"Ugh!"

Myungsoo's body flew across the room like a baseball until he collided into the walls. He threw back his head, crashing his head against the broken walls. Out from his shadow, the same sigbin popped out, opening its mouth and and biting his hand, grinding its fangs against the wrist. Myungsoo used his other hand to punch the sigbin, and the creature disappeared back into the shadows.

He panted and looked at his hand, noticing that the creature had bitten deep into his skin. He looked around for an exit, but felt his whole body stiffen. He groaned and widened his eyes, trying to gasp for air. His body began to twist and turn in strange directions, as if his veins were now the bones that controlled his movement. 

Damn it, Myungsoo cursed, rolling his eyes towards the shadowed figure. I'm not in a very good situation…

"Hm. You weren't much of a threat," Yoseob murmured, his lips.

"I'm not very threatening," Myungsoo managed to choke out.

"It's true. You're not." Yoseob moved his fingers around, forcing Myungsoo to move his body according to the vampire's movements. "How disappointing. It'd be very easy to kill you."

"Then kill me," Myungsoo said, smirking. "I'm not afraid of dying."

"Strange. I want to kill you, but I can't," Yoseob muttered.

"Why not? Are you a coward?" Myungsoo asked. He gasped in pain when he felt his veins twist and turn. He looked into Yoseob's cold, dark eyes.

"Don't make fun of me," Yoseob hissed. 

"Then kill me."

"I refuse."

"Why?"

"I thought you were going to put on a show for me, but it seems like you're not. Killing you off and bringing you to the Council is too easy. There must be something that the Councils saw in you that made them think that you're a threat," Yoseob muttered. "You're pathetically weak and don't even deserve the title of a Wanted One."

Myungsoo remained quiet. It's true. Naeun and I aren't much of a threat besides the fact that we're with Jieun. Taemin, maybe, but I know for sure that there's no reason for Mino to be on the list. He narrowed his eyes. So what's really going on?

Yoseob, as he examined Myungsoo's expression, smiled. The sigbin crawled out of Yoseob's shadow and crawled into his sleeves. 

"It looks like you're quite confused, too," Yoseob said. He moved his fingers, making Myungsoo hitch his breath and get up. "Well, this looks like a perfect opportunity to test you."

"Test me? What the hell are you talking about?" Myungsoo asked.

"I mean, let's experiment," Yoseob said. He snapped his fingers.

At first, Myungsoo wasn't sure what was going on. However, at the corner of his eyes, he saw his shadow being detached from him. Myungsoo widened his eyes when his shadows began to mimic the actions of being strangled, choked, and tortured. Myungsoo looked back Yoseob, whose eyes—for some reason—turned red as it continued to look at Myungsoo's fallen shadow.

As his shadow began to show signs of agony, Myungsoo suddenly felt his blood run cold. He slowly shivered, and eventually fell to the ground without any cushion. He slammed his head against the floor, unable to think or utter out a sound. His vision began to blur, and every time he closed his eyes, he'd see a flash of terror running in his field of vision. He tried to stay awake, but his saw Yoseob walk over to him.

"I will see you in darkness," Yoseob whispered. Without a moment of pause, Yoseob saved his hand over Myungsoo's eyes, forcing them to close as he began to see the horrifying scenes that his shadows seemed to see. 

Mino calmly observed the black and white area standing before him. There were no shades in between the colors: either something was black, or something was completely white. There didn't see to be anyone walking on the road, and from the colorful side, no one seemed to even look at the other side.

Hoseok and Chanyeol squeezed him in between their arms, trying to act chummy with him.

"Are you going in?" Hoseok asked.

"Will you go in?" Chanyeol inquired.

"I'm going in," Mino answered. He turned to the two. "Thank you for your help."

He gave them a small smile and stepped across the line. As soon as he stepped through the boundaries, he felt a wave of cold air rushing around him. His heart began to feel heavy, and he could feel the corner of his lips inching away, turning into a small, dull frown. A wave of depression and despair overlapped him, causing him to feel lonely and dead in the inside.

"How is it?" Chanyeol asked.

He turned around, just enough so that he could see them, but not show them his deep frown.

"Is it okay?" Hoseok questioned.

"It's perfect," Mino murmured. I can't show them my frown, or else they won't help me.

"What do we get in return?" Hoseok asked.

