Shadows In The Ashes

Jungkook’s mind was a void, consumed by the blackness that surrounded him. For what felt like an eternity, there was nothing—no sound, no sensation, no heartbeat. Only silence, endless and suffocating.

Until it wasn’t.

He gasped, sucking in a breath that felt too sharp, too real, as if he had been holding his breath for a lifetime. His eyes snapped open, but the world was still dark. He couldn’t move, couldn’t feel his limbs. His heart raced—was he still in the Hollow? Had the Hollow Man won?

“Taehyung…” he whispered hoarsely. But his voice sounded wrong, echoing in a way that felt unnatural.

“Jungkook.”

A voice, low and desperate, drifted toward him from the dark.

It was Taehyung.

Jungkook’s chest clenched as he tried to move toward it, his muscles screaming in protest. “Taehyung!” he called, but his voice was swallowed by the void. It felt like the very air around him was thick, pressing down on him with crushing weight.

Then, as if answering his call, a figure materialized from the darkness. It was Taehyung—but not.

The figure stood tall, his expression blank, his features hollow and emotionless. There was no warmth in his eyes, no spark of recognition. Taehyung’s face was as it had been in the Hollow, cold and distant, like a shadow of the person Jungkook had fought so hard to save.

“No…” Jungkook whispered, his heart breaking all over again. “This isn’t you. This isn’t who you are…”

The figure before him shifted slightly. “You should have left me, Jungkook. I’m already lost.”

“No!” Jungkook cried out, his voice breaking as he reached for Taehyung. But no matter how much he tried, the distance between them seemed insurmountable. “You’re not lost. You’re still here. I can feel you—don’t you see? I’m not giving up on you.”

The figure shook its head slowly, the hollow eyes staring at him with a strange mix of sorrow and resignation. “It’s too late. You don’t belong here. You should never have come.”

Jungkook felt the words like a slap. His whole body went rigid, but then—something inside him snapped.

“No,” he growled, a surge of fury rushing through him. “You are not him. You are just—just a lie, a shadow trying to trick me!”

With a roar, Jungkook surged forward, his hand reaching out desperately, grabbing for the figure’s arm. As soon as his fingers brushed the figure’s skin, a surge of cold energy shot through him—so sharp and icy, it felt like it was tearing him apart.

“Let him go!” Jungkook shouted, his voice shaking with the force of his will. “You’re not Taehyung! You’re nothing!”

For a moment, the darkness seemed to pause—like it was holding its breath. Then, as if in response to his words, the figure flinched, and the coldness that had been enveloping him dissipated just slightly.

Jungkook took a shaky step forward, determined. “I will not lose you. Not like this. I promised—” His voice broke, but he forced himself to continue. “I promised you we’d get through this. I’ll fight until the end, even if you’re the one pushing me away.”

The figure’s face twisted with what could have been anguish, a flicker of the real Taehyung coming through. “It’s too late for me…”

“No,” Jungkook whispered again, softer this time. His hand trembled as he reached out once more, this time for Taehyung’s cheek. The cold was still there, but there was a faint warmth—a remnant of the person Taehyung used to be.

“You’re still here,” Jungkook murmured. “I know you’re still here.”

And then, in a movement so sudden it left him breathless, Taehyung’s hand shot out, gripping Jungkook’s wrist with surprising strength. Jungkook gasped, feeling the shock of contact—Taehyung’s hand was real, and the warmth he had been missing was suddenly there.

“I…” Taehyung’s voice faltered. “I don’t know if I can… If I can come back.”

Jungkook’s heart surged. “You don’t have to do it alone. We can fight this together. We’ve always fought together.”

For a long moment, there was no response, just the silence of the void pressing down around them. Then, slowly, Taehyung’s grip loosened, and his eyes—the hollow, lifeless eyes—began to fill with something more.

And then, a whisper, barely audible, but enough to make Jungkook’s chest swell with hope: “I don’t want to be lost anymore.”

That was enough.

With all the strength he could muster, Jungkook pulled Taehyung to him, refusing to let go. He wasn’t going to leave him here—not again. He would pull him back from the edge, no matter what.

“Then come back with me,” Jungkook said, his voice firm. “We’ll fight this. I won’t give up on you. You’re everything to me, Taehyung. Everything.”

The darkness around them began to shift, as if it were responding to their words. The coldness that had swallowed Taehyung seemed to recede, and the void around them slowly began to crack.

“Come back with me,” Jungkook repeated, his voice a vow. “We have unfinished business. We’re not done.”

And as if those words were a spell, the shadows started to fade, and Taehyung’s eyes finally returned to the warmth Jungkook had always known.

---

Suddenly, the darkness shattered completely, and they were both thrown into a blinding light.

Jungkook squinted, trying to make sense of what was happening.

And then, everything snapped back into focus.

They were standing in the manor once more. But the world had changed.

A new presence filled the air—one so powerful, so dark, it felt like the final battle was upon them. They weren’t alone.

Someone—or something—was waiting.

The Hollow was not done.

And Jungkook knew—now more than ever—there would be no turning back.

The final showdown awaited them.