chapter 10: the ghost of a forgotten melody

The world around them wasn’t real—at least, not in the way Jungkook understood reality.

The golden sky above swirled like liquid, shifting and pulsing with the rhythm of a song that had never been completed. The wind carried fragments of melody, notes that shimmered before vanishing into silence.

But it was the woman in the black coat who held Jungkook’s attention.

She stood at the center of the illusion, her presence unnervingly solid against the flickering world. Though her face remained hidden beneath the shadow of her hood, her voice was sharp and unyielding.

“You don’t belong here.”

Jungkook felt the weight of her words press against his chest, but he refused to back down. “Who are you?”

The woman didn’t answer. Instead, she took a slow step forward. The faceless figures behind her moved in unison, shifting like echoes trapped in time.

Yoongi’s voice was steady but tense. “This isn’t just a memory, is it?”

Hana’s expression was unreadable. “No… this is something else.”

The woman tilted her head slightly, as if considering them. Then, she lifted her hand.

A low hum filled the air.

Jungkook barely had time to react before the world cracked apart.

The golden sky shattered like glass, and suddenly, the wind turned violent. The faceless figures surged forward—not walking, but gliding, their movements unnatural and soundless.

Jin cursed. “What is this?!”

“They’re not real,” Hana said quickly. “They’re echoes of the song, trapped in time.”

Jungkook’s breath hitched as one of the figures brushed past him. The moment it touched him, a wave of something cold rushed through his body—memories that weren’t his, voices whispering in languages he didn’t understand.

Then, the woman in black sang.

The sound was unlike anything Jungkook had ever heard. It wasn’t just a melody—it was power. The very air around them rippled, the world distorting under the weight of her voice.

The missing part of Moonlit Echo was here.

Jimin gasped, gripping Namjoon’s arm. “She’s the one who erased it.”

The realization hit them all at once.

This woman—whoever she was—had been part of the song’s history. She had buried its second half, locking it away in this forgotten space.

But why?

And more importantly—

What would happen if they tried to take it back?

The echoes began to close in, their faceless forms reaching toward them. The woman in black didn’t move, but her voice grew louder, wrapping around them like chains.

Jungkook clenched his fists.

They had come this far.

They weren’t leaving without the truth.

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