Darkness. But not alone.
Ji-hoon lay on the couch, eyes closed, but he wasn't asleep. His thoughts wandered into the third space—the one that watched.
It stirred with him.
"They're coming," the voice inside warned. Not the other him. The one beneath. The third.
Watcher. Witness. Whisperer.
He opened his eyes. The room was still, but he felt it—the shift in energy. Like something turning toward them.
Min-ho sat by the door, alert. Su-yeon moved in her sleep.
Ji-hoon wasn't the only one hearing it now.
A low vibration hummed beneath his skin. Familiar, yet new.
"What do you want from us?" he asked quietly.
And for the first time— it answered.
"Survival. Connection. Continuity."
Not destruction. Not dominance. Something else.
Su-yeon sat upright. Her face pale. Her eyes unfocused.
"I heard it too," she whispered.
Min-ho turned. "You've begun, then."
"What's happening to us?" Ji-hoon asked.
Min-ho didn't hesitate. "The convergence. The three becoming one."
The experiment no one planned. The evolution no one could stop.
And Ji-hoon realized— they were the key.
→ [To be continued in Episode 32]
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