Krystal's hands reach out to touch the barrier encasing the grey castle in front of us. Just as her fingertips come into contact with the invisible force field, I gently lower her arm with my hand. Krystal looks at me questioningly. I shake my head to her silent question. I warn her not to touch but she does it anyway, stubbornly and defiantly. Krystal sticks out her tongue as nothing happens. I let out a sigh in response to her childish behavior.

"You could've died you know~" I say to Krystal.

"Well... I didn't" Krystal says as she leans against the barrier. She pauses for a bit, "What are we going to do?" Krystal looks at me and then to the brick castle, pouting as she does so.

"Maybe...we can walk around. You know, find a weak spot and break through."

Krystal purses her lips but agrees nonetheless.

~*~*~

"Is there even a weak spot? I'm pretty sure that the person who put this barrier up would've made sure that it was as tough as... steel."

And so the whining begins.

As I walk ahead, I tune out Krystal's whining in order to fully concentrate on the "mission".

"Hey! Are you listening?" I lie and nod my head.

"Myungsoo-" silence soon follows.

I turn around. Krystal was nowhere to be seen.

"Krystal!" I yell frantically.

Taking a step forward, I yell Krystal's name once more. Nothing. Silence only answers my call. Then, I hear a faint crack; it was similar to cracking ice. Taking a step further, the crackling sounds are heard once again. The ground gives in and I fall into a dark pit beneath the snowy land. The only source of light was from the hole up above - wait - there are two! It must've been Krystal. 

"Krystal!" I yell as I stand up. My voice echoes throughout the dark room.

I walk towards the direction of the second hole where Krystal fell. Under the spotlight created by the hole, Krystal's unconscious body is seen. Running to her, I notice a small trail of blood coming from the back of her head. I hold her in my arms and shake her gently as I call her name. Krystal stirs a bit but soon opens her eyes. I let out a big sigh of relief.

"Myungsoo, where are we?"

Now that my eyes have adjusted to the darkness, I find ourselves in this dungeon like cavern with stonewalls and rusty black bars. I hold on to Krystal's thin waist as she hoists herself up from the cement floor. Her legs wobble a bit but she stands nonetheless. Enclosing her hand in mine, we walk into the darkness of the stone palace aimlessly.

~*~*~

Earlier, we had stumbled upon a torch lit hallway filled with barred rooms. The prison-like bars were broken and scattered on the damp stone floors.

Rooms upon rooms, the prison hallway went on and on until a "fork in the road" appeared.

"Left or right?" Krystal asks me.

The left hall held fire lit torches while the right hall blew a breeze through our cloaks.

"Right?"

~*~*~

"Wait, can we rest a bit…”

Krystal stops walking and leans against the wall. The stonewall slightly moves back, then we are transported into a room very much resembling a personal library, though it seems like no one has been here for the past few years. It was dusty and the only light source came from a tattered lamp at the corner of the room.

“Myungsoo!” Krystal shouts.

I look to her. Krystal stands in front of this small glass bottle filled with a clear liquid. A glass dome encloses the bottle. Krystal’s hands press against the glass dome as she marvels over the bottle.

“Could this be it?” She asks excitedly.

“Well… the Yoma I spoke to did say that it was in a glass bottle… but maybe this isn’t it.” Krystal looks at me and then to the bottle, albeit dejected.

“What if this is it? We won’t know if we don’t try, right?” Krystal pleads.

She carefully takes off the glass dome and places it on the wooden floor. Without a seconds thought, she takes the glass bottle and engulfs half of the liquid.

Almost immediately do the cracks start to retreat from her face. Krystal and I look at each other ecstatically. Then her face contorts strangely. Her hand drops the glass bottle. The bottle shatters as it hits the ground.

“Krystal! What’s wrong!?” I frantically ask as my hands grip her arms.

Krystal looks at me, her eyes wide and mouth unable to utter a sound. The cracks start to reappear. The black lines spread across her body at an alarming rate. Soon, in just a matter of seconds, Krystal is once again plagued with the cracks.

“I love you-“ Krystal shakily says.

Her body disperses into a pile of sand. I drop down onto my knees and hug the clothes that once were Krystal's. I cry and cry into the pieces of fabric.

“I love you …”

Thanks to everyone who've read this story and sorry for the mediocre ending... 

Check out my other stories. I'll be editing my Chiropteran story for now... So, thanks for reading.