The heart had been a deception from the start—a lure leading them toward despair and death.
When faced with death, some were willing to sacrifice their teammates to survive… only to realize their souls now belonged to the phantom. Trapped within the abyss of its eyes, their bones were forged into weapons, their blood flowing as veins of despair.
A wide grin unfurled on the monster's face.
"Haha… I didn't think you'd make it this far. But this scent of hopelessness… ah, it drives me mad. What should I do?"
Its voice echoed from every direction, slipping into their minds like poison.
The phantom grasped Aylin by the neck, lifting her into the air.
Her slender lips trembled as her veins darkened, bulging against her pale skin.
Karina screamed—a cry woven with pain and sorrow.
"Sister… No! Don't touch her! Let her go!"
Weak from fever and agony, she wilted like a dying blossom.
Her pale face was drawn, a soft wrinkle shadowing her tiny nose.
Her white dress, embroidered with a meadow and a playful rabbit—hand-stitched by Aylin—shivered with her grip.
Karina clutched the hem tightly, head bowed, hiding her tears from the beast.
Her small lips moved faintly, whispering:
"I wish I were stronger... If my awakening had arrived... maybe... maybe I could've done something…"
Awakening—an elusive mystery, unique to each person. No one could predict its timing… only time itself could decide.
Amid the stench of decay, a rare scent bloomed.
Gentle, untamed—
It parted the rot like a healing balm, entering their bodies, soothing the pain.
Even the phantom stood frozen.
It hissed in confusion:
"This… scent… where is it coming from? Who dares defile this place?"
It tried releasing a stronger wave of decay—
But the new aroma prevailed.
Then Karina's emerald eyes flared with blinding light,
As if a godlike presence had flooded them.
She heard an ethereal voice inside her:
"At last… you've awakened. Believe in the dream you see… Truth will one day follow."
Wild roses bloomed beneath her feet—pink and white petals lifting her gently, forming a hill of blossoms.
This was her awakening.
An awakening born of catastrophe… now one of immense power.
Her dress shimmered like moonlight in a starless sky—
Sheer white, belted with blooming roses.
Petals fell from her gown, breaking darkness—
And wherever they landed, flowers emerged.
For the first time, fear twisted across the monster's face—
And in that moment… it grew uglier.
The phantom snarled:
"Rrrgh…"
Searching for escape:
"This… this power shouldn't be here… you… ####... ###."
Darkness swallowed its words—
As if it wasn't allowed to speak them.
In desperation, the monster burned half the souls it had devoured.
Sacrificing strength for survival.
Its whirlwind barricade shattered, unleashing a violent shockwave.
Giant roots collapsed, tearing deep rifts in the earth like jagged ravines.
Karina summoned green vine strands,
Lifting each teammate to her floral sanctuary.
The phantom, masked behind a tsunami of bones, tried to flee.
But Karina hurled a wild rose-thorn rope—
Thorns turned to buds—
Each burst with radiant light.
The tide of bones broke apart—
BOOM
Yet something more unsettling emerged…
The phantom was caught in a prison of giant roots with venomous tendrils.
Part of its darkness peeled away,
Leaving only thin threads between its halves—
And even they began to war.
Then came the gray mist—
It seized the dark, devoured the hidden heart in its eye.
The phantom shrieked in pain,
Its body cracked and crumbled—
Ash carried by the wind.
The gray mist that claimed its heart swallowed the shards of blood and vanished.
As if it had never existed.
No one had seen this coming.
Even Karina's body instinctively trembled—
A warning from a force beyond comprehension.
They were lucky not to have faced it directly…
Or nothing would've remained—not even bone.
After the brutal battle, the group lay torn and weary,
But Karina's awakening gifted enough strength to survive—
Enough to flee toward safety.
Karina, drained by her power, slept atop the rose-covered hill.
A sleep of dreams and whispers from someone… or something… unknown.
*"One became two. Two became meaning.
Up and down. Black, black. White, white.
Two meanings intertwined—
And one meaning emerged."*
Those final words passed through her fading consciousness…
And she descended into deep sleep.
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