Sunmi found her self standing in the middle of a deserted street . A row of streetlight stretched into the darkness, their dull yellow light barely piercing the darkness. But one of the lights,Just one,flickered erratically. Casting a brief shadow that danced across the cracked pavement.
Beneath the flickering light, a man squatted his back turned to her. His posture was strange , unnatural, as if he had been frozen mid- motion.
A chill ran down her spine .
She swallows and took a cautious step forward.
"Hello?" Her voice echoed slightly , swallowed by the emptiness around her. "Who's there?"
No response.
She took another step. The man remained still.
Then, slowly he turned his head . Sunmi's breath caught her throat . His face was dead. Rotten. Flesh peeled away in places , revealing dark, decayed muscle and bones.
Her body locked in place , frozen in fear.
Then he moved , without warning lunged at her .
Sunmi barely had time to react before she fell backwards. The man's cold rotten fingers rapped around her ankle , and a scream tore from her throat.
Then-
She woke up.
Sunmi gasped , her body drenched in sweat. Her heart ponded violently, her breaths came in short panicked bursts.
It was just a dream.
But when she sat up and looked down at her leg, her stomach dropped.
A handprint.
Dark ,unmistakable , burned into her skin like a ghostly brand.
Her breath hitched. Her fingered trembled as she reached to touch it. The moment her fingertips touched the mark, a searing pain erupted up her arm.
She hissed, jerking up her arm, her eyes widened in horror.
Right before her eyes letters began to burn into her skin-HELP TOLU- each letter searing into her flesh as if carved by an invisible blade .
The pain was brief but unbearable, a scorching agony that vanished as quick as it had come. The skin on her arm was smooth again, as if nothing had happened.
A voice cut through the silence, making her jolt.
"Miss Sunmi, it's time for school." A maid called out from outside her room door .
Her heart was still racing, she looked at her leg and the hand print was still there.
LATER THAT DAY
Sunmi was still shaken by the events of the morning. The handprint on her leg , the burning words on her arm, it was too much to ignore. She needed answers. She needed someone who knew about magic .
But that was the problem.
The only people she knew who understood magic she wasn't exactly on talking terms with.
And she knew what she had to do . She needed to apologize.
All day at school ,her thoughts were on how to approach Moses . She kept sneaking glances at him , her mind racing with different ways to start a conversation.
She didn't even realize how much she was staring until.....
"Why are you looking at him like that?"
Sunmi blinked, snapping out of her thoughts. Eamon was watching her, his arms crossed, his eyes sharp.
"What?" She asked . Playing dumb.
"You've been staring at him all day." Eamon said flatly , his lips pressing into a thin line. "Why?"
For a second , she considered lying , but there was no point .
"Well , before i meet you, Moses and I use to be friends . I mean we were friends since we were little, you know family friends and stuff . But we had a huge fight." Sunmi sighed.
She didn't say what the fight was about, and Eamon didn't press , but the tension in his shoulder didn't fade.
Then a slow smirk spread across Sunmi's face. "Wait…are you jealous?"
Eamon scoffed . "Jealous? Of him ? Please."
She leaned closer her eyes twinkling. "You totally are."
"I'm not."
"You so are."
Eamon rolled his eyes, but she could she see him blush.
LATER THAT DAY
Sunmi took a deep breath and stepped toward Moses. She had spent the entire day hyping herself up for this moment, but now that she was here, face-to-face with him, the words felt heavy in her throat.
Moses glanced up at her, clearly surprised that she had approached him at all. His expression remained neutral, but she could tell he was wary.
"I need to talk to you," she said, shifting awkwardly. "And… I need to apologize."
Moses raised an eyebrow. "Apologize?"
She cleared her throat. "Yeah. You know, for… throwing you across the parking lot and all that."
A small, amused smile twitched at the corner of his lips, but he didn't say anything.
Sunmi continued. "I was angry. And I might have—just a little bit—overreacted when I found out you wiped my memory."
Moses let out a dry chuckle. "Overreacted? Sumi, you literally launched me like a ragdoll."
"Okay, maybe more than a little," she admitted. "But you have to admit, what you did was messed up."
Moses sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I honestly didn't expect you to forgive me that easily." He looked at her seriously. "I know your heart is bitter, Sunmi. You just discovered magic, and the first thing your so-called friends did was make you forget. I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to talk to me again."
