Jimin awoke abruptly to the sound of heavy breathing. It took him a full minute to realize it had been his own. It almost felt like the world was spinning as he made a desperate attempt to claw his way back to standing.

What happened? Where were the others?

His vision cleared a bit as his head snapped up to roam his surroundings. They had ended up in what seemed to be an abandoned warehouse, the ceiling high and covered in sinister cobwebs. The space was enormous, but Jimin felt as if he had been trapped in a coffin as oxygen simply wouldn't flow into his airways.

"Is everyone here?" he heard Namjoon's deep but worried voice penetrate his ears. It shook him up a bit and motivated him to try a little bit harder to regain his senses. He managed to gather enough strength to get to his feet.

"Where are we?" Jungkook asked, worrying drowsiness glazing his eyes.

"My head hurts," Iris groaned as Jin helped her find her way back to standing. Muffled grunts and moans filled the air as everyone stood up slowly, rubbing their heads and their necks as if they had just survived a free fall.

"Wow, this is so disappointing," Meisa commented, her gaze wandering the hollow building. "I expected fanfares."

"Are we really sure this isn't just the inside of that spooky house we just walked in?" Jin scratched his neck. "Maybe that little boy was just a cosplayer."

"That would work if he didn't have the voice of a sixty-something smoker." Hoseok mumbled.

"Shhht!" Jimin shushed them harshly as his ears detected the sound of footsteps somewhere nearby.

There was a crunch of gravel behind him, defined and short. Then came another one, this time lighter and slower as if someone was trying to sneak up on everyone. The footsteps intensified, echoing sharply throughout the deserted warehouse, sounding overly loud in Jimin's ears.

"Everybody stay together." Namjoon commanded in a hushed voice, soft but loud enough for everyone to hear him and gather in a circle, their backs turned against each other.

Swiftly, Jimin took the safety off of his gun and holstered it up, waiting.

"Who is this?" Jin rasped, senses sharpened as he strained to hear better.

"Be quiet." Jimin murmured.

Time ticked away, each second feeling as a century as the footsteps finally came to a halt. It was haunting, horrifying even, knowing that someone was lurking just around the corner and not being able to do anything about it.

Jimin ignored the erratic beating of his heart as he looked around, his jaw twitching in anticipation for whatever was about to come next.

The sound of footsteps emerged again. This time they were fast and bold, fearless even, each and every one of them ringing like a church bell on a Sunday morning, boots falling heavily with every step.

Face slack and composed and his pace casual, from around the corner came no other than...

Jungkook.

Meisa's sharp gasp cracked through the air as she whipped to the side to take a look at her boyfriend whose eyes had enlarged so much they had practically taken the size of frying pans.

"What is this fuckery?!" Hoseok spat out, taking out and holstering his own gun up as he leapt to the side to face Jungkook. His pistol was inches away from his face. "What kind of sick game are you playing?!"

"No game, I swear!" Jungkook cried out in a shuddering voice, putting his hands up instinctively.

"Hobi, put that gun down please!" Meisa shouted, throwing herself in front of the blanched Jungkook.

Wild eyed, Hoseok swung his arm to the side, now pointing the gun at the other Jungkook.

"I knew it was a trap! I knew it!" he hissed, his pale fingers wrapped around the handgun as he directed it back and forth between the two Jungkooks.

"Calm down for heaven's sake!" Namjoon's voice resonated throughout the hollow space of the warehouse.

"Who are you?! What do you want?!" Jimin interrupted, turning to the second Jungkook whose lips were curled into a small smirk. The resemblance was uncanny, almost spine-chilling. He was dressed in all black from head to toe, clad in a tight turtle neck shirt and a pair of black jeans. It was as if the real Jungkook was gazing upon a mirror and it seemed like the phenomenon horrified him as he couldn't help but stare at his double, utterly flabbergasted.

"Meisa knows what I want."

Instantaneously, everyone's heads swung towards the mint-haired girl who up until now stood as still and statuesque as ever. The fear traveled in her veins until it eventually found its way to her facial muscles. Her poker face crumbled as a shaky sigh erupted through her, her hands shaking.

"Babe, what am I talking about? I mean, what is my evil doppelganger talking about?" the real Jungkook questioned frantically, tugging at Meisa's sleeve but it seemed as though she had entered a state of trance.

