[An Answer in The Dark ]
Darkness... Everywhere Darkness...
Rain was pouring onto the shore.
In that darkness, Shino was chained inside a building.
She looked very weak; her legs were covered in wounds.
Shino slowly opened her eyes. Tears were streaming down her face.
In front of her, there was only a large mirror.
Looking into the mirror, Shino said,
"You gave me your word, but in the end, you never came looking for me. I trusted you so much, Nancy..."
Her eyes overflowed with tears. Suddenly, someone dragged Shino into the darkness...
"Ahhhhhhhh"
Only the sound of her helpless scream was heard outside.
Slowly, crawling out of the darkness, Shino came back to stand before the mirror.
She was now covered entirely in blood.
Slowly lifting her head, Shino looked into the mirror.
"Save me, Nancy..."
As she gently touched the mirror, someone suddenly pulled her back inside again.
"Huh!"
Nancy woke up with a start. She was in her room. Devis was sleeping beside her.
Nancy quickly got out of bed and started to head outside. Devis woke up by then.
"Nancy... where are you going?"
He stopped Nancy, who was rushing out.
"Nancy... where to?"
"I... I have to save Shino."
She turned towards him.
"What?"
"Yes... I promised her that I would always be there for her, no matter what."
"Nancy, it's not that easy."
"Whatever it is, I will bring her back, even if it costs me my life."
He couldn't argue with Nancy's determination.
"How will you bring her back, Nancy...? We know about Shino and the things happening around her. Only we know. Then how will you...?"
She couldn't answer that question.
"Nancy, I understand your distress. I also want to bring her back, but we can't do it. We don't know anything about the things revolving around her. We can't even face the person who took her, Nancy."
"We can. I'm sure we can, Doctor. But we still don't know many things; we need to find that out first."
"What?" Devis looked at her.
"Who Shino is and what the reason behind all this is."
Nancy's eyes fixed on the photo that was on the desk.
"How...?"
Devis looked at Nancy suspiciously.
"The details about Shino are in her treatment file. If we can get that, it will be easy. And getting it won't be that difficult, Doctor."
Nancy looked at Devis.
Devis understood what she meant, and he immediately went outside.
Nancy, determined that Devis would never be able to find Shino alone and that she too must do something, stepped outside.
While walking out, someone coming from the front forcefully bumped into her.
"Sorry, Miss."
The person said this and quickly left the spot.
Nancy stepped onto the road and looked around. Her mind told her that something must have happened right there.
Nancy searched everywhere on the road. Suddenly, something caught her eye a Polaroid photo...
The same photo Shino had received that night was lying on the side of the road. She picked it up and looked at it. It showed Shino looking out through a window.
Nancy immediately went to the area directly across from her room's window. From there, Shino's room window was clearly visible.
She inspected her surroundings. There was a CCTV camera on the side directly opposite where she was standing.
She immediately rushed into the office. Since there was practically no one inside, it was easy for her to check the footage fromthe day Shino went missing.
She began reviewing everything, looking closely at what happened on the night Shino disappeared.
The camera recorded someone taking a photo of Shino from outside that night.
Suddenly, as the rain intensified, everything became blurred. A little later, Shino is seen walking out to that spot. She stands there for a while. Then, something like a supernatural force seems to attack Shino; everything else is blurry.
What exactly happened is not clear in the footage. Nancy started getting certain feelings deep inside.
"Was that person the one monitoring her???"
Nancy was determined that she absolutely must find the answers to all her questions.
Devis went straight to the hospital. His brother had previously examined Shino, so he had no other way to get more information about her.
"Darren," Devis walked into his office.
Darren stared at him, noticing the expression on Devis's face.
"I need your help," Devis said. Hearing that, Darren paid attention to him.
"What do you mean?"
"Brother, I need you to give me Shino's case file. I need it urgently."
"Shino's file... I already gave it to you."
Darren started focusing on his work again.
"That wasn't the real file, Darren. I need the file with all the complete details about her."
"Devis, the one I gave you was the real file. There is no other file here."
"You know about Shino's condition just as well as I do. I know that separate files are kept here for major cases,"
Devis got angry and walked out.
After checking the CCTV footage, Nancy returned to her house.
Nancy was now starting to realize how important Shino was in her life.
With every passing moment, the thought that Shino was moving farther away from her robbed Nancy of her peace.
Nancy was much like Shino a person who lived in solitude, with no one accompanying her, and practically no one to look for her.
She, too, knew the pain of loneliness, just like Shino.
