The camera zoomed into the grainy footage. The woman tilted her head, her lips curling into a smile—
but her eyes were hollow, like glass reflecting a void.
And then—her hand moved.
Not a normal movement. Twisted, jerky, like a puppet pulled by invisible strings.
Suddenly—static. The footage glitched. For a split second, the woman's face flickered—
to the face of the little girl.
Then back.
The room fell dead silent.
Ren's voice trembled, "What… what did we just see?"
Sunwoo rewound the clip. Paused. Zoomed. But the glitch was gone.
Choen stepped back, her breathing shallow.
"No… this charm... it's not just an object." She gripped her wrist where the same ancient pattern had begun faintly appearing on her skin—an imprint that wasn't there before.
Suddenly—her phone buzzed.
A message.
No number. No ID. Just one line:
"The time has come. You know where to go."
Her blood ran cold.
Mathew checked the security logs. "The message... it's sent from inside this hospital."
Boom. The lights flickered.
Then darkness.
A siren echoed through the city.
Not a police siren. Not an ambulance.
An eerie, low mechanical tone. Almost... like a countdown.
🌑 Scene Shift – The Underground
Underneath the hospital, through rusted elevators and forbidden floors—
a place sealed for decades.
Choen, Mathew, Sunwoo, and Ren raced down, following glitching signals from the mysterious message.
As they reached the end of the corridor, an iron door stood.
On it: A symbol matching the charm.
Half ocean waves. Half tangled spider legs.
Suddenly — BANG. Something slammed from inside.
Another BANG. And then... silence.
Mathew reached out. The door… slowly opened on its own.
Inside — rows of giant glass pods.
Bodies floating inside.
Humans... or something that used to be human.
One pod was cracked open.
Ren stepped closer, shining a flashlight —
"There was someone here… but they're gone now."
On the floor — a broken camera. The same one Choen saw in the last footage.
Choen picked it up. It flickered to life—showing a video.
The little girl… standing on a cliff. Wind blowing. Behind her, hundreds of figures wearing the same charm... staring. Waiting.
The girl's voice echoed:
"You forgot the past. The past never forgets you."
"The end began... the day you broke the promise."
🚨 Suddenly — sirens blared above ground.
Mathew checked the signal.
"The creatures… they're multiplying. Fast. The city's falling."
Sunwoo spun the monitor. "Wait. There's one location not infected yet... The Lighthouse at Sea Cliff. It's marked in the files... as 'Origin Point.'"
Choen clenched her fists. "Then that's where we go."
The camera zoomed out—
sirens, collapsing cities, chaos spreading—
while in the middle of the storm, four figures prepare to face the truth behind it all.
⚡ TO BE CONTINUED…
To my wonderful AURABLOOMS !*
First and foremost, I want to sincerely apologize for the delay in posting the recent episode. I truly value the love, patience, and excitement you all show for my work. This story means as much to me as it does to you, and I never take your support for granted.