"Meisa, babe," dark Jungkook purred, taking one step closer. His tone was sweet, but the vile aura he exuded was not. "Tell them."

"Tell us what?!" the real Jungkook was becoming gradually upset, the tone of his voice matching the fear and confusion painted on his face.

"That she's a liar!" the evil doppelganger hissed, animosity and hatred entangled in those words.

"No, I'm not!" Meisa shook her head vigorously, her eyes fixated on whatever this creature standing before them now was.

"How could you, Meisa! How could you keep something like this from me! Do you not respect me? Do you not love me? I guess you really don't if you'd lie shamelessly to my face like this! What else have you lied about, huh?!"

"Nothing, I swear!" Meisa yelped, staggering backwards. She was blindsided, unable to differentiate between what was real and what was not, incapable of understanding that this was all a manipulation, a vision, and not her real-life partner saying those things to her.

"Liar! All you do is lie!" the other Jungkook's face contorted menacingly, raw fury igniting within his silhouette. "You ruined everything with your stupid little lies! I hate you, I hate you!"

"I'm sorry!" Meisa cried out, tears streaming down her face as she collapsed to the ground. The real Jungkook immediately sank to his knees next to her, shaking her shoulders as raw panic trembled in her limbs.

"Baby it's alright, that's not me, do you hear me, that's not me!"

"I am so, so sorry, I just wanted to protect you, I couldn't tell you... you wouldn't... let me..." she whimpered softly, clutching on her stomach for some unfathomable reason. No one questioned it and in spur of the moment, they just brushed it off, overwhelmed by the progressively worsening commotion.

"Hey, it's okay," Iris shot towards the crying girl, tucking a wisp of hair behind her ear. Her electric blue orbs swam with tears as well as her face creased with sympathy. She rested her tiny palms over Meisa's hands as her fingers brushed against the mint-haired girl's abdomen and a piercing sensation ran through the witch's body, like a rush of electricity.

Iris froze, the slight wince of her face the only betrayer of what she had sensed. The miracle of a new life blossoming, a magical glow, a little fetus heart beating erratically at a vigorous, but steady pace, sensing his mommy's fear and terror...

She felt it.

Him. A boy.

Meisa's breath hitched in her throat as her teeth dug in her lower lip, her shocked gaze wandering Iris's deadpan expression helplessly. There was a fearful plea in those emerald green orbs, a silent request not to betray her treasured secret.

Please don't tell him. He can't know, not now. I don't want to tell him now, when we're like this. Please. Not yet.

The blonde nodded almost imperceptibly, settling in on a wordless agreement. It wasn't her place to tell, this was way too personal, too intimate. She would gladly keep Meisa's secret until she was ready.

In fact, she admired her. Because when she touched her, she felt something else, too. Meisa was afraid. She was afraid for her own life, for the lives of those she loved, but most of all she was afraid for her little baby. And yet, she had chosen not to stay behind, she was out there, alongside everyone, never admitting her fear and not letting anyone spot the turbulence of tension stirring deep within her.

She was a warrior.

Iris willed her body movements to be less stilted as she drew back. Meisa shot her a look of thankfulness for a second, not long enough for the boys to figure out the exchange they just had.

"You calmed her down." Jungkook uttered in disbelief.

"Yeah," Iris smiled shyly, looking at Meisa.

"How did you do t-"

The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted them suddenly. Amidst the commotion, they had forgotten about Jungkook's doppelganger.

But what shocked them more was the loud wheeze coming from Jin's direction. His arm was extended in front of him, shaking forefinger pointing at something in the distance as his other hand was shielding his parted lips.

From the darkness came another silhouette. A dashingly handsome man in his early fifties, tall and well-built. Broad shouldered, he loomed in closer, a resting frown creasing his forehead. Stiffly, he walked up to stand next to Jungkook's evil twin.

"Dr. Kim?" Jimin breathed out, dumbfounded.

"Dad?" Jin croaked in a gruff voice. "What are you doing here?"

Dr. Kim barely looked around the room as he kept his eyes pinned at his son. A composed, distant smile danced on his full lips before it shifted into a stern expression.

"What a fucking disappointment."

