Narrative POV
When Aonmi's vision returned, it was not the world he had just been in. The clearing, the figure, Addison-they were all gone. Instead, he was surrounded by an empty void, the air thick with an unnatural stillness. His breath caught in his throat, and the faintest tremor of fear curled in his chest. Something was very wrong. He could feel it in his bones, like the air itself was charged with danger.
Aonmi's mind raced. The last thing he remembered was pulling Addison to safety, but now... now, there was nothing. No clearing. No trees. No figure. Just an overwhelming silence. He took a step forward, but it felt like he was moving through thick water, each movement sluggish and slow.
His eyes scanned the space, searching for any sign of Addison. Anything. His heart pounded as panic started to creep into his chest. She had to be here. She had to be okay.
He called her name, his voice cracking in the silence. "Addison?!" His voice was swallowed by the vast emptiness, leaving nothing but an echo.
Nothing.
His eyes widened as he looked around again. It was as if the world itself was gone. There was no sky, no ground, no trees. Just a suffocating, empty blackness stretching endlessly in every direction.
What is this place?
The thought flickered across his mind like a flash of lightning, but before he could process it, something shifted. A presence-cold, looming, unmistakable. The figure appeared before him, their form emerging from the void like smoke, their presence more imposing than ever. The hooded figure stood there, watching him with an unsettling stillness. Their eyes, hidden beneath the shadow of their hood, were like two voids of darkness, swirling with malevolent energy.
Aonmi's heart raced, but his anger flared. "What have you done to her?!" he demanded, his voice strained with fury.
The figure didn't answer immediately. Instead, they stepped closer, their movement slow and deliberate, as if savoring his growing panic. Their voice, when it came, was low and taunting.
"She's where she belongs," the figure whispered, their words curling like smoke around him. "You can't protect her from this. From me."
Aonmi clenched his fists, the desire to strike out at the figure almost overwhelming. He knew he had to stay calm. He had to find Addison. But everything inside him screamed to tear the figure apart.
"No." Aonmi's voice was low, determined. "You're not taking her. Not from me."
The figure tilted their head, the movement disturbingly fluid, like the twisting of shadows. "You still don't understand, do you?" Their voice seemed to echo from all directions, disorienting him. "She doesn't belong to you, Aonmi. She was never meant to stay. And now she's with me."
"No," Aonmi repeated, his breath heavy. His mind raced. He had to focus. Focus. He couldn't let the figure's words get to him, no matter how much they gnawed at the edges of his mind.
The figure stepped forward again, their presence more suffocating this time. "She has been chosen," they murmured, their voice almost a croon. "And you, Aonmi... You're nothing but a distraction. A fleeting memory."
Aonmi's blood ran cold, his chest tightening as the figure's words sank in. A distraction. A fleeting memory. It wasn't just about Addison. This was bigger than that. Much bigger.
"Stop," Aonmi growled, his voice breaking through the oppressive silence. "I won't let you have her."
The figure's shadowy form shifted again, their smile hidden beneath the hood. "You don't have a choice," they said softly, their words wrapping around Aonmi like a vice.
Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet shifted, warping like liquid, pulling him down. He gritted his teeth, his claws digging into the shifting darkness, but it was no use. It felt like everything was slipping out of his control. His heart pounded in his chest, the pressure mounting, the emptiness closing in around him.
The figure's voice came again, louder now. "She's mine."
Aonmi's rage flared, and with a raw snarl, he pulled himself free from the grip of the void. His body surged forward, and though he couldn't tell if his movements were real or just a projection of his desperate thoughts, he knew one thing: he wouldn't stop. Not for anything.
Not while Addison was out there. Somewhere.
Suddenly, the darkness splintered around him. It felt like the world itself was breaking apart, the air growing colder with each passing second. And then, out of nowhere, there was a crack-a sharp, blinding light splitting the dark sky.
Aonmi didn't hesitate. He charged forward, his vision narrowing as the light flared brighter, cutting through the suffocating void.
And then, just as suddenly as it had come, the light died, and the silence returned.
Aonmi froze in place. Had he... made it out?
He had to find Addison.
And he had to do it before it was too late.
_________________
The silence felt heavier now, pressing in on Aonmi from all sides. He was no longer in that void, but the weight of the figure's words lingered in his mind, clouding his thoughts. He felt disoriented, but his resolve remained unshaken. Addison was out there, somewhere. He could feel it-the connection between them, faint but real. He wasn't going to let the darkness take her. Not now, not ever.