It was while living this way that Shino came into Nancy's life. Shino was not like others; she was completely an introvert compared to Nancy. But Nancy was very happy when she was with her.
While others pushed Shino away, Nancy, for some reason, felt she needed her.
More than a friend, she was like her own sister.
"I... I couldn't keep the promise I made to you, Shino. Forgive me.
I know that you are currently in a situation that is too difficult for me to face. But I believe you are still here on this Earth.
Perhaps you are in trouble that I cannot save you from, and maybe I might lose my life. But I will bring you back."
"Madam,"
Nancy woke up when the driver called her.
She had reached home.
Nancy went inside and slowly headed into the bathroom.
Standing in front of the mirror, she began talking to her own reflection.
"You can do it, Nancy... Shino is waiting for you."
Nancy and Devis are plunged into deep sorrow by Shino's disappearance. Nancy is working very hard to bring her back.
(Time 10:35)
Nova and Nimmy are coming home. They are walking quickly to reach home fast.
Nimmy is looking all around as they walk.
"Hurry up, Nova..."
Nimmy took her hand and walked forward.
"Nimmy, what are you doing? Why are you in such a hurry?"
Nimmy walked ahead without saying a word.
"Nimmy,"
Nova stopped her by holding her hand.
"Nova, what are you doing? Don't you know why I'm behaving like this?"
Nimmy began to get angry.
"Nova, we are still not safe from the danger. It's not safe for us to be outside like this, alone."
"So, how long should we be afraid like this? If he comes again, we should confront him. We shouldn't run away in fear."
Nova tried to make her understand.
"Nova, what you're saying might be right. But it won't work here now. Didn't you see that corpse? Who would do something so cruel? Don't you know that person is not human..."
"Nimmy, if he's not human, does that mean we should be afraid? We can face him."
Nimmy, angered by Nova's stance, let go of her hand and walked forward.
"Nimmy..."
She didn't stop even when Nova called.
Nova didn't know what to do; she froze right there.
Nimmy had gone alone, and Nova slowly started to walk forward.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh"
"Nova...."
The next thing she heard was the scream of Nimmy who had gone ahead.
"Nimmy...."
Nova ran towards the source of the sound.
"Nimmy..... Nimmy ... Nimmy..."
Nova called out loudly, but there was no reply.
Fear mounted inside Nova.
"No... No... Nova..."
Nimmy's voice again.
Nova slowly walked forward.
Nimmy was there, a little distance away.
"Nimmy...."
Just as Nova ran towards her, someone suddenly made her disappear from that spot.
"Nimm... Nimmy...."
Nova started screaming again....
"Nova...."
Nimmy's voice came from behind her.
Nova turned around and saw Nimmy standing a little distance away.
She ran towards her.... As she got closer, she saw it, and Nova's heart stopped.... because what she saw was,
The form of Nimmy, standing in a terrifying manner.
She had no head; Nimmy's head was in her own hand, as if it had been severed.
Seeing that, Nova froze right there.
"Ni.... Nimmy.."
Nova slowly stuttered.
The figure slowly walked towards Nova.
Nova couldn't move back even an inch.
"Nova...."
Nimmy called out in a weeping voice. The headless body slowly walked closer and closer to Nova.
"Nova...."
The body touched her..
"Why didn't you save me?"
As the severed head cried and asked her that question.....
"Nimmy....."
Nova woke up with a scream, sitting bolt upright.
"Nimmy.... Nimmy..."
She started searching all around.
It was then she noticed a photo of them on the desk...
"Yes... Nimmy is also missing. Her own twin sister, Nimmy, was lost right in front of her. Nova, who had promised she would never let Nimmy be in danger, has been like a person who lost her sanity ever since Nimmy went missing. Nimmy comes into her dreams every day, asking why Nova didn't save her. Nova's condition is now changing. Unable to watch her worsening state, her father admitted her to a city hospital."
She is currently under treatment, and even though she explained what happened to her many times, no one believed it.
Now, she has finally ended up under the care of Dr. Darran and Dr. Devis.
Suspicion :
Since Darran didn't hand over the file, Devis was racking his brain in the room, unsure of what to do next.
To find Shino, he first needed to know about the people trying to attack her; for that, he first needed to know everything about Shinoy and her family. Devis sat in the room, not knowing what the next course of action was to figure that out.
He was sure that the file Darran gave him was just a sample; Devis was certain that Darran was hesitant to give him the file containing the full details.
Only if he got the file he was looking for could he understand where Shinoy came from and who her guardians were.
"What do I do now? I have to find another way to get that file," Devis decided firmly in his mind.
