3:23
Rael tenses, pushing Jin further behind him. But the man just tilts his head—those eyes gleaming like void.
> "Oh, there's no need for that… I mean you no harm."
The drops still hang in the air. Some of them seem to watch Jin as he speaks…
and he can feel them *whispering*—like a hundred cold breaths in his ear at once.
3:25
> *"Come now, don't look so scared…"*
He steps forward—slow—and as he gets closer, Jin sees those eyes better in the moonlight.
Inhuman.
Cold.
Hungry.
> *"I just want to talk."*
Rael growls softly.
> *"Don't you dare come any closer."*
The man grins, but it doesn't reach his eyes.
> "*Or what?*"
3:27
Jin's breathing catches. The drops in the air shudder—like excitement. The man watches, still smiling.
> *"My, my, you do have a temper…" he chides, taking another step forward—just a foot away now. "I wonder...""*
He reaches forward—almost casual—until he's close enough to brush Rael's chest.
Every muscle tenses. Rael doesn't move.
He just stares at the shadow man—*willing* him backwards. But the man keeps his hand where it is—almost *caressing*.
3:29
Rael lets out a strangled hiss. Every inch of him is rigid—body taut like he's trying to fight just from a *touch*.
> *"Fascinating.""*
The man leans closer—mouth close to Rael's ear.
> *"You're a fighter, like I thought. Good.""*
But Rael just bares his teeth, eyes blazing with rage and hatred.
> "*Don't. Touch. Me*."
3:31
The man chuckles—soft, amused—and finally pulls back his hand.
But he doesn't vanish.
He just turns that cold, empty smile toward Jin.
> *"And you…"*
> *"So warm. So… full of light."*
He lifts a single finger—not touching, but pointing at Jin's chest.
At his *heart*.
> *"It tried to take you… and still, you came back to him? Even after the lies? After the blood?"*
Jin swallows hard—but doesn't look away.
> "Because I love him."
The man tilts his head—like a curious predator.
Then slowly… he smiles wider.
> *"Oh yes."*
> *"...I can see it now."*
And then—
the drops *move*.
3:34
They *flow*, like mercury in the air. One moment they're still, frozen in time—the next, they stream across the room like oil, flowing over the ceiling like water.
Jin presses back against the wall—trying to stay clear of them. Rael steps in front of him, shielding him almost instinctively.
> *"What do you—"*
But the man just clucks his tongue, like he's a parent correcting a misbehaving child.
> *"Shh, no talking… I'm thinking."*
3:36
The drops *pool* in the center of the ceiling—like a mirror reflecting moonlight. They twist together like oil and water, writhing against themselves.
The man watches, eyes fixed intently on *them* now… and he murmurs to himself, almost as if he's forgotten Jin and Rael are there.
> "*Fascinating, fascinating…"*
Jin leans forward, trying to understand what he's seeing.
But Rael holds him back—arm locked tightly against his stomach.
3:39
The drops writhe together on the ceiling—like two black stars spinning around each other, pulling in *something*.
Jin can feel the hum of their energy like a pulse on his skin…
> *"What are they doing?"* he whispers.
> *"Don't worry about that right now,"* Rael murmurs.
> *"Just stay behind me."*
3:45
The drops continue to spin together—but now, the pool is beginning to *stretch*. A thin, black line has formed above it—like an inky tendril, reaching down toward them.
It twitches—like an animal scenting the air.
But the man just stands there, watching it—almost mesmerized.
> *"So powerful, yet so elusive,"* he murmurs. *"Like trying to hold smoke with your hands…"*
3:46
The tendril *pulses*. In the dim room, it almost looks like the shadow of a tongue.
> *"Almost."*
Jin shifts, fingers digging into Rael's arm.
> *"What's happening?"* he whispers.
> *"Just watch,"* Rael murmurs. He keeps an arm around Jin's waist, keeping him close.
3:50
More tendrils have appeared above—three of them now, reaching down through the broken window like vines. They twist and writhe slowly, slinking across the walls… searching…
> *"It's looking for something."*
> *"Yes,"* Rael murmurs. *"But for what...?"*
3:53
More tendrils have appeared now—ten or twelve of them, twisting and turning above. They writhe through the room—a dozen, dark, hungry shadows, *hunting*.
Jin feels a cold sweat building on his skin. He tries to focus on Rael's warmth, the strength in his arm around him.
> *"What do they want?" he whispers. "What are they* looking *for?"*
But Rael shakes his head.
> *"I don't know."*
3:56
Then—suddenly—the tendril closest to them *jerks*.
It whips toward Jin's chest like a striking snake.
Rael reacts instantly—he shoves Jin behind him and swings his arm, slashing through the shadow with something sharp—a hidden blade drawn from his coat in a flash of moonlight.
The tendril *screeches*—a sound like glass grinding on stone—and recoils into the ceiling, writhing as if wounded.
The man just laughs—soft, delighted.
> *"Oh… you're strong."*
> *"But will you be fast enough?"*
And all the other tendrils *drop at once*.
3:59
The room is filled with a chorus of screeching now—a dozen, hungry voices, all *screaming* through the air.
Jin crouches behind a broken wall, heart in his throat. He can't see Rael, but he can hear him fighting—the *crack* of a blade slicing through air… and the sound of shadows *screeching* in pain.
Then—above the fighting—he hears a different sound.
It's the man's voice.
> *"Come out. Come out… I see you."*
4:02
Jin freezes.
The voice isn't just calling him—it *pulls*. A whisper that slithers into his skull, cold and slick.
> *"You know me,"* the man murmurs, stepping over a writhing tendril like it's nothing. *"Don't you? Deep down… where the light doesn't reach."*
Rael appears in a blur—covered in sweat and shadow-soaked blood—knife still gripped tight.
He sees Jin frozen, eyes glazed.
> "Jin!" he snaps. "Don't listen to him!"
But Jin can barely move. The voice is *inside* now.
And then—
a single word echoes from the shadows:
> **"Remember?"**
To be continued