ECLIPSED VEINS — Episode 3: "Voices in the Vein"
The rooftop felt strangely calm after the Shade Priest vanished—too calm, like the world was pretending nothing had happened.
The wind returned first, carrying the scent of early night.The moon had slipped out of alignment, no longer eclipsed, glowing soft white.
But Seong-min still felt it.
A faint echo inside him.A whisper.A hunger.
Yuna sat beside him, her knees pulled up, hands wrapped around them. The golden glow from her awakening had faded, leaving only a faint warmth around her.
She watched him.
He stared at the ground.
Neither knew how to start.
Finally, Yuna whispered, "Do you hear it right now?"
Seong-min didn't look at her.His fingers twitched involuntarily.
"…Sometimes."
"What does it say?"
He hesitated.
She waited.
"…It wants out," he murmured.
The cold whisper in his mind slid deeper into his thoughts:
"You are weak, Seong-min.Let me guide you.Let me feed."
His eyes squeezed shut.
"Shut up…" he muttered.
Yuna flinched. "What?"
"Not you. It's—" His jaw clenched. "It's talking again."
She scooted closer, hesitating only a second before touching his forearm.
His skin was cold.
"Seong-min… look at me."
He did.
His eyes were normal again—gray and human—but filled with exhaustion.
"You're still you," she said, voice trembling slightly. "You're here. The shadow didn't take you."
He almost smiled.Almost.
But the whisper dug into his ear like a parasite.
"She lies.She does not trust you.She is afraid."
Seong-min pressed his palms against his ears, knuckles whitening.
"Stop—just stop—"
Yuna grabbed his hands.
"It's not real!" she shouted. "Don't listen to it!"
He stared at her, breathing hard.
She didn't let go.
And slowly… painfully… the whisper quieted.
A few minutes passed in silence.
Yuna's hand still rested over Seong-min's.
She felt his pulse racing beneath her fingertips—too fast, too unstable.
He was scared.And so was she.
But she couldn't let him see that.
"Let's get you home," she said softly.
He shook his head.
"No. It's closer than you think."
"What is?"
He lifted his hand—and the shadow on the ground responded.It stretched toward him like a creature greeting its master.
Yuna gasped.
"See?" he whispered. "I don't know how long I can control it."
She swallowed.
"…Then I'll help you control it."
He looked stunned. "Yuna—"
"No more running," she said firmly. "From you or from whatever this Sunwarden thing is."
She didn't admit it, but ever since her hand burst with golden light…Ever since she saw the symbols…Ever since she heard that ancient voice…
A part of her felt like she already knew this path.
As if she had walked it before.
Before Seong-min could respond, Yuna's phone buzzed violently in her pocket.
She nearly jumped.
She pulled it out and froze.
"It's… my grandmother."
The one who raised her after her parents died.
The one who always told her never to look directly at spirits.
Yuna answered nervously.
"Halmeoni? It's late—"
"Child."
Her grandmother's tone was sharp, trembling.
"Where are you? Come home. Now."
Yuna blinked. "What? Why? What's wrong?"
A long, shaky pause.
Then—
"The Sunwarden's sigil has awakened.You are not safe out in the dark."
Yuna's heart stopped.
Seong-min tensed beside her.
"Halmeoni… how do you know about that?"
Her grandmother's breath caught.
"Yuna. Listen carefully. Do not let the Eclipsed boy near your home."
Yuna's blood ran cold.
Seong-min's head snapped up, eyes unreadable.
"Halmeoni—he's not—"
"He is dangerous! He will consume you! The Eclipsed always destroy the Sunwarden. That is fate."
Yuna's voice broke.
"No. You're wrong. He's not like that!"
Another silence.
Then her grandmother whispered:
"You are young. And young hearts always misjudge monsters."
The call ended.
Yuna lowered the phone slowly, tears burning her eyes.
Seong-min watched, expression tightening with pain.
"…Is that what she thinks of me?"
Yuna shook her head. "She doesn't know you—"
"She knows more about this than either of us."
"That doesn't matter!"
Her voice cracked.
"You're not a monster…"
The shadow behind Seong-min shifted restlessly.
He closed his eyes.
"…I'm not so sure."
They made their way down from the rooftop.
The hallways were empty now. Dark. Quiet.
But not entirely silent.
Faint footsteps echoed somewhere below.
Yuna whispered, "Is someone else here?"
Seong-min stopped walking.
His shadow bristled.
"…No. That's not human."
A shape moved at the end of the hall.
A crawling, jittery silhouette hunched over with long arms dragging on the floor. Its shadow twisted unnaturally.
Yuna froze.
"What… is that?"
"Umbral Parasite," Seong-min whispered. "One of the Priest's."
The creature snapped its head toward them—jaw unhinging far too wide.
It screeched.
The hallway lights shattered.
Darkness swallowed the corridor.
Yuna grabbed Seong-min's sleeve.
"What do we do?!"
He took a slow breath.
"Stay behind me."
The shadow at his feet rose like a shield.
But Yuna stepped beside him instead of behind.
"I'm not leaving you alone to fight that thing."
"You can't—"
Her hand glowed gold.
"I can."
Light and shadow collided, ready for battle.
The Parasite shrieked and lunged.
The creature's charge was blindingly fast.
Yuna raised her glowing hand, instincts guiding her. A golden barrier formed—thin, fragile-looking, yet radiant.
The Parasite slammed into it.
The impact rattled her bones, but the barrier held.
Seong-min stared in shock.
"You—how did you—?"
"I don't know!" she said, voice shaking.
The Parasite scraped at the light, hissing.The corridor flickered like dying film.
Seong-min's shadow flared instinctively.
He could feel it.The thing inside him rising.Begging.
"Let me out.Let me tear it apart."
He fought the urge, forcing himself to stay in control.
"Yuna! Drop the barrier!"
"What?! Why?!"
"Do it!"
She hesitated—
—but trusted him.
The barrier vanished.
The Parasite lunged—
—and Seong-min moved.
Shadow enveloped his arm, forming a claw that slashed through the creature's torso. It shrieked, dissolving into smoke instantly.
Yuna staggered back, breathing hard.
Seong-min stared at his own hand, horrified.
He dropped it, shadow dissipating.
"I… didn't mean to—"
Yuna approached him slowly, gently touching his wrist.
"You protected me."
He swallowed hard.
"…I almost lost control."
"But you didn't."
Her eyes shined—part fear, part admiration, part something deeper.
The whisper inside Seong-min hissed in irritation.
"Fool.You could have been so much stronger if you let me in."
He clenched his jaw.
"I won't become what they want."
As they exited the school building, a cold wind swept across the courtyard.
The moon was bright now—too bright.
Yuna stared upward.
"Why does it look… wrong?"
Seong-min didn't answer.
Because he already knew.
He felt a pulse from the sky—like the moon was breathing.
A shadow passed over it, only for a second.
But it was enough.
The voice inside him murmured:
"The Eclipsed God stirs."
Seong-min's heart dropped.
He whispered:
"…The Priest wasn't lying."
Yuna grabbed his hand.
"Then we'll fight it together."
He turned to her, shaken.
"You're supposed to kill me, Yuna. Your grandmother said it. The Priest said it. That sigil on your hand—"
"I don't care what the sigil says!" Yuna shouted.
"I don't care what anyone says!"
She stepped closer.
"I decide who I protect. I decide who I trust. And I trust you."
Her words burned through the darkness suffocating him.
For a moment…For a single heartbeat…The whisper in his mind went silent.
END OF EPISODE 3