Present Day, After "STARDIVE"
The dorm is quiet now.The cameras are off.The fans are still screaming online.
Zayn sat at the edge of the couch, arms crossed, eyes sharp. He had watched Jiwon disappear onto the rooftop earlier and returned with a tension in his shoulders that didn't belong to a normal comeback night. He didn't say anything at first—just observed, calculating.
"You've been off since the rooftop," he finally said, voice low. "Not the fans, not the edits. Something else. Something you're not telling us."
Jiwon didn't meet his gaze. "You wouldn't understand."
Zayn leaned forward. "Try me. Or don't. But if you keep shutting us out, Min and EO are going to feel it too. And we can't protect you from what you won't share."
Min sat near the vanity, hands folded in his lap, eyes unfocused. He hadn't touched the starlight-infused chord sheets for hours. Every now and then, he'd glance at the mirror across the room and flinch, as if expecting it to reflect something other than his own face.
"I… I feel it," he murmured. "Even now. In the studio, in the performance. When I touch the mirror… it watches me." His voice trembled, small, fearful—but not naïve. He wasn't scared of being human; he was scared of what he could become.
Jiwon's hand twitched toward his hidden blade. "You're awakening," he said quietly. "It's not something to fear. Not yet. But it will demand everything from you—focus, discipline, control."
Kai sprawled on the floor, tossing lyric sheets into the air, a half-grin on his face that didn't reach his eyes. "I mean, what's the point of superstardom if you can't have a little apocalypse simmering beneath the floorboards, right?" His laughter was sharp, a veneer over unease. "Honestly, the way the rooftop went… I can feel it in my bones. Something's coming. Something that makes even me—me—want to hide."
EO, curled on the windowsill with his laptop, didn't speak much. He tapped furiously at the keyboard, scanning social feeds and fan reactions. "They're obsessed," he said softly, not looking up. "Sunfire, Veil of Flame… it's all they see. They don't know what's real. They only see sparks." He paused. "And I think… I can feel some of it too."
Jiwon finally stood, tension coiling in his shoulders. "It's not just sparks," he said. "It's a signal. Yul is… awake. And he's looking."
The room went quiet.
Min swallowed. "Looking… at us?"
"Yes," Jiwon said. "And he knows we know. That's why he came to the rooftop. That's why he—" He cut himself off, jaw tightening. "…he's dangerous."
Zayn's eyes darkened. "Then we need a plan. Not just for the fans, not just for the media—but for us. For him."
Kai muttered something under his breath about charms, wards, and exorcisms, but the others ignored him.
Min touched his arm, where the faint glow under his sleeve pulsed like a heartbeat. "And if I can't control it?"
"You will," Jiwon said, firm, though the quiet edge in his voice betrayed a flicker of doubt. "I'll make sure of it. We'll all survive this… together."
For a brief moment, the tension eased, replaced by a fragile thread of trust. But Jiwon knew it wouldn't last long. Outside, the city lights burned bright, oblivious. Inside, in the quiet dorm, Monarch felt the first tremors of a war that had already begun—one of blood, power, and something far more dangerous: desire.