The city has begun to stand on the verge of fear once again.
In that city, a girl who lived quietly, largely unnoticed, used to be scared only by her own dreams.
But now, those dreams have trapped the city itself in a web of fear.
In that city, where girls were once certain they could walk out at any time, they can no longer walk freely outside.
Death is lurking in the darkness to consume them.
.....
(At the Office) :
Nancy was busy doing her work in a hurry. She was piling one task on top of another.
Shino was focused on her own tasks.
Suddenly, Kevin walked into her cabin.
"Miss Shino," he quietly entered.
"Yes, Kevin. Please come in."
He sat down in front of her.
"I came to inquire about my dog's matter."
"Mr. Kevin, this is not a police station. The advertisement you placed included your dog's photo, your address, and phone number. So what is it... If any information is found, you will know directly."
Her sharp reply made him leave.
Nancy noticed Kevin leaving.
"Hey, Shino..." Nancy entered Shino's cabin.
"Yes, what is it, Nancy?"
"Wasn't that Kevin who just left? Why is he here today?" she asked suspiciously.
"He came to ask about the dog's missing case."
"What's the point of him coming here for that?"
Shino slowly looked out the window behind Nancy.
"Seeing this Kevin, I'm reminded of someone, but I can't quite get the face or the name."
"Are you starting to be like me now?" Nancy continued to watch Kevin walking down the road outside, ignoring her comment.
"Hmm..."
As Nancy turned to leave, she saw what Shino was doing.
"Shino... what are you doing?"
She looked at the computer screen. Shino was typing something.
[Cases mentioning seeing a superhuman person at night.]
Nancy looked at the screen, then at Shino.
"What is this, something new?"
"No, this is the person we are looking for, Nancy."
"This person?" Nancy looked at her suspiciously.
"Yes, the man who is observing me without my knowledge, the same person who copied my dreams exactly and gave them to me."
"So, is he behind these murders?"
"I don't know, it's not clear to me if it's the same person, Nancy. But this person is also unlikely to be a human being."
Hearing Shino's words, fear started to grow again in Nancy's mind.
All the events that had occurred began flashing through Nancy's mind.
With every passing moment, the fear of death was now starting to increase in Nancy as well.
"Shino, do you have any connection to these things that are happening??"
Shino didn't know what answer to give to Nancy's question.
"You are the first to see every event that is happening; everything you have seen comes back looking for you. Why??
Your ability is meant to save someone; in some situations, we might fail to do that, but after that, something else should be coming your way.
But why are things that happened once repeats hunting and troubling only you?
Some person is trying to harm you...
Shino, I am sure all of this is happening because you are the target,"
"Me???" Shino looked at Nancy, her heart feeling like it had stopped.
"Yes, I think you might be that person's target, Shino,"
Nancy immediately left the room.
Nancy's words echoed in Shino's mind like a sudden clap of thunder.
She understood that changes had come over her, but she didn't know why all of this was directed at her.
At one point, that person had told her. He knows about Sara's death, that is, her mother's death. He had witnessed her mother's final days.
Why...?
Not knowing what was hidden within her, Shino started to writhe, caught in the tangle of doubt deep in her mind.
Suddenly, someone else walked into Shino's cabin. Another person who worked there.
"Miss Shino, could you step outside for a moment?"
The person said this and then left.
Shino came out of the cabin. A meeting-like event was happening outside.
Someone new had joined the workplace, and the boss was introducing this person to everyone.
"Good afternoon, my dear co-workers.
Today, one more person joins us in the journey of our newspaper establishment.
I introduce to you...
'Miss Natasha.'"
The boss introduced the new girl who had joined the job to everyone.
Everyone greeted her happily. But Shino went back to her cabin as if she had no interest in it.
Finishing her work, Nancy left the office quickly that day.
Nancy, who left the office, walked towards the station.
Due to the previous events, she was now scared whenever she heard the word 'station.' She thought the ghost (or spirit) would return again. After entering the station, Nancy sat on a bench, waiting for the train to arrive.
Even after a long time, the train hadn't arrived. There weren't many people or much rush at the station today.
The station, which was usually very crowded, had no rush whatsoever today. Everywhere was silence; a long silence permeated even the air spreading through the station.
She waited for a long time for the train, but the train wasn't coming.
While she was waiting, something began dripping onto her body.
She slowly touched it. It was some kind of sticky liquid.
As it got on her hand, she felt a sense of disgust.
"Yuk...."
Nancy immediately went towards the bathroom. As she reached the front of the bathroom...
For a moment, she stopped. Fear had not yet left her; she hesitated to go inside alone.
The problems that had occurred that day kept flashing through her memory.
She also didn't feel like leaving without washing away the sticky substance on her body.
Finally, locking the fear inside herself, she entered.
There was no one inside the bathroom. She had never seen the bathroom this silent and deserted before.
There was no one inside. She slowly turned on the tap and started washing away the liquid that was stuck to her hand.
She also began slowly washing the substance that was on her shoulder with water.
While she was washing, she felt like the door behind Nancy was slowly opening.
She assumed someone was just entering and didn't bother with it, continuing to wash off the liquid that had gotten on her body.