His heart still pounded in his chest as he stood, rooted to the spot, unsure of where to go or what to do next. He took a slow, steadying breath, pushing the rising panic down. He couldn't afford to lose control-not when she was the only thing that mattered.
Suddenly, the air around him shifted. A sharp crack echoed through the emptiness, and the darkness seemed to recoil, pulling back in on itself like a wounded creature. In its place, a flicker of light appeared-a sliver of warmth in the cold void.
Aonmi's eyes snapped to the light, narrowing as he took a cautious step forward. The sensation of something familiar tugged at him, like an unseen thread connecting him to the source. His instincts screamed at him to follow it.
And so, he did.
With each step, the sliver of light grew brighter, more intense. The void seemed to dissolve around him, revealing a new landscape, one that didn't feel as cold or suffocating as before. It wasn't the woods, but it wasn't empty either. The landscape felt more alive, though distorted in a way Aonmi couldn't quite understand.
The ground beneath him was solid now, though the terrain was uneven, patches of light flickering in and out, like fireflies lost in the dark. Shadows moved around him, but not like they had before-this time, they felt... alive. As if something was watching him, studying him.
And then, he saw it.
The silhouette of someone standing in the distance, bathed in that same strange light. For a split second, Aonmi's breath caught in his throat. It wasn't Addison. But it was someone who looked eerily familiar.
He stepped forward, instinct guiding him as he moved through the shifting terrain. The figure ahead of him was tall, their features concealed in a cloak of shadow, but their presence was undeniable. Something about them felt almost wrong, like an incomplete memory, a part of a puzzle that had been scattered.
"Aonmi..."
The voice that came from the figure was soft, but it carried an unnatural weight, one that pressed down on Aonmi's chest like a physical force. It sent a jolt of confusion through him. He couldn't place the voice, but he knew it.
"Aonmi, you've come too far."
The words wrapped around him like chains. Aonmi's eyes narrowed, his body tense. He wasn't going to let whatever this was deter him. He had to keep moving.
"No," he growled. "I'm not here for you. I'm looking for Addison."
The figure tilted their head, an unsettling smile appearing beneath the hood. "Addison?" The voice was laced with something dark, something twisted. "She's already found her way to the path that was always meant for her."
Aonmi's blood ran cold at the words. "What do you mean?"
The figure stepped closer, their form distorting like smoke, as though they were more shadow than substance. "She's already made her choice. You can't stop it. She will embrace what is coming."
Aonmi's fists clenched. "I'll make sure she doesn't."
The figure laughed softly, the sound hollow and almost mocking. "You think you can stop it? You think you can protect her from what she truly is?" The figure's gaze turned cold, their voice dropping to a whisper. "You were never meant to keep her. She's not yours to protect."
The words sent a spike of fear straight through Aonmi's heart, but he pushed it aside. No. He wasn't going to let this thing get to him.
"I'll find her," Aonmi said, his voice low but resolute. "And I'll bring her back."
The figure's form flickered again, and in that brief moment, the landscape around them seemed to flicker with it. Aonmi's heart raced, but he couldn't stop now. The weight of the figure's words pressed against him, but they only made him more determined.
He turned away from the figure, ignoring the growing sense of unease. He couldn't afford distractions. He needed to find Addison.
And this time, he wasn't going to let anything stand in his way.
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Addison's POV
The trees loomed tall around me, their twisted branches reaching out like hands trying to grasp me. I could feel the cold air biting at my skin, the sharp scent of damp earth filling my lungs. But it wasn't just the forest that unsettled me-it was the feeling of being watched. The subtle sensation that something was following me, just out of sight.
I gripped my jacket tighter around me, my breath visible in the chilly air. Every step I took felt like I was walking deeper into a dream I didn't understand. The woods weren't the same as the last time, not by a long shot. The path beneath my feet was uneven, and the shadows clung to the underbrush, whispering things I couldn't hear.
I couldn't shake the unease, the nagging feeling that I wasn't just lost in the woods. I was lost in something else, something that felt wrong.
I stopped walking, my eyes darting around, trying to find some sign of familiarity. I should've never left. I knew it, deep down. But the urge had been so strong, so overwhelming, I couldn't resist. I had to know. I had to find out what this was-why I felt like I was being pulled toward something, like I was meant to be here.
