Days, hours, minutes, seconds, they were all irrelevant units.

She was walking and walking, going anywhere and nowhere.

She couldn’t even find her starting point anymore.

She was freaking out.

She was sweating and in pain. Her fingers caught too many splinters and her insoles were aching from the constant walking; her brain was losing its sanity over the wind blowing voices, as if a ghost was sticking by her side, playing mind games.

She was losing it.

Her hair was in a mess, her clothes were dirty and her boots were muddy from the wet and musty grass.

The environment itself wasn’t so green and inviting; it was dark and sinister.

And she was cold.

Fog seeped out of with her every breath; her body trembled from the low temperature and her eyes were tired.

She has been deprived from any sleep since she got into this place.

Was it night or was it day? She couldn’t tell, but she was tired.

Her muscles were sore, her body was heavy and she just wished to wake up from whatever nightmare she was stuck in.

She had dried tears stuck to her cheeks and was constantly playing with her engagement ring, turning it around her finger mindlessly.

The only sounds that ever escaped from were sad cries, desperate to get out, to have someone rescuing her from this maze.

She wanted to go home.

When she thought things couldn’t get any worse, thunder struck. The clouds were meshing together, forming one big unity, and darkened the sky.

Droplets of rain started to fall; every time she lifted her head up, all she could see was more fog and nothing else. The rain seeped its way through the smoke to caress her limbs leaving her even more exasperated and desperate.

They were soft and quiet; for now she didn’t need shelter.

When lighting struck again, its tail landed straight down on the grass, just a few feet away from her. She jumped out of fright and stumbled backwards, leaving her to fall down on her back.

Smoke turned into fire; the flames and the wind grew out from the ground the biggest dog, the most dark looking creature she could ever lay her eyes upon.

Its fur was as black as night and its eyes were deep and burning red just like the fires from Hell.

If she only knew that she was only hallucinating the beast.

But he looked real and felt real.

Sparkle of flames jolted from its paws as he stepped towards Sora. A low growl vibrated at the back of his throat while staring straight at the girl; he was the predator on the verge to attack its prey.

Her breath shaky, she started to crawl backwards before completely turning her back around and getting up on her feet, ready to run.

The moment she had stepped away in a rush, the creature followed her as he howled at the sky.

She ran and ran, never even looking back.

She turned left, right, left and right, to distraught to think about the possibilities that she might encounter the Beast from in front of her; the columns forming the labyrinth either separated both bodies or reunited them.

Through every turn, here it was, ready to jump and attack her.

Through branches and leaves, she tripped and fell down, landing on the mud.

The droplets became bigger and fell faster, making the sky pour out its tears.

She turned around on her back, still on the grass, and looked up until the dog blocked her view.

Her chest heaved up and down while she stared straight into its eyes.

She could feel the excruciating heat emanating from the body and feel its breath coating her face; it smelled like ashes, fresh burnt dust.

Her arms by the sides of her body, she carefully and slowly gripped her hand through the mud, catching a fistful of the wet dirt and took the creature by surprise by throwing it straight into his face. Her palm crashed against its fur leaving her to yelp out from the burn she gained, marked on her skin.

It screamed in rage; left distracted, it gave the chance for Sora to escape.

Forgetting about the pain for this moment, she ran as fast as she could.

The slippery grass made it harder but its not like she had any other choice.

She needed to escape.

In the blink of an eye, she slipped up and fell; she ended up by the edge of a hill and as she had tripped over roots, she glided and tumbled down until she reached the bottom. A painful cry escaped her lips when her body met with thorns, scratching every inch of her skin it could meet.

She lied there, under the prickled bush and simply cried.

Tears and raindrops glided together.

She didn’t even have the energy to stand up anymore; she was completely wiped out.

Scratches and bruises meshed with the mud that stuck to her body, wet from the heavy rain.

She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down.

With seconds turning into minutes, she still hasn’t moved one inch from her spot.

When she thought it was the end of her, she felt warmth spread out across her left hand.

Gently caressing between her fingers, she felt pressure, as if someone was holding onto her hand gingerly.

Hesitating, she turned her head to the side. Her heart stopped beating for a split second. Her breathing was stuck in and her eyes were coated with tears.

“S-Seungho…”

“I’m here, Love. I’m right here.”

She felt a squeeze around her left hand. She gripped tightly onto it and slowly turned her body towards him.

She felt his lips kiss the tip of her nose and strangely enough, it wasn’t like she remembered.

It was cold; his lips were cold.

She dismissed the thought, thinking that maybe it was simply because of the rain.

But it wasn’t.

“You’re just a ghost, aren’t you? You’re not real?”

“Do you want me to be?”

“More than anything in the world.”

“Then I can be real. Just say the word, and I’m yours again.”

She hastily nodded her head, her breathing growing heavier in pure need and desperation of wanting him back. “P-please. Please, be real and come b-back.”

Back in the Underworld, the Prince was back with his old tricks, whipping up a mind game for his next victim.

Blood coated his fingers as his hands hovered on each side of Sora’s head. A gentle glow appeared from the center of his palms as he silently started his incantation.

Linking his mind to hers, he created a whole new world for her.

He could see her panic the more she got lost in the maze; a satisfied smirk spread across his lips.

Everything was exactly like he wanted; soon enough, he would use his powers to project himself as her dead boyfriend, tricking her and finally making her more vulnerable.

If she was bringing the end of the world, he wanted to be part of it.

When he thought things were under his control, something unexpected happened. Someone, or something made its way through his spell.

“A hellhound?” He frowned at the intrusion but didn’t let go of her. He kept the hallucination up out of curiosity.

‘Why would a hellhound appear to her? That could only mean-’

He opened his eyes though his mind was still hitched to her delusion.

“Death. Bearer of death… She’s going to die… I guess I better start acting now then.”

With enormous concentration, he was able to project himself onto another plane; now that he was inside her head, he shape shifted into his older brother and appeared to her the moment she needed it the most.

She was lying under a bush of thorns, her heart broken and her tears pouring out from her eyes.

“Showtime~”