The Blood Moon’s Omen

After talking for about an hour, Jiho emerged from the room with the group leader. By now, he had gained a deeper understanding of this place. To summarize, this was the dark side of their living world—a world devoid of sunlight.

Here, night reigned endlessly, and danger was signaled by the sound of the Death Bell. It was called the Death Bell because it rang whenever hellhounds or evil spirits appeared. Strangely, while nearly every spirit had heard the bell, no one knew its origin or where it rang from.

The ghost stories and myths that circulated in the living world seemed to trace their roots back to this very realm.

The spirit realm was divided by invisible boundaries, and spirits were confined to their respective zones. Only those with immense reserves of Dark Energy—enough to influence the living world—could breach these barriers.

In this realm, Dark Energy dictated power. The greater one's control and possession of it, the stronger they became. However, this power came with the risk of losing oneself entirely. Hauntings and other supernatural phenomena in the living world often arose from gatherings of spirits with Dark Energy or interference by particularly powerful and malicious entities.

Spirits who possessed enough Dark Energy would typically establish a dwelling, marking it as their domain with personal insignias. Without the owner's permission, no one could enter these marked territories. The laws of the spirit realm enforced these boundaries. The invisible force Jiho had felt when entering the house was a manifestation of these laws. However, if a trespasser's Dark Energy surpassed that of the domain's owner, they could override this restriction.

This was why Jiho's sudden appearance outside their sanctuary had left the group, including the leader, stunned and alarmed. They had initially feared that Jiho might be an evil spirit.

There were two primary methods for acquiring Dark Energy. The first involved absorbing the ambient energy dispersed throughout the air and gradually harmonizing it with one's essence. While simple, this method was painstakingly slow.

The second method, far more sinister, required overpowering and consuming another spirit who already possessed Dark Energy. Though seemingly more direct, this method was fraught with peril and was predominantly employed by malevolent spirits.

Most spirits in this realm weren't consumed by vengeance or hatred strong enough to devolve into malevolent entities. Instead, they were seekers, longing for a chance to return to the living world. To avoid becoming fractured or losing their identities entirely, they refrained from the second method. As a result, most who resorted to this path were already evil spirits.

Even so, the greatest terror of this realm wasn't the evil spirits—it was the hellhounds.

Hellhounds... the name resonated even in the living world, yet their origins remained shrouded in mystery. No one knew when these creatures first emerged or even when the term "hellhound" was coined. Not even the group leader, who had spent over 30 years in this realm and accumulated considerable knowledge, could shed light on their true nature.

According to one legend, the hellhounds had existed since the very creation of the spirit realm, and they are searching for something endlessly. Whether this was truth or mere folklore was unknown, as the hellhounds have existed for so long that their true purpose, if any, has been lost to time.

One fact, however, was indisputable: to the hellhounds, spirits were nothing more than prey. Roaming relentlessly across the spirit realm, they devoured every spirit they encountered. Even the most formidable of evil spirits stood little chance against their relentless pursuit.

Since it has existed for countless years, how could the spirit realm not give rise to numerous evil spirits? Yet, the only thing keeping their influence from spilling into the living world on a grand scale was the hellhounds.

This much made it clear why spirits formed groups and sought out doorways.

After leaving the room, the group leader introduced Jiho to the six other members of the group. The leader, named Ji-hoon, was a man who had died in a war between North Korea and South Korea in the year 2052. Driven by lingering concern for his wife and daughter, he refused to follow the reaper and had been searching for a way to return to the living world ever since.

The other group members also carried their own stories, each tied to unresolved attachments keeping them in this place.

There was Min-Jae, a kind-hearted 12-year-old boy who had succumbed to leukemia, but his love and longing for his parents made him unable to embrace a new life.

Woo-Jin, a victim of a catastrophic building collapse, waited in this realm for his younger sister, the last living member of his family, in hopes they could start a new life together.

Seo-Yeon, who tirelessly sought doorways to return to the living world, though the cause of her death remained a mystery.

And then there were Ji-hye, Do-yun, and Gun-woo, each searching for doorways for their own reasons.

"This is our new member, Jiho," Ji-hoon introduced him to everyone. "I don't know exactly how he ended up here, but he's the first person among us to have discovered a doorway on his own. The clues he has might help us find more doorways."

Jiho greeted everyone with a warm smile. Naturally sociable and quick to adapt, he soon found himself growing comfortable among them, listening to their stories and sharing his own.

The only one who remained silent throughout the gathering was Seo-Yeon. Occasionally, she would smile faintly at their conversations, but most of the time, her gaze lingered on the glowing, circular moon visible through the window. Jiho assumed she was preoccupied with her search for a doorway and decided to let her be.

