Chapter 268 Fire at midnight 15

As agreed by the squad, their main priority was finding Slyvia and Rose—wherever they were.

Jeremy, unable to see clearly in the suffocating darkness, reached into his pocket and pulled out a flashlight.

Ava frowned instantly at the sight.

"You had that all along, and still let us almost fall into a pit?" she snapped, folding her arms across her chest.

Jeremy, caught off guard by the accusation, immediately went into defense mode.

"You're a goddess, Ava. Can't you conjure light or at least see in the dark?" he retorted.

Ava fell silent, choosing to ignore him. The tension simmered as they both rejoined Emily and Asher, who had gone a bit farther ahead.

"I'm worried about Ezekiel, Asher. Are you sure he's alright?" Jeremy asked, his voice heavy with concern. It was clear—he felt incomplete without Zeke's brooding presence beside him.

Asher grinned mischievously. Reaching forward, he brushed aside a stubborn strand of hair from Jeremy's face.

"Don't worry about Zeke. The next time we leave here, he'll come to us—and this time, back to his senses," Asher declared confidently.

Jeremy could only pray that he was right.

Suddenly, Asher came to a stop, prompting the others to follow suit.

Emily's eyes scanned the graveyard. It had grown worse. Each tombstone now bore a carving of a skull—bloody-eyed, grinning menacingly. It felt as if they were being watched.

She tried to shrug it off, dismissing it as a figment of her imagination—but to her horror, one of the skulls blinked.

"Asher, those carvings… they feel alive," Emily said, showing them the grotesque images etched into the tombstones.

Asher examined them grimly. He began inhaling, sensing the energy around the graves. Then a nauseating stench hit him.

"Oh my god—can you guys smell that?" he said, clamping his nose in disgust.

Jeremy sniffed the air—and recoiled. It was the unmistakable stench of rot. Like decaying flesh.

Emily and Ava caught it too, wincing as the putrid odor intensified.

"Where is that coming from?" Ava asked, glancing around in discomfort. The smell made her stomach churn.

"I think… it's coming from one of these tombstones. Something's buried here," Asher said absentmindedly, his voice distant.

Then, something strange began to happen. His vision shifted. The graveyard melted away. In its place stood a magnificent, glamorous tower. It gleamed like a monument from another time.

He blinked—and the vision remained.

"Asher... are you seeing this too?" Ava whispered, awe-struck.

She was mesmerized. The beauty of the tower struck her heart with a strange melancholy. What had once been glorious was now reduced to this horrifying, desecrated cemetery.

"What could've caused all this ruin?" she asked aloud.

"Could they be trying to tell us something?" she added.

Asher, exhausted by the endless questions, said nothing. He wasn't a god. He didn't have the answers.

Then, a masculine voice echoed through the air.

"Zandros, c'mon, let's go to our hideout. I have something for you."

Asher turned toward the sound. A breathtakingly handsome man stepped from the woods, holding the hand of a skinny, almost frail-looking lad. The sight was confusing—and eerily familiar.

"There's something about him... that guy with blond hair, the one holding the skinny one," Ava said slowly. Recognition dawned in her eyes. "His name… Zandros?"

Asher's expression hardened. "Zandros... He's the Dragon Lord. The one who went mad and destroyed half the world's population."

"But where did we hear that tale?" he wondered aloud. "It seems familiar... and yet, why are we being shown this? Is he a dead witch too?"

They all stared at the vision before them, spellbound.

"Logan, you know we're different. If your parents find out you're associating with me, you'll be punished—and I'll be executed," Zandros said, his voice heavy with sorrow.

Logan gripped his hands tightly.

"Fuck them! We live in our own world. No one tells me who I can spend time with. And you, Zandros... will be my husband."

Zandros's face lit up with joy. He pulled Logan into a passionate embrace.

"I love you so much, Logan," he whispered.

"And I love you more than all the waters of the ocean, Zan. Now come—let's go to our lair."

The vision faded slightly, but Ava's mind was spinning.

"Why does his face—and that name—feel so familiar?" she murmured.

Then it hit her.

"I got it!" Ava exclaimed, her voice laced with dread.

Asher and the others turned to her, their full attention on what she was about to reveal.

"According to what the Oak Tree told Slyvia... she was meant to uncover the truth about her ancestors—especially her father. And the man I saw... the statue beneath the school garden, where that strange compartment is... That was Logan. So, by my understanding, Logan killed Zandros—the Dragon Lord."

The revelation struck like lightning. Silence followed.

Slyvia's father had been gay. And it was Logan's betrayal that had pushed Zandros into madness. Asher's mind finally cleared.

"Logan must've left him... for a woman. Maybe that's why Zandros lost control. But why? They clearly loved each other. I—I don't understand anything anymore," he admitted, dazed.

But before they could question further, the illusion shattered. A powerful gust of wind snatched the vision away—and once more, they stood in the cursed graveyard.

"Enough already!" Emily snapped, her voice cracking with frustration. "Where are Slyvia and Rose?! I can't take this anymore—this place is tormenting me!"

"Please... where are they?" she whispered desperately.

None of them noticed the bony hand creeping behind her—until it grabbed her leg and dragged her down.

Emily screamed—a piercing, soul-wrenching cry—as she was pulled into the earth.

"Let me go! Someone, please save me!" she cried out.

"Asher!" Jeremy yelled, and they all sprinted toward her. But the ground beneath her gave way entirely—revealing a grave that swallowed her whole.

A moment later, sand surged and buried her. A tombstone erupted from the soil, bearing the name:

EMILY BENNETT

2005–2025

Jeremy gasped. Emily had just been buried alive.

"Let's get out of here, Asher!" Jimmy begged, eyes wide in terror.

But Asher's face was stone-cold with resolve.

"No. It's from this cemetery that these evil things creep out. It's time I cleanse it. Ava, join me—we have to get them out."

Ava's eyes flicked across the tombstones—and she froze. Two headstones stood out, side by side.

Both read:

ROSE

SLYVIA

"I've found them! Look!" she shouted.

Jeremy and Jimmy stared at the chilling names etched in stone.

"It's time," Asher muttered.

The atmosphere darkened. Leaves swirled violently in the air. A chilling wind crawled through the cemetery like a phantom's breath.

And then—it appeared.

A monstrous, red-eyed creature.

Blood dripped from its hollow, soulless sockets.

It watched them.

Waiting.