"Good morning," said Kensei in a casual, somewhat cheery tone.
Junjie awoke to find himself in a dimly lit execution realm, chains binding him to a chair. He was surrounded by darkness and only a dim green light lit from above him.
"Hey, Junjie, you're about to be executed in 3... 2... 1,"
Without much time to think, Panic surged through Junjie as he struggled against his restraints, his mind racing.
This had to be some kind of mistake!!!
Before he could process the situation further, a storm full of swords came raining down all over his body.
---
**Chapter 1: Wake Up**
**October 30 **
The classroom buzzed with excitement as students eagerly discussed their Halloween plans.
"Hey, Junjie, are you coming to the haunted house with us?" Han-Sol asked, leaning over his desk with a wide grin.
Junjie looked up, hesitant. "I don't know. Haunted houses aren't really my thing..."
"Come on, it'll be fun! Plus, Ji-Eun's coming too," Han-Sol nudged, winking.
Ji-Eun, sitting across the room, rolled her eyes playfully. "Don't use me as bait, Han-Sol... Junjie, you should come. It's a tradition!"
Another classmate, Min-Jae, chimed in from the back, "Yeah, and I heard this year's haunted house is the scariest yet!"
Junjie sighed, a smile breaking through his reluctance. "Alright, you've convinced me. But if I die, I'm coming after you guys first."
Laughter filled the room as the students chatted and the class president wrote Junjie name's down as the last person to go to the haunted house.
——
"Let's make the girls scream tomorrow" and whisper behind the shoe locker next to where Junjie put his shoes.
"A little scare won't hurt. Hehe"
Junjie frowned "I'll just have to beat them up if the prank got out of hand"
As he headed for the exit, Mr. Lee, the PE teacher, caught up with him.
"Junjie, you've got a great arm. Sure you don't want to join the team?"
"Sorry, Mr. Lee. I'm just not interested," Junjie replied, eager to leave.
"But, Junjie at least come by the gym once, please. We could become national"
What do you mean "We"? You're already too old to join the national team Mr.Lee.
"Sorry sir, still not interested. I'll have to go now"
"Junjie-"
After saying that he hurried to paddle his bike to the hospital where his grandpa lay in a coma.
Sitting beside the bed, he spoke softly
"Hey, pop. When are you going to wake up huh?"
No answer, not that he was expecting anyway. His grandpa, his last relative, was diagnosed with a mysterious coma two years prior to his uncle's unexpected death. All that he has left now is the lingering to his last surviving family members, after his parents disappeared when he was too young to remember.
"When you wake up, we'll have a lot to catch up on. I might even consider joining the baseball team, who knows?Also you might recognize me now, but I have grown taller just like you wanted, don't get too surprised when you see me ok?"
Still the usual silence treatment
"I'm off now, don't sleep too much, grandpa?"
---
**Halloween Night**
The air was filled with a mixture of excitement and nervous anticipation as the students gathered at the forest's edge behind their countryside school. The class president, Soo-Yeon, adjusted her glasses and called out, "Alright, everyone! I declare our Halloween adventure officially started!"
"Is it really safe going into the forest?" Ji-Eun asked, hugging her arms. "It looks... spooky."
"Don't worry, Ji-Eun. The scariest thing right now is probably Tae-Hyun's grades," another girls jokes
Tae-Hyun, at the back with his gang, overheard and scowled.
"Very funny. Just wait till you see what we've planned." they giggled
After jumping over the school gate, the group ventured into the forest, led by Soo-Yeon, who confidently navigated with her map.
Junjie trailed at the back, his eyes darting between the dark trees and the mischievous gang.
They soon came to a dead end with two paths. Soo-Yeon consulted her map. "It says here we should go right."
Suddenly a strong light shone through to the left, lit up catching everyone's attention.
"Huh? The haunted house should be on the left, what are they doing?" Ms.president exclaimed
"Maybe the seniors changed the plan!" one of the bullies, already heading towards it, with his gang followed behind, trying to shake Junjie's monitor off their back.
"Wait!!, The haunted house is on the right!" Before she could stop them, they were already wandering off to the left side of the path already.
A moment later one of the guys shouted "Guys! Come here! There is an awesome tunnel in here!"
The group followed after to see what they were talking about. As they arrived, they saw a brightly lit cave omitting a mysterious golden light, shone through from the inside. The cave looked ancient with growing vine surrounding the entrance.
"Cool" everybody exclaimed
"The senior really did going all out this year"
Without too much thought the gang head into the light, exploring the spooky decoration that their senior prepared to scare them.
Something seems strange???
How many minutes was it ??
10? 15? Or 20?
The inside of the cave still continues to expand the move they walked toward it, in every track it looked the same as when they first saw it. Big, dark and straight path.
What happened?
"Guy, I don't think we should continue on" one of the girl said, breaking the silent
The group hesitated, glancing nervously at each other. The cave, once an exciting mystery, now loomed like a trap.
"Yeah, let's head back,"
They turned, expecting the comforting sight of the cave's entrance. Instead, an oppressive, inky darkness greeted them, identical to the path ahead. Whispers of fear began to ripple through the group.
"How is this possible?" Han-Sol muttered, his voice tinged with fear.
Junjie, already at the back of the group, reached out his hand and walked forward expecting to touch the open space, but instead, his nose bumped against something hard and unseen. He jerked back in surprise, his heart pounding.
"This... this is a dead end," he announced, disbelief lacing his voice. "But how?"
Panic started to set in, the students' eyes wide with fear.
We walked in a straight line! How can we be surrounded by walls!!
"Everybody, stay calm," Soo-Yeon tried to maintain order, but her voice wavered, betraying her own fear.
The group pressed on, their only choice is to move forward into the unknown. The oppressive darkness seemed to press in on them, the air growing colder, heavier.
Minutes passed—or were they hours?
Time seemed distorted, the cave's end nowhere in sight. All the students' phones, watches and electronic devices batteries ran out as soon as they noticed them.
Then, just as despair began to grip them once again, a faint outline appeared.
"A door!" Min-Jae exclaimed, relief washing over his face.
Rushing towards it, they found an ancient wooden door, its surface etched with strange symbols, an eerie glow emanating from the cracks. It stood incongruously in the middle of the cave, as if guarding the secrets of another world.
"Should we open it?" one boy asked, his voice barely above a whisper, as if afraid to disturb the silence that had enveloped them.
Soo-Yeon stepped forward, her hand hovering over the door's old iron handle. The air felt charged, the hairs on her neck standing on end. She exchanged a look with her class, who nodded slightly, her face set in determination.
With a deep breath, she grasped the handle, her heart pounding in her ears. The door creaked open, revealing only darkness beyond. A cold breeze swept through, carrying with it a faint, almost imperceptible whisper, as if the cave itself was breathing.
The group huddled together, peering into the abyss beyond the door. What lay ahead was unknown, but the fear of staying in the ever-expanding cave was greater.
"Let's go!"