Suddenly, Darran entered his room.
"Devis... I need you to come with me. To see a patient."
"No, I can't right now," Devis replied.
"This patient might be connected to Shino's case," Darran said, almost in a whisper.
Darran walked out of the room, and Devis, having made up his mind about something, followed him.
The person they went to see was none other than Nova.
She looked utterly exhausted, and her eyes revealed the sadness of having lost something.
"Nova," Darran called her.
Hearing Darran's voice, Nova slowly emerged from the darkness.
They sat across from each other at a small table there.
"Hi Miss Nova, I'm..."
"You are Dr. Darran, aren't you? And this is your brother, Mr. Dr. Devis," Darran was shocked by her reply.
"Hmm, you know everyone, don't you?"
Darren asked Nova.
"I remember the important ones, Doctor."
She smiled softly.
"In this life where so many people come and go, we have to remember many of them, Doctor. We must remember those we lost, their memories, and our guilt it's our destiny, the punishment this life gives us."
"Punishment?"
Darren looked at her.
"Everything, all the sorrows that happen, are a punishment for us. It often turns into sorrow because we fail to understand what we should have understood."
A tear fell from Nova's eye.
"Nimmy,"
Darren said, looking at her.
"What happened to her, Nova... what did you do to her?"
Hearing Darren's words, an inexplicable anger began to rise in Nova.
"Why did you kill your own twin sister, Nova?"
"No...!!!!!!!!"
Nova jumped up from the chair.
"No... No... I can never do that. She is my... my own sibling, Doctor. I came holding her hand... I can't do it."
Nova burst into tears.
"She is not dead... Nimmy is still there, believing I will come and save her."
"Where?"
Nova remained silent at that question.
"With him... he has hidden her away."
She looked into the darkness.
"He is here somewhere, hidden in the shadow of this darkness. He wants me too... he will come."
Nova said, gripping her own hand tightly.
Darren stepped out. As Davis started to follow him,
"Doctor."
She called out to Davis.
"I understand Doctor Darren doesn't believe me. But what about you?"
"What?"
He asked suspiciously.
Nova walked closer to him and held his hands. Her hands were very cold.
"Doctor, you can help me. Please, help me save my sister. I have to bring her back."
He stared intensely at her.
"Doctor, please... he will come looking for me, but that will be after he kills Nimmy. I have to find him before that. Please."
"Davis."
Darren called out to him from outside.
Davis left silently.
Unable to do anything, Nova walked back into the darkness and sat on the bed there.
"Nimmy... I will come."
She said to herself.
Darren waited outside for Davis, who had come back out.
He handed Davis the file he had kept about Shino.
"This file is all I have about Shino, Davis. This will be helpful to you."
He gave the file to Davis. Before leaving, Darren looked at Davis.
"Just like you, I believe everything, Davis. There is a hidden world beyond what we see, and special humans who live there are among us. Shino is one of them."
Davis looked at Darren in shock.
"I can't do anything else. I am doing what I can."
He tossed a key toward Davis. Davis caught it. It had 'R. No. 17' written on it.
Davis looked at Darren.
"Nova,"
Darren said before leaving the place.
::
Putting all her worries aside, Nancy slowly got up after a short sleep.
She got up and came out of the house. There was no peace in her mind; when she was alone, the memories of Shino made her feel like fear was consuming her.
Nancy slowly walked out onto the road and proceeded forward.
She walked on that night, counting her inner sorrows along the misty path.
Everywhere she looked, her memories with Shino flashed by; each memory shrouded her in pain.
After walking quite a distance, she realized someone was following her.
Nancy slowly turned around; someone was standing behind her, concealed in the dark.
Nancy quickened her pace and walked forward; with every step she took, the person followed her.
Realizing the danger, Nancy turned towards him.
"I know who you are, and your intention..."
Nancy stopped right there.
"If you want to include me in your list, stop it now, and go away from here."
He slowly moved forward, pulling out the murder weapon he held in his hand.
A circular blade attached to a chain.
He gripped it tightly and advanced towards Nancy.
Seeing that, Nancy flinched. She stepped backward.
He suddenly threw the chain at her. But Nancy dodged it.
However, she couldn't escape; he quickly kicked her to the ground.
"Ahh"
He pressed down on her neck...
But Nancy quickly took out the knife she had kept in her hand and was about to wound him.
Distracted by it, he moved and fell aside. In that moment, Nancy got up and ran forward.
But he did not give up and threw the chain in his hand at her. It landed directly and ensnared Nancy's leg.