Mino paused. "Excuse me?"

"We want something, too!" Chanyeol exclaimed.

A cold shiver ran down Mino's spine. He could see their long, empty eyes that seemed to tremble with insanity. Their smile no longer looked friendly; Mino could see their hardened expression more clearly now that he had some space to examine the two.

"What would you, um, want from me?" Mino asked them carefully.

"Creator, when will you destroy the world?" Chanyeol suddenly asked.

Creator? Mino thought long and hard about the particular word. If I remember, Jieun told me something about the Creator of this world. How do these people know about this?

"Creator, will you show us a sample of your godly powers?" Hoseok asked.

"Look, I'm not the Creator," Mino said quickly.

"Creator, you need not to lie to us!" Chanyeol exclaimed. Mino started to take note of the strange way they started to speak.

"Creator, we understand your duty to destroy this pathetic world! Tell us, who are the ones to stay and who are the ones to live?" Hoseok pleaded.

"Creator!"

"Creator!"

"Stop!" Mino shouted, glaring at them. "I don't know what in the world you guys are talking about."

The two men became strangely quiet. When Mino thought that he was done talking to them, he turned around and began to walk deeper into the black-and-white city. However, after a few steps into the city, he stopped when he heard mutters behind him. The mutters were close enough to the point where he thought that there were people standing right behind him. 

He slowly turned his head, then gasped as he tried to make some more distance between Chanyeol and Hoseok, who had followed him into the forbidden area. The two finally lost their smiley masks and began to show a more corrupted expression. Their eyes sparkled with insanity while their hands tried to reach for Mino.

"You are the Creator," the two chanted. "You are the one who created everything, the one who will destroy the world. We have read your holy inscriptions. You are the Creator!"

Damn, got to run! Without another thought, Mino turned around and began to dash further into the area, hoping to find shelter from the creepy men while finding some answers to the strange world's history.

Eventually, he ran into a random house, hoping to hide from the two. From the window, he could hear foot steps and the two men mutter, "Creator, creator, creator."

He held his breath, hoping that none of them noticed him inside the house. He waited for a couple of minutes until he felt that it was safe enough to let out a sigh of relief. Without a moment of hesitation, he went through the houses and closed all the windows, locking the doors to make sure that the two men wouldn't come inside.

What the freak was that? he wondered. They didn't look like they were in the right state of mind…

Mino paused, then looked around. His eyes widened and he gasped when he saw a room filled with books sitting on the shelves. He slowly walked into the small library, then reached for one of the books. Right when he touched one of the books, it collapsed and lost its shape, turning into colorless sand. He blinked his eyes, then swiped his fingers across the shelves, testing the books. The entire row of books were made of sand and nothing more.

He continued to run his fingers across the shelves until his fingers stopped at one particular book. He paused, touched the rim of the book, but it didn't turn to sand. He took a second to look around before pulling the book out from the shelf. After another moment of pause, he finally opened the book, ready to consume the knowledge that it had to offer.

The book opened, but so did the dust and sand collected in it. He coughed for a few minutes, waving his hand and trying to clear away the murky air. Then, he looked down at the texts, familiarizing himself with the language. He looked around once more, checking to see if anyone was nearby. When he believed that he was safe, he skimmed through the books, absorbing all the knowledge that the pages could offer in the limited time he had before the two strange men would find him and enchain him to their delusional state.

Jieun froze in the middle of the colorful streets, confused and not sure where to go. No matter how many times she looked at her surroundings, she couldn't tell which direction would lead her to either Myungsoo or Mino. She tried to ask people if they had seen Myungsoo or Mino, but no one seemed to have an answer for her.

From behind, she heard the army march into the town, stomping their feet against the ground. Jieun gulped nervously and tried to blend in with the crowd as much as she could while scurrying away from the stomps.

It was terrifying being alone in such a strange world. There were so many colors and so many different shades of light—everything looked like it should be brighter, but for some reason, it didn't look like a very bright town. Rather, the colors looked threatening, as if they had a strange tone on purpose to make her stand out. It was like the colors were pointing at her, screaming to the world that she was here, hiding in the midst of the smiley crowd.

Now that I think about it… Jieun stopped walking as she examined everyone. Why is everyone smiling?

She gasped when she felt the ground shake. She quickly walked into a random building, which she later discovered was a small shop. She wasted no time and asked the shop keeper where the bathroom was located, to which he revealed that the bathroom was underground. 

