The mansion's foundations were shaking.
Walls cracked, windows shattered.
The black shadow rising from the basement reached all the way to the ceiling.
But it didn't look like a creature.
It was as if it was living darkness itself.
Hundreds of faces appeared and disappeared inside it.
Some were crying, some were screaming.
Umi pulled back in fear.
"What is that?"
Without taking his eyes off the shadow, Aras answered.
"No one knows its name."
Dark Umi spoke quietly.
"We call it Shadow."
One of the faces inside the shadow suddenly turned to Umi.
And spoke.
"Finally..."
The voice belonged to an old man.
Then another face appeared.
A child.
Then an old woman.
The faces kept changing.
The shadow spoke at the same time with the voices of thousands of people.
"Last Keeper..."
The key necklace around Umi's neck began to glow.
The shadow suddenly stopped.
As if it recognized her.
Aras looked in shock.
"No..."
"What happened?"
"This has never happened before."
Right then the light coming from the necklace touched the shadow.
And Umi saw an image.
Years ago...
A small child was crying under the mansion.
She was alone.
She was afraid.
No one could hear her.
The child called out to the darkness through her tears.
"Let me have a friend..."
The darkness answered.
And it began to grow.
The image disappeared.
Umi's eyes widened.
"This..."
Dark Umi bowed her head.
"The First Keeper's daughter."
Aras continued.
"Selim's lost daughter."
Umi was starting to understand everything.
The shadow hadn't been born as a monster.
It had grown with loneliness, fear, and pain.
That's why it entered people's dreams.
That's why it fed on fears.
Because it was fear itself.
The shadow spoke once more.
This time its voice sounded sad.
"I didn't want to be alone..."
The inside of the mansion went silent.
Even Aras couldn't speak.
Umi looked at the shadow carefully.
For the first time she saw not just anger in it, but great loneliness.
But right then the faces inside the shadow began to scream.
The darkness was losing control.
Walls shattered.
The floor split open.
The shadow began to grow.
Aras shouted:
"Umi! It's time to choose!"
The book opened in midair.
Two options appeared on the last page.
1. Seal the door forever.
2. Try to save the Shadow.
Aras pointed to the first option.
Dark Umi pointed to the second.
And all eyes turned to Umi.
Because for the first time...
She was the only one who could make this choice.