My heart pounded in my chest as I listened. The silence in the woods was oppressive, the air thick with tension. It was almost like the world had stopped moving altogether.
But then, I heard it. A voice, low and indistinct, carried on the wind. It wasn't a whisper, but it wasn't loud either-just a presence. It sent a chill running down my spine.
"Addison."
My breath caught in my throat. It was as though the voice had come from inside my mind, pulling me back to a memory I couldn't quite place.
"Addison, you've come."
I spun around, but there was nothing there-just the darkness of the woods, stretching endlessly before me. The voice was gone, leaving behind nothing but a hollow echo.
I didn't know why, but a shiver ran through me. Every instinct in my body screamed to turn back, to go back to where it was safe.
But I couldn't.
Not yet.
I needed answers.
I began walking again, my steps unsure but driven by the need to understand. The path in front of me seemed to grow narrower with each step, the shadows creeping closer, blocking out the light. The trees towered above me, more like a prison than a forest now, and the cold air bit at my skin with every breath.
That's when I saw it-a figure standing in the distance. It was barely visible at first, a dark silhouette against the darker backdrop of the trees. But I knew that it wasn't just another trick of the light.
This figure felt alive, more real than the rest of the world around me.
A strange familiarity hit me like a punch to the gut, and I stumbled forward, my heartbeat quickening. Every part of me screamed to run-to escape-but I couldn't move. I was drawn to the figure like a magnet.
And then, the figure moved.
It wasn't a slow motion, but a fluid shift-a step closer, yet as silent as the surrounding woods. My breath caught as I recognized something in the movement, something unsettling. The figure wasn't quite right.
It didn't belong.
I opened my mouth to speak, but the words caught in my throat. Something about this felt like an intrusion, like I was walking through a dream that wasn't mine to experience.
And then, the voice came again, soft and melodic, a whisper that echoed in the space between us.
"You've found me."
I froze. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think. It was like my body didn't belong to me anymore. The figure took another step forward, and that sense of wrongness only intensified.
I didn't recognize them, but something about their presence was familiar-too familiar. The chill deepened, and a sense of dread knotted in my stomach. My mind raced, trying to piece together what was happening, but everything felt out of place, like trying to recall a memory just beyond my reach.
"You..." I whispered, my voice cracking with uncertainty. "Who are you?"
The figure tilted their head slightly, the dark cloak falling in waves around them. "I thought you would remember." Their voice was gentle, but there was an edge to it that sent a shiver down my spine. "But you will, soon enough."
I didn't understand. But as I stared into the figure's shadowed face, I felt the weight of their words. It was like they weren't just speaking to me. They were speaking into me, into something buried deep inside, something I didn't want to acknowledge.
"Why are you here?" I managed to say, forcing the words out despite the cold terror clenching my chest.
The figure smiled, a slow, unsettling curve of their lips. "I'm here because you've come. Because it's time."
The darkness seemed to draw closer, pressing in on me, the woods no longer the quiet sanctuary they had once been. They felt like a cage now, the walls closing in on me.
"You don't belong here," I whispered, fear and confusion bubbling in my chest. "I don't... belong in this place."
The figure's eyes-though mostly hidden-seemed to gleam, almost with pity. "You've always belonged here, Addison."
And that was when it hit me-the reality of what I had been running from, the truth that had been lurking just beneath the surface. I wasn't just lost in the woods.
I was lost in myself.
_______________
Narrative POV
Amanda's heart pounded as she threw open the door to Addison's room. Empty. Cold. Her breath hitched in her throat. It didn't make sense. Addison wasn't the type to leave without a word, especially not after everything that had happened.
"Addison!" she called out into the empty house, her voice trembling. But there was no answer-only the eerie silence that filled the space.
Her mind raced, panic tightening around her chest. She knew Addison-knew her better than anyone. If Addison had left, she would've left a sign, something-anything. But there was nothing.
Frantically, Amanda pulled on her boots, grabbing her jacket and rushing out the door into the cold night. Her breath misted in the air as she jogged to the edge of the property, hoping to see some sign of her twin. The woods stretched ahead of her, dark and ominous under the moonlight, but no trace of Addison.
She wasn't sure why, but something inside her told her that Addison wasn't far. It was like a bond, the one they'd shared all their lives, had pulled her in this direction. But the more she searched, the more the dread in her chest grew.