"I don't recommend that you go use the restroom now," the shop keeper said. "The Council's Court might barge in."

"It's perfectly fine," Jieun assured him. "I'll be quick."

She walked over to a door and climbed down the stairs, heading to the basement of the shop. She opened the door to the woman's bathroom and closed the door behind her. Just from below, she could feel the thunderous stomps from above, and she knew by heart that the army was coming down for her.

Jieun closed her eyes and clasped her hands together. "Just once…Just once! I just need this wish to happen once…"

I wish to be where Myungsoo is! Jieun pleaded. I wish that I was where Myungsoo is! Please send me to where Myungsoo is! 

Gold shimmers fell from her folded hands. Jieun opened her eyes, then sighed in relief when she saw that the golden specs started to surround her, glowing with a beautiful yellow shimmer. She closed her eyes and squeezed her hands closer, believing that she had regain her powers back.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in an absolute black void. Her eyes widened when she realized that she wasn't even in the colorful town anymore. When she looked down at her feet, she wasn't even sure if she was standing on something. Everything was pitch black to the point where she was afraid to walk. She stood still, paralyzed, looking around for some sign of Myungsoo.

The moment she turned around, she saw a hazy grayish blackish figure. She was about to scream, but the figure raised its finger and placed it against where his lips would be. Jieun, still pale, continued to stare at the dark figure, noticing that it was some sort of shadow. The shadow belonged to the darkness; it was as if it was attached to the blackness of the space. Not only did she see the shadow, but she started to recognize the familiar outlines. 

"Myung…soo?" Jieun whispered.

The figure nodded its head. 

"Can you not talk?" she asked.

Myungsoo's shadow shook his head.

"Wait, what's going on? Where am I?" Jieun asked.

The shadow paused, unsure of what to do. He kind of waved his hands in the air, but realized that without words, he wasn't able to explain the situation. The two stared at each other for a long time, trying to figure out a way to communicate properly.

A second later, Jieun snapped her finger. "Oh, I know! Let's hope this work…"

I wish that this shadow in front of me can communicate and speak with me…!

The golden glitter fell from her prayer and swirled around the shadow. The glitter twirled around the shadow until it swooped inside the face of the shadow. For a second, the dark figure tumbled backwards, shocked at the brilliant light that just went inside his mouth. Once the golden light dimmed down, the dark figure touched his throat, rubbing it and trying to speak.

"J…J…Ji…Jieun!" Myungsoo's shadow exclaimed.

"So you really are Myungsoo!" Jieun exclaimed, recognizing Myungsoo's voice. "What happened to you?"

"The Council of the Fifth Court did this to me!" Myungsoo cried out.

"Okay, but where are we? I was being followed by the Council's Court, so I wished to come to where you are."

Myungsoo remained oddly quiet before speaking. "I don't know where I am."

Jieun frowned. "What?"

"Jieun, I don't know if you noticed or not, but I'm not exactly 'Myungsoo.' I am just a mere reflection of him," Myungsoo said.

"Then where is Myungsoo…?" Jieun asked.

"I'm not sure. At this very moment, I am stuck in this world."

"But I wished to be where Myungsoo is, not his mere reflection."

The shadow paused before continuing. "It seems like I'm the most conscious 'Myungsoo,' which is why your wish sent you to me."

"What do you mean?"

"It's possible that you wished to be with my 'self' rather than with my 'body.' In short, it seems as if you wished to be with my soul instead of my physical appearance."

"So technically my wish answered my wish, but at the same time, it technically didn't, right?"

"Assuming that you didn't wish to be where my body is," Myungsoo explained.

"I see." Jieun paused, before looking back at him. "What did you mean that you were just a 'reflection' of Myungsoo?"

"I'm not sure how I can explain it, but I'm not exactly 'Myungsoo' himself. It's more like I'm just a part of him?" The shadow looked down at its hand. "I don't feel any power in me. I just feel…empty. It's like I exist, but at the same time, I'm nonexistence."

"So you're just like a puppet?" Jieun asked.

"I guess."

"So how do I get you out of here?" she asked him.

"I'm not too sure. I don't really know about the Council of the Fifth Court. Naeun might know something."

Jieun faked a small laugh. "Um, you know, about that…"