Nancy fell face down onto the road.
"Oh dear... so bad..."
Someone said, mocking her.
"Just a girl, that's all you are. I expected this."
Nancy slowly lifted her face and looked up.
Near her, in the dim light of the streetlamp, someone was leaning against the post in the shadows.
"Creep,"
Yes, Creep. He was waiting for her in the dark.
"So, you haven't forgotten me,"
Lying on the ground, Nancy couldn't remove the chain wrapped around her leg.
As she tried to untie it, the killer came closer to her.
The knife she held fell far away.
He grabbed Nancy's hair...
Nancy tried to break free, but his grip didn't loosen.
"Shh... poor thing,"
Creep mocked her again.
"Son of a bitch,"
Nancy cursed silently through the pain.
The killer placed the blade in his hand against Nancy's neck to cut it.
Nancy saw her death right before her eyes. The guilt of failing to save her friend made tears stream down her cheeks.
Just as he was about to thrust the knife into her neck, something suddenly pierced his arm, and he pulled his hand back.
In that moment, Nancy escaped his grip and crawled forward.
When the killer, who had moved aside, looked at his arm, he saw a long, nail-like object pierced through it.
Nancy tried to remove the chain from her leg, but couldn't.
He tried to pull out the nail, but couldn't. The pain was unbearable.
"Hey... Man... that's mine. I'll take it."
Creep was standing in front of him, smiling.
Creep yanked the nail out of his hand in one go.
Blood spurted out of the killer's hand. Creep put the blood on his finger and slowly tasted it in his mouth.
"Hmm... this blood doesn't taste good... bad..."
When Creep opened his eyes, they were red.
"Your blood doesn't satisfy me,"
Creep stared intently at the killer; he couldn't withstand Creep's eyes, the look was so fierce.
To escape the Creep, he tried to attack it.
He yanked back the blade attached to his chain and began to drive it into the Creep's neck.
He didn't know how powerful the Creep was; the Creep could sense what he was thinking even as he merely intended to place the blade on its neck.
In the blink of an eye, the Creep stopped the blade with its fingers.
He couldn't pull the blocked blade back; the Creep's fingers were holding it with immense force.
The killer was no slouch either. In the time it took for the Creep to tighten its grip on the blade, the killer twisted the Creep's hand and got back up from the ground.
Seeing the killer move away from the Creep, Nancy tried to pull and loosen the vine tightly wrapped around her leg.
But it was truly binding her legs tightly.
Putting any more force on that vine could wound her legs.
The killer had retrieved his blade that had fallen from the Creep.
His aim was Nancy; with the sole intention of killing her, he walked towards her, looking at her with the blade.
Tolerating any amount of pain, she tried to pull the chain tied to her leg off.
"Ahhhhh..."
Meanwhile, the killer had reached Nancy.
The blade in his hand was also attached to an iron chain.
He swung the blade directly targeting Nancy, but she dodged it. He quickly pulled the chain back to throw it at her again.
In that moment, Nancy endured all the pain and pulled hard enough to snap the chain that was tied to her leg.
Blood began to flow, and she couldn't get up. Seeing her helplessness, the killer walked closer to her.
"No matter what happens, I shouldn't die here. There is someone waiting for me on this earth," Nancy resolved internally, and with that thought, she got up from the ground."
He aimed the chain at her again and threw it. This time, although she managed to evade the chain, she grabbed hold of it.
The change in her made the killer's anger boil over. He tried to pull the blade back, but he couldn't retrieve it; Nancy was holding onto it tightly.
He only remembers taking one step closer to her, but within that fraction of a second, Nancy put all her strength into the chain, ran towards him, and fiercely struck him on the neck with her wounded leg, knocking him down.
There was some kind of change in Nancy. Blood was still coming from her leg, but Nancy was standing as if she didn't care.
Slowly, she pulled the chain towards her hands.
She slowly turned towards him. He was still lying on the ground. Slowly opening his eyes, he got up and looked at his hand; his weapon wasn't there.
When he turned and looked behind him,
Nancy was standing behind him, with his own chain and attached blade in her hand. She was holding onto it tightly.
"Didn't I warn you the first time!!"
Nancy stood there, staring at him, her stance confirming her resolve to face him without a shred of fear.
He got up from the ground and looked at Nancy angrily. Nancy stood staring back at him, giving no ground.
Determined to kill her, he quickly moved towards her, clenched his fist, and approached to punch her.
Nancy easily blocked it by crossing her arms. The blade she had been holding in her hand stabbed into his leg.