The words seemed to sting a sensitive nerve as Jin's whole body twitched and lurched forward. Hearing his dad curse was so shocking he could barely contain how startled he was.

"You're a disgrace, Seokjin. Soft and mellow, just like your weak mother," Dr. Kim's powerful, authoritative voice riveted everyone's attention to him. "Ever since you were a boy, always crying over the littlest things. Man up, will you?!" his voice raised in volume towards the end of the sentence, triggering a wince from Jin whose soft brown eyes had welled up with tears. It was the angriest he had ever seen his father, and it stung, it really stung how close to home his words hit.

Jin's expression dropped as his head hung low over his chest. The way his chin trembled betrayed that he was fighting back tears triggered by the cruel words. His father kept glaring at him with such animosity, characteristic only of a person filled with undying hatred. Certainly not a way a loving parent would look at their children in. It was hurtful and demeaning and Jimin's heart constricted at the sight, even if he knew it wasn't real.

Jin, on the other hand, seemed to take his father's words very badly as he hid his face with his hand.

"Stop crying, it's unmanly!" Dr. Kim thundered. "Makes me wanna hurl."

"It's alright, this is all some kind of mind manipulation," Iris whispered, rubbing Jin's side soothingly.

"You're one to speak, Kang Iris."

The abrasive voice robbed the blonde witch of her senses as she opened up her lips, no sound could make it past them though. Pure, unadulterated terror flashed in her electric blue orbs widened with dread.

"Mom?" Iris called out to the tall, willowy blond woman swaying lightly towards them. She wasn't conventionally beautiful, but instead she was simply haunting with her thin face and large blue eyes.

"You don't get to call me this!" the woman barked, perfectly manicured nails digging into her palms as toxic hatred poured from every pore of her existence. "Should have known better than to flee our coven with you. You embarrassed me. I'm so ashamed of you. How could you and Yukwon do something like this? You were family!" she accused.

"No!" Iris shrieked, shaking with violent panic. "No, mom, you don't understand-"

"That's wrong! That's disgusting! Atrocious! You were siblings-"

"Step-siblings! And we were of appropriate age-"

"SILENCE!" Iris's mom let out a blood-curdling banshee screach. "Now I am not only ashamed that my daughter is a powerless failure, but she's also a fucking freak!"

"No, mom, please!" Iris whimpered, her teary face a picture of raw devastation. Jimin could almost hear her heart breaking. "Please don't talk to me like this, please..."

"An abomination!" the blonde woman kept spitting venom, face red with rage and malice.

"You left me there to rot as they tortured me!" Iris shouted, openly weeping and broken.

"It's what you deserved." Her mother gritted. "You incest-loving piece of trash!"

What the fuck are those, Jimin kept wondering, ghosts? Monsters?

Something white flashing in the shadows caught his attention. Those visions or whatever seemed to not give any of them a break as they appeared one after the other. The form moved in a slight sway. As he squinted his eyes, he easily determined it was of a girl, a long white dress stretching all the way down to her feet as she stepped lightly, as if she wasn't even touching the ground. Against her milky complexion her brown chestnut hair moved like soft breeze.

An angel.

"Aera." Jimin breathed her name, struggling to remain on his feet.

The distorted view finally came to focus as she fully materialized in front of him.

"It's me." Aera said in a singing voice, her lips sensuously curved, a tender line of mischief across the lower half of her face. There was an odd coldness to the way she carried herself, as if her breath was frosty swirls of air sweeping silently towards Jimin. She echoed a perfectly chiseled ice figurine and not an actual girl. A glittering black thread adorned her tiny white wrist, resting elegantly against the ivory skin.

"Okay guys, we came, we saw, we found her," Jungkook announced, setting free a strangled gasp as he kept his arm stretched out in front of Meisa in a defensive manner. "Now let's grab her and get back."

"You really thought it would be this easy?" Hoseok hissed, slightly disgruntled.

"Aera," Jimin repeated, mesmerized by her silvery aura that seemed to captivate and pull him in. He blinked away the stars in his eyes, and stepped forward.

"Don't," Namjoon grabbed him by the hand right away, his voice a piercing warning.

Jimin yanked his hand off, his upper lip curling in a snarl he could not suppress. What the fuck was Namjoon even being so weird about? This was Aera, for fuck's sake! The same Aera Jimin loved, the same Aera he was born to protect and fight for, the same Aera he was written in the stars and predestined to be with. The only reason he still kept living.