Suddenly, someone violently slammed the door shut.
The unexpected sound startled her. Though her mind told her to turn around, her fear wouldn't allow it. The sound of footsteps approached, as if someone was coming closer to her.
Nancy's heart rate began to increase; her mind was starting to cloud over with the fear that the same lust-driven demon had come for her again.
Nancy began to feel a slight chill on her body.
The mirror in front of her started to freeze up due to the cold, as if fog was covering it.
Nancy's heart began to be enveloped in the darkness of fear.
Another terrifying situation.
She wanted to leave that place, but she couldn't even turn around.
Someone entered inside one of the bathrooms. She heard that sound.
"This time, I won't let you go."
Firmly deciding, she walked up to that bathroom.
She wanted to knock on the door, but not knowing if the person inside was a human or a ghost, she paused for a moment, unsure what to do next.
This time, standing still in fear won't help.
"I have to put fear aside this time. In those moments when I couldn't even protect my best friend, Shinoy, I stood there filled with guilt.
I can no longer stand in fear, waiting for someone else's help in every situation.
I'm not even sure if what's happening now is real, but in every situation, I've only recognized fear.
The time has come to realize that fear is not the only emotion I possess."
After closing her eyes for a moment, she took a deep breath.
Pushing her fear aside, she gently tapped on the door.
"Excuse me... is anyone inside?"
Nancy asked softly.
No one answered from within.
When she applied a little more force to the door to knock again, she noticed that the door was not locked from the inside.
She slowly opened it.
There was no one inside. She had been sure someone had entered, which is why she had knocked and opened the door. But...
The bathroom was empty.
Nancy stepped out of it, turned, and walked away.
Suddenly...
She heard the sound of someone flushing from that bathroom.
Nancy's eyes were pushed to the brink of terror.
Nancy went close to the bathroom again, slowly opened the door, and looked inside.
"Ahhh!"
Someone pushed her inside from behind.
Nancy's head hit the wall as she fell inside.
Nancy slowly got up and tried to open the door, but it was locked.
Fear crashed over Nancy like a wave.
She was certain she had to get out, or her life would be lost.
She beat hard on the door, but no one opened it.
Just then, she heard the sound of someone entering the main bathroom area.
The sound of footsteps intensified her fear again.
Nancy slowly climbed up to look over the top of the bathroom stall.
Someone came and stood in front of the mirror. They were washing something.
Nancy climbed up a little higher to look again.
Her eyes were unable to comprehend the sight.
The person standing in front of the mirror was Nancy herself.
A moment ago, she was seeing the sight of herself coming to wash off the liquid on her body. Nancy stared blankly at the scene, as if caught in some kind of loop.
She saw everything again, including the moment she turned around upon hearing the sound.
Suddenly,
The Nancy standing in front of the mirror turned towards the bathroom stall.
It was not Nancy; it was someone else who had taken her form.
Its eyes were a deep crimson red.
Seeing that, Nancy fell back in fear. Nancy knew what was going to happen next.
She had opened that bathroom door when she heard the sound. Now that ghost was going to do the same thing next.
Nancy quickly got up and held the door shut firmly to prevent it from being opened.
Just as she expected, the ghost tried to open the door. Nancy pushed back against the door with all her strength.
The ghost also tried powerfully, but in the end, its attempt failed.
After a little while, the pressure on the door vanished. The room fell silent.
Nancy slowly tried to open the door. It wasn't locked anymore, and she quickly opened it and ran out of the bathroom.
She came back and sat on the bench where she had been before. Her heartbeat was accelerating. Nancy was certain that death had begun following her like a shadow.
She sat hunched over, holding her head in her hands.
"Why me? Why is this happening to me? Just as death followed Shinoy, it has begun following me too. Why...
Is all this real... or am I in a dream now too?"
When a person realizes that death is near, no matter how great a warrior he may be, he will break down mentally, if only a little.
Now, Nancy realized that her life she who had done nothing wrong and only stood by her soul-friend as a helper was also about to end.
Not knowing if the moments she was passing through were real or an illusion, and not knowing how to escape, she plunged into fear.
Tears fell from Nancy's eyes onto the floor without her even realizing it as she sat hunched over.
She sat there, not knowing if it was fear or the sadness of being so helpless.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of two people's footsteps approaching the platform.
She slowly lifted her tear-filled eyes in that direction.
Two people: a girl and a boy.
They entered the area and stood at one end of the platform.
Seeing them, something began to click in Nancy's memory.
"Yes...!!!"
She jumped up, startled.
"It's them. The first missing girl...
And the boy Shinoy mentioned standing with her.
The tall, fair-skinned boy with brown hair."
She realized that she was now witnessing firsthand what Shinoy had seen.
Nancy slowly walked towards them.
They didn't say anything.
She walked up to them and tapped the boy on the shoulder.
He slowly turned towards Nancy.
Nancy's heart stopped... she froze in place.
He wasn't human; his eyes were black.
"Devis...!!!"
Nancy whispered.
The girl standing with him turned towards Nancy.
The skin on her face was gone. Her eyes had been gouged out.