Before he could pull his hand back, Nancy kicked him hard in the chest. The force of the blow sent him flying backward and he fell again.
Nancy did not back down; she rushed toward him, tightly swung and rotated the chain in her hand, and then wrapped it right around his neck.
Though he tried to get up, he couldn't because of the strength of Nancy's grip.
"I warned you, and still you...!"
She tightened the chain angrily.
Fear was no longer visible in Nancy's eyes. All that remained was hatred and vengeance.
"Nice... Lady..."
The Creep was sitting on a bench opposite them, watching all this.
"Nice... nice..."
He was enjoying everything he saw.
"You!"
She looked at the Creep angrily. Taking advantage of that moment, the killer yanked the chain that Nancy was gripping and threw her forward.
Nancy landed right in front of the Creep.
"Aww... poor thing... are you hurt?"
He asked Nancy, mocking her.
"Who invited you here, you dirty scoundrel?"
Nancy turned towards the Creep angrily. With the Creep on one side and the killer on the other, her anger surpassed her control.
"Hey, I just happened to be passing by and decided to drop in. Besides, I saved you, Lady, when he was about to kill you... don't forget that."
"I don't need your help... I don't need the help of a despicable person like you..."
"Really... what did I do to make you so angry, Lady...?"
The Creep asked with an innocent look.
"You..."
Just as she was about to turn on him, the killer suddenly ran towards Nancy.
Suddenly...
The Creep pushed her aside, stepped forward to block the attack, and threw the killer away again.
"See? I'm still the one saving you, Nancy..."
He extended his hand towards her as she lay on the ground.
She got up by herself, swatting his hand away.
"Arrogant!"
The Creep turned to her.
"You tried to kill me. Why... why did you come looking for me again?" Nancy asked, blocking the Creep's path.
"How do you know me? Why are you following me?"
She stepped closer to the Creep.
"Why would I follow you?..."
"Don't lie!..."
She cornered the Creep.
"Is this how you treat those who helped you?"
Creep tried to move away from Nancy's grip.
Suddenly, as if seeing something, she swiftly shoved him to the other side.
Then...
She dropped the killer, who was rushing towards them, in a single moment with a scissor kick.
Creep stared at Nancy, astonished by her swift defense, which happened in the blink of an eye.
The killer lost his footing from her rapid kick and lay unconscious on the ground.
"Wow... that was acool kick!"
Creep, who was lying on the ground on the other side, said, looking at her.
Nancy walked over to Creep and held out her hand for him to get up. Creep held her hand and stood up.
"The King of Fear, huh?"
Nancy said mockingly, looking at him.
"I don't display my strength in such minor matters, lady..."
He turned towards Nancy.
"Really."
"Of course."
"Then where? Near a girl who is alone in danger? In a purely disgusting way? Is that what your 'strength' is?"
She looked at him angrily.
"Lady, you have misunderstood me..."
"Don't lie!"
Nancy prepared to swing the chain at him, and she swung it... but Creep effortlessly seized it.
"Nice try... but this won't work on me, Nancy. You'll have to wait longer to face me."
Creep effortlessly turned the chain into ash right in front of her eyes.
When she turned back to look at the killer she had attacked, he was also gone.
She looked around to see where he had gone, but she couldn't find him.
"Don't bother looking... he left a while ago," Creep called out from behind.
"What do you want? Why are you following me like this?"
She turned towards Creep.
"I don't need anything from you... except for an answer," Creep said with a faint smile.
"What answer?" Nancy asked.
Hearing her question, a peculiar smile appeared on Creep's lips.
Suddenly, all the lights there began to flicker. Just as quickly, they all went off together.
After a moment, they turned back on, returning to normal. But...
Creep, who had been standing in front of her, was no longer there. He, too, had vanished into the depths of the darkness.
Nancy stood alone beneath the streetlights, thinking about what Creep had said, on that solitary, misty night road.
Within moments, she lost consciousness. A lot of blood had been lost from the wound on her leg.
(Time: 11:00)
Nancy opened her eyes.
She was in her room, at her house.
When she gently looked at her leg, the wound was neatly bandaged.
She sat there, unaware of who had brought her here or who had tended to her, when she noticed a letter on the desk nearby.
"I will find out the answer from you eventually. For now, take solace in getting your life back.
We will meet again, Lady."
She read it, and looked outside.
"CREEP," she whispered.
A short distance away, on a large tree branch, he was there.
Hidden in the darkness, unseen by anyone, he was lying on that branch.
The guardian of the darkness... the King of Fear.
A small, supernatural smile bloomed on his lips.