Scrambling back up from my foetal position on the ground, I call out for help. Hyo! Hyo, help me!

Don’t yell. You’ll give me a headache.

I don’t know what is happening to me.

Calm down, Taeyeon. First, tell me. Do you possess the Pratikan?

At this question, I hesitate. What is Hyo’s position in this? Can I trust her? What if trusting her means leading Ms Pink back to me?

Ms Pink.

What? You mean she’s got the Pratikan? Oh no, we’re royally screwed.

No, no. She doesn’t have it. I think.

Then what did you say that for? You nearly gave me a heart attack!

I didn’t mean to. I was just thinking about her.

Put your cheesy disgusting love goo down and tell me if you have the Pratikan.

If the Pratikan is a rock that looks like magic then I have it.

Good. At least we can all live in anxiety for another day.

What?

Never mind that. Taeyeon, listen to me. You need to destroy the Pratikan before your beloved takes it from you.

Ms Pink?

Your beloved Ms Pink is working Ttrowtos’s orders now. If she gets the Pratikan from you, she’ll bring it to them. You can’t trust her right now.

Has she . . . has she really . . .? I choke at the thought that Ms Pink might really have turned against what is good and joined the dark side.

Haven’t you figured it out by now? The big bad red infused his essence into hers and she’s been under his control ever since you found her in his castle.

I . . . I suspected it but I wasn’t sure if she was pretending or . . . I—I also thought she might have . . .

Changed sides?

I nod, forgetting that Hyo can’t see me. The guilt of failing to have enough trust in Ms Pink is crushing me right now.

You can’t be blamed for thinking that. Ms Pink is fond of putting herself in the grey.

I sense the change in speech immediately. There is only one other super I know who refers to Ms Pink as Ms Pink.

Seo!

Yes, it’s me, Seo.

How are you speaking to me?

Through Hyo.

Through Hyo?

We are bonded.

Bonded? But how?

I will explain it all to you. But first, you have to destroy the Pratikan.

Why do I have to destroy it? I don’t even know how to destroy it.

You are the Erika. According to Shubbenyiddi, your energy is strong enough to counter the force that caused the Black Death. Based on the spat of blue murders lately, we believe that Ttrowtos is feeding on the blood of humans to increase his strength. At this present time, Ttrowtos can be defeated if all of us fight him. But if he consumes the Pratikan’s energy, he will be powerful enough to inflict a second Black Death on us, humans or not.

Oh my God.

That is why you must destroy it.

But I don’t know how . . .

Shubbenyiddi doesn’t mention how it can be destroyed.

Hugging the stone to my chest, I am filled with determination to find a way to destroy it.

I will destroy it. Somehow.

Good. We trust you will find a way.

I will.

And Taeyeon.

Yes?

Ms Pink became more human after meeting you. I just wanted to tell you that.

Tears fill my eyes and overflow instantly.

Thank you, Seo. I . . . I didn’t realise how much I needed to hear that.

All the best, Taeyeon. We’ll hold the fort here for you.

X

I set the stone on the ground and look at it. The molten, fluid bluish-purple moves from side to side, a lot like how waves come onto shore. It glows so beautifully that I find it hard to believe it can be harnessed into immense power that threatens the lives of all of us. It would be a pity to destroy something this beautiful, but I know I have to. The question is, how?

Looking up at the ceiling by instinct, I don’t see any ‘stars’. They are not here for me right now. Desperation seeps in slowly but surely. How am I to find the answer when the most ancient of books doesn’t even have the information? I’m doubtful if Gerant would know either. Gerant. Is he still lying in the crater? I really hope he hasn’t died. Or taken away by Ms Pink and Ttrowtos’s mangy uglies. Or both.

At least I’m not feeling as weak and ill as before. Getting up on my feet, I look around. I had obviously taken a different route from the one Gerant brought me through so I am unlikely to find my way out if I go on this way. The other option is to find my way back return to the crater. With that strategy decided on, I pick up a sharp rock and scratch a mark on the exit. I carry the rock in my hand and hug the Pratikan with the other arm and begin walking.

I remind myself not to lose hope and calm when I end up in the same cavern as before. There must be a way to go back to the crater. There must be. So I make a mark on the second exit and this time, I scratch arrows near the bottom of the walls to mark my path. It slows me down but based on what little I know about getting lost, this is the one thing I can do right now.

The secondary fork is so dark that I almost walk past it. But when I find myself pressing the rock against nothing, I realise it is actually another path. I must have missed it the first time. Stepping into the pitch darkness, I feel my way along the wall. Is it safe for me to go through? What if this is a trap?

As I stand there undecided, squeaks resound in the tunnel of darkness. Squeaks like . . . rats?

“Leave this way.”

It’s too dark to see the creature that is speaking to me but I can r