Ethan was falling.
Darkness surrounds him, thick and suffocating. His heart pounded in his chest, his breath shallow as the shadows pulled him deeper.
He didn’t know how long he had been running... time seemed meaningless here but there was nothing. No sound. No light.
His feet hit solid ground, but the world around him remained a black.
“Where am I?” His voice echoed, swallowed by the darkness. “Ivy? Dylan?”
Nothing.
But despite of this, he remained calm. He could feel it... the dark presence, writhing inside him. It whispered in his mind, cold and insidious. 
"You belong to me now."
“No,” Ethan whispered to himself, shaking his head. “I’m still here. I’m still... me.”
Suddenly, from the darkness, two blood-red eyes blinked open in front of him. They glowed with an unnatural intensity, watching him. 
He froze, unable to look away as the creature stared into him.
“You can’t hide from me, Ethan,” a deep, guttural voice. “This is your mind now. I am your master here.”
Ethan backed away, his feet stumbling over nothing. “Who... what are you?”
The eyes narrowed, the shadows coiling around the voice like smoke. “I am everything you fear. Everything you have tried to lock away. You’ve let me in, and now I rule.”
A realization hit Ethan like a punch to the gut. “I’m... inside myself?”
The voice chuckled, “What’s left of yourself.”
“No...” Ethan’s voice trembled. “This is still my mind. You can’t control me.”
“Control?” The creature's laughter boomed through the empty void. “Oh, Ethan. You gave me control the moment you let fear consume you. The moment you let the darkness in.”
Ethan’s breathing quickened. He looked around wildly, searching for something, anything, to break free from this nightmare. But there was nothing but blackness, and those eyes. Always watching.
“You’re lying,” Ethan said, his voice shaking. “I can fight this. I can fight you.”
The red eyes flickered, drawing closer. “Fight me?” the voice hissed. “I’ve already won. You’re just a shell now. Why do you think your friends fear you? Why do you think she fears you?”
“Ivy...” Ethan breathed, guilt stabbing through him. He could still feel her throat in his hands, the terror in her eyes. “I didn’t mean to...”
“Oh, but you did,” the voice sneered, circling him. “You wanted to hurt her. To stop her from seeing what you’ve become.”
“No!” Ethan shouted, his fists clenching. “That’s not true! I would never hurt her!”
The creature’s eyes flared, burning into his soul. “Then why did you let me in? Why didn’t you stop me when you had the chance?”
“I... I tried!” Ethan’s voice cracked, frustration and fear tearing through him. “Ahhhh... Damn it!”
“You’re weak, Ethan,” the voice taunted, the words like knives. “You are weak. That’s why you lost.”
Ethan dropped to his knees, his mind racing. Every step he took seemed to bring him closer to losing himself completely.
“What do you want from me?” Ethan whispered, his voice hollow.
“I want what you cannot give,” the voice said, cold and cruel. “I want your soul, your strength, your fear. I want everything that makes you who you are.”
Ethan’s hands curled into fists. “No. You’re wrong.”
The red eyes glared down at him. “You think you can fight me? You think you can reclaim what’s left of your pathetic life?” It paused, then whispered, “You’ll never escape me. You can’t even escape your own mind.”
The suffocating weight of the darkness pressed down on him, and for the first time, he felt utterly powerless. Hopeless.
But then, a small flicker... a memory.
Ivy’s voice. “You’re stronger than it. You’re still you!”
“Ivy...” Ethan muttered, pushing against the fear, the despair.
The creature snarled, the red eyes blazing. “You really think she can help you? She’s already forgotten you. To her, you're just a monster now.”
Ethan’s jaw clenched. “I won’t let you have me.”
The voice hissed, frustration rising in its tone. “You already belong to me, Ethan!”
“No!” Ethan shouted, pushing himself to his feet. “I won’t let this darkness take me. I won’t let you control me!”
The creature's red eyes burned brighter, filling the void with a suffocating heat. “You are MINE!”
Ethan’s pulse raced, but he planted his feet firmly. “I’m still in here,” he growled, “You haven’t taken me yet.”
A long silence stretched between them, the tension.
Then, the voice softened, dripping with danger. “If you want to fight, Ethan... you’ll have to face me. And when you fail, I will consume you. Completely.”
The red eyes blinked out, leaving Ethan alone in the darkness once more.
But this time, he wasn’t running. He stood still, his mind clear for the first time since the shadows had taken hold.
“I’m coming back,” Ethan whispered to himself, his voice firm. “I’m not giving up.”
And somewhere, deep within the darkness, he could hear the creature’s low, mocking laughter.
But Ethan no longer cared. This was his mind. His battle. And he was going to win.
