The deeper Yeon-ah and Juna ventured into the fortress, the colder and darker it became. The stone walls seemed to close in, growing narrower with each step. What had once been a subtle unease now felt like a suffocating weight pressing against their bodies. The whispers that had haunted Yeon-ah earlier were no longer faint echoes; they were louder, more defined, dangerously close, as though the walls themselves were speaking directly into her ears.
Juna clung to Yeon-ah's side, her body trembling. "Yeon-ah… this place… it feels like it's watching us."
Yeon-ah tightened her grip on her sword, her knuckles white with tension. "I know. But we have to keep moving. She's here somewhere."
Though Yeon-ah's voice remained firm, doubt gnawed at the edges of her thoughts. The woman—her mentor—was deeper inside this cursed place, but the whispers and shifting shadows of the fortress were growing more intense, and Yeon-ah couldn't shake the feeling that the fortress was playing tricks on them. Was the woman really still here? Or had the fortress already claimed her?
The walls seemed to hum, vibrating with something unearthly, and the air grew colder with each step, sharp and biting against their skin. Yeon-ah stole a glance at Juna. The younger girl's lips were trembling, not just from fear but from the bone-chilling cold.
Suddenly, the floor beneath them shifted. The stone cracked with a loud, sickening noise, and before they could react, the ground crumbled beneath their feet.
"Run!" Yeon-ah shouted, grabbing Juna's arm as the floor caved in.
They barely made it to the other side, stumbling onto solid ground as the floor behind them collapsed into a dark, yawning chasm. The darkness below seemed to stretch endlessly, swallowing everything that fell. Dust and debris rained down around them, but the whispers never stopped.
"W-what was that?" Juna gasped, clutching her chest as she struggled to catch her breath.
"It's this place," Yeon-ah muttered, helping Juna stand. "It's alive… or something worse."
The air had grown thick and oppressive, the fortress pulsing as if it had a heartbeat. Every breath Yeon-ah took felt heavier than the last, like the fortress itself was suffocating her, drawing her deeper into its clutches. But she wouldn't stop. She couldn't.
They moved further down the narrow corridor, carefully navigating the treacherous ground, and soon came upon an archway that opened into a vast chamber. The ceiling stretched far above them, vanishing into darkness, and the walls were lined with intricate carvings and symbols that glowed faintly in the dim light.
In the center of the room, something shimmered—a pool of liquid blackness, still and unnerving. It reflected no light, as if it absorbed everything around it. The air was colder here, and the whispers were louder, almost deafening.
"What… is that?" Juna whispered, her voice barely audible over the noise.
Yeon-ah narrowed her eyes. "I don't know… but stay away from it."
As they edged around the pool, the whispers began to coalesce, the voices overlapping and repeating. "She is lost… deeper… take her… free us…"
Juna clutched Yeon-ah's arm, her breath shaky. "They're getting louder…"
Suddenly, from the far corner of the chamber, there was movement. A shadow detached itself from the wall, forming into a figure. Yeon-ah instinctively raised her sword, her eyes narrowing.
The figure stepped into the faint light. It was the woman—their mentor. But something was wrong.
Her movements were slow, almost mechanical, and her eyes were hollow, devoid of the cold sharpness they once held. Her face was pale, almost ghostly, and her skin had taken on an eerie, translucent quality, as if she were no longer fully human.
"Mentor…" Yeon-ah's voice faltered. Her heart raced, pounding against her chest as she struggled to process what she was seeing.
Juna backed away, terror etched on her face. "What… what's wrong with her?"
Yeon-ah took a hesitant step forward, her sword trembling in her grip. "She's not… herself."
The woman's head turned slowly, her lifeless eyes locking onto Yeon-ah's. Her voice, when it came, was cold and distant, a hollow echo of what it once was. "You… should have left."
Yeon-ah's stomach twisted. Is this what the fortress does? Does it take people and… twist them into something else?
The woman's movements were unnatural, jerky, as though she was being controlled by invisible strings. She raised her hand, and the whispers in the room surged, growing into a cacophony of voices, each one overlapping with the next. The fortress trembled around them, the ground shaking beneath their feet.
"We… we have to run!" Juna cried, her voice trembling with panic.
But Yeon-ah didn't move. She couldn't leave her mentor like this. There has to be a way to save her.
The woman took another step toward them, and this time, her face twisted into a grotesque imitation of a smile, her lips curling in a way that seemed inhuman. "You cannot… save her."
The words echoed in Yeon-ah's mind, filling her with dread. But she gritted her teeth, refusing to accept it. She raised her sword higher, her voice steady. "I'm not leaving you."
The woman's smile faded, and for a brief moment, her hollow eyes flickered—just for an instant, Yeon-ah saw something. Recognition. Pain. It was fleeting, but it was there.
"I can't… stop…" the woman whispered, her voice cracking as though fighting against something unseen. Her body shuddered, and the fortress around them groaned, as if reacting to her struggle.
Yeon-ah stepped forward, her heart pounding. "Fight it! You're stronger than this!"
The woman faltered, her face twitching as though the fortress's hold over her was slipping. Her hollow eyes flickered with life, just for a moment, and her lips trembled as if she were trying to speak.
"Yeon-ah..." Her voice was faint, barely audible, but it was enough to send a jolt of emotion through Yeon-ah's chest. There was recognition in those eyes, a glimmer of the woman Yeon-ah once knew.
Yeon-ah reached out, her voice desperate. "I can help you, just hold on—"
Suddenly, the fortress roared, a deafening sound that shook the walls and the ground beneath them. The woman's body jerked violently, as though something within her had snapped, and her eyes went blank once more. The moment of recognition was gone, and she was once again a puppet, her movements controlled by the dark forces within the fortress.
With a twisted snarl, the woman lunged toward Yeon-ah with unnatural speed. Yeon-ah barely had time to react, her sword clashing against her mentor's, the force of the blow sending a sharp pain through her arms.
"She's stronger… faster. What did this place do to her?" Yeon-ah thought, gritting her teeth as she fought to keep her mentor at bay.
"Yeon-ah!" Juna screamed from behind, her voice filled with terror.
Yeon-ah blocked another vicious strike, her heart heavy with grief and frustration. This isn't her. This isn't who she was. But deep down, Yeon-ah knew the truth: whatever the fortress had done, it was slowly consuming her mentor, piece by piece, and the woman she had known was slipping away.
But just as Yeon-ah began to waver, the woman faltered again. Her movements slowed, and for the briefest moment, her eyes softened. "Help... me," she whispered, her voice weak, but unmistakably her own.
Yeon-ah's heart clenched. She's still in there. Somewhere.
Before Yeon-ah could act, the fortress surged again, the dark power swallowing the woman's last plea for help. Her eyes went dead once more, and she attacked with renewed fury, driving Yeon-ah back toward the edge of the chamber.
"I'm not giving up on you," Yeon-ah whispered, her voice filled with determination, even as she struggled against the relentless assault.
But the woman was no longer listening, and the fortress had her now.