They exchanged nervous glances, their special abilities humming like quiet strings in the air. Gyeon Wo spoke up, his eyes narrowing with focus, "I sensed Anya was hiding something. I have a truth-sensing ability – like I can pick up on energy vibes telling me when someone's not being straight."
Sangwon's curiosity sparked, "Should we tell each other about our secret powers? Like, be totally open about what we can do?"
A hushed agreement passed among them. "Okay," Sangwon said, and they began sharing in low voices.
Suddenly a stern Voice cut through the air,
*_"TEN MINUTES LEFT. Find the RULE BREAKER. The Sound WILL START AGAIN."_* The warning felt like a cold trickle down their spines.
Anya's gaze drifted to the forbidden Red Zoned rooms, her voice low, "We don't have much time… Do we dare go into those rooms?"
The others exchanged charged looks and nodded. Gyeon Wo said, "Let's check it out."
As they stopped before the crimson-marked doors, Anya let out a tiny gasp. "Ah… I'm feeling… more pain now. Being this close to the Red Zones… like it's pressing into my head."
Emma asked softly, "Should we go in now?"
They answered in unison, _"Yeah."_ With a _sharp creak_, the red door swung open…
A bright flash swallowed them. Instantly,
- Wendy groaned, _"Ugh, my head hurts."_
- Emma said, _"Mine too… what just happened?"_
- Gyeon Wo frowned, trying to focus through the ache.
Sangwon's worried voice cut through the eerie mirror-hall air, "Is everyone okay?!"
"Hmm, what's this crazy place?! So many mirrors… so that's what you were talking about! Do we have to step into one of those _glowing portals_?" Emma asked, eyes wide.
Anya murmured low, _"Hmm…"_ — when _suddenly her nose burst into a trickle of crimson_. Her eyes fluttered.
"OH NO! Anya, your nose is bleeding!" Sangwon cried, _rushing to her side_. He gently tilted Anya's head back, pressing a fold of his _jacket's soft inner lining_ against her nose. "Tilt back, breathe through your mouth… it'll help stop it," he said swiftly, supporting her.
"I… I don't know… I feel _so weird_…" Anya whispered, her voice muzzy.
Min-Hyuk's sharp gaze swept over Anya's arms. "Guys… _all of Anya's tattoos are GLOWING_ like crazy neon!"
Just then — _that mesmerizing blue butterfly danced into view_. Poised a heartbeat… it _vanished into one of the shimmering mirrors_.
"We've got to FOLLOW that butterfly!" Anya said with sudden intensity, _her eyes locking onto the mirror_.
With nods, they _stepped together into the mirror's silvery swirl_ — and like before, they landed in _another bizarre realm_. The air was _sickly sweet and icy cold_.
"Wow… the _white-and-blue dreamworld_ you talked about!" Emma breathed to Anya.
"This little butterfly's like a _mystic guide_ leading us deeper," Wendy said softly.
Anya's gaze turned piercing. "When we walk further… we'll hit a place just as _eerie and twisted_ as that other world… I can feel it."
Sangwon's fingers intertwined with Anya's, sending a _tingling spark of warmth_ through her. He asked softly, _"Are you feeling better now?"_
_Anya's heart swooned secretly_, _Ohh, this is what it feels like to have your hand wrapped in his… like my whole soul's cradled in warmth… I'd brave a million pains if it means touching him like this._ Her gaze drifted to Sangwon's face, _fluttering like a wild petal caught in sweet breeze_.
Gyeon Wo's voice cut through the _ethereal air_, "This dreamworld pulses with _dual vibes_ — swirling positive and dark negative energies! That other realm was a _cold pit of shadows_, though."
Anya's eyes echoed agreement. "You're right… that's exactly what I sensed first time too."
Sangwon's voice was low, _"Is this the place we're meant to go?"_
Anya's reply was _laced with hesitant intensity_, _"Yeah… this is it. But I don't want us plunging in _there_ yet._ Let's _unravel and map this crazy world first_ — because last time I was in that _twisted nexus_, I _proved my prediction true_, but I didn't have a chance to explore."
"So _this time_, let's decode this realm's secrets _first_… before we dare that _foreboding hotspot_."
Sangwon's voice was _laced with intense agreement_, "She's right… it'd be _utter futility_ if we just end up in that _menacing world_ again without trying!"
Emma's reply was _bursting with determination_, "Let's _charge ahead_ then!"
