The air was suffocating. The darkness that engulfed the studio felt alive, pressing against them with an oppressive weight. Maya and Mr. Park stood back-to-back, their breaths shallow as the whispers seemed to circle them like predators.
"Felix?" Maya called out into the void, her voice trembling. "If you're here, please… help me."
For a moment, there was silence. Then, from the shadows, a figure emerged. It was Felix. Or at least, it looked like him. His form was pale and translucent, his eyes glowing faintly red. He moved with an unnatural fluidity, his footsteps soundless against the shattered glass.
"Maya," the figure said, its voice layered with Felix's familiar tone and something darker, more sinister. "You shouldn't have come here."
Maya stepped forward, tears welling in her eyes. "Felix, is it really you?"
The figure tilted its head, a sad smile playing on its lips. "Part of me," it said. "But the rest belongs to it."
"What do you mean?" she asked, her voice breaking. "What's happening to you?"
Felix's shadowed form flickered, his expression twisting with pain. "The curse isn't just a mark. It's a hunger. It took me when I sacrificed myself. Now I'm part of it—a puppet in its game."
Maya's heart shattered. "No, Felix. We can save you. We can end this."
Felix shook his head, his translucent form beginning to dissolve. "It's too late for me, Maya. But not for you. The door is opening. You have to stop it before it's too late."
Before Maya could respond, the darkness surged forward, swallowing Felix's form. The whispers turned into a deafening roar as the studio began to shake. The floor cracked beneath their feet, and from the void emerged a monstrous figure—the entity itself, fully manifested.
"You cannot defy me," it bellowed, its voice reverberating through the room. "Your bloodline is mine."
Mr. Park stepped forward, the sacred dagger in his hand. "Not today," he said, his voice steady despite the terror in his eyes.
The entity lunged, its shadowy tendrils reaching for Maya. She dodged, her heart pounding as she grabbed a shard of broken mirror. The reflection of her own terrified face stared back at her, but behind it, she saw Felix's shadow, his eyes pleading.
"Fight," he whispered.
Summoning every ounce of courage, Maya hurled the shard into the entity's form. It let out a bone-chilling screech as the mirror's reflection struck its core. Mr. Park followed up with a swift strike of the dagger, the blade glowing brightly as it pierced the entity's shadowy form.
The entity recoiled, its form unraveling like smoke. But even as it faded, its voice remained, a sinister promise: "This is just the beginning."