"I can lend you my gift," Lilith's voice drifted through the shadows, like a whisper in the wind. Her form moved toward Seungcheol, ghostly at first, but gradually filling with color. Her face, framed by long, black hair, was strikingly familiar, an echo of something long lost. For a moment, he almost felt as though she could be his sister.

"You can have my gift," she murmured again, her voice soft but intoxicating, her breath almost ghosting against his shoulder.

"You're free, Lilith," he muttered, still almost too stunned to believe it. "You're no longer bound to that painting."

"Only if you accept me fully into your world," she replied, her voice taking on a haunting edge. "If you don't, I'll remain only a shadow."

Seungcheol halted, the thought of ending his father's life clinging to his mind, sharpened by Lilith's words. He studied her spectral form, watching as her outline wavered, shifting from vivid to blurred and back again, like something caught between this world and another.

It was unsettling—this surreal transformation. Part of him felt he should ask her more questions, but his thoughts were already turning toward his father's cold, ruthless gaze—the gaze he was determined never to see again.

As he turned to leave, Lilith's voice sliced through his thoughts. "You can't even touch a hair on his head as you are. You NEED my gift."

A gift? What gift? Seungcheol wondered, watching her spectral form. He didn't quite understand what she meant. It struck him as odd—she was the one who had emerged from a painting, brought to life by the strange forces within this house. What could she give him that he didn't already possess? If she could teach him stronger spells, that would be enough. He didn't dare expect more.

But then, aprubtly–

Power seeped into his veins at the thought, his magic pulsing against his grip on his wand. The heat in his hand seemed to burn and bubble, a slow simmering rage that demanded release. Destroy, his thoughts echoed. Destroy that man, down to his last breath, until Choi Jonghyun could never open his eyes again, never speak, never walk on this earth another day. Until his final bed was a coffin.

Images of destruction crowded his mind—raging flames, shattering walls, his father's reign crumbling to ash. He would end this once and for all.

"Say yes. Accept my gift, and I will be loyal to you," Lilith's voice cut through his thoughts, low and luring.

"Your words only deepen my confusion," he said, his voice edged with suspicion. Turning down the hallway, he noticed it stretching wider, the walls almost shifting with each step, the space seeming to warp. His footsteps echoed in the silence. He paused, casting a glance over his shoulder. "What did you do to the hallway?"

Lilith moved in front of him, her presence silent as a shadow. "I'm merely showing you what's possible," she murmured. "I need you to understand, Seungcheol. Without me, he's beyond your reach."

On any other day, her words might have bruised his pride. But tonight, a strange boldness simmered in him, stronger than he had ever felt.

"With this... gift you keep mentioning?" Seungcheol's voice was edged with skepticism, one eyebrow arched.

Lilith stepped aside, releasing the hallway from her enchantment, and it shifted back to its ordinary shape. Seungcheol watched the spell dissolve, feeling an unexpected, grudging admiration for her abilities. It shook something in him, nudging him closer to taking her seriously.

"You said you'd help me take down my father," he challenged, his gaze narrowed, studying her for any sign of deception. "Show me. Then we can discuss your gift."

Lilith's smile unfurled, delicate yet tinged with something sharper, almost predatory. The sweetness on her face was laced with cunning; he saw it gleam in her eyes, looking more foxlike than sweet, promising more than words could say.

Seungcheol didn't wait for an invitation; he followed her, every step taking him closer to his father's quarters. As they reached the door, Lilith slipped through the wall, her form trailing like smoke. Peering through the gap, he watched as she moved toward his father, who sat, statuesque, unaware of the danger looming.

