The sky above Black Mark was a dark veil, eaten away by violet cracks that pulsed in the distance.
The sea that had carried them here did not move. No waves. No wind. The air was stale, as if something dead was holding it in place. A place where time had lost its meaning.
Aria (tense) knelt in the sand, her fingers digging into the damp surface. Something beneath her was not normal. The ground didn't feel solid, not dead— but… breathing.
"What are you doing?"
Reeve (Ghost) (uneasy) crossed his arms, his gaze scanning the coastline, as if expecting something that shouldn't come.
Aria slowly stood up. "Do you hear that?"
Vera (Phantom) (suspicious) furrowed her brow. "Hear what?"
"Nothing."
The silence was too perfect.
Behind them lay the wreck of the ship they had arrived on. No sign of the crew. Only shadows creeping over the deck— moving, despite nothing being there to cast them.
Reeve (Ghost) ran his fingers over his daggers. "I don't want to stay here any longer."
Vera (Phantom) tapped a twisted tree with her fingers. The metal-like wood hummed softly. "Yeah? And what's your plan? Knock on a door and ask for a ride back?"
Aria stepped between the first trunks of the Thunderwood. The trees were not wood—they were made of a material that shimmered in dark waves, as if liquid but unmoving.
Reeve (Ghost) scanned the area. "There are no animals."
"No birds, no insects…" Vera (Phantom) ran her fingers over a branch. "Not even the scent of life."
Aria suddenly stopped. Her breath slowed.
"There."
Vera (Phantom) followed her gaze.
Between the twisted trunks, less than ten meters away, someone stood.
Or… something.
Reeve (Ghost) swiftly drew his daggers. "What the hell is that?"
The thing moved awkwardly, as if it had forgotten how a body worked.
Its skin was too smooth. Its limbs too long. It had no eyes, yet it knew they were there.
Aria felt her stomach tighten.
The thing opened its mouth.
And spoke with her own voice.
"You belong to us now."
Vera (Phantom) inhaled sharply. "Excuse me?!"
Reeve (Ghost) hissed at Aria. "That's you."
"No," she whispered.
The thing began to change.
Its limbs shortened, its skin tightened.
Its face…
Aria stared at her own reflection.
But it wasn't perfect.
It was a copy that didn't know how to be human.
Then it smiled.
The smile was too wide. The lips too thin.
Vera (Phantom) took a step back. "I hate everything about this."
Then the ground trembled.
The first crack opened directly beneath them.
"Move!" Reeve (Ghost) yanked Vera (Phantom) backward as the sand beneath them gave way.
Thousands of hair-thin worms shot up from the earth.
They crawled over the trees, through the ground, through the air—like searching fingers reaching out.
Vera (Phantom) leaped forward, dragging Reeve (Ghost) with her as the creatures spread like living smoke.
Aria did not move back.
A whisper vibrated in her mind.
No words.
Just… understanding.
She had seen this place before.
Reeve (Ghost) stumbled. His knees buckled.
"Reeve?!" Vera (Phantom) grabbed his wrist.
He was breathing heavily. His skin pale.
Then he laughed.
It was not his laugh.
Vera (Phantom) stared at him. "Tell me that's your sick sense of humor."
He lifted his head.
His eyes were black.
Aria heard the whispering.
A voice she did not recognize.
Or did she?
A name that wasn't a name.
The island had already accepted them.