This was the moment he dreamed of and pictured in those many sleepless nights he spent all alone without her by his side, wondering why he had deserved a fate so cruel as to be without the love of his life, crying himself to sleep desperately. Was he expected to just stand there like an idiot and stare at her all day?

"How I've missed you." Aera's voice was like a chill in the air, evoking a sensation in Jimin much similar to passing through an icy shower. It was sucking every warm thought and feeling out of him as he pivoted his head to look at her, his blood burning like circulating acid through his veins as he realized something.

She wasn't talking to him.

Where an instant before there was no one at all stood a man, skin vampirically pale and eyes as dark as lumps of coal staring balefully out from under an avalanche of inky hair.

Yoongi's lips curled into a smile, the same smile that had always created a sickening sensation in Jimin's gut and had made his mouth fill with bile. The deceptively innocent smile of a feline about to bound.

The air was thick with looming danger, somehow pressing and urgent. It was tense enough to induce an anxiety attack. At that moment, it was as if no one was breathing and the room was one giant vacuum space.

Now, Aera was not looking at Jimin anymore. Instead she was gazing upon Yoongi, warm eyes caressing him as if he were the center of her universe. Her tapered fingers trailed down the man's cheek, brushing his chin and then his thin innocuous lips.

Yoongi's arm snaked around Aera's waist as he turned her around to face him and pulled her into him. His long thin fingers took a hold of her chin, tilting her beautiful face upwards.

"All mine," he purred, his thumb caressing her soft skin as her eyelids fluttered closed blissfully.

"All yours." She mumbled sweetly.

"You were made for me," Yoongi whispered so quietly, but his voice was so distinct, ringing in Jimin's ears. "My princess, my goddess... we were meant for each other."

"I was made for you." Aera confirmed absently, her mouth popping open as Yoongi placed his hand at the small of her back.

"Who do you love?" now, Yoongi's tone was becoming slightly harsher and sharper as he gave her body a possessive grab. "Who do you love?!" he pressed aggressively, earning a sharp exhale from her as his hold on her face tightened.

"You," Aera smirked, not the least bit bothered by the roughness of his touch. "You, I love only you, Yoongi... I've always loved you."

Yoongi's dark eyes bore into her face, a glint of savagery glistening in those wells of blackness, leering at her with fierce desire and there was no telling whether he wanted to kiss her or rip her apart. Both lust and violence stirred in him and he released a low growl as he collided his lips with hers. She was a dark, addictive wine and he was drinking her in, all of her, everything.

Aera latched to him, her arms gripping at the back of his neck as she pulled him in closer as if she wanted to have as much of him as possible. The both of them were a mess of breathy moans and soft gasps, a picture of unfiltered lust and longing as Yoongi clutched her close in a possessively toxic manner. His hands were demanding, impatient as Aera's lips were swallowed up between his, letting out stuttering bursts of air as his hands ravaged her in all kinds of inappropriate ways, like he was trying to take her skin off and get under it somehow.

Jimin couldn't tear his eyes away from them even if he wanted to. The feeling was similar to a slow, painful death, stifling agony crawling across his skin. It was like a thousand grenades were exploding all at once in the confined space of his ribcage, shattering him it to pieces. The sight was devastating, an apocalypse of heartache that paralyzed him and crippled his thinking.

He hadn't even realized he was screaming until Namjoon grabbed at his elbows, holding him back from whatever violent way Jimin was about to kill Yoongi in. The blond man roared like a wounded animal, ape-like fury coursing through his veins as his Power erupted through him and he tore away from Namjoon's iron but insufficient hold. He wanted to cut Yoongi's limbs off, crush his skull or feed him his eyeballs, the brutal scenarios overwhelming him and leaving him blindsided.

But most of all, Jimin wanted to cry.

At last, Yoongi pulled away from Aera who just collapsed in him weakly, exhausted by his intense touch. It was like he had drained the life out of her, his lips wreaking havoc on her mouth, leaving it red and sore.

The black-haired man looked at Jimin, straight in the face, with cold, calculated spite.