Lilith's hands glided forward, ghostly and deliberate, as she covered Jonghyun's eyes. He jolted violently, a gasp ripping from his throat as he clawed at the empty air, his eyes wide beneath her invisible grip. "What... what is this?" he stammered, voice fraying into panic. "Why can't I see anything?... Ruby!" His hand darted out, desperately fumbling for his wand, but his fingers trembled and slipped uselessly, like a child's, before he crumpled to the floor in a twisted heap. "RUBYYYY!" he shrieked, his voice cracking, yet the scream was swallowed by the thick silence outside the heavy door, leaving only his frantic breaths reverberating around the dim room.

Seungcheol stepped into the room, his gaze lingering on Jonghyun's worn figure and the trembling fingers. This was the man who had meted out punishment, controlled his every move, made him suffer in silence. And here he was, fumbling, defeated.

It might be labeled a vice, but Seungcheol found himself unable to resist the twisted satisfaction he felt in his father's pain. This very satisfaction clouded his judgment, steering him toward a course he was now resolutely determined to pursue.

"Father," he said, a smirk curving his lips as he took in his father's fallen figure.

Jonghyun gasped as the darkness overwhelmed him, his voice lost in the void. His tongue felt parched, clumsy in his mouth. Trembling hands clawed at the carpet, desperate for something solid, anything to break through the encroaching blackness. He was blind—his world erased by an all-consuming shadow that seeped into his bones, sending a chill crawling down his spine. Panic surged, foreign and fierce, as if he were prey caught in the jaws of something merciless.

Seungcheol lowered himself, half-kneeling, watching his father's fear unfold. There was no pity in his gaze, only a grim satisfaction. He had expected resistance, maybe defiance—but seeing his father broken by terror alone was a reward.

The scent of cinnamon hung in the air, blending with the chill that seeped through from the snow falling outside. Only three candles flickered in Jonghyun's room—one on the desk, another on the nightstand, and a final one beside a vase of flowers by the door. Their dim glow was the room's only warmth on this winter night. Yet, despite the familiar shadows, an unmistakable terror had seized Jonghyun.

"Am I... blind?" he faltered, his voice trembling. "What did you do? Poison me???"

"I'm a wizard. Why would I need poison?" Seungcheol tilted his head, a faint, cruel smile playing on his lips. "There are countless ways I can make you suffer."

Jonghyun's collar was disheveled as he reached for his wand in a panic. But before he could grasp anything solid, Seungcheol uttered a spell, "Torchotis."

A sickening crack echoed in the room.

Jonghyun collapsed, his arm bent at an unnatural angle beneath him. He writhed on the floor, helpless in pain, while Seungcheol watched, unmoved, as his father was reduced to a broken figure on the ground.

"Father, do you remember?" Seungcheol's wand tapped against Jonghyun's shattered arm—cold, unyielding, and merciless. "You wanted me to master this spell. You forced me to practice on the birds in the garden, ordering me to break their wings, as if their suffering was a lesson in power. But I found that utterly repugnant. I healed their wings instead."

"Y-you–," Jonghyun gritted his teeth,"–you think you're so powerful?"

"Shhh... you shouldn't speak such nonsense right now," Seungcheol replied, pressing the wand's tip against Jonghyun's temple. "Divotis."

In an instant, the door to Jonghyun's mind swung wide open.

Seungcheol stood in a dark void shrouded in swirling black smoke. "Where do you keep the strongest spells? The most precious ones?" he demanded.

For a moment, silence reigned. Then–

The smoke began to swirl violently around him, spinning like a tornado as he found himself at the eye of the storm. Gradually, as the tempest subsided, the smoke cleared, revealing a transformed landscape in all four directions.

Seungcheol found himself standing in the center of a shadowy room, bookshelves lining both walls and a solitary desk positioned in the middle. There were no windows, and the air felt heavy with secrets.

"Where is this?" Seungcheol frowned, scanning the unfamiliar surroundings.

Suddenly, his gaze landed on a sheet of paper on the desk, where a signature caught his eye: Choi Jonghyun, neatly scrawled at the bottom. The contents of the document remained hidden, leaving Seungcheol to wonder what kind of secrets it contained.

