Chapter 96: The Storm Within
The atmosphere was tense as Yun-ho and his allies walked away from the meeting with Garret and the upperclassmen. They had the support they needed, but Yun-ho felt uneasy. His mind kept drifting back to the Heart of Darkness inside him, gnawing at his thoughts. It was only a matter of time before its corruption would become too much to handle.
Nova walked beside him, her arms crossed, her gaze focused ahead. "So, what's the plan now?"
"We need to prepare," Yun-ho replied, trying to steady his voice. "The upperclassmen will help us, but we still need more information about the Heart. If Seraphine's right, and this wraith serves something older, then we're going into a fight without fully understanding what we're up against."
Ethan, trailing behind, chimed in, "We should probably focus on finding anything we can about this 'something older.' We're fighting blind otherwise."
The group continued their walk in silence for a few moments, the weight of the impending battle settling over them. It wasn't long before Anya broke the quiet, her voice casual, but with an underlying tension. "You've all noticed it, right? The way Yun-ho's been acting lately?"
Nova glanced at Yun-ho, her expression unreadable. Ethan frowned. "Yeah. Something's up. He's been... different."
Yun-ho felt the stares on him but said nothing. The Heart of Darkness had been affecting him more and more each day. His thoughts felt clouded, his emotions volatile. But he couldn't let them see how far he had already slipped.
"I'm fine," Yun-ho finally said, his voice harsher than he intended. "We don't have time to worry about that right now. We've got a mission."
Nova raised an eyebrow but didn't push the issue. She knew Yun-ho well enough to know when to let things go. But that didn't mean she wasn't concerned.
As they approached the academy's library, Seraphine spoke up, her tone quiet but firm. "If we're to face the Heart of Darkness, we need every advantage we can get. We need relics—powerful ones."
Yun-ho nodded in agreement. His hand subconsciously brushed against the Crimson Reaper chain sickle strapped to his back, the relic that had saved him more times than he could count. But would it be enough for what lay ahead?
Inside the library, they began their search. Scrolls and books were spread across the table, ancient texts that might hold the secrets they needed. But the deeper they dug, the more they realized how little they truly knew.
"The Forbidden City... The Heart's guardian," Nova muttered, flipping through a thick tome. "It's all connected, but the details are vague."
As they continued searching, Yun-ho's thoughts drifted again to his internal struggle. The darkness inside him was growing, and it wouldn't be long before it consumed him completely.
Suddenly, a cold shiver ran down his spine, and he felt a presence behind him. Slowly turning around, he saw a shadowy figure lingering near the door—an all-too-familiar wraith. Its hollow voice echoed through the library, "You still believe you can fight the darkness within?"
Yun-ho's hand instinctively tightened around the hilt of his relic. The battle, it seemed, would not wait for them to be ready.