Kyra stood before the mirror, her reflection looking back like a stranger.
Those glassy, indifferent eyes didn't belong to the girl everyone knew. As she stared, a slow, chilling smile crept across her lips.
The warmth of "innocent Kyra" drained away, replaced by something cold, sharp, and dangerous.
"Just a few more days..." she whispered, her voice dropping to a haunting silkiness. "And then, you won't be able to jump anymore."
With practiced, robotic movements, she pulled out her mobile. She didn't open a standard browser; she tapped a hidden icon that triggered a series of encrypted login prompts.
The screen bloomed into black and neon lines, unfamiliar symbols sliding across it like living code.
Kyra's fingers moved fast—too fast. Nothing about it matched her usual clumsiness. Each keystroke was precise, practiced, merciless.
An instant ping signaled a reply. But before she could even read the first word, a violent wave of dizziness hit her. Her head throbbed, and her vision blurred.
As she gripped the sink, her smile widened to an unsettling degree, her entire body radiating a murderous aura that seemed to lower the temperature of the room.
"Alisha James," she hissed, the name a venomous promise.
But before the sentence could even settle in the air, the light in her eyes flickered. The golden brilliance dimmed, fading like dying stars lost in the vastness of the universe.
The murderous tension snapped, and suddenly, she was just Kyra again—fragile, confused, and drowning in a familiar, heavy sadness.
Supporting her dizzy head, Kyra blinked at the phone in her hand. The screen was still glowing with a strange, dark interface, but the sight of it triggered no memory.
'Why was she holding this? Why was she in here?'
Knock. Knock.
"Kyra... what are you doing in there?Are you okay... Come out if you have changed your clothes," her mother's voice came through the door slightly concerned but impatient.
"Ah... Yes, I'm coming! Just a few seconds!" Kyra replied breathlessly. She hurriedly shut off the mobile, her heart racing as she scrambled to finish dressing, the strange "other self" locked away in a part of her mind she couldn't reach.
The world outside the bathroom remained silent, unaware of the storm brewing in L-City.
Meanwhile, At a Dark Organization
"Huh...! Why isn't Boss replying?!"
A young man sat at a high-tech table, his face lit by the glow of a dozen monitors.
When he shoved his chair back with a frustrated groan, the light revealed sharp, handsome features—almost unreal, like something drawn from a comic panel.
He was no more than nineteen or twenty, but his eyes held a frantic energy.
He didn't wait. He sprinted toward the elevator, the chrome doors sliding shut as he ascended to the highest floor of the compound.
"Sir! Look—the Boss messaged after three years! But she went offline before I could lock her signal," the boy said as he handed the laptop to the man sitting in the shadows of the master office.
The room was draped in darkness, obscuring the man's face, but his presence was heavy, commanding. His hand, steady and scarred, reached out to take the laptop.
[L CITY, ST. JUDE SCHOOL, FINAL SENIOR GRADE, KYRA WILLIAM]
The man stared at the text. Silence stretched for several long seconds, heavy enough to suffocate.
When he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse and rasping, yet it possessed a magnetic, dangerous authority.
"Go. Check it immediately. Since she has suddenly sent a name and an address after being missing for three years, it means something must have happened."
"Yes, sir!" The boy reached for the laptop, ready to move.
"Wait." The man's voice stopped him. The sound of a drawer opening echoed in the room.
"Since she contacted you first. It means she trusts you more than other team members."
"Take this photo. That girl is your Boss. If she's reaching out from a high school address. She's either in danger or playing a game I don't yet understand. Remember,this is a secret mission—not a word to the others. If she is really her, contact me as soon as you confirm her condition."
The boy took the photo with practiced respect and slipped it into his pocket. "Understood, Sir."
As he stepped out into the corridor,he took out the photo,the overhead lights hit the photograph.
The boy froze.
In the picture, a girl of about twelve or thirteen wore a vibrant red dress and red boots, topped with a fluffy jacket. She looked like a "lucky doll"—cute, soft, and breathtakingly innocent.
She was building a snowman in front of a grand villa, her eyes sparkling like little suns, hiding a hint of a "little vixen" charm even at that age.