"Amanda!"
The sharp, frantic shout broke her from her thoughts, and she spun around, her eyes widening as she saw Aonmi standing in the clearing just beyond the trees. His face was twisted with rage, eyes burning with an intensity she had never seen before.
"Aonmi..." Amanda took a step back instinctively, sensing something off. The tension in the air was thick, heavy, almost suffocating.
"What have you done?" he snarled, his fists clenched at his sides. He was already on edge, his breath coming in harsh, quick bursts. "Where is she? Where is Addison?!"
"I-I don't know," Amanda stammered, her eyes searching his face, trying to understand. "What do you mean? I thought-" Her words cut off as Aonmi took a step forward, his eyes narrowing.
"You let her leave," he hissed, his voice low and dangerous. "You let her slip away like this." His tone was accusatory, and something about it sent a chill down Amanda's spine.
"I didn't let her do anything!" Amanda retorted, standing tall despite the anxiety gnawing at her. "She left on her own. I don't know why! You think I could've stopped her?"
Aonmi's expression shifted, his lips curling into a twisted grin. But it wasn't the sort of grin that spoke of amusement-it was the grin of someone teetering on the edge of something far darker. "You should've stopped her," he whispered, the words full of venom.
Before Amanda could react, Aonmi surged forward, grabbing her wrist with an iron grip. His hold was too tight, and she felt a spark of panic flare within her. "Aonmi-let me go!"
But his eyes were wild now, feverish, almost desperate. "She can't just leave me!" he snarled, shaking her slightly. "She belongs with me! You both do!"
Amanda's heart skipped a beat. This wasn't the Aonmi she knew. This wasn't the boy who had been quiet, watchful-this was something else, something uncontrolled and dangerous. And it was in that moment, as his grip tightened around her wrist, that she realized just how far gone he had become.
"Aonmi," she said, her voice low and steady despite the fear bubbling in her chest. "This isn't you. Please. Let me go. We can find her together. I swear, I'm not trying to keep her from you."
But the wild look in his eyes only deepened, and he hissed, his hand snapping out and forcing her backward with surprising strength. She stumbled, falling to the ground with a thud, her breath knocked out of her.
"Aonmi..." Amanda gasped, struggling to push herself up, but the ground felt unsteady beneath her. "You have to stop. This isn't you."
The moment she tried to rise, Aonmi took a step back, his anger boiling over. Without warning, he lunged toward her, his body pinning hers to the ground with more force than she was prepared for.
"Aonmi, no!" Amanda cried, instinctively shoving against his chest. But he didn't budge. His hands were on her wrists, his weight pressing down on her too firmly.
"You're not going to stop me," Aonmi growled, his face inches from hers, his breath hot and heavy against her skin. "She's mine, Amanda. And no one's going to take her away from me. Not you. Not anyone."
"Aonmi, you're sick," Amanda spat, her heart pounding with a mix of fear and fury. "You've crossed a line. You don't get to control her-or me."
His grip on her wrists tightened, his anger clouding any sense of reason. "You don't understand!" His voice cracked. "You're too weak! You've always been weak!"
The words hit Amanda like a slap, but she didn't back down. Her chest heaved with each breath, but she locked eyes with him, her anger beginning to replace the fear.
"I'm not weak," she said firmly, her voice cutting through the air like a blade. "And I'll stop you if I have to."
For a moment, Aonmi hesitated, the fire in his eyes flickering. It was enough. With a surge of strength, Amanda shoved him off of her, managing to break free from his hold. She scrambled to her feet, heart racing, breath coming in quick bursts.
For a moment, they just stared at each other, the air thick with the aftermath of the confrontation. Amanda's body was trembling, but she wasn't going to give up. Not now. Not when it felt like everything was falling apart.
"You need help, Aonmi," she said quietly, her words sharp but laced with sorrow. "This isn't love. This is obsession."
But Aonmi didn't respond. His hands clenched at his sides, and for a brief moment, he looked like he was holding himself back from snapping.
"You're too late," he finally said, his voice cold, distant. "She's already gone."
The words hit Amanda like a punch to the gut. She shook her head, refusing to believe it. Addison couldn't be gone. Not like this. She would find her, no matter what.
Without another word, she turned and ran into the dark woods, her mind consumed with finding her sister before it was too late.