The forest was eerily still that night, the kind of silence that pressed against the chest, heavy and suffocating. A mist clung low to the ground, curling around roots and stones like pale fingers. In the distance, faint echoes of screaming had carried through the trees days ago—reports said a villager had been taken by something unnatural. For over a week, her cries had risen and fallen, haunting every soul who dared pass near the woods.

That was why Doctor Lunar had been summoned. He was no ordinary healer—his battles weren’t with fever or broken bones, but with the entities that slipped between worlds, feeding on grief, on pain, on memories too heavy for a mortal heart to bear. The villagers whispered his name like a prayer, his bow and silver-lit arrows their only hope when a demon’s grip grew too strong.

Niko’s boots sank into damp earth as he moved deeper, bow already slung across his back, one arrow glowing faintly at his side. His eyes scanned the trees. He had felt it even before stepping past the first trunk: the wrongness, the crawling presence of something dark that fed and twisted. But what unsettled him more wasn’t the demon—it was the second presence. Human. Someone else was out here.

Further ahead, through the mist, a pale flicker glowed, weak and fading. Lunar slowed his pace, using the shadows as cover until the scene broke before him in the clearing.

The woman lay on the ground, body convulsing, eyes clouded over and blackened veins crawling like ink beneath her skin. She clawed at the dirt, gasping, whispering a name—her father’s—over and over, locked in a memory no one could reach. The demon was strong, too strong, dragging her deeper each moment she breathed.

But she wasn’t alone.

Kneeling beside her was a man. Young, though shadows made him look carved from the night itself. His dark hair clung damp to his forehead, his chest heaving with the effort of holding the woman in his arms as if he could shield her from the unseen torment wracking her body. His eyes weren’t empty, but they were lost—like someone who didn’t even know who he was.

Jungkook’s voice was low, trembling as he brushed a strand of hair from the woman’s face. "It’s okay… you’re not alone. Please… just hold on." He swallowed hard, his throat tight. "I don’t even know why I’m here… I woke up in this forest with nothing. No name, no past. Only the moon. And then I found you."

The woman’s body seized, a scream tearing through her throat, startling birds from the treetops. Jungkook tightened his hold, tears of frustration brimming. "I can’t lose you to whatever this is… I can’t just watch you die." His voice broke into the silence, carrying through the trees like a prayer. "If anyone’s listening… if there’s anyone out here who can help us—please. Please."

From behind the trunk, Lunar’s eyes narrowed, the arrow glowing brighter in his hand. The demon was strong, the fight would be brutal, and the stranger—whoever he was—wasn’t meant to be here. But fate had led him to this exact moment: one woman possessed, one man with no past, and himself, the only one who could end it.