Elara walked softly down the quiet hallway, her footsteps barely making a sound on the polished wooden floor. The house was still, wrapped in a kind of hush that only comes after something heavy has settled.. like the hush after a storm, or just before another begins.
As she neared Jian's room, she noticed the door was slightly ajar. The soft glow of a lamp spilled into the hallway, casting a long sliver of light. She paused.
Through the gap, she saw him..sitting on the edge of the bed, his hands resting on his knees, shoulders still and rigid. He hadn't changed position. He didn't move. Just sat there, staring down, as if trying to anchor himself to something only he could see.
Elara's breath caught in her throat. For a long moment, she didn't speak. Then, barely above a whisper, her voice trembled out:
"You will be okay… my Jian."
She didn't wait for an answer..didn't expect one. Some things were better left suspended in silence. Elara stepped back, her heart heavy, and turned toward the room just beside his. She slipped inside, closing the door gently behind her with a soft click.
She leaned against it for a moment, letting out a slow breath. And then, she locked it. Not out of fear… but to feel a little safer. A little more closed off from everything they all carried. For now, even just for a night..the walls .
When Elara closed the door behind her, she didn't see Damien standing silently just around the corner, leaning against the wall. His eyes had been on Jian's door the entire time. He exhaled slowly, then whispered under his breath,
"I hope we save you, Jian."
Then, without another word, he turned and disappeared into his room, leaving the hall still and quiet.
The night wore on. The mansion slept in shadows. Only the soft hum of wind brushing against the windows filled the silence.
Mael, restless and heavy-eyed, wandered the long hallway barefoot, the floor cool beneath his feet. Sleep hadn't come easily..not with everything that had happened. Not with the image of Jian stuck in his mind like a wound that refused to scab.
As he passed Jian's door, he paused. It was still slightly open. Same as before. His frown deepened. A quiet glance inside showed the exact image he'd seen hours ago. Jian..seated at the edge of the bed. Unmoving. Unblinking.
Mael hesitated, then knocked gently.
No response.
He pushed the door open and stepped in. The room was wrapped in a cold kind of silence. Only the moonlight bled across the floor, brushing Jian's figure in soft silver. He sat like a statue — his back straight, hands resting on his knees, eyes fixed on a spot that didn't seem to exist.
"Jian?" Mael said softly, voice dipped in concern.
Still nothing.
Mael stepped closer. No weapons. No sudden moves. Just presence. He crouched down beside him and spoke again.. warmer this time, a lopsided grin pulling at his face.
"Man… are you seriously pulling the creepy statue thing again?" he said. "I mean, you've got the look down, but you're gonna give Damien nightmares."
Still nothing.
Jian's eyes were glassy. Far away. But not gone.
Mael's voice softened.
"Hey. I get it. I do. You've been through hell. I've watched people fall apart for less."
He sighed, folding his arms loosely across his knees.
"But here's the thing, Jian..you're not doing this alone. Not anymore."
Finally, Jian blinked. Once. Slow. His head turned the slightest bit toward Mael.
"…Still here," he said, voice dry and far-off.
Mael's smile faded into something gentler. He studied his friend quietly, then spoke:
"Good," he said. "Because I was about to drag your stubborn ass back myself."
He chuckled once..a small, real sound in the still room.
"I know you, Jian. You act all serious and quiet, but deep down you care more than you'll ever admit. That's what scares you, isn't it? That Coox is using that… breaking it."
Jian said nothing.
But his shoulders shifted..the faintest flicker of tension.
"I don't know what's going on inside your head," Mael continued, more gently now. "But I do know this: we're going to fight for you. We already are."
He placed a steady hand on Jian's shoulder.
"You're not a burden. You're not lost. You're ours . You belong with us."
Another long pause.
The moonlight brushed across both of them now, catching in the corners of Jian's eyes. Something shimmered there..emotion, maybe. Maybe something darker. Or maybe… the boy he'd always been, still clinging on. Mael stood slowly, letting his hand linger a moment longer.
"Don't disappear on us, Jian," he said, voice quieter now. "Not tonight."
He stepped back toward the door, stopping once to look over his shoulder.
"And hey," he added with a small smile, "if you're planning on pulling some dramatic possessed-hero sacrifice thing, at least give us time to stop you, okay?"
Still no response.