"You have a secret office?" he mused aloud, a rhetorical question hanging in the air.

"Where is it? In the mansion or somewhere else?" As he posed this question, the lights flickered ominously, a clear sign of Jonghyun's resistance.

Seungcheol chuckled, relishing the sensation of wielding power in his father's world. He wandered among the wooden shelves, his eyes gazed at the leather and cloth spines of the books. In the depths of Jonghyun's mind, the atmosphere was infused with an unexpected blend of smoke and grass, far removed from the musty odors that lingered in a typical closed room.

When Seungcheol reached for the books, a sudden jolt of electricity shot through his fingertips, as if he had touched a live wire. The shock was sharp and unexpected, causing him to recoil instinctively, his heart racing. The sensation was like a surge of power coursing through him, making it painfully clear that not only was Jonghyun resisting the intrusion into his mind, but that Seungcheol himself lacked the strength to break through those defenses.

"Of course." Seungcheol felt no surprise at this revelation. At least he had discovered a way to exert control over Jonghyun; the next choice lay in his hands.

As he stepped through the door of Jonghyun's secret study, a completely different scene unfolded before him.

His mother. Sitting in a sunlit room, lost in the act of painting.

Seungcheol stood frozen, unable to move. His gaze was locked on the woman sitting by the window. The pale yellow light of an autumn afternoon bathed her hair and the brown dress she wore, casting an ethereal glow. Yet, there was something unsettling about the serenity—vague, almost artificial.

"It's not real," Seungcheol reminded himself, shaking off the illusion. He stepped past the beautiful, tranquil image of his mother, unwilling to linger in a moment that felt both haunting and strange.

Another door swung open, and the scene shifted dramatically, leaving Seungcheol stunned and gripped by a creeping sense of terror.

His mother. Sitting in an unfamiliar room. Her shoulders shaking as she sobbed into her hands, the sound of her grief echoing in the silence.

Before he could fully comprehend the heartbreak of the moment, the memory glitched violently.

His mother. Lying on the floor. Motionless.

The color drained from her cheeks, and her chest no longer rose and fell. She was no longer breathing.

A storm of fury erupted within Seungcheol, a blinding rage that clouded his thoughts and fueled his actions. He ripped himself free from Jonghyun's mind, the connection severing with a painful snap.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" Seungcheol roared, "WHAT DID YOU DO? WHAT—DID—YOU—DO?"

His heart raced, each word dripping with venom as he glared at Jonghyun, refusing to back down. Without waiting for a response, he aimed his wand at Jonghyun, his voice trembling with fury as he shouted, "VEXIOR! VEXIOR! VEX—"

Breaking. Burning. Breaking. Burning. Breaking. Burning. Breaking. Burning. Breaking. Burning. Breaking. Burning. Breaking. Burning. Breaking. Burning. Breaking. Burning. Breaking. Burning. Breaking. Burning. Breaking. Burning.

"VEXIOR. VEXIOR." until his throat was sore.

Seungcheol couldn't bring himself to acknowledge anything beyond the revulsion that washed over him after torturing Jonghyun. Beneath his rage simmered a deep-seated hatred, and not a trace of satisfaction resided within him.

"I can't end you," he gasped, standing tall and gazing down at the broken man sprawled on the floor, saliva and tears mixing on his face. The sight of Jonghyun's pitiful state only hardened Seungcheol's resolve. "It would be a blessing—a release for you. I won't grant you the mercy of death. Instead, I will make you suffer."

Each word dripped with malice, a vow that echoed in the stillness of the room. Seungcheol's heart raced, knowing that his quest for vengeance would stretch far beyond mere physical pain.

He was oblivious to the sly smile that briefly crossed Lilith's face.

Jonghyun lay convulsing on the floor, foam escaping his mouth, a pitiful sight before Seungcheol. "I need another place for him," he said, his eyes averted from Lilith, his voice carrying an undeniable authority. "Somewhere I can keep an eye on him and access him when needed. Something grimy and repulsive would be ideal."