Sunmi held his gaze, considering his words. "I'm still mad," she admitted. "But right now, I need your help."
Moses crossed his arms. "With what?"
She glanced around, making sure no one was listening, then leaned in slightly. "Have you noticed that Tolu's been acting weird ever since Emeka went missing?" she asked in a hushed voice. "And… be honest with me. Is his disappearance a supernatural thing?"
Moses' expression darkened. He hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "Yeah," he said finally. "I think the vampires are behind it."
Sunmi's stomach dropped. "What?"
"The problem is, they keep denying it," Moses continued. "But Tolu doesn't believe them. That's why she testified against them."
Sunmi frowned. "Testified?"
Moses exhaled sharply. "I should probably explain." He looked around, then gestured for her to follow him to a quieter spot. Once they were alone, he spoke.
"My dad is the president of the Council of Magic," he said.
Sunmi blinked. "The what?"
"The Council of Magic. It's an organization that protects the secret of the magical world, makes sure things don't spiral out of control," he explained. "They're the ones who keep the balance between magical and non-magical people. And my dad runs it."
Sunmi stared at him, trying to process the information. "So… what does that have to do with Emeka?"
"The council is involved in the investigation. But it's complicated. There's no solid proof that the vampires took him, and without proof, they can't just attack."
Sunmi ran a hand through her hair, feeling overwhelmed. "And that's why you wiped my memory? Because of the council?"
Moses hesitated. "Partly." He looked down, guilt flashing in his eyes."I panicked. I did what I thought I had to do."
Sunmi studied him for a long moment. She could see the regret in his eyes.
She sighed. "You're an idiot."
Moses let out a small laugh. "Yeah. I know."
Sunmi took a deep breath before continuing. "There's something else you need to know," she said, her voice quieter now. "Ever since I found out about magic, my mind has been all over the place. But this… this is different."
Moses narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
Sunmi hesitated, then pushed forward. "During the excursion, before Emeka went missing, I had a vision." She swallowed hard. "I saw Emeka's dead body on the floor. Someone in black was screaming over him, trying to bring him back with dark magic."
Moses' body tensed. "You're sure?"
"Yes," Sunmi said. "And that's not the only thing." She hesitated, her fingers tightening into fists. "I had another vision this morning. A nightmare, actually."
Moses waited, his expression unreadable.
Sunmi exhaled. "I was on an empty street. There was this man squatting with his back to me. When he turned…" She shuddered. "His face was rotten. Dead. He grabbed me, and when I woke up, his handprint was on my leg."
Moses' face darkened.
"And then…" Sunmi pulled back her sleeve, showing him her arm. "The words 'Help Tolu' burned into my skin. It disappeared as quickly as it came, but I felt it."
Moses stared at her, clearly unsettled.
Sunmi looked him in the eyes. "The energy I felt from the zombie in my dream—it was the same as the crying person from my first vision. Like they were connected somehow."
Moses exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples. "Okay. This is bad."
"You think?" Sunmi said, crossing her arms. "Moses, I don't know what to do. And I don't even know how to approach Tolu after everything."
Moses shook his head. "We need to think carefully about this."
Sunmi frowned. "Why?"
Moses leaned forward. "Because something doesn't make sense. The vampires are denying any involvement in Emeka's disappearance, right?"
Sunmi nodded.
"Well, they went to the council to testify," Moses said. "Tolu swore that when she and Emeka were together, the vampires attacked. She said they tripped her, knocked her unconscious, took Emeka, and placed an anti-magic barrier so she couldn't fight back."
"Okay… so that proves they took him," Sunmi said.
"That's what we thought," Moses said. "The chronoscape—a device that shows memories—confirmed it. It showed the vampires taking Emeka."
Sunmi blinked. "So what's the problem?"
Moses hesitated. "Before questioning the vampires, we put truthweed in their water. It forces people to tell the truth, no matter what. And when we interrogated them… they were telling the truth."
Sunmi stared at him. "What?"
"They genuinely believe they didn't take Emeka ," Moses said. "Which means either the chronoscape is lying… or something else is going on here. Something we don't understand."
Silence hung between them.
Sunmi's hands clenched into fists. "So what do we do?"