"Did you really think she wouldn't come back to me?" Yoongi questioned with more casualty than it was appropriate. "I own her. All of her. What we have is impenetrable. It was a matter of time before she came running back to me."

Jimin's teeth caught on his lip, a metallic taste filling his mouth as he didnn't even realize he was bleeding. Distantly, he could hear Namjoon and Jungkook shouting something indistinct behind him, but his mind ignored them.

"What is it, Park? Can't speak? You wanna watch? You wanna watch as I make her mine, as I kiss and wash away every trace of you ever touching her?" Yoongi wet his lips and sucked his lower lip into his mouth. "You like that?"

"Enough!" Jimin regathered enough of his senses to hear Meisa's voice, laced with competing pain matching the one seething in his chest.

"What if I do that?" unfazed, Yoongi mumbled, hooking a finger underneath one of the straps of Aera's dress, removing it. Slowly, he sank down, his eyes not leaving Jimin's for one moment. His hand traveled down to her knees, lifting her long white dress as he started caressing her, his fingers gliding upwards to her inner thigh, an unsettling lewdness radiating from him with every move he made. Her eyes empty, Aera tilted her head back and released a soft lascivious moan.

Yoongi leaned in and placed a wet, hot kiss to her thigh, his touch so lustful and primal.

"How fucking sweet she tastes," he murmured, his eyes snapping back to Jimin as the hazy delight from them evaporated and they hardened. "She never loved you, Park. You were just a rebound until she realized it was me she was meant to be with. She used you..." Yoongi grinned. "You're from different worlds, you and her. How fucking naïve of you to think she belonged with you. It's me who she was made for." he gripped at her thigh with a vicious dig of his nails.

"I am going to murder you!" Jimin bellowed, the rage destroying him from the inside as he shot forward. His fury burned him, it made him miserable and tormented him. It came, unleashed without thought of consequence. Everyone around him screamed at him not to, Meisa stood in front of him, cutting his way off, Jungkook clasped at his wrists as Namjoon desperately tried to circle his arms around Jimin, but it was like trying to keep an uncaged beast at bay.

Then something else happened. Jimin's head snapped to the side as someone else stepped forward to stand next to this horde of malicious ghosts. Another woman. She looked a little bit older than them, maybe in her early thirties. Dread crept down his spine like a spider treading a trail of silk.

But the woman wasn't what captured his attention entirely. It was something else.

Hoseok looked terrified.

"Hobi," the woman's voice was a sorrowful wail, her eyebrows dipped slightly in a mournful grimace.

"Noona." Hoseok whispered, shifting into a scared, fragile version of himself, replacing the tough manly persona.

"Hobi," the woman looked like she was barely holding back her weeping, clutching on the bright red scarf wrapped around her neck. "Hobi, why did you do that?"

"Noona, please, don't," Hoseok shook his head vigorously, lost and devastated, stuttering and scared. "I didn't- I didn't mean to, I swear..."

"It's too late, Hobi," the woman whimpered softly, pearly droplets of salty water streaming down her translucent skin. "It's too late."

Jimin was hypnotized, incapable of ungluing his eyes from the heartbreaking scene. For a moment there, his blinding rage had left him and he was left reeling from the sudden display of emotions on Hoseok's face.

The woman released a stifled moan and stepped forward. Her lips curled downwards in a frown, she grabbed her scarf and removed it from her neck, revealing a horizontal dark purple bruise lining her neck.

She stifled a sob with the palm of her hand.

"Look at what you did to me." she said quietly, but her voice echoed in the vast space like a dying aria.

Hoseok gulped in air as if he was drowning.

"No, that's not true. It wasn't me, I-" he choked up, his breathing accelerating as he lost his words and took a step back.

Jimin's mind was worryingly empty and his feet were bags full of concrete. All he could do was stare in horror as all of the creatures gathered together, standing next to each other in a straight line. Jungkook, Dr. Kim, Iris's mother, Aera, Yoongi, and the nameless woman. They all stared back grimly, like an arsenal of vicious ghosts. Simultaneously as if it had been rehearsed, they started taking steps forward, advancing slowly as their mouths moved, wording overlapping sentences.

"...such a fucking liar, you're pathetic..."

"...what a disgrace, I'm ashamed to have a son like you, whiney and frail, a wuss... this world is no place for weaklings..."