He was stunned. His brain struggled to connect the two images.
'Holy god! he thought, his heart hammering. If she is really my Boss... then who was the cold, ruthless demon who used to give us instructions? The one I met whose eyes were as sharp as surgical blades?'
He shook his head, heading for the elevator.
A nervous, silly laugh escaped him as he muttered, "I have to get close... should I go in as a professor? Or should I just try to pursue her?"
His teammates watched him walk by, whispering to each other as he muttered to himself and laughed like a silly donkey, looking completely unhinged.
The William Residence
The moment Kyra stepped into the living room, the heavy atmosphere of her home wrapped around her like a shroud.
"Kyra," Mr. William voice came from behind her.
"Huh... Yes, Dad? Something wrong?" Kyra paused, her hand on her bedroom door handle.
"Well... your friend... what was her name? Asi—?" Mr. William struggled, his mind only on business.
"It's Ashley, Dad," Lumina interjected, throwing herself onto the sofa with a bored sigh.
"Yes, Ashley. She mentioned her father has dealings with that hospital. From what I know, it's the top medical facility in the city. Ask her for her father's contact info. I need to see if I can leverage that for a business deal," Mr. William said, his eyes narrowing greedily as his wife helped him out of his coat.
"Yes, you're absolutely right, Dear," her mother added, her voice sugary and soft. "Kyra, ask her out for dinner at our house. Tell her to bring her parents, too. As a way of thanking her."
Kyra stood there, her head bowed to hide the flash of pain in her golden eyes.
They didn't ask if she was okay. They didn't ask why she was at the hospital. They only saw a ladder to climb.
"Mom, Dad... Ashley is just a classmate," Kyra whispered, her voice calm after being disappointed countless times.
"She isn't even really a friend. I just helped her with an exam once, so she was repaying the favor by taking me to the hospital. We aren't close."
"You don't get to decide if you're close or not!" her father's voice turned stern and ice-cold. "At least try to ask her! Why are you always such a moron? Always saying no, no, no!"
Even though she knew they didn't care, Kyra still felt her heart ache. The silence lasted for several heartbeats before she whispered, "Yes... Dad. I'll try."
She retreated into her room and turned the lock, the sound of the bolt clicking feeling like the only safety she had.
"Look at that girl! That attitude when talking to her father!" her father's roar echoed through the door, followed by her mother's fake-sweet attempts to calm him and her sister's mocking mumbles.
Kyra collapsed onto her bed, the weight of her world crushing the air from her lungs. She reached for her mobile.
99+ missed calls. 99+ messages from Lucifer.
She still remembered the first time she met Lucifer. He was in his final senior grade, playing basketball.
"Look at him, Class president, he is handsome right....he is school most handsome boys list ranking number three." Her deskmate Anni said as she cheered and shouted like a fan girl.
At that time, Kyra felt nothing and simply looked away. She had no interest in dating at all.
Back then, Kyra was the "Cold Goddess," a girl who thought their lives were just parallel lines that would never touch.
But God seemed to enjoy watching her suffer. He didn't just let the lines touch; He tangled them into a knot.
She didn't know when and why he started pursuing her, at first she didn't care at all.
But the turning point was when...
"Kyra...have you brought the money??" Mille asked as she looked at her while smoking.
"Ah...yes but it's not five hundred dollar but three hundred fifty eight dollars, I can't manage to earn more." Kyra replied as her body trembled.
"Oh....so why didn't you take it out from your father...as far as I know you are the one who manages accounts of his business nowadays, right " Andrew cut in before Mille could say anything.
Kyra's face went pale. Her lips trembled as she stared at them in disbelief.
"What?? Thinking how we know...huh!!" Andrew asked as he pulled her towards him and the way he looked at her like a piece of meat.
"It's your dear mother...who shared it with me, love." Mille said as she looked at Kyra who after hearing paled even more and seems to enjoy her body trembling and shock on her face.
"Well, Now you have brought less money, you should get a punishment right from us...but I can't bear to punish you my dear so let's leave the punishment to Andrew." Mille said as she gestured Andrew to took Kyra into their booth while she went out of club slowly.
Looking at Andrew who was pulling her towards booth and then looking at Mille who was walking away.