Moses exhaled. "That's the problem. We have no idea."
2:50pm
After wrestling with her thoughts all day, Sunmi finally gathered the courage to approach Tolu. She had to do this—no more running away.
She found Tolu in the art studio, sitting in front of a half-finished painting, her brush moving in slow, deliberate strokes. The air smelled of paint and damp canvas, and the soft hum of a nearby fan filled the room.
Sumi stepped inside cautiously. "Hey, Tolu…"
Tolu stiffened but didn't turn.
Sunmi sighed and took a step closer. "Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I overreacted. I—"
"You overreacted?" Tolu cut in, finally turning to face her. There was anger in her eyes, but beneath that, something else—hurt. "You almost killed me Sunmi. You left all alone and went to Mirabel. And now that Mirabel is broken and doesn't even remember shit ,now you're coming back?" She scoffed, shaking her head. "Please."
"Well it's not like it was totally my fault I acted that way " Sunmi said.
"I don't want to hear it," Tolu snapped, standing up. She grabbed her bag and started toward the door.
Sunmi panicked. She wasn't about to let her walk away—not this time. With a flick of her fingers, she used her telekinesis to lock the door.
Tolu stopped in her tracks. "Open it."
"Not until we talk."
Tolu turned slowly, her expression darkening. "You think just because you're psychic now, you can overpower me?" She stepped closer. "I've had magic long before you even knew magic existed. So don't act like you're some big deal."
Sunmi swallowed hard, but she held her ground. "Tolu, something is happening to you. I can feel it."
Tolu let out a frustrated breath. "I don't have time for this." She turned back to the door.
Desperate, Sunmi reached out and grabbed Tolu's wrist.
The moment their skin touched, a jolt of energy surged through Sunmi, slamming her backward across the room. She hit the wall with a thud, her breath knocked out of her.
Tolu didn't even look back. She simply unlocked the door with a flick of her fingers and walked out.
Sunmi lay there, stunned.
Her heart pounded. Her fingers trembled as she pushed herself up. What just happened?
And then it hit her—the vision.
The second she had touched Tolu, it had flashed through her mind.
Tolu, wrapped in dark magic. Tolu, killing him.
And that energy—the same darkness she had felt from the crying person in her vision. The same darkness from the zombie. Which means the person who was crying was Tolu
Sunmi's breath caught in her throat.
Tolu killed Emeka .
And somehow, she was connected to the zombie.
3:00pm
Sunmi's hands were still shaking as she made her way across the school, searching for Moses.
She spotted him near the library, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, deep in thought.
"Moses," she called, her voice urgent.
He looked up, immediately sensing something was wrong. "What happened?"
Sunmi grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward a quiet corner. She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "I need to tell you something. But first, you have to swear—swear—that you won't tell anyone. Not your father, not the council. No one."
Moses hesitated, his eyes narrowing. "Sunmi , you know I can't promise that if it's—"
"Just promise me," she interrupted, gripping his wrist tighter. "We have to figure this out first before anyone else gets involved."
Moses studied her for a moment, then sighed. "Fine. I swear. Now tell me."
Sunmi exhaled, trying to calm her pounding heart. "It's Tolu," she whispered. "She killed Emeka."
Moses froze. "What?"
"I had another vision," Sunmi explained, her voice shaking. "When I touched her, I saw it. She was covered in dark magic, Moses. It was like the same darkness I felt from the crying woman. The same energy from the zombie. It's all connected."
Moses ran a hand over his face, looking troubled. "Tolu wouldn't just—Sunmi, are you sure?"
"Yes," she said firmly. "I don't know how or why, but the Dark Magic —whatever it is—it's inside her. And if we don't do something, she's going to lose herself completely."
Moses was silent for a long moment. Then he muttered, "Shit."
Sunmi nodded. "Yeah."
Moses sighed. "Okay. We need a plan. If the Dark Magic took possession of Tolu, there has to be a way to break its hold. But we have to be careful. If the council finds out, they'll see her as a threat."
Sunmi's stomach twisted at the thought. "That's why we have to fix this ourselves."
Moses nodded. "Alright. First, we need to figure out how the Dark Magic got to her in the first place."
"And why it made her kill Emeka," Sumi added.
They exchanged a tense look.
This was bigger than they had thought.