"Don't you miss your world?" Mira asked, her tone unusually serious.
"Huh…?" Yurim shifted under the bedsheet, curling into it.
"Yes. I miss it… very much," she replied softly.
Mira stayed quiet for a moment, then spoke again.
"I think it was the tree that brought you here," she said slowly.
"I told you before—it steals souls and pushes them into other worlds."
Yurim turned to look at her.
"…Actually," she hesitated, her voice dropping,
"You are right."
Mira froze
"The tree really did bring me here," Yurim continued in a whisper.
"And it said… the only way I can go baack is to sacrifice something valuable."
"What…?"
Mira's eyes widened.
"The tree told you that?" she asked, barely breathing.
Yurim nodded faintly.
"Yes," she murmured.
"Now please… let me sleep."
Her voice was already heavy with drowsiness.
Mira didn't respond.
Her gaze slowly dropped, thoughts spiraling deep and dark as the room fell into silence.
---
Back in the city—
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the sky—wide, frozen, unbelieving.
A massive creature flew over the market.
Suddenly, it stopped.
A loud, echoing laugh spread across the sky.
"What is that…?" the crowd murmured in terror.
A strange figure sat atop the creature—long horns, a muscular body, eyes glowing with cruelty.
"From today onward," the figure shouted,
"this world—and everyone in it—will be under my control."
"Every rule… every system… will be reset."
"What does he mean?"
"What is he saying…?"
The figure laughed again.
"I will be your king."
The market fell into deadly silence.
"K–king…?" Yunho whispered.
Suddenly—
"Hey, look there!" someone screamed.
As the creature moved forward, the sky behind it began to change—
from endless dusk to a terrifying mix of blood-red and black.
"No way…" Yunho breathed.
Panic erupted.
People screamed and ran in every direction.
"Let's go, Yunho!" his father shouted, grabbing his arm and pulling him through the chaos.