Chapter 18: Entering the Inner Vaults

The moment Namjoon tightened his grip on the silver pendant, the air shifted.

A low hum vibrated through the room—not from their phones, not from their voices, but from the pendant itself. The metal grew warm against his palm, pulsing in sync with the cursed melody that still clung to the air.

Then—

A door appeared.

Not the kind that should exist in their practice room. It was tall, carved from dark wood, etched with ancient symbols that moved when looked at too long. A deep, unsettling energy seeped from its frame.

Jungkook swallowed. “That wasn’t there before.”

Hana exhaled shakily. “The Inner Vaults don’t have normal entrances.” She glanced at the others. “This is our only way in.”

Jin crossed his arms. “Are we sure about this?”

Yoongi smirked faintly. “Not even a little.”

Namjoon stepped forward. “We don’t have a choice.”

The song was getting stronger. If they didn’t act now, it would finish itself. And once it did—

Jungkook didn’t want to think about what would come next.

Hana pressed her hand to the door. The symbols pulsed under her touch, shifting, twisting—until the wood groaned and the door unlocked.

A cold breath of air pulled them forward.

One by one, they stepped through.

The moment they crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut behind them.

Darkness swallowed them whole.

For a second, there was nothing. No sound, no light—just an eerie, suffocating silence.

Then the world twisted.

Jungkook felt his body stretch, like he was being pulled through something thicker than air. A weightless, spiraling sensation overtook him, and then—

They landed.

Jungkook’s knees hit solid ground. He gasped, struggling to steady himself. The others were beside him, catching their breath.

The air was heavy, dense with something ancient. The ground beneath them wasn’t wood or tile but something smooth and black, like polished obsidian.

And ahead of them—

Rows of towering shelves stretched into the darkness, filled with scrolls, records, and song sheets that hummed with a quiet, forbidden energy.

Jimin exhaled. “So… this is the Inner Vaults.”

Hana stood slowly, her face tense. “This place holds music that was never meant to be heard again.” She turned to them. “We find Moonlit Echo’s missing piece, and we leave. No distractions. No touching anything else.”

Taehyung looked around. “How do we even know where to start?”

Namjoon lifted the pendant. It glowed faintly, pointing deeper into the endless maze of archives.

Jungkook shivered. “Then we follow it.”

They moved cautiously, their footsteps muffled by the strange, soundless floor. The deeper they went, the colder it got. The shelves whispered as they passed, voices too soft to understand.

Jungkook kept his eyes forward. He had no intention of finding out what would happen if he listened too closely.

Then—

The pendant pulsed.

They stopped.

At the end of the aisle stood a pedestal, and resting atop it—

A single, aged piece of sheet music.

The missing part of Moonlit Echo.

Jin took a slow step forward. “That was… easier than I expected.”

Yoongi narrowed his eyes. “Don’t say that.”

Jungkook took a breath and reached for the sheet.

The moment his fingers touched it, the whispers turned to screams.

The entire vault shook.