A few bushes away, the faint lights of the village homes appeared, but there was still the massive, ancient graveyard separating them. Seo Joon's alpha senses were already reacting strongly. He could feel the overwhelming presence of negative energy, as if the very air around them was poisoned.
His gaze fixed directly on the graveyard. This was no ordinary cemetery. Around every grave, thorny vines had grown, slowly creeping across the ground. Their dry, black branches were so dense it seemed as if they were burying the graves alive. Scattered across the ground were strange objects:
Broken clay dolls with faces shattered like stone,
Old red-and-black talismans tied with string,
("Old talismans—enchanted charms meant for protection or dark rituals)
Burnt candles with melted wax still sticking to the earth,
And some ancient bamboo sticks etched with blood-written Korean symbols.
Seo Joon's eyes widened as he realized instantly—these were remnants of black magic rituals. His heart began to pound even faster. He grabbed Woo Bin's hand tightly and spoke in a low but firm voice:
"Don't let go of my hand. No matter what happens, we have to get out of here quickly."
At that moment, his alpha powers went out of control, as if the beast inside him was ready to break free. Yet, despite everything, only one thing mattered—protecting Woo Bin. Seo Joon felt the place was extremely dangerous and wanted to get Woo Bin out as quickly as possible.
The two of them moved forward cautiously. The torchlight swayed across the uneven ground, and the thorny obstacles made each step perilous.
Suddenly, a chanting sound pierced the air. It was faint, but its vibrations were deep and chilling, as if several voices were repeating the same words in unison.
Woo Bin froze in fear. His omega instincts triggered automatically, and his body was subtly drawn toward Seo Joon. Seo Joon, hearing the chant too, could not pinpoint where it was coming from, but the sound intensified in the darkness of the graveyard.
Woo Bin caught sight of one particular grave, standing out from the rest. It was far creepier than the others. Thorny vines wrapped around it so tightly it seemed deliberately sealed. A black stone stood atop the grave, inscribed with Korean runes and strange, pale writing. Old talismans and bloodied cloth were tied alongside it.
And the most terrifying part—the darkness around the grave was unnaturally deep, as if it had become a living entity, wrapping itself around the tomb. Deep cracks ran through the soil, as though something inside was shifting.
Woo Bin's breathing quickened. It felt as though shadowy figures moved in the darkness—human-like in shape, but not human.
It was at that moment that the true Alpha–Omega connection revealed itself.
As Woo Bin instinctively moved closer to Seo Joon, his presence calmed the otherwise uncontrollable alpha energy for a moment. Their energies began to react to each other, as if an invisible thread bound them together.
Seo Joon felt Woo Bin's touch balancing the beast within him, and Woo Bin, through his omega instincts, sensed a strange protective warmth, gradually controlling the fear that had gripped him.
Their relationship was officially undefined, yet their powers were naturally bonding, as if resisting the pull of the graveyard's negative energy.
At that moment, the chanting grew louder. The darkness began to shift. The air in the graveyard turned even colder. It felt as though the ritual and their combined energies were colliding, awakening something far more dangerous…