PART 2 — THE NIGHT EVERYTHING BURNED
The day of the explosion was strangely ordinary.
Mom was in the kitchen humming softly, and the sky outside was a dull grey—the kind that makes you feel something is about to happen, even if you don't know what.
I don't remember everything clearly before it happened, but I do remember this:
I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open.
Maybe that's why Mom called my name so softly.
"Lin… are you okay?"
I nodded, pretending everything was fine.
Inside, something felt wrong.
Like the air itself was too heavy to breathe.
Sin Kyo was sitting on the carpet, playing with the small wooden blocks Dad bought long ago. He always stacked them in uneven towers and laughed when they fell.
Sometimes, I wish I could hear that laugh again…
A short, warm moment before the darkness
Before the explosion, there was something beautiful—something I didn't even realize I was holding onto until it was gone.
Mom sat beside me and brushed my hair back with her fingers.
"You've grown up too fast," she whispered.
Her voice always calmed me, even when the world didn't.
As she spoke, a small memory flashed in my mind—a happier one:
When Sin Kyo was born, Mom used to test every dish Dad and I made.
We would ruin the kitchen daily.
Burnt pans, spilled milk, random ingredients.
She would laugh, shake her head, and say:
"You two are dangerous in the kitchen."
Even now, my chest warms at those memories.
Those little moments were everything.
---
THE EXPLOSION
It started with a sound.
A low, deep vibration crawling under the floorboards.
Then—
BOOM.
A shockwave slammed into me so violently that my body flew sideways.
My back hit the wall, and for a moment the world went silent.
Then sound rushed back—too loud, too sharp:
Wood cracking.
Metal twisting.
Glass shattering like rain.
My vision blurred.
Blood dripped from somewhere on my head down to my lips.
My right hand—twisted in a way hands aren't supposed to twist—burned like fire.
The air smelled of smoke, dust, and something metallic I can never forget.
I tried to move, but my legs gave out.
The room spun.
Then I saw him.
Sin Kyo.
Small.
Fragile.
Hurt in ways no child should ever be.
A shard of metal—sharp like a knife—was stuck near his eye.
Blood soaked his shirt.
A flame licked the edge of his sleeve.
One part of his tiny arm…
Skin torn so badly his bone was visible.
I don't know how I stood up.
My body didn't have strength left.
But maybe pain can't stop a brother's heart.
I dragged myself toward him—
each step shaking,
each breath burning.
"Sin… Sin Kyo!" I whispered, voice breaking.
The floor under me felt like it was tilting.
My hearing faded, came back, faded again.
By the time I reached him, my knees hit the floor so hard I didn't feel the pain anymore.
I touched his cheek with a trembling hand.
He looked at me.
Even through his pain…
even through the firelight…
he smiled.
Not a happy smile.
Not a playful smile.
A small, trembling smile that said:
"Thank you for coming."
His lips moved slowly, brokenly,
voice barely a breath:
"Y-you… a…are… st-still… here…"
I leaned in, trying to hear the rest, but his voice was fading.
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to call for Mom.
I wanted to tell him it would be okay.
But my throat locked.
My voice refused to come out.
Inside, I was screaming—
a scream so loud it should've shattered the world.
But outside…
I was silent.
I held Sin Kyo's hand, praying he would hold mine back.
His fingers twitched.
Then stilled.
The world erupted again—
the second explosion.
This one threw me backward.
I hit the ground hard, and everything went dark.
---
WHEN I WOKE UP
I don't know how long I was unconscious.
When I opened my eyes, only one of them would move.
The other felt swollen—too heavy to lift.
My body was trembling.
Cold sweat ran down my face.
My ears were ringing so loudly I couldn't hear my own heartbeat.
I looked at my right hand—
the same one that had protected Sin Kyo minutes ago.
It was shaking uncontrollably.
I tried to stand.
My legs refused.
Fear crawled up my spine—
cold, sharp, merciless.
Then I heard footsteps outside the broken room.
Slow.
Heavy.
Dragging across the corridor.
"Mom…?" I whispered, terrified.
The footsteps paused.
The silence was worse than the noise.
I held my breath.
---
THE DREAM THAT NEVER LETS ME GO
Before I was pulled fully awake, I dreamt.
I dreamt of Dad's voice, soft and distant.
Of Mom crying but smiling through her tears.
Of Sin Kyo laughing like nothing bad could ever happen.
A perfect world.
A perfect family.
And behind them—
A fog.
Thick.
Black.
Pulsing with a strange red glow…
Like something alive was breathing inside it.
Behind that fog…
a gate.
Tall.
Twisted.
Silent.
The Gates of Hell.
When I tried to move toward them, a whisper echoed:
"Your dreams connect to death…
and death connects to us."
Then everything tore apart.
I woke up gasping.
---
A SYMBOL YOU CAN'T UNSEE
When I finally forced my right eye open, something felt wrong.
A strange heaviness.
A pressure—like something inside the eye didn't belong to me.
In the cracked mirror across the room, I saw it:
My right eye was darker.
The rim faintly red—
not bloodred—
but something else.
Something symbolic.
Something I didn't understand yet.
It looked like a mark.
A curse.
A reminder.
And from that day onward…
my right eye never felt the same.
---
THE SCREAM THAT NEVER CAME OUT
No matter how much pain I felt…
how much fear twisted inside me…
I couldn't scream.
Couldn't cry.
Couldn't shout.
My voice stayed locked inside.
So I did the only thing I could:
I wrote.
Page after page.
Night after night.
Every fear.
Every memory.
Every nightmare.
Every smile that turned into pain.
I wrote everything down in a small diary.
Because if I couldn't speak my pain…
maybe I could at least record it.
Maybe I could keep myself from forgetting that I survived.
---
THE LAST THING I REMEMBER
Someone calling my name.
A woman's voice—not Mom.
Older.
Shaky.
Asking about the Hookman—the creature who appears in dreams to warn children.
I don't know if it was real or another dream.
All I know is:
I blinked—
just once—
and when I opened my eyes again…
Everything was gone.
The house.
The fire.
The voices.
The warmth.
The life I once had.
Gone.
PART 2 — THE NIGHT EVERYTHING BURNED
What to expect in the next chapter:
The explosion shatters the home and the innocence of childhood.
Lin faces the immediate aftermath, confronting grief, chaos, and a surreal sense of helplessness.
Sin Kyo's mysterious smile becomes a haunting symbol that will guide Lin's path forward.
Dreams, visions, and subtle foreshadowing of the hidden world begin to surface.