Kyra understood the punishment when she felt Andrew nauseating gaze around her body.
"No...no" As they passed by corridors, Kyra trembled even more violently and pushed Andrew with all her might, as she ran outside.
"Shit...this bitch!!" Andrew said as he bumped into the wall, bruising his elbow and ran after Kyra.
As Kyra ran, she heard her heart pounding in her chest as if it would burst out.
"Stop...!" Andrew's voice came near and near as he caught her and slammed her on near wall.
The music and noise around her seemed to fade, as she looked at Andrew who seems like a monster to Kyra.
"Uh..!" Kyra snapped out of her fear, the metallic taste of blood bloomed in her mouth, her head ringing from the force of the blow.
Feeling the strength from Andrew slapped, Kyra didn't feel pain but only had one thought in her mind.
'I can't let this happen.'
While, Andrew slammed her against the wall, fingers tangled in her hair.
He lowered his head, breath hot against her skin, while his hand slipped beneath her shirt, trying to unhook her bra.
As she felt his hands moving deeper, she gathered the last ounce of strength in her body. She kicked Andrew waist with all her might and escaped.
She barely managed two steps before the strength drained from her limbs.
She collapsed onto the pavement, her knees hitting the grit as hot tears traced paths down her pale face.
Seeing her like that, Andrew laughed, low and cruel.
Hearing the mocking laughter, as if he was the god here and she can never escape his grasp, Kyra mind flashed back to the scene where when she came, Mille has told her to drink the water.
She understood it had all been their plan. It never mattered whether she brought the money or not.
Kyra closed her eyes, her tears dripping, knowing now no one can save her, with only one thought that was, 'It's Over.'
But before Andrew could grab her,
A crash exploded nearby.
Kyra forced her eyes open—and froze.
Someone was dragging Andrew back, fists slamming into him without mercy.
The same boy she has seen playing basketball and who has been pursuing her 'Lucifer'.
Kyra didn't know what happened after that. Her heart only knew one thing—
in that dark moment, he was the only light that tried to protect her without selfish motives.
When Lucifer lifted her, still cursing Andrew while rushing toward the hospital, Kyra felt her guarded heart soften for the first time.
Ding....Ding...Ding
At the sound of constant notifications, Kyra snapped out of her memories.
As she looked at the messages, which came non-stop.
"Baby...are you okay??"
"Babe.. I'm sorry...I was just too angry because of my friends talk."
"Please forgive me (kneeling stickers 2x)
"At least reply to me, Love (Heart emojis 5x)"
"Babe, please....(Crying emojis 2x)"
"You can hit me or curse me..(Slapping stickers 3x)"
Kyra looked at the messages, her heart a mess of guilt and fear. She remembered the abusive words he had yelled at her today, the hand he had raised to slap her.
Her eyes blurred with tears. She turned off the phone and shoved it under her pillow, trying to force herself to sleep.
As Kyra lay in the dark, her eyes wouldn't stay closed. Every time she blinked, she saw lines of glowing code and that "void-black" website.
Her fingers twitched restlessly against the bedsheets, moving in a typing rhythm she didn't recognize.
Acting on a sudden, magnetic pull, she sat up. Her hand reached beneath the side of her nightstand, feeling for a groove in the wood she hadn't noticed before.
Click.
A hidden compartment popped open. Kyra's heart hammered against her ribs as she pulled out a sleek, obsidian-black laptop.
It was cold to the touch, looking dangerously out of place in her "innocent" floral-patterned bedroom.
'Why do I have this? Why does my body know exactly where it was hidden?'
She flipped the lid. The screen didn't show a brand logo; instead, a crimson eye flickered on the display, followed by a single command line: [ENTER AUTHORIZATION KEY].
Kyra's breath hitched. She reached for the keys, but as her fingers hovered over the board, a stabbing pain shot through her temples.
It felt like a physical barrier in her brain—a wall of fog blocking the password.
With a groan of frustration, she slammed it shut. The "Normal Kyra" was back, terrified of the machine in her hands.
She shoved it back into the secret drawer, her voice trembling in the dark.
"Forget it... my life is already a mess. I can't handle any more secrets."