"...you failed your coven, you stupid little bitch, you should never have been born..."

"...you really thought I loved you? Yoongi is the one I really love. We were laughing at you behind your back the whole time, Jimin... you can never compete with him..."

"...you wanna jerk off to the sight of me fucking her?..."

"...you promised you'd never hurt me, Hobi... you promised..."

"...I hate you so much..."

"...I fucking hate you..."

"...whiney little slut..."

"...you should die..."

"... Die! Die! I hate you!..."

"...DIE!..."

The voiced rose in volume, resulting in a one booming explosion of sounds. The group kept taking steps back until they were backed into a wall and Jimin felt the back of his knees collide with the cold concrete.

The room was chaos. Even though no one was doing anything, the air was so saturated with hatred and fury that it was suffocating and enough to kill a man. He looked around helplessly, his mind frantically searching for a resolution but all of his friends had this blank, hypnotized look to their faces as though they were in a collective trance. He had to do something, anything, but he didn't know what.

Suddenly a plume of fire exploded into the darkness before them, roaming destructively. The roaring flames ran rampant, setting everything on fire on their way, along with the group of ghostly visions threatening to advance further on the group of friends. The fire devoured them in a flash of scorching flame. It was ferocious and angry. Jimin couldn't breathe, couldn't feel his heart beat as he watched the fire swallow everything, never ceasing its reign of terror. It was so catastrophically beautiful the way the flames swayed, beckoning and enticing him, before the blazing inferno slowly stopped and faded away.

In a heartbeat, it fell quiet. What followed next was deadly silence.

"Fucking Shadow Knights," they heard Hoseok scoff, removing his black leather gloves with such intricate elegance that he resembled a nobleman. There was not a single sign of terror on his face anymore. "Wicked manipulative cunts."

"Shadow what now?" more baffled than anything, Jungkook gawked, still not relinquishing his hold of Meisa who looked like she was about to die from asphyxiation.

"Sneaky fuckers. They're supernatural creatures that have the ability to represent and take the shape of your deepest, darkest fears. Their sole purpose is to terrify you, implanting cruel visions and beliefs in your mind. They cannot physically hurt you, but they can drive you insane and make you want to hurt yourself." Hoseok explained dryly.

A veil of black swirled in the mist that fell upon the warehouse. Not a second had passed during which they could catch their breath. That was when the shadows shifted. It started as a slight shimmer as if the atoms before them twisted and moved together to form something. In a flash of silvery night, a man appeared. Dressed in old-fashioned clothes, a piercing adorning his bottom lip and the area under his right eye. His raven black hair stretched a little bit below his ears, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

He was young, ridiculously so. He cleared his throat and pushed his head back in a weirdly dainty gesture. He reminded Jimin of someone an awful lot, but in a state of transitory shock he couldn't exactly put his finger on it.

"What a nice group of friends you are," the man spoke a little bit too condescending for Jimin's liking, circling the handle of his walking stick the entire time. It was shaped as an eagle. His face remained a mask of friendly benevolence as his flute-like voice spouted the words. "It's not every day that you stumble upon people so mentally resilient. Congratulations," he nodded, walking up to stand before them, giving them each a quick once over with his clever eyes. "This was a test and you successfully passed it. My name is JB and I am here to escort you to the event you're about to attend."

With a twirl of his wrist, he made the darkness around them disappear. Now, they were standing in a bright white room with a single door looming in the middle of it.

JB smirked, a look of intrigue dancing on his perfectly chiseled face as he hooked a finger, urging them to follow him as he turned.

"Welcome to Abaddon."

Jimin's heart skipped a beat.

author's note:

talk about ghosts from the past, huh?

If anyone was wondering, Jungkook and Namjoon were the only people left without a Shadow Knight targeting them because for me they're probably the sanest characters in this story lol. Everyone else is just so fucked up and traumatised that there had to be at least a couple of 'normal' characters 😂

Whew, this chapter was so intense to write!

I guess most of the characters' Shadow Knights were predictable, especially Jimin's. We all know his deepest fear is losing Aera to Yoongi. What about the others? Did you expect them? What about Hobi? Did the chapter make you wonder what he has done while being away?

As always, thank you for reading and love you lots. I hope all of you are doing well ❤❤❤