Nancy trembled in fear at the sight of the figure.
The person grabbed her by the throat. Slowly, he lifted her up.
As his grip tightened, Nancy began to struggle to breathe. She started hitting his arm.
"Devis... no... please..."
She pleaded for her life.
But,
He only tightened his grip on her neck.
Blood came out of Nancy's mouth.
"Devis, please..."
The next train began to approach the track.
Its sound echoed everywhere.
He looked at the track, then back at Nancy.
As if she understood something, Nancy began to thrash.
"Devis, no.... please!"
She spoke, gasping and choking.
Tears streamed down Nancy's eyes...
As the train got closer...
He threw Nancy onto the track....
"Ahhhhhhh"
The light [of the train] covered her eyes for the last time....
"Ahhh!"
Nancy opened her eyes with a start.
She was now on the bench. People were moving around her, coming and going.
Nancy was sweating.
The train she needed to take arrived there.
Nancy reached Shinoy's room.
"Shino!"
She began knocking hard on the door.
"Shino! Open the door!"
She knocked again.
Shino opened the door.
"Why didn't you open the door, Shino??"
She asked angrily and walked inside.
Shino stood silently near the door.
When Nancy turned around, she saw Devis sitting on the bed.
"Devis..."
She recalled the events she had just witnessed.
"Shino... he..."
She tried to speak, stammering.
Fear prevented her from completing her words.
"Shino... he... he is the killer!"
She shouted.
Shino's expression remained unchanged.
"Shino.. he is the one who tried to kill those girls. He tried to kill me too!"
She began speaking frantically.
"Nancy... shhh!"
Shino tried to calm her down.
"Shino, what are you doing? He's a murderer!"
She said again.
"Nancy...!!!!!"
Shino forcefully made her sit down.
Nancy looked at her, utterly confused.
"Nancy, Devis is not a killer. He has only helped us."
Shino tried to make her understand.
"No, I saw it!"
"Nancy, that wasn't Devis!"
Shino stated firmly.
She realized that Shino had also witnessed what she had.
"Nancy, all of this is him trying to manipulate you."
"What?"
"Yes,"
Shino affirmed.
"But why??"
She asked with suspicion.
"His target is me. He can't face me alone, so you all are the path he found.
The plan is to turn you, who always help me, against me and separate you from me. That's why he attacked you like that today, and in Devis's form."
Devis looked at her silently.
"Not just you, he even tried to kill Devis. It's all his plan, Nancy.
He attacked you like this because he is sure that you are weak."
Nancy sat stunned after hearing what Shino said.
"Nancy, you two are risking your lives for me. You can leave here right now if you want."
Shino walked toward the window.
"Shino, what you said is true. I am weak. Compared to you two, I am weak. I even put my life in danger.
But...
I am not weak now.
You are so important to me, Shino. Even if you don't want me, I will stay with you. You are my best friend. I won't let anyone hurt you like that. I will save you, Shino, even if it costs me my life."
Seeing Nancy's affection, Shino remembered Sarah again.
"Yes, Shino. For some reason, I am now included in this problem too.
You are not a cruel person, are you? Your ability is meant to save so many lives. And you are not misusing it either.
In this era, among those who only misuse such a gift, people like you are rare. I am proud to give my life for such a person, Miss Shinova."
Devis also expressed his support. Shino's eyes welled up with tears upon hearing their words.
No one had ever understood her, who had lived quietly, confined to a corner of the city, unnoticed.
Her life after Sarah was always drowning in the darkness of loneliness. Unable to move past it, she spent every night weeping, wondering why she was even born on this earth.
When she collapsed before the nightmare that haunted her in the dark, and others labeled her a madwoman without listening to her words, what she saw was the dark side of the earth's isolation.
Today, she understood that there were two hearts aching for her.
Shino, unable to contain her joy and sorrow, hugged them both.
Suddenly,
Shino began to have a headache again...
She couldn't bear the pain and sat down on the floor.
"Shino..."
They tried to comfort her.
Blood started to trickle from Shino's nose.
Things were flashing before her eyes.
Now, Shino was in front of a room. Darkness surrounded her.
She slowly entered the room; there was only darkness around.
Somewhere amid the darkness, there was the sound of a chain dragging.
"Your death is your fate... There is no point in blaming fate."
Someone's cruel voice flowed into her ears in the darkness.
"You defeated fate and ran away from me, but... your death is also something I have written... Shino...
You will never be able to fully realize the power emerging from within you.
I am going to destroy the very purpose of your birth.
The power within you is going to become your curse..."
Suddenly, many candles lit up around her, and the chains were bound to Shinoy's legs.
She was inside a circle. The chains tightened around her.
That person walked up to her.
Their face was not clear.
"You are a flower that is going to wither before you even know what life is, Shinova."
He pressed and touched her jaw.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Shino woke up with a start.
"Shino..."
Devis and Nancy shook her and called out.
Shino quickly got up and looked in the mirror. That mark was back on her face.
"Shino... what happened?"
Nancy asked.
"His target is me,"
Shino said, looking at her face in the mirror. The reflection she saw in the mirror was both her own and that man standing in the darkness..