A Ghoulim.

A creature created from shadow and despair. A creature that never seemed to die and fed on the souls of humans. They looked and sounded human, but they were made of shadows.

And they were monsters.

All those hours Yona spent reading about the Ghoulim, studying their anatomy and habits couldn't prepare her for coming face-to-face with the real thing.

The Ghoulim giggled as she stood up and lit the candles on the table that didn't get overturned in the scuffle. "It's so cold," she said, her melodic voice chilling Yona to her core. She clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth as she turned to face Yona, a veil of long, black hair covering a young, round face that too closely resembled Yona's own. "What happened here?"

Yona opened her mouth, her back against the wall. Her legs felt like wet noodles and her heart was heavy in her chest.

The Ghoulim tilted her head. "Cat got your tongue?"

"You—"

The Ghoulim walked around the apartment, stopping at the window. She pushed the curtain away and looked out at the dark, rainy street. "A cute little town you live in. Are you alone? Oh, how silly of me. Of course you are. Your loneliness and uselessness twisted your shadow into … well, into me, huh?"

Yona's breath came out in huffs. "How are you here?"

The Ghoulim looked at Yona as if she were a silly little child. "Foolish girl. Your fear of being alone was strong enough to create me. Who did you lose?" She tapped her finger on her chin. "Wait, don't tell me. You lost a piece of your heart. Not a lover. No, that's not what this is." She sucked in a breath through her teeth. Then she pointed to Yona's chest. "Half of your heart is gone."

Yona's fingers grazed her chest as the Ghoulim pointed a sharp nail at her own heart.

"Now I have a heartbeat." She giggled, the sound a high-pitched, shrill thing that sent Yona's blood boiling, anger running through her veins as quickly as adrenaline. "And my name," she said between giggles, her dark eyes darting across the room as if she were reading something suspended in the air. "That's right. That's my name. Una."

Yona blinked. "Una?"

The Ghoulim—Una—smiled, stepping closer to Yona and bending down so they were at eye-level. It was like looking in a twisted mirror. Disgust and fear rose up her throat like a serpent. "You know, I'm … awfully hungry." Una reached out with her nail and Yona flinched away, her heart thumping. Upon seeing her reaction, Una's lips twisted into a wicked grin.

The shadows surrounding her twisted and curved until they wrapped around Una's body, covering her skin. Her eyes, which were once the same dark brown as Yona's, became a deep red, glowing against the shadows. She stretched her neck from one side to the other, her bones cracking. Her lips twisted into something wicked that distorted her face.

Yona couldn't feel her fingers. She forced herself to stand on shaking legs and an aching ankle, her back pressed firmly against the wall to keep Una in her line of sight. The wall was cold, even through her cloak, but the blood pumping through Yona's veins kept her warm.

She reached behind her, looking for something—anything—she could use to defend herself, but she was met with only air and ice.

Damn it.

Una giggled as the shadows grew more tame around her, the sound a manic shrill that chilled Yona to her core. "It's so strange," Una said. "Grief isn't the thing that created me. No, your selfish realization that your other half doesn't actually need you is what brought me to life."

Yona wanted to cover her ears so she wouldn't have to listen to the Ghoulim's words; they rang true and sent jolts of pain through her heart. But she resisted the temptation, instead balling her hands into tight fists, her nails digging little crescent moons in her palms that sent sharp pain up her arms.

Her heart began to race again, anger and fear coursing through her body like tiny hurricanes underneath her skin.

She wanted to hide.

No.

Yona gritted her teeth until her jaw ached. She couldn't hide. It was because everything Una said was true that Yona needed to stand her ground despite her shaking knees. So she swallowed as much of that fear as she could and ignored the rest, narrowing her eyes at the Ghoulim whose shadows were wiggling around her like little snakes ready to strike.

"That expression!" Una exclaimed, more shrill laughter sounding throughout the room. She bounced on her toes like an excited child. "How delicious!"

Yona's ankle that had been grabbed by the shadow threatened to cave in under her weight, but adrenaline kept her standing, sweat beading at the back of her neck despite the cold of the apartment. She swallowed the dry lump in her throat and gritted her teeth.

A Ghoulim was the creature she was going to set out and hunt anyway, and now one was in her apartment, made in her own image and from her own shadow. If she could manage to kill her and use her blood to make a magic-curing potion, all she would have to do was find Suoh.

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But she had nothing to fight with other than her own two hands and the clothes on her back.

Anything she could have potentially used as a weapon—silverware or even a thick book—was all locked behind a thick layer of ice that showed no signs of melting.

She was at a major disadvantage, the more logical part of her brain screaming at her to run.

Would Una pursue her if she did run? Were the Ghoulim compelled to hunt their counterparts and devour their souls?

Judging from the hungry look on Una's face and how she was practically salivating at the sight of her, Yona had a feeling she could chase her to the end of the earth.