Gyeon Wo asked, his eyes narrowing, "Which path is that? Should we take it?"
Sangwon said, "_This trail seems to wind another way_… I think we should follow it."
The path was _dazzlingly adorned_ with _vibrant colourful flowers_ and _fluffy dandelions dancing in whimsical breeze_. Emma asked, breathlessly, "Wow… should I _reach out and touch_ one of these _gorgeous dandelions_?"
_The instant she grasped a dandelion_, it began to _radiate a soft otherworldly glow_.
Wendy exclaimed, "_It's SHINING_… whoa!"
Emma felt a _sudden rush of ease_, "My hand's _infused with bliss_… all exhaustion's _vanished like mist_!"
Sangwon's gaze was _piercingly thoughtful_, "So Anya's _mystic chamomile tattoo_ heals wounds… and this _enchanted dandelion_ banishes pain and fatigue. Can you give it to me?" He asked Emma for the dandelion, then _gently placed it on Anya's head_.
Min-Hyuk asked softly, "Anya… do you feel better now?"
Anya murmured, "Hmm… _much, much better_," her eyes _lingering warmly on Sangwon_.
Min-Hyuk's voice was _tinged with awe_, "This place is _COSMICALLY CRAZY_… I wonder if there are _infinite realms_ like these two _mind-bending worlds_ we've stepped into so far!"
As they ventured further down the _ethereal path_, _the mystical blue butterfly began to flutter WILDLY_, like it was _dancing on the edge of chaos_.
Anya's eyes widened, _"What's happening to the butterfly? Ohh… it's starting to _dissolve into thin air_, like it's _fainting in slow motion_… as if its _tiny spirit's slipping away_!"_
Gyeon Wo's brow furrowed, "What's this _weird, pulsating vibe_… I can't _decode this cryptic energy_… it's like the very _air's alive with secrets_!"#
Emma's voice trembled, _"Did we make a catastrophic mistake by stepping onto this _bewitching, treacherous path_?"_
Sangwon's eyes narrowed intensely, _"Then there must be a _deadly secret_ we shouldn't have unleashed! One moment this path was _dazzlingly adorned_ with beauty… the next, _dark vibes crept in like suffocating shadows_ as soon as we walked on it."_
Anya whispered with a shiver, _"Like _malevolent ugliness masquerading under a gorgeous disguise_… as if beauty itself was a _sinister trap_."_
Gyeon Wo declared grittily, _"Let's _plunge ahead warily_… we can't turn back now."_
Wendy cried out abruptly, _"Ohh… where did that _ethereal butterfly_ GO?!"_
Everyone's faces _jolted with startled tension_.
Min-Hyuk spoke rapidly, _"The butterfly was guiding us to a _specific destination_… but we didn't follow it there. Maybe that's why it _vanished mysteriously_."_
Anya's gaze locked _eerily_ on a _gloomy, foreboding tree_. She wondered aloud, _"What's WRONG with this tree? Why does it loom so _oppressively dark_?"_
_The instant Anya edged closer_ to probe what was _luminously glowing_ behind the tree… she was _hurled brutally backward_ by that _blindingly radiant thing_…
Anya let out a sharp cry, "Ouch!" Everyone _rushed toward her with alarmed faces_.
Emma asked urgently, "What happened? Are you okay?"
The shining thing had morphed into an _ominous, eerie light_, radiating _tense, dangerous energy_.
Anya warned in a swift panic, "Everyone, DON'T GO NEAR! _Hide yourselves_ — this light's _super harmful_; touch you, and it'll cause _bad burns_. I've seen this _dark glowing light before_… it's nasty."
Everyone _scrambled for cover frantically_, but _it seemed futile_. The light appeared _relentless and menacing_.
Sangwon commanded sharply, "Everyone STAY PUT! I'll _shield you_ — I've got _powerful energy protection_." Sangwon _held Anya's hand tightly_ and _moved swiftly toward the others_.
As he reached them, Sangwon _wrapped a protective energy barrier_ around everyone. His power _hummed protectively_.
Sangwon _groaned softly in strain_, "Aghh…" The shield began to _falter and weaken_.
Wendy said anxiously, "Sangwon's shield's disappearing!"
Emma thought quickly, "Maybe because we're a _bigger group_ — it's _overloading_."
Anya touched a _mystic tattoo on her arm_, and _suddenly a crimson sword burst forth_, swiftly transforming into a _strong protective shield_ encasing everyone — like she'd done _earlier_.