But as Mael stepped into the hallway, he thought..just for a moment.. that Jian's mouth twitched, like a whisper of a smile had almost surfaced. Then the door closed behind him. And the moonlight remained..Cold..Silent..Still painting the outline of a boy caught between who he was… and what he might become.
Morning came.
The first golden light of dawn spilled through the tall windows of Damien's mansion, casting long, honeyed rays across marble floors and quiet hallways. The house stirred slowly..peaceful at first. The kind of stillness that pretends things are normal. But not for long.
Downstairs, Eva was the first to wake, her eyes blinking open to soft sunlight filtering through pale curtains. For a moment, she forgot where she was. Then the memories rushed in like a storm: Jian. Voox. The darkness. The weight returned to her chest before her feet even hit the floor.
She stretched quietly, looking around the guest room..Elara had tucked a blanket around her before leaving. A soft warmth lingered. But her thoughts were already elsewhere.
In the hall, Damien stepped out of his room, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He yawned into his sleeve and muttered to himself,
"If Mael drank the last of the coffee, I swear.."
"Good morning," Elara said softly, already in the hall, brushing her long hair back.
Damien blinked. "You're up early."
"I didn't really sleep," she murmured.
A beat of silence.
Then both their eyes drifted toward the hall that led to Jian's room. Almost like they were drawn to it. At the same time, Mael came around the corner. He looked as though he hadn't slept at all. Shadows circled his eyes, and his jaw was tight. He paused when he saw them.
"Jian's still in his room," he said without being asked.
Eva had stepped out of her room now, overhearing.
"He didn't move all night," Mael added, more quietly now. "I checked three times."
Elara frowned. "Is he asleep?"
Mael shook his head. "Don't think so."
A heavy silence passed between them, until Damien said,
"We should go see him. Together."
They moved like a group of ghosts.. quiet feet down the wide hallway, past portraits of ancestors and glittering chandeliers.
Jian's door was slightly ajar. Still. Damien knocked gently.
"Jian? We're coming in."
No answer.
They pushed the door open. Jian was standing this time. At the window. Perfectly still. His back to them. The light hit his figure in odd ways..highlighting the pale curve of his neck, the way his hands hung limply at his sides. Too limp. Too still. Eva stepped forward first.
"Jian…?"
Slowly, he turned. His face was blank. Eyes distant. No recognition at first. Then, a second later ..too late.. he smiled. But it didn't reach his eyes.
"Good morning," he said calmly...Too cakmly.
Elara stiffened at the tone. Damien's hand subtly hovered near his side, where he kept a hidden dagger. Just in case.
"You slept?" Eva asked, trying to keep her voice gentle.
Jian nodded. "Of course."
But his clothes were untouched. Not a wrinkle in his shirt. No blankets disturbed. Eva noticed first: the bed hadn't been used at all.
"Have you eaten?" Damien asked, eyeing him.
"I'm not hungry," Jian said smoothly...Too smoothly.
Mael narrowed his eyes. "You remember last night?"
Jian's gaze flickered to him.
"Yes. You came in. We talked. You were worried. You always are."
Mael blinked. That last part ..it sounded like Jian. But the tone… Was off.
"Jian," Elara said carefully. "We're just trying to help."
His eyes landed on her. This time, his smile was real. But too cold.
"I know."
Eva's heart thudded uncomfortably. She looked hard at him...studying his expression, the way he stood, even how he blinked. Something was off. Wrong. The Jian she knew was always calm, but warm. Thoughtful. Burdened, yes, but human.
This Jian… He looked like him.But he didn't feel like him. Mael stepped closer, voice light but probing.
"So what's the plan, then? Breakfast? Maybe take a walk before the end of the world?"
Jian laughed. Short. Soft. But that laugh chilled the air.
"I think I'll just stay here," he said.
Damien, never one to be subtle, folded his arms.
"You sure you're okay, Jian?"
Jian turned back to the window, his tone light.
"I'm fine. You worry too much."
But as the others exchanged glances, no one said what they were all thinking: That wasn't fine. That wasn't Jian. Not entirely. And deep beneath the surface of that strange calm voice and pleasant smile, something or someone was watching...Waiting.
They waited until they went to the guest room. Damien closed the heavy oak door behind them and locked it. Mael leaned against the wall, arms crossed, a deep crease between his brows.
