyes…"
Dao screamed.
Her scream echoed through the forest.
---
Run. Run. And keep running.
All of them shut their eyes tight, gripping each other's hands as they ran blindly through the forest, driven by pure terror. They didn't even know what was chasing them from behind. But they could hear it—
something that wasn't an animal, and certainly not human.
Something… wrong.
Strangely enough, even now, Dao felt as if someone was whispering right into her ear. The voice came in broken fragments, sounding exactly like her own—yet unmistakably not hers.
"Run…"
"Run…"
"Dao…"
"Run…"
For someone as timid as Dao, this was nothing short of torture. Running without seeing the path ahead was dangerous enough—and then it happened.
The rope tangled around a tree trunk, yanking all of them off their feet. They tumbled hard onto the ground, forced to open their eyes.
"The rope's caught on a tree! You two, come here—now!" Dao shouted to Nayeon and Yu.
But suddenly, her body froze.
Red. Green. Purple.
The colors exploded into her vision like flickering spots, multiplying until she couldn't see anything at all. Panic clawed at her mind.
She screamed.
"DAO! What's wrong?!"
Mina desperately tried to calm her, but Dao could barely see Mina anymore.
Blue flames…?
Dao muttered like someone losing her sanity.
"Red… green… purple…"
And then Mina saw it. The white shadow. It was still there—watching her, smiling.
"Shit…"
Without thinking, Mina raised her gun and aimed straight at it. The shadow vanished.
"What the hell is going on!?"
Now even Mina was starting to lose control. Gun in hand, she stood up and scanned her surroundings—and that's when she realized it.
The rope connecting them… had snapped at some point. Nayeon and Yu were gone.
"…What?"
Her breath hitched as she looked down at the spot where Dao should have been sitting.
No one was there.
Mina was alone—standing in the middle of the forest.
"Dao?! Dao! Where are you?!"
No answer.
Had she really been left alone just like that?
Panic. Terror.
Mina didn't even know what to call the feeling crushing her chest. She bolted forward, screaming their names into the darkness.
"DAO!"
"NAYEON, YOU DAMN BASTARD, WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"YU!"
Only her own voice echoed back through the cold, eerie forest. She clutched the handgun tightly against her body, holding it close for protection as strange noises and flickering blue flames surrounded her.
"Damn it!"
She raised the gun again, about to fire—
Click.
No shot.
No bullets?
She pulled the trigger again. Nothing.
What the hell was happening!? She knew she had checked the ammo before entering the forest.
Then—
The white shadow reappeared. It stared at her, wearing a grotesque, twisted smile.
No.
She had seen that smile before. It belonged to someone she knew.
Standing there—completely naked—was Valko, staring straight at Mina.
His grin was sickening, perverse beyond words. His voice came out in broken whispers, his face glitching like a distorted film reel.
"Mina… do you know how much I love you?"
---
Elsewhere—Mina wasn't the only one separated from the group. Yu was curled up in the middle of thick fog, surrounded by wavering blue flames. Even she was seeing hallucinations now.
Blinding headlights.
A sealed conference hall draped in heavy velvet curtains.
Yu saw herself lying inside an iron cage—along with countless other young girls. Each of them sat in separate rusted cages, wearing nothing but thin white dresses. Some of those dresses were soaked in blood. One girl lay unconscious, convulsing, her cage door wide open.
Those images would never fade from Yu's memory.
The room echoed with laughter—men in expensive suits, women in lavish evening gowns, champagne glasses clinking beneath ornate masquerade masks. Crude jokes filled the air.
All of it stood in grotesque contrast to the cages.
It was overwhelming.
It was horrifying.
Yet not a single emotion crossed Yu's doll-like, beautiful face.
Her lips moved faintly, whispering a plea.
"Mom… Dad… Big brother…"
No one cared. The laughter only grew louder. Then she heard whispering.
A man in a purple suit leaned toward a potbellied man in a gaudy gold suit. Both stared at Yu with greedy eyes.
"Who's that kid?" the man in gold asked. "You wouldn't believe it," the man in purple whispered.
"She's the daughter of Chairman Jou. You know—the Jou Telecommunications Group."
The man in gold looked stunned.
"Even she got sold here? Guess Chairman Jou really needs to expand his territory."
"Oh, it gets better," the man in purple chuckled while chewing on an appetizer. "I hear she's been like this since she was little."
He laughed softly.
"You can do whatever you want to her. She won't cry. Won't get angry. Just like a doll."
Like a living doll.
The thought made the man in gold laugh even harder.
But Yu didn't understand what any of it meant. Why were they looking at her like that?
A doll…
She remembered those words. Her father used to say the same thing whenever he looked at her.
Perfectly beautiful. Like a doll.
He always said she reminded him of her mother when she was young. Because she was flawless.
Father—
Suddenly, the scene changed. Yu looked down at her hands.
Blood. So much blood.
The man in the gold suit lay dead beside her, his carotid artery severed. Blood soaked into the pristine white mattress.
Yu would never forget that day—the moment she saw that blinding white light fill the entire room.
She only looked up, her face completely expressionless, as the white shadow spoke:
"…Submit to me, you wretched human…"
Yu didn't know what it meant. She didn't know what that creature was.
Then—
Inside her mind, she heard a familiar sound.
Clack.
Clack.
The sound of Dali's knife cutting into frozen mackerel.
Clack.
Clack.
"Yu…"
"Yu…"
"YU!"
Nayeon's voice tore through the fog as she came running, ripping the mist apart.
She saw Yu kneeling before a blue flame. Nayeon lunged forward and grabbed her, jolting Yu awake.
"…Nayeon…"
"Yu! We have to get out of here—now! Run, before—?!"
She didn't get to finish. A massive, grotesque creature stood before them. A beast with pure white fur, surrounded by flickering blue flames.
Its face—
Was that of a stunningly beautiful woman, framed by long, glossy black hair.
It had six legs.
Two enormous fox tails swayed behind it.
Hideous. Unnatural.
The moment Yu awoke from her trance, the creature let out an earth-shattering roar and charged toward them.
Nayeon screamed, instinctively shielding Yu.
Yu, acting on pure instinct, grabbed the knife Dali had given her. It was ridiculous—how could a knife possibly stand against something like that?
And yet—The moment Yu swung the knife. Something impossible happened.
The serpent-shaped ring wrapped around Yu's finger melted into the knife. It came alive—forming a black snake that coiled tightly around the blade.
And then—
A sharp sword burst forth, its hilt shaped like a serpent with glowing green eyes, flashing brilliantly in the darkness.