Ivy watched them carefully, her heart pounding as Dylan knelt on the floor, the old journal open beside him.
Ethan drawing symbols in the dirt around Ethan, who stood motionless inside the circle, eyes dark and distant.
"Are you sure about this?" her gaze flickering between Dylan and her brother.
They had chosen the hard path. The dangerous one.
"We don’t have a choice," Dylan muttered, his eyes not leaving the symbols. 
Each mark seemed to pulse with a strange energy.
The candles placed around Ethan flickered violently, the flames stretching higher, twisting in the air as if something unseen was manipulating them. That was given by Lila to them secretly.
She could feel it... a presence, dark and ancient, surrounded just outside the boundaries of the circle Dylan had drawn.
Ethan didn’t flinch, though. He stood, his fists clenched at his sides, his jaw tight. His eyes, once filled with defiance, were now hollow, as if the darkness had already taken hold of him.
"Dylan... is this really going to work?" she asked again, her voice trembling.
She wanted to believe, but the fear of losing Ethan... of watching him become something else was almost too much to bear.
Dylan’s hands paused for a split second, the hesitation in his movements betraying his own uncertainty. 
He finally looked up at her, his expression grim but resolute. "It has to," he said, though his voice lacked the confidence she needed to hear.
The candlelight cast sharp shadows on his face, making him look almost inhuman, as if he was already half-gone. She felt tears prickling at the edges of her eyes but forced them back. She couldn’t break, not now.
"Just stay inside the mark, Ethan," Dylan instructed. "Whatever happens, don’t step out of the circle. The moment you do, we’re finished."
Ivy flustered, it was the same... as her.
Ethan’s lips curled into a bitter smile, but there was no humor in it. "I get it. Don’t screw this up, right?" His voice was flat, empty, like he was talking to someone far away.
Ivy’s stomach twisted. Thinking it was not Ethan, clenching her hands into fists. Not anymore.
Dylan’s fingers traced the final symbol, and the room seemed to exhale, the air becoming still... too still.
And then, a low, guttural sound echoed through the room. A whisper, no... more like a growl, came from somewhere beyond the shadows. The darkness outside the circle, moving like it had a life of its own.
"Ethan, focus! The dark magic is going to fight back. You need to be ready." Dylan shouted.
But Ethan didn’t respond. His head tilted slightly, his eyes fixed on the shadows swirling just beyond the edge of the circle. 
His breathing was slow, controlled but Ivy saw the tension in his body, the way his muscles strained as if he was fighting something inside.
"Dylan," Ivy whispered, her heart racing, "something’s wrong."
Dylan glanced at Ethan, his brow furrowing in concern. "Ethan!" he shouted, louder this time. "Stay with us!"
But it was too late.
The shadows moved, and a figure emerged from the darkness—tall, twisted, its form shifting and writhing like smoke. Its eyes... if they could be called eyes... fixing on Ethan with a sickening intensity.
It was the being behind the dark magic. The source of Ethan’s torment. The reason for the strange wounds that had appeared on his body.
And now, it was here.
The creature’s mouth stretched into an unnatural grin, its voice a low, raspy whisper that sent shivers down Ivy’s spine. "He is mine."
Ethan’s body jerked violently, his head snapping back as the dark being’s influence took hold. He let out a strangled cry, his hands flying to his temples as if he could tear the creature’s voice out of his mind.
"Dylan, do something!" Ivy screamed.
Dylan didn’t waste a second. He slammed his hand down onto the journal, chanting the incantation he had memorized from the ancient text.
The symbols on the ground began to glow, pulsing with a faint blue light. But the creature only laughed, its voice deepening into something far more sinister.
"You think you can sever him from me?" it growled, stepping closer to the edge of the circle. "He is already mine. You’re too late."
Ethan dropped to his knees, gasping for breath as the darkness wrapped itself around him, seeping into his skin like poison. His eyes flickered, the color draining from them until they were almost black.
"No," Ivy whispered, rushing forward, but Dylan grabbed her arm, holding her back.
"Ivy, no! If you step outside the mark, you’ll only make it worse!"
"But he’s—"
"He’s still in there!" Dylan snapped, his voice shaking with desperation. "We just need more time."
Ivy’s heart raced as she looked back at her brother. His body trembled, his face contorted in pain. 
He was fighting it... she could see it in the way his fingers dug into the ground, the way his jaw clenched against the force pulling him under. 
Dylan’s voice grew louder, more forceful, as he continued the ritual. The blue light intensified, pushing the creature back, but only slightly. The dark being’s grin widened, its twisted form looming over Ethan like a shadow of death.
"Fight it, Ethan!" Ivy shouted, her voice cracking. "Please! Don’t let it take you!"
For a moment, Ethan’s eyes met hers, something familiar flickering in them... something human.
And then, with a final, harsh sounding scream, he collapsed. 
The creature recoiled, hissing angrily as the symbols on the ground flared bright, sending a shockwave through the room. The candles flickered wildly before the flames went out entirely, plunging them into darkness.
Ivy’s breath caught in her throat as she stumbled backward, her heart pounding in the silence that followed.
For a moment, there was nothing.
And then, a soft, ragged breath.
"Ethan?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
He was on the ground, motionless, his body limp. Ivy rushed to his side, her hands shaking as she reached out to him. "Ethan, please…"
Slowly, his eyes opened. They were no longer black, but they weren’t quite the same either... something had changed.
"Ivy…" His voice was weak, barely a whisper. "I… I’m still here."
Even though Ethan had survived the ritual, the darkness had left its mark on him.
And she knew, in her heart, that the fight was far from over.
"Ivy... you... you get out of the mark?" Ethan said with concerned.
Ivy realize that when all the candles blowned out. The barriers and dark magic of her marks are definitely vanished.