I placed the warp seal on the small wooden table as Mir entered our hotel room.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this Joon?” he asked.  I sighed heavily.

“I don’t have a choice Mir,” I replied.  It wasn’t just about saving Rain anymore… I had to do this for the fate of the world.  We put on the mystical armor I took from Byunghee’s house and I put the demonblade in the sheath on my hip.

“Let’s do this,” Mir said softly.  I put one hand on the warp seal and touched Mir’s shoulder with the other.  We closed our eyes and I focused on our destination… The Underworld.

I felt like I was spinning around violently.  My stomach was flipping and turning.  I felt like I was going to vomit when it finally stopped.  All I could smell was smoke and burning flesh as I opened my eyes.

We were standing on an old bridge.  There was no sunlight… if there was it was being eclipsed by the intense amount of smoke in the air.  The moon was visible, strangely enough, and it was slowly turning red.  Right in front of us was the enormous, sprawling castle.  It was in terrible shape.  The walls were burned and the windows were broken.  I tried to walk forward, but it was like I hit an invisible wall.  Mir could go forward though.  He took my hand and pulled me forward… It must’ve been what Seungho meant when he said I’d have to take Mir with me. 

“This place is horrible… we need to find your brother and get out as soon as possible,” Mir said anxiously.  I nodded as we walked up to the castle.  I pushed open the large metal door slowly and carefully, but it still made a loud creaking sound.  I had to force my hands to stop shaking as we walked inside.  The smell of death hit me in the face as soon as I stepped in the room.  We could hear an old record player in the distance, playing music from the 50’s. 

“Gackt has seen way too many horror movies,” I said to myself as we walked over to the winding staircase.

“Hang on,” Mir said, closing his eyes.  He stood there for a few seconds.

“What are you doing?”

“Connecting to the mind matrix… Gackt is keeping Rain in his dungeon. It’s on the lowest floor,”

“Of course,” I said as we began to descend the stairs.  It seemed like it took us forever to reach the bottom floor, which was blocked off by a gate.  Oddly… the gate wasn’t locked.  It was almost as if Gackt wanted us to come in.  I opened the gate and we walked in slowly.  A voice echoed from somewhere in the dungeon.

“Don’t be afraid… come on in,”

Mir looked at me… almost like he was silently begging me to turn back.  I couldn’t, I was determined to save Rain, and save humanity.   We walked further down the dark corridor, and came to a large room.  The ground was covered in dust, and broken pieces of what looked like bones. In the center of the room was a huge throne… where Gackt was sitting.

“Hello Joon… It’s been a while. I see you brought a friend,” he said with a sadistic grin.

“Where is he?” I demanded.  Gackt snapped his fingers and two, bone thin women with glowing eyes, brought Rain into the room.  I gasped when I saw him.  He was covered in blood and deep wounds. 

“J-Joon… You’re here.  You actually did it.  I’m so proud of you kid,” he said, with a blood stained smile.  Tears flowed down my face as I tried to run over to him… but I couldn’t move. 

“Tsk tsk, not so fast.  I still need him, so don’t think you’ll be taking him home,” Gackt laughed devilishly.  A bell tolled in the distance.

“What was that?” Mir asked.

“It’s time… the ritual can begin,” Gackt said, standing up and dismissing the two women.  I pulled the demonblade from its sheath.

“Let us go Gackt, or I swear I’ll kill you!” I threatened.  His eyes grew wide.  Without another word, his blue eyes turned bright red and Mir dropped to his knees.

“What… are you doing to me?” Mir asked as he writhed in pain.  The normal bluish-green glow of his hair and eyes, turned red.

“You were a fool to bring a demon into my palace Joon, even a halfbreed. I am the demon overlord, what made you think that I couldn’t control him?” Gackt said.  My mouth hung open as Mir stumbled over to Rain and grabbed him by the neck.

“Mir… don’t… please!” I pleaded.

“I… I can’t stop it Joon... I can’t help myself,”

“It looks like you have to make a choice Lee Joon… Kill your partner, or watch your partner kill your brother,” Gackt said. Although he was across the room, it sounded like he was whispering in my ear.

 My hand was trembling as I looked down at the demonblade…. I knew exactly what I had to do.

I walked over to Mir slowly and aimed the blade at his neck.  Gackt made sure he stayed perfectly still as I slit his throat. The blood flowed and he dropped to the ground.  His glowing hair, eyes and skin went dark.  I fought the urge to sob violently as I turned to face Gackt.

“There… I… I did it… Mir’s dead. Please, let us go… I’m begging you,” I said, a single tear falling from my eye.

“Let you go? I never said I’d let you go.  You can have a front row seat to the fall of mankind though… consider it a consolation prize,” Gackt replied.  At that moment I felt completely and totally helpless.  I’d just killed the person who had helped me reach this point, and that I was genuinely forming a bond with… and it was for nothing.

With a wave of his hand, Gackt sent me flying across the room, making me drop the demonblade in the process.  There was a strong force pinning me to the wall as he walked over to Rain.

“Let the ritual begin...”