"What is this?" Ivy whispered
Her voice trembling as she stared at the door leading beneath the abandoned house.
A door no one knew existed. A door no one dared to open. Not until now.
Ethan's eyes gleamed in the dim light. "I stumbled on it while wandering," he said.
Dylan’s gaze narrowed, his voice cold. "Wandering? How long have you been around here, Ethan?"
Ethan gave a lazy shrug, but something in his smirk didn’t sit right. "Long enough. I'll go first."
Without waiting for approval, Ethan stepped toward the door, his silhouette swallowed by the darkness as he pushed it open. Ivy moved to follow, but Dylan grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks.
"Wait."
Both Ivy and Ethan turned, tension hanging thick in the air.
"Why?" Ethan’s tone was calm, but Ivy noticed the way his fingers tightened around the flashlight.
"We have no idea what’s down there. Or who." Dylan’s words were laced with distrust, his eyes locked on Ethan.
"Exactly." Ethan’s lips curled into a dangerous smile. "That’s why we’re going in. To find out."
Dylan glared at him, his fists clenched. "The Ethan I know wouldn’t just rush into something so recklessly."
Ethan turned slowly, his eyes darkening, locking onto Dylan’s. "You still doubting me?"
For a moment, neither of them moved. Ivy could feel the unspoken challenge between them, crackling in the silence like a ticking bomb. 
Dylan’s jaw tightened, his eyes flashing dangerously, but he said nothing.
"I don’t care what’s going on between you two. We need to finish this. Are we backing out now?" She shot a sharp look at Dylan, her patience thinning.
Dylan exhaled, his eyes still on Ethan. "Fine. But I don’t trust him."
"Who said I trust you?" 
Ethan's words hung in the air, loaded with hidden meaning, before he turned and descended further into the unknown.
The underground swallowed them as they followed. Ivy’s heartbeat echoed in her ears, and she barely noticed when Dylan reached for her hand. 
His grip was firm, and she held on, sensing the same unease.
"Ivy," Ethan whispered.
"What?"
"Do you have the journal?"
Her stomach twisted. "Why, Brother?"
"Do you have it?" Ethan's voice was urgent now, cutting through the tension.
"Brother, why?" she repeated, her voice shaky.
They came to a sudden stop. In front of them, the tunnel split into two paths.
Ethan’s voice came from the shadows ahead, calm. "Two paths. Follow me." 
He took the left without a second glance.
She hesitated, her heart racing as she stared after him. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
"Why does it feel like you already know the way?" Her voice trembled as she spoke, her eyes narrowing at Ethan’s back.
But Ethan ignored her, continuing forward without a word, his steps sure. 
"Where's Sadie? Do you know where they are?" Dylan's voice was sharp as he grabbed Ivy’s hand, stopping her from following Ethan.
Ethan halted, but didn’t turn around. The silence was suffocating.
"Sadie?" His voice echoed in the darkness, cold and distant.
"Yes, do you know, Brother?" Her heart pounded as she spoke, trying to make sense of Ethan’s strange behavior.
"Yes, Sadie… my friend. And Aria... Aria, my sister."
Ivy’s brows furrowed, confusion sweeping over her.
She turned to Dylan, searching for answers, but his eyes were locked on Ethan, his body tense, like he was preparing for a fight. 
Something wasn’t right.
Ethan stood still for a long moment, then spoke, his voice strangely calm. 
"Ah… I don’t know. But we’ll find Sadie. And especially your sister, Aria." He paused, his next words coming out slower, more deliberate. "So, let’s hurry."
A chill ran down Ivy’s spine. The way he said it—your sister, Aria—felt wrong. It twisted in her gut. She took a slow, instinctive step back, moving closer to Dylan.
Sadie was Dylan’s sister. Aria was just their friend.
Dylan’s grip tightened around Ivy’s hand. His eyes flicked toward her, then back to Ethan. They exchanged a silent, knowing glance. Something had shifted. 
Dylan gave her a subtle signal, nodding toward the right path.
Without a word, they moved as one, fingers clasped tightly, trusting each other in the growing uncertainty. 
Every step away from Ethan felt like they were walking deeper into a trap, but they knew they couldn’t follow him—not anymore.
As they slipped into the shadows of the right path. She could still feel Ethan’s presence behind them, like a cold shadow looming too close.
They had barely gone a few steps when they suddenly froze.
The faint glow of their flashlight flickered over the walls, revealing strange symbols etched into the stone, marks of rituals, drawn with a deep, dark substance.
Ivy’s breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening as the light fell on piles of bones scattered across the ground. Some looked disturbingly fresh.
"Oh my..." Ivy whispered, her voice barely audible.
Dylan stepped in front of her protectively, his grip on her hand tightening. His eyes darted around, scanning the markings, the bones, the silence surrounding them. 
"This isn’t right. We need to turn back."
But as they turned to retreat, a slow, deliberate sound echoed from behind them.
Footsteps.
Ethan.
He emerged from the shadows, his flashlight casting long, distorted shadows against the walls. His face was unnervingly calm, like the bones and the ritual markings didn’t faze him at all.
"Why are you stopping?" he asked, his tone too casual, too controlled. "We’re just getting started."
"Brother… what is all this?" Ivy asked, tears slowly forming in her eyes.
Ethan’s eyes flickered, and for the first time, he smiled, an unsettling, empty smile. 
"Oh, this?" He crouched down, running his fingers over one of the symbols. "This is how they communicate. How they summon."
Dylan stepped forward, "Summon who?"
Ethan looked up, his gaze locking onto Dylan’s. "Them." He said it so simply, as if it explained everything. "Sadie… Aria… they were part of it."
She felt like the ground had been ripped out from under her. "No, brother. They wouldn’t… they wouldn’t do something like this."
Ethan took a step closer, "You still don’t understand, do you?" he said softly, his voice almost sympathetic. "They didn’t have a choice."
Dylan’s body tensed, his fist clenching. "Stay away from her, Ethan."
Ethan’s gaze shifted to Dylan, his smile fading into something colder, something dangerous. 
"You always were so quick to protect her, weren’t you?" He took another step forward, "But can you protect her from this?"
Ivy’s mind raced as she glanced at the symbols, the bones, the darkness that surrounded them. 
Before they could react, he flicked them both on the forehead, just hard enough to sting.
"Ow," Ivy groaned, rubbing her head. "Jerk."
"You stubborn brats," Ethan muttered under his breath, the smirk fading from his face. His voice dropped to a whisper, so soft that only they could hear. "You need to trust me. They’re watching. If you don’t trust me now, we won’t make it out of here alive."
Dylan stepped closer to Ethan, his fists still clenched. "You want us to trust you? After everything you’ve said? After everything you’ve done?"
Ethan’s eyes darkened, "You don’t get it, do you?" he hissed. "I’m the only one who knows everything. Lila is a part of them, that deceiver. You think I'll allow them to hurt my sister? Think, you stupid."
Ivy swallowed hard. She didn’t know what to believe anymore. Everything about Ethan felt wrong, but the fear in his voice was real. 
She stepped forward, enough to hear her voice. "Why does you say that Aria is Dylan's sister?"
"Because... it's my plan that you both go to the opposite side. Some are waiting for us there. Now, hurry stubborn brats." Ethan warned urgently.