Yona took a deep breath, solidifying her decision in her mind. She wouldn't be able to help Suoh if she was dead. The soft velvet of the curtain brushed against her arm as it was pushed by a gentle breeze and an idea filled Yona with an unquenchable hope. She grabbed onto the curtain, bunching the fabric in her hands so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her expression must have changed because Una’s grin faltered for a moment and Yona took that opportunity to step towards the window, curtain still in hand. “You won’t get my soul,” Yona said, her voice filled with bravado despite the intense fluttering of her heart. “Not now. Not ever.”

Una’s upper lip twitched in anger, the shadows around her becoming restless.

Yona pulled on the curtains, testing the weight of the rod. It wouldn’t hold her weight for long, but she hoped it would be enough to buy some time for her to grab onto something else. She couldn’t think about it too much or her fear would prevent her from going through with it, leaving her here in this apartment with a soul eater.

“You little—”

Yona didn’t hear the insult that Una undoubtedly threw at her as she jumped up and through the open window, using the curtain as a rope to hold her up and keep her from plummeting to her death. She swung towards the trellis that lined the building and scraped her nails on the stone wall as she desperately tried to grab onto the old, patterned wood. The rod holding the curtain snapped and Yona watched as it fell to the darkened street below, her body shaking like a leaf as she held onto the trellis for dear life.

Her breath came out rushed as the ground below appeared to get farther and farther away with each passing second. With a gasp, she looked away, her heart thumping loudly in her ears.

She did it. She managed to escape.

A humorless laugh left her lips. She was alive! Her plan actually worked.

But that euphoria didn’t last long before a dark shadow stuck its head out the window and Una glared at her as soon as she saw her, her eyes glowing red as shadows danced around her, curling around her limbs. She looked less like a person and more like a creature of the night, the features that connected her to Yona hidden behind the darkness. She was just a shadow now—a hungry one with teeth.

“There you are, little rabbit,” she said in a sing-song voice.

Fear sent adrenaline running through Yona’s veins as she felt her strength hit her again like the ebb and flow of a wave. Run. The word was loud in her ears as she began to climb down the trellis, her shaking feet almost missing rings as she scaled down as quickly as she could.

Una jumped after her, shaking and crackling the wood under her feet as serpent-like shadows traced down the wall in search of Yona. One managed to find her and wrapped itself around her wrist, pulling. Yona groaned as it tried to lift her up and pull her towards the Ghoulim. She fought back against it by grabbing onto a piece of wood and holding herself in place despite the immense pain that shot through her arm as her shoulder was pulled from its socket. She shouted and wailed, the pain bringing hot tears to her eyes.

“Let go of me!” she shrieked.

“Now why would I do that? I finally have a hold on your delicious soul.” Shrill laughter echoed between the buildings.

Yona struggled against the shadow’s grip, trying to pull herself free while also trying to make sure she didn’t fall right off the trellis. Gritting her teeth, Yona let go of the trellis with her other hand and swiped at the shadow.

“That won’t do anything! Foolish girl!”

Yona screamed and groaned in protest, trying to pull herself free, but the arm in the shadow’s grip was useless, her shoulder completely dislocated. She couldn’t even attempt to pull away. The pain was immense, stars dancing over her vision and her mind was fighting against unconsciousness.

No. I can’t faint. I have to get away.

I have to find Suoh.

Through tears and stars, Yona looked up at Una whose human image was completely distorted by shadow, her eyes narrowed to slits. “I’m going to kill you,” she declared, which only made Una laugh. “Not tonight—maybe not any time soon. But I will kill you and you—your blood is going to save him!”

“Ha! It’s about time you shut up already,” Una shrieked, another serpent-like shadow twisting down the side of the building and heading for Yona at alarming speed. It was coming for her mouth. Was that how the Ghoulim fed on souls? Through their victim’s mouth?

Fear bubbled up inside Yona. Every part of her screamed and tried to fight, but she was useless if she couldn’t get out of its grasp and no matter how determined she was to find Suoh and help him, she was still a human, and humans were so very mortal.

The shadow serpent was inches from Yona’s face when something—an arrow?—came flying through the air, striking it through the middle and dispersing it, resulting in Una letting out a pained howl. The grip on Yona’s wrist released and she began to fall backwards, unable to find her grip on the trellis once more and she began to fall.

The fall was only about ten feet after she managed to scale down as much of the trellis as she did, but Yona still closed her eyes, bracing herself for the painful impact that would inevitably come as soon as she hit the cobblestone street below.

However, instead of plummeting right to the ground, she fell into a pair of extended arms.

Her savior buckled under her sudden weight, but he quickly righted himself as he glanced at her. Half of his face was covered by a black cloth, only his almond-shaped eyes—adorned with a tiny mole below the left one—visible behind long, wild locks of dark hair.

Yona sucked in a breath as she looked at him, her eyes wide as saucers.

She opened her mouth to say something when he dropped her. She stumbled as she tried to balance herself on shaking legs. The man was tall—at least a head taller than she was—and he was wearing all black, a large, silver bow adorning his back. He reached behind him and pulled out a dagger from the pouch on his back, shoving it into Yona’s right hand. Then he grabbed her left one with his own and bent down so his eyes were level with hers. When he spoke, he only said one word, but that one word was filled with urgency.

“Run.”