"Of course," Lilith replied, her voice smooth and confident. "But I can only assist you if you accept me into this world."She paused, her gaze steady as she examined Seungcheol's reaction, allowing the weight of her offer to settle in the air. "All you have to do is say 'Aperior Liberium.'"

Seungcheol frowned, skepticism shadowing his features. "That's a spell to summon a guardian creature."

"Yes," she confirmed, her tone inviting. "By summoning me, we'll form a contract. I'll take on a human form, devoted to you and ready to assist you in ways you can't yet imagine."

"Is that the only way you can teach me stronger spells?" he asked, still uncertain.

"That's the most effective way," she insisted, her smile steady, as if she understood the power she could offer him.

Seungcheol considered her proposition, the stakes heavy in his mind. "Can you break the curse of dark magic?" he asked, a blend of hope and hesitation in his voice.

Lilith's smile deepened, a hint of mischief shining in her eyes, as if she relished the potential of what was to come.

-

Seungcheol returned to his room. He shut the door behind him and drew the curtains to shroud the space in shadows, leaving only the faint glow of candlelight illuminating the walls.

With a steady breath, Seungcheol moved toward the ornate mirror mounted on the wall. Its frame was adorned with intricate carvings that twisted and coiled like vines, and the glass surface glimmered with a silvery sheen, whispering secrets of concealed magic. He pressed his palms against the cool glass, focusing his energy as he prepared to cast the spell he had mastered.

"Speculum Revelare," he intoned, his voice steady and low, resonating in the stillness of the room. The mirror responded, beginning to thrum with a gentle light that swirled with hues like ethereal smoke. Seungcheol concentrated deeply, envisioning Joshua in his dorm room.

As the light grew more brilliant, the mirror morphed into a window revealing Joshua's room. Seungcheol held his breath, watching as the image sharpened into focus. He saw Joshua sitting on his bed, the soft glow of a lamp casting a warm light over his features. Concern furrowed his brow, and his hands trembled slightly as he idly turned the pages of a book, lost in thought.

Seungcheol's heart tightened at the sight of Joshua. The exhaustion etched on his face and the dark shadows beneath his eyes revealed the toll his condition had taken. Yet, a wave of relief washed over him; Joshua was sober this time, a marked improvement since their last meeting.

Seungcheol leaned closer, an overwhelming desire to hold Joshua surging within him. He longed to reach through the mirror, to shatter the barrier separating them, and pull Joshua from his turmoil. "I wish we could be together in a world free of pain," he whispered, his voice barely audible. As he watched Joshua's weary form, he imagined a place where laughter replaced sorrow, where they could share quiet moments without the weight of their struggles.

"What would you do if we were there?" he mused aloud, envisioning sunny days filled with joy, perhaps a picnic under a sprawling tree, or simply sitting side by side in comfortable silence, free from the chaos that bound them.

As he continued to observe, Seungcheol noticed Joshua pause, a distant expression flitting across his face, as if he could somehow sense Seungcheol's presence through the glass. That moment felt fragile, a delicate thread binding them across the vast divide, and an overwhelming urge washed over Seungcheol—to protect Joshua, to shield him from the encroaching darkness that threatened to engulf him.

Joshua suddenly stared at the glass for awhile. Seungcheol barely breathing at that moment.

The youngster's eyes locking it with an intensity that made Seungcheol's breath catch in his throat. It felt as if time stood still, a silent understanding passing between them. In that fleeting moment, it was as though Joshua was calling out to him.

Joshua sat on his bed, still lost in thought, when he heard a sudden knock on the door. The sound jolted him from his reverie, his heart racing with curiosity and concern. He rose to his feet and opened the door, surprised to find Seungcheol standing there, his expression a mix of relief and something unspoken.

