Joy tries to return to her normal routine, but the memories of her friends' twisted faces and the figure they summoned haunt her. Every night, she feels a presence lurking in her dorm room, watching her. Strange things begin to happen around her—shadows move even when there's no one there, whispers drift through the air, and objects shift places on their own.
One night, as she studies alone in her room, she hears faint, rhythmic tapping on the window. It's late, and her room is on the third floor—no one could possibly be outside.
Joy: (whispering to herself) It's just my imagination… there's no one there.
She forces herself to ignore it, but the tapping grows louder and more insistent. Gathering her courage, she turns to face the window, only to see the faint outline of a face pressed against the glass, its hollow eyes staring back at her.
Joy: (gasping) No… this can't be real!
She stumbles back, but when she blinks, the face is gone. Heart pounding, she realizes that whatever they summoned that night isn't done with her. The darkness is still watching, waiting.
The following day, Joy receives a mysterious letter slipped under her door. The paper is old and faded, with strange, jagged writing scrawled across it.
Letter: "The shadows are bound to you, Joy. They crave your fear. Leave them behind, or they will consume you."
Chills run down her spine as she reads it. There's no signature, but she has a sinking feeling that Maya and the others are still trying to keep her bound to their pact, drawing her back into their twisted circle.
She decides to seek help from a campus counselor, Dr. Eze, hoping he can help her make sense of everything. But when she brings up the letter, he studies her with an unsettling expression, as if he knows more than he lets on.
Dr. Eze: (calmly) Joy, some people are drawn to the darkness, and some bring it with them. Be careful with the company you keep.
Joy leaves the office more disturbed than comforted. She realizes she's not just dealing with Maya and her group—there are forces at play on this campus that run deeper than she ever imagined.
Soon after, Joy learns that Liam, one of the members of Maya's group, has gone missing. Rumors spread around campus that he vanished without a trace, but Joy suspects it's tied to their rituals. She feels a mix of guilt and terror, wondering if the darkness they summoned took him as its first sacrifice.
Unable to ignore it, Joy sneaks into the old, abandoned library basement where they had once held a ritual. She's hoping to find some clue, some way to sever her connection to whatever dark force still haunts her.
As she steps inside, she feels a suffocating presence envelop her, as though unseen eyes are watching her every move. Dust-covered books and strange symbols cover the walls, remnants of the group's previous rituals. She hears a faint whisper calling her name, and chills prick her skin.
Whisper: (soft and eerie) Joy… join us… don't fight what you are…
Her heart pounds as she stumbles back, desperate to escape. She races up the stairs, but the whispers grow louder, the shadows closing in as if they're alive, clawing at her, pulling her back into the darkness.