"If I'm recalling right, that crazy light will _VANISH IN THIRTY SECONDS_ — that's exactly what happened _last time_ I faced it," Anya said with _intense focus_.
"But it's _FADING FAST_ too… just like Sangwon's energy shield!" Gyeon Wo exclaimed, eyes _locked tensely on the light_.
"Anya, _GRAB Sangwon's tattooed hand tight_ — you and Sangwon combining _YOUR SPECIAL POWERS_ might create a _BLAZING SHIELD OF PROTECTION_!" Emma exclaimed with _urgent intensity_.
Anya clasped Sangwon's hand firmly, feeling a _sudden rush of connected energy_. "A _mysterious countdown's appearing_ — it's _TICKING AWAY_!" Wendy cried out.
After thirty seconds, the _dark, ominous light VANISHED INSTANTLY_. The group breathed out a _HUGE WAVE OF RELIEF_.
"Ugh, that crazy light _LEFT SEARING BURNS on my arm_!" Min-Hyuk groaned, gritting his teeth.
"I got a _nasty little burn_ on my foot," Emma said with a slight wince.
"There aren't any _calming chamomile flowers_ here.
"Show me those _painful burns_," Anya said with _warm compassion_. Touching her _mystic chamomile tattoo_, a _soft green radiance enveloped_ Min-Hyuk and Emma — their burns _melted away swiftly_.
"Sangwon, do you have any _scorch marks_? Are you okay?" Anya asked _tenderly_.
"Hmm, I'm totally unscathed — no burns," Sangwon replied with a _relieved nod_.
Anya felt a _soothing comfort wash over_, "Such _immense relief_", she murmured _gently_.
"Time to _forge ahead_," Emma said decisively. "There's a _shadowy cave-like path_ a little farther," Sangwon said.
But as they _stepped warily forward_, Anya's tattoos started _GLOWING WILDLY AGAIN_, and she felt _TORMENTING PAIN coursing through her_. "
Anya's _tormented scream sliced through the tense air_, and then she _plunged into darkness_, fainting abruptly. Sangwon _dashed to her side_, sweeping her _gently yet urgently_ into his strong arms before she could crumble to the ground.
Everyone _shouted Anya's name_ in a _chaos of worry_, their voices blending in _alarmed concern_.
Wendy's eyes widened — "Her face is _drenched in cold sweat_, her lips are _deathly pale like moonlight_, she's gotta be suffering _UNBEARABLE, SEARING PAIN_!" she exclaimed, her words _fraught with fear_.
Sangwon's _expression turned grim and protective_, holding Anya _close and tight against his chest_.
Anya's chamomile tattoo _ISN'T WORKING_, failing to spark any healing — Sangwon's gaze locked onto the group with _cutting urgency_. "Maybe we need _elusive dandelion essence_ — chamomile heals _gashing physical wounds_, but dandelions master _bone-deep pain and crushing exhaustion_."
"No, we _don't have any_ dandelions," the group replied in _dismayed harmony_.
"What now? She looks like she's _DROWNING IN exhaustion_, like her vitality's been _mercilessly siphoned away_," Min-Hyuk said with _gut-wrenching apprehension_.
Meanwhile, as everyone was _hyper-focused on Anya_, a _SINISTER CREW OF MASKED WARRIORS_ materialized like _shadowy specters_, swords drawn, unleashing a _FURIOUS, BLAZING ASSAULT_.
"What do we do?!" Wendy _let out a panic-stricken shriek_.
Sangwon _slapped up a protective shield instantly_ — but it _dissipated like evanescent mist_.
"It won't shield us all — it craves _SURGE POWER_, and Anya's _OUT COLD AND VULNERABLE_," Emma said _with swift desperation_.
_CLANG-CLANG_, swords _slashed with frenzied ferocity_, biting the air with lethal precision.
"Then I'll _cocoon Anya in a shield_," Sangwon declared _with unyielding resolve_. you stay with her — _guard her with unwavering vigilance_, we'll _annihilate these masked malefactors_," Gyeon Wo affirmed with _sharp, fierce dedication_.
"Huh? What are you, _distorted masked fiends_?" Emma snarled while _unleashing a powerful, vicious kick_ at a masked aggressor.
_BANG BANG BANG_… "Wow, this gun's _wildly magical_ — matching this _mind-twisting bizarre world_! *These* masked beings' powers _are flickering like crazy_," Min-Hyuk exclaimed.