"Jiho, since you're new here, you probably don't know how to absorb Dark Energy yet," Woo-Jin explained. "But honestly, I don't think you need it yet. Dark Energy is necessary to move objects or connect with the living world, but it also damages our spirits. And you still have a lot of people who remember you, don't you? It's best to avoid damaging your spirit for as long as possible."

"Woo-Jin's right," Ji-hye chimed in. "The more you absorb Dark Energy, the more unstable your spirit becomes—just like us. Look at this."

Ji-hye, always lively with her hair tied in a sleek ponytail, lifted her long gown to reveal her leg.

Beneath the gown, her legs were mottled with blackened, decaying patches. The flesh appeared warped and damaged, as though the energy itself had begun to devour her from within.

Even Jiho, who had started to feel at ease in this place, couldn't help but feel uneasy at the sight. If he too needed to absorb Dark Energy, would his spirit deteriorate in the same way? If those like Ji-hye—spirits still remembered by the living—were in this state, what horrors must those forgotten spirits or evil spirits have become?

Though he hadn't worried about such things before, the sight made him anxious.

"Dong... Dong... Dong..."

A sudden bell rang out, loud and ominous, echoing three times.

Jiho stood unaffected, but everyone else was visibly shaken, their expressions twisting into masks of fear and unease.

Without hesitation, Ji-Hoon and Seo-Yeon bolted to the window, their gazes locked on the radiant moon hanging in the sky, its serene glow stark against the darkened heavens. But the tranquility didn't last.

The moon's soft, silvery light began to change. Slowly, its calm glow shifted. Gradually, the pale luminescence deepened, its silvery hues replaced by an ominous crimson. Within seconds, the transformation was complete—a blood-red moon hung high above, casting its eerie light across the land.

The bell continued, uninterrupted. With each toll, the weight of dread pressed heavier on the group. From the skies, droplets of red began to fall, staining the ground like an ominous prelude to something greater..

"Woo…"

"Grr…"

Low growls erupted from all directions, the unmistakable howls of hellhounds. The blood moon loomed above, the relentless chimes echoed, and the crimson rain fell steadily, creating a scene that felt ripped from the end of days.

The transformation of their surroundings was stark. What had once been calm was now chaos incarnate. Ji-Hoon and Seo-Yeon exchanged glances, their eyes trembling with a mix of confusion and fear. Neither of them could make sense of the phenomenon, though their years of experience told them this was unlike anything they'd encountered before.

"This isn't normal…" Woo-Jin's voice broke the silence, trembling as he turned to Ji-Hoon. "Leader, what's happening? I've been here over ten years… and I've never seen anything like this! The bells—they always stop after three chimes. Why won't they stop now?"

Ji-Hoon remained silent, his gaze fixed on the blood moon. Finally, he spoke, his voice low and heavy with foreboding. "I don't know. But… maybe something is coming. Something big. Something that will shake this realm to its core."

The group fell silent once more. Unfamiliar with the situation, everyone waited anxiously for Ji-Hoon's next words. Jiho, too, felt the heavy silence pressing down on him, unsure of what to say or do.

"Ah..."

The quiet shattered as Jiho let out a faint gasp.

All eyes turned to him.

The cause of his reaction became clear—the black ring on his finger.

The once-ordinary ring now pulsed with dark energy. Smoky tendrils of black swirled around it, coiling tighter with each second. The cracks on its surface began to seal, the damage vanishing before their eyes.

"Dark energy…" Ji-Hoon whispered, his voice barely audible.

"Dark energy," Woo-Jin echoed, his fear palpable.

The air around Jiho grew heavier, the atmosphere thick with an oppressive force. The swirling energy condensed into a vortex, circling faster and faster. None of the others dared to approach—the overwhelming presence radiating from the ring was a clear warning.

Jiho's panic grew. He grasped the ring, attempting to yank it off, fearing the energy might consume him.

But then, something strange happened.

The dark energy did not harm him. Instead, it flowed into the ring, leaving Jiho unharmed. The sensation was… warm. Comforting, even.

His racing thoughts slowed. His breathing steadied.

The energy's movements were deliberate, purposeful. It wasn't attacking—it was restoring the ring, as though fulfilling some ancient purpose.

Jiho's mind reeled. This ring… he'd bought it from a dusty antique shop back in the living world. Could it truly be a relic from the spirit realm?

If so, how had it crossed between realms?

The implications were staggering. If this ring was proof of a connection between the spirit world and the living world, then the rumors of a gateway… they weren't rumors at all. They were real.

Lost in thought, Jiho barely noticed as the ring emitted one final glow—a faint, dark light—before the energy vanished completely.

And then the ring disappeared.

In its place, a faint mark remained on Jiho's finger, as though the ring had branded him.

End - 4