"Seungcheol!" Joshua exclaimed, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "Where have you been? I've been worried about you. Are you okay?" The questions spilled out of him, each one layered with the concern that had been gnawing at him since their last encounter.

Seungcheol hesitated for a moment, "Nobody ought to know I'm here," he replied, his voice low and urgent. "I just needed to see you."

Joshua studied Seungcheol's face, the tension in his jaw, and the way his eyes flickered with intensity. "What do you mean? Is something wrong?"

"It's complicated," Seungcheol said, stepping inside and gently closing the door behind him. The weight of the moment hung between them, thick with unspoken fears and uncharted feelings. Joshua felt his heart quicken as he realized how much he had missed Seungcheol's presence, how much he longed for the comfort of his touch.

Seungcheol pulled Joshua into his arms, gently guiding him back onto the bed. The familiar warmth of their closeness enveloped them, easing the tension that had built up over the past few days. As they settled into the soft comfort of the blankets, Seungcheol wrapped his arms around Joshua, holding him tightly against his chest.

"I miss you," he murmured, burying his face in Joshua's hair, inhaling the scent that always calmed him. "I miss you so bad." His voice was thick with emotion, each word a reminder of the ache he had felt during their time apart.

Joshua melted into the embrace, his heart racing as he listened to Seungcheol's heartfelt confessions. "I missed you too," he whispered, a soft blush creeping onto his cheeks. "I didn't know when I'd see you again."

Seungcheol pulled back slightly, just enough to look into Joshua's eyes. His gaze was intense, filled with longing and affection. "I miss this place – our place," he confessed, his thumb brushing gently over Joshua's cheek. "Every moment of missing you felt like an eternity."

Joshua felt his breath hitch as Seungcheol leaned in, pressing a tender kiss to his forehead, then moving down to the tip of his nose, and finally capturing his lips in a soft, lingering kiss. It was sweet and warm, sending a rush of affection flooding through them both.

"I miss you," Seungcheol repeated softly, his forehead resting against Joshua's. "So much." He held Joshua a little tighter, wishing he could erase the distance they had just endured. The world outside faded away, leaving only the two of them in their cocoon of warmth and love.

Joshua nestled deeper into Seungcheol's embrace, his heart racing with the warmth of their reunion. He took a deep breath, savoring the moment before speaking. "I'm getting better," he said softly, lifting his head to meet Seungcheol's gaze. "I don't feel that excruciating pain anymore."

Seungcheol felt a wave of relief wash over him at Joshua's words. "That's good to hear," he replied, his voice filled with genuine concern and pride. "You're so strong for getting through this." Then his expression became serious, "But we still got thing to take care of – your curse."

Joshua smiled faintly. "Jeonghan and everyone can attend class without worrying about me every second. They're working so hard to decode the curse and break it. We can do it together."

Seungcheol nodded, feeling a swell of pride for their friends' determination. "I believe they will," he replied, his voice steady and reassuring. "But I'm also working on another plan in case their efforts don't pan out."

Joshua's brow furrowed with concern. "What kind of plan?"

"It's something I've been thinking about for a while now. I want to make sure you're safe, no matter what happens. I'll find a way to protect you, even if it means taking some risks."

Joshua looked down for a moment, processing Seungcheol's words. "Just promise me you'll be careful. I can't lose you. I wouldn't even dare thinking about it.." There was a hint of sadness behind Joshua's eyes. "Everything, in this place, is not the same without you... When will you come back to us? To me?" His voice was laced with hope, the question hanging in the air between them like a fragile thread.

Seungcheol paused, his heart aching at the thought of leaving again. "I'll come back as soon as I can, I promise," he assured Joshua, brushing a strand of hair away from his boyfriend's forehead. "You know I'll always find my way back to you."

Joshua's expression softened, and he nodded, though uncertainty lingered in his eyes. "Just... promise me it won't be long. I need you here."

Seungcheol nodded resolutely, pulling Joshua closer. "You have my word."