Sophie's apartment was a mess. Candlelight flickered, shadows shaking on the walls, and the air was thick with the aftertaste of burnt wax and fear. Alex lay collapsed on the floor, the protective talisman on his forehead still faintly warm. Xiaohuo (小火) leaned against the wall, his fingers trembling with tension as the seductive threats from the red-lit crack echoed relentlessly in his mind.
Sophie took a deep breath and immediately checked Alex's condition. Maya watched everyone in silence, her face tense. Ethan looked pale and hollow-eyed, as if half his soul had been drained away.
"We can't keep being on the defensive," Sophie said in a low, resolute tone. "That attack just now proves the crack's power can now briefly break through our reality's defenses."
Xiaohuo nodded, letting his anxiety transform into determination. "We have to figure out what these things really are. What is the essence of the crack?"
Sophie opened the old manuscript, her fingers gliding over page after page of cryptic symbols. "According to these records, the crack isn't just a passage to another world—it's a fracture in the layer of consciousness itself. It manifests according to each person's fear or desire. Sometimes it appears as a ghost, sometimes as an illusion."
Maya murmured, "I've seen my deepest fears in those dreams… but they always feel more real than reality itself."
Ethan's voice trembled. "The voice almost got me just now. It kept repeating: 'Give up resistance and the pain will end'… I almost believed it."
Sophie looked at Xiaohuo, her tone softer. "What about you? What did it say to you?"
Xiaohuo fell silent, recalling that insidious whisper. "It promised that if I crossed the crack, I'd gain true power and freedom. But… I know that's not what I want. I just want to protect all of you, and not let anyone be taken."
At that moment, the sharp sound of shattering glass echoed from outside the window. Everyone tensed. Sophie rushed to reinforce the talismans by the window, chanting under her breath. Xiaohuo gripped his prayer beads tightly, feeling a cold wave seeping in from the darkness beyond.
Suddenly, there was a frantic knocking at the door. Maya instinctively stepped back. Sophie went to the door and called out, "Who's there?"
A man's voice, trembling with terror and a heavy foreign accent, pleaded from the other side: "Help! Let me in! It's chasing me!"
Xiaohuo and Sophie exchanged a glance, deciding to trust him for now. Sophie quickly undid the barrier, and as the door opened, a blond foreign man stumbled in, his face and coat smeared with a sticky, black, smoke-like substance.
The man introduced himself as David, a newly moved-in neighbor. He gasped, "A red crack suddenly appeared in my wall. Shadows almost dragged me through—" He broke off, shuddering violently, his eyes flickering with a strange red glow.
"Not good!" Sophie shouted. "He's been marked by the crack!"
Xiaohuo lunged forward with Sophie to pin David down, while Maya and Ethan supported them, chanting and pressing talismans. David began muttering in a bizarre, unrecognizable language—a malicious psychic resonance that chilled the air.
Black smoke spread rapidly across David's body, sucking the warmth from the room. Sophie slapped a talisman onto David's forehead, chanting frantically, "Heart united, evil spirits leave!"
The smoke writhed violently. David screamed in agony. Xiaohuo felt a powerful force trying to drag them all into the crack. In that instant, Maya and Ethan tightened the circle, all of them holding hands and forming a ring of protection.
At the last moment, inspiration struck Xiaohuo. He pressed his prayer beads hard against David's chest and focused his mind: "We are no longer afraid. Your tricks won't work on us!"
A flash of white light burst forth. The black smoke dissipated like shadows swept away by the sun. David collapsed heavily on the floor, dazed but finally at peace.
Breathing heavily, Sophie summarized, "This proves the crack's mark can now infect others through physical contact. The crack is hunting, searching for its next breach."
Xiaohuo helped Maya to her feet, feeling sweat slick on his palm. He looked at everyone, voice steady, "We have to take the initiative. Waiting here is just waiting to die. Only by finding the source of the crack can we end this."
The group was silent for a moment before nodding in agreement. Sophie clasped Xiaohuo's hand, her eyes filled with resolve. "We still have each other. As long as we stay united, there's hope."
Wind moaned through the window, carrying whispers from a world that did not belong to theirs. Xiaohuo knew the night had just begun—but hope, quietly, was taking root.