Night pressed down heavy and deep.
One by one, the campus lights went out—until only the old Gothic library still stood, shrouded in moonlight.
The private university's library had long been closed after ten.
Yet tonight, it seemed to breathe—alive with something that did not belong to this world.
Maya stood at the foot of the stone steps, clutching her backpack straps with trembling hands. Her heart pounded like a trapped bird.
"Why am I here in the middle of the night…? This is so scary…" she whispered to herself.
She pulled out her phone.
The mysterious message was gone—erased, as if it had never existed.
Only one text remained on the screen: Lucian's message from earlier that day.
[Don't be afraid. I'm here.]
Maya stared at those words, and her heartbeat quickened again.
"…Right. Lucian's here. I'll be fine," she murmured, trying to convince herself.
Inside the library, darkness and silence twined like living things.
The moment Maya stepped in, a low creak—creak—creak echoed through the hall.
All around her, the towering bookshelves began to move—slowly, deliberately—blocking off the exit behind her.
"W-What's happening?! They're moving!" Maya's face went pale.
The shelves kept shifting, groaning against the floor until they formed a long, narrow corridor.
At the far end stood a stairway leading up—to the third floor.
Maya swallowed hard.
"They… they want me to go up there…"
The third floor lights flickered, dim and dying—like the final beats of a fading heart.
The air smelled faintly of ink… and something else. Metallic. Like blood.
Then—she saw it.
A small figure standing silently among the shelves.
A gothic doll-like girl. Petite and pale, her skin as smooth as porcelain.
Her long silver hair was a little messy, tied into uneven twin tails.
Her amber eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
In her arms, she clutched a rabbit plushie missing one ear.
"So… cute…" Maya whispered without thinking.
The little girl stepped closer, voice soft as a breeze.
"Big sister…"
Maya blinked. "Me?"
The girl—Alice—nodded, and reached out a tiny hand, gripping Maya's sleeve tightly.
"Here," she said gently.
Before Maya could respond, the shelves trembled violently.
A cold wind howled through the room.
From within a book, something began to crawl out—
a shapeless black shadow, vaguely human but faceless, its only features a pair of blood-red eyes fixed upon Maya.
It laughed—a harsh, metallic rasp that scraped against her spine.
"She's finally come… This body… is more perfect than any I've found…"
Maya froze, terror locking her in place. She stumbled backward—
but Alice clung to her, hugging her tightly.
"A-Alice?"
A strange green glow flickered in the girl's eyes, though her tone was tender.
"Sister… don't be afraid… It's been waiting for you."
Maya's heart pounded painfully in her chest. Tears welled up.
"W-Wait! Who are you people?! Why are you after me?!"
The shadow didn't answer.
It simply advanced, each step swallowing more light until even the air felt frozen still.
Just as Maya was about to be devoured by the darkness—
Footsteps.
Rushed. Sharp.
The library door burst open. A chilling aura sliced through the suffocating air like a blade.
Lucian had arrived.
And the shadow before them—was the very thing he'd been hunting all this time:
Noctis, the Phantom of the Night.
Noctis let out a hideous laugh.
"Lucian… you can't protect her. Her name is already written in the Ledger of the Dead—it belongs to me!"
The voice dripped with mockery and greed, echoing like it came from the depths of hell.
Then, with a screech, Noctis lunged toward Maya!
Maya screamed, eyes squeezing shut. Her mind went blank.
But the next moment—cold air wrapped around her, like a shield.
Lucian was standing in front of her.
A black scythe formed in his hand, gleaming with deathly light.
"She's mine," he said, voice low and dangerous.
"Touch her, and I'll make sure you never return to the underworld."
With that, he swung the blade.
The scythe tore through the darkness.
Noctis shrieked, its form splitting in two before dissolving into a mist of shadow.
"…It escaped again." Lucian's tone was cold, his eyes sharp with restrained fury.
Maya, still trembling, suddenly threw herself into his arms.
"I-I really thought it was going to take me away…" she sobbed.
Lucian's ears reddened instantly.
"Idiot. I told you—I'm here. What's there to be afraid of?" he muttered, averting his gaze.
Yet his arms tightened around her, holding her closer.
The darkness slowly lifted.
The bookshelves creaked back to their original places.
The third floor returned to its dead silence.
Alice stood quietly nearby, freed from the phantom's control.
She still clutched her worn rabbit doll, eyes wide with fear. Gently, she tugged at Maya's sleeve.
In a small, trembling voice, she said,
"Big sister… don't leave me behind…"
Maya's heart melted. She knelt down, softly patting the girl's head.
"I won't," she whispered—her voice both a comfort and a promise to herself.