Eva paced in small, anxious steps, her arms wrapped around herself. Elara sat on the armrest of a couch, eyes fixed on the carpet. No one spoke at first. Then Damien broke the silence.
"That's not him."
"I know," Mael muttered. "He didn't sleep. He didn't move. His voice..it's wrong."
Eva stopped pacing. "I looked in his eyes. It's like… he's trying to act like himself, but there's nothing behind it."
Elara nodded slowly. "He smiled, but it felt like something wearing a smile. Like a mask."
Damien sat down, rubbing his temple. "He's pretending to be Jian now. That's worse than before."
"Coox," Mael said darkly.
Eva's jaw clenched. "Voox was right. He's changing. And we're running out of time."
"But how much of him is left?" Elara asked softly. "Did he give up… or is he still fighting in there?"
They all fell silent again. Then Mael straightened up.
"We can't wait anymore. We need to act. We need to find a way to reach him, or stop whatever's wearing him."
Eva nodded. Her voice was low, but firm.
"We save him. No matter how far he's gone."
Upstairs, Jian stood in front of the mirror in his dimly lit room. The curtains remained half-closed, allowing only slivers of morning light to bleed through. His reflection stared back at him, but it wasn't just his anymore.
He tilted his head slowly, almost curiously. And then he smiled. This time, there was no effort to make it look human.
"Fools," he whispered to the mirror, but it echoed deeper than Jian's voice.
His tone shifted..cruel, laced with triumph.
"They think he's still in there. How sweet."
He raised his hand, fingers twitching slightly, and examined them as though they didn't belong to him.
"Well, I suppose they're right. In a way."
He leaned forward, staring into his own eyes, as if trying to see through them.
"He screams sometimes. Quiet now, but I hear it. A whimper in the corner of his mind. The great Jian… so noble, so stubborn."
He laughed..low and distorted.
"Do you know how long I've waited to wear him properly?"
A shadow flickered across the mirror..Coox's true shape surfacing just behind Jian's, like a double exposure, momentary and grotesque.
"I bled him dry from the inside. Every fear, every doubt.. I whispered in them. I grew in them."
He touched the glass lightly, like caressing it.
"And now…"
A pause.
"I'm him. No more cracks. No more slipping. They think he's fighting?" The voice deepened, more warped now. "There is no one left to fight me."
He grinned.. wide, unnatural.
"I am Jian now. And they'll never see it coming."
He stepped away from the mirror, calm and composed. Walked toward the door.
Paused.
Listened. Then, without another word, he turned and opened it. The house fell silent again. But beneath the silence, something dark was walking in Jian's skin, and it was watching..
Moments Later – In the Living Room
The group sat in thick silence, each of them tense with unspoken fear. Mael leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
"If we don't act soon, we'll lose him."
Eva's lips parted to respond, but the words never came. Because suddenly… everything changed. A low, hollow hum vibrated through the air. The sunlight bleeding through the mansion windows flickered like a dying candle..once, twice… and then extinguished completely. Darkness.
A heartbeat of silence.
And then— Crack
The floor beneath them trembled as if the world had exhaled. The entire room rippled like the surface of water.
Eva shot up. "What..?"
Damien cursed under his breath.
"No, no..this isn't.."
Suddenly, they weren't in the mansion anymore. The cozy warmth of Damien's estate had been replaced with something cold, vast, and unfamiliar. The walls around them were made of endless black stone, veined with glowing red cracks that pulsed like a heartbeat.
The air smelled of ash and iron. The sky above was a deep, suffocating void. They stood in the center of an impossible structure..a shifting circle of floating platforms, suspended in nothing.
And at the center…A single throne.Empty. Mael's voice came low, trembling with dread.
"…This is a mind trap."
Eva looked around, panic rising.
"We've been pulled into his realm."
Elara stepped closer to her, eyes wide.
"We're inside..him ."
Damien's hand was already on the hilt of his blade.
"This is Coox."
No one needed to say it. The air was thick with the presence of something ancient, cruel, and watching. Then came the voice. Smooth. Mocking. All around them.
"Took you long enough to notice."
The throne wasn't empty anymore.Jian sat there now, but it wasn't him. His posture was regal, his expression sharp and cruel, lips curled in a half-smile that didn't reach his dead, endless eyes. He spread his arms as if welcoming them.
"Welcome to the end, little heroes."
to be continue ...