He could feel the presence of the creature lurking just beyond sight, watching, waiting for him to hesitate. But something had changed... he wasn’t running anymore. He wasn’t afraid.
"I won’t let it win," he thought, his fists clenched. "I’m still in control."
Suddenly, the air around him shifted. The harsh weight of the darkness seemed to ripple, and for a moment, Ethan felt something stir inside him. A surge of energy, raw and untamed, pulsed through his veins.
It was the dark magic.
He could feel it now, alive, dangerous, but his. For the first time, he wasn’t just its victim. He could sense its power, humming just beneath the surface, waiting to be release. But it was unpredictable, like a fire that could consume him if he wasn’t careful.
"I can use this," he realized, his breath catching. "I can control it."
The voice of the creature echoed through the void, cold and mocking. “You think you can control me? Foolish boy. The darkness will destroy you the moment you touch it.”
Ethan’s chest tightened, but he pushed the fear aside. “You’ve already lost,” he muttered, his voice steady. “I’m not afraid of you anymore.”
The red eyes flared back into existence, burning brighter than before. “Then prove it. Prove that you can wield what you do not understand.”
Ethan didn’t hesitate. He reached deep inside, pulling at the threads of dark magic that coiled within him. It felt cold, sharp, but familiar now, like a part of him that had always been there, waiting to be awakened.
His body trembled as the power surged through him, fierce and wild. For a moment, it was overwhelming, the force of it threatening to tear him apart.
His vision blurred, his muscles seizing as the darkness wrapped around him, its whispers growing louder, more insistent.
“Stop!” the voice of the creature snarled. “You don’t know what you’re doing!”
But Ethan didn’t stop. He couldn’t. The power was flowing through him, uncontrollable, pushing him to the edge.
His mind spun, the shadows inside him threatening to overtake his thoughts, to drown him in their chaos. He could feel the creature’s laughter in his head, mocking him as he struggled to stay in control.
Then, something snapped.
The darkness get worse violently, exploding out of him in a wave. For a brief, terrifying moment, Ethan felt himself lose control, his mind slipping into the darkness.
The shadows surged around him, feeding on his fear, his doubt. His body convulsed, the dark magic writhing beneath his skin, twisting him into something unrecognizable.
“No!” he gasped, fighting to regain control. “This... this isn’t me!”
The red eyes bore down on him, the creature’s voice filled with cruel amusement. “You’re nothing but a puppet now. I told you! I am in control.”
But even as the darkness raged inside him, Ethan found something... a spark, buried deep within. It was small, but it was enough. Enough to remind him of who he was.
With a deep breath, Ethan reached for that spark, pulling it to the surface. It was his will, his resolve. The thing that the darkness could never take from him.
Slowly, the chaos began to subside. The shadows around him, once wild and uncontrollable, started to bend to his will.
The whispers quieted, and the surge of power that had threatened to tear him apart began to calm. He could feel it... the dark magic still pulsing through him, but now, it was different. It wasn’t consuming him anymore. He was holding it, controlling it.
Ethan’s breathing steadied. His hands stopped trembling. The darkness still surrounds him, but now, it felt like a weapon he could wield.
He lifted his hand, and the shadows obeyed.
The red eyes blinked in surprise. “What... what have you done?” the voice snarled, its once confident tone now laced with uncertainty.
Ethan smirked, his eyes glowing with a dark energy. “I’m not your puppet anymore,” he said, his voice low but steady. “This power is mine now.”
The creature growled, the shadows around it flaring in defiance. “You think you’ve won? You think you can control the darkness forever?”
Ethan stepped forward, the shadows circles around him like a living entity. “I don’t need to control it forever,” he said, his voice cold. “I just need to control it now.”
With a flick of his wrist, the darkness surged forward, slamming into the creature with a force that shook the void. The red eyes widened in shock, but before it could react, Ethan pushed harder, sending another wave of shadow crashing into it.
The creature screeched in fury, its form dissolving into the darkness. “This isn’t over!” it howled, its voice echoing as it faded into nothingness. “You’ll never truly be free of me!”
Ethan watched as the last of the red eyes blinked out, leaving him alone in the void once more. The darkness around him was still there, but it no longer felt oppressive. It was his now. A part of him.
He took a deep breath, feeling the dark magic settle within him, calm and controlled.
He wasn’t just fighting the darkness anymore. He had become its master.
And now, he could use it. To protect. To fight back against the forces that threatened them.
With a final glance at the void around him, Ethan closed his eyes and willed himself back to the surface. The darkness obeyed.
And when he opened his eyes again, he was alone. 
"Ivy? Dylan?" He searched on every side of the room. "Damn it, am I too late?"