The man stood in front of Ji-Min, as if she were something to help pass the time. His eyes stared through her, making her shiver a little as she looked away.

"What did he want?" Ji-Min thought to herself.

Chuckling, the man answered, "That's not something you need to worry about, though I don't think you'd be able to understand my aim."

Ji-Min whipped her head to look at the man, realizing what had happened. Judging by his deepening smile, she knew that he was aware of her confusion.

"I have been around for a long time, seeing various events and encountering creatures that would make you weep in joy or in terror," He slowly walked closer to her. His steps were silent, though there looked to be no attempts of being silent on his part. It was as if he was a void of sound.

When the man was close enough, he began circling Ji-Min not saying anything, just observing her. She couldn't feel any air caused by breathing so when he left her sight, Ji-Min didn't know if he was still there.

Stopping directly in front of her, she was forced to look deep into his eyes. The color of his iris would change from one color to another, giving him an ethereal feel to him.

As she stared at him, Ji-Min felt a finger moving along the side of her face, tracing the outline.

"I've had an enjoyable time, going through your memories and seeing your life," He said to her. Noticing Ji-Min's eyes widening, he continued, "Though I didn't enjoy watching you suffering that night in the park."

His words softened when he mentioned one of her worst memories, the night she lost one of her closest friends. Tearing away from his eyes, she moved away from his touch. "He didn't mean to. I wouldn't have been in the situation inside that nightmare if I had listened to him." Ji-Min forced out, feeling the hurricane of emotions it was still able to generate inside.

"Yes... If you had listened to that man, then you would have been safe. The problem is that you'd still have lost Jason. Once again, the world would feel isolating as you tried to find that one thing you're looking for." He spoke softly, his words acting as daggers.

Moving back to face him, she yelled, "You don't know anything!" She quickly covered her mouth, stunned that she had snapped at him.

He was no longer smiling once she yelled at him, though the man didn't appear to be angered by her harsh words. There was patience inside of him as if he understood what she was going through.

"I'm sorry," Ji-Min looked down and hid her face from him.

She saw his hand move towards her face, his index finger slightly outstretched. Touching her chin, he made her look at him.

"Just like you, I also searched for the emotions you've attempted to bury deep inside. I also know that it was hidden even further on that night when someone you had trusted betrayed you. To have led you to believe one thing, when they had planned for something else... This is something I'm also familiar with." His voice became cold, near the end.

Ji-Min shivered, hearing the hardening of his voice and feeling like the hallway had dropped several degrees.

As if it were only an illusion, she no longer felt a chill, and she saw the man smile. The way he switched so quickly made her wonder if she had imagined such an expression. "Why...?" She asked, her mind seeming to fall into a daze.

"Seeing your mental state and diving into your being, I feel that we share something similar. Your story isn't particularly unique and something I have encountered before." His other hand lifted palm up, a glowing ball hovering in the air.

"Why?" She asked again, though this time it didn't feel like she was asking.

A slight smile made him look innocent, as he explained, "I didn't hunt you out, but after seeing you... Let's say, I wanted to make an offer."

"An offer?" Ji-Min asked, trying to fight to regain her thoughts that felt like they were drifting apart and exposing her.

"Yes. A clue to what you've been searching for with no strings attached." He said.

"A clue?" Was all she could say, though there was a feeling of relief that moved up her side, like vines of ivy crawling up a wall.

"What do you say?" The man asked, moving the glowing ball closer to her mouth as if getting ready to insert it into her mouth.

Just as she was about to answer, she blinked and felt arms shaking her and a woman's voice calling out. "Ji-Min! Ji-Min! Get ahold of yourself!

Jade was grasping Ji-Min's shoulders, with urgency in her voice. Likely, due to Ji-Min jerking in response, Jade looked back towards Kimberly, yelling, "I think she's conscious! We need to get out of here, so I think we should carry her."

"I'm okay," Ji-Min managed to croak out when Kimberly and Steve began heading towards her. Ji-Min placed a hand on Jade's shoulder, as she felt a wave of dizziness pass through her.

Seeing Ji-Min use her shoulder as support, Jade asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Ji-Min... Before, you began laughing uncontrollably and then stopped responding. We tried to move you, but then you'd begin screaming in pain. Your teammates nearly collapsed into hysterics, thinking you were dying." Kimberly tried to learn whether Ji-Min was alright.

Hearing Kimberly's words, Ji-Min felt confused due to her memories slowly coming back. Ji-Min remembered the overwhelming despair that penetrated deep into her mind as if it was never planning on releasing her. But after she was startled awake, Ji-Min was no longer feeling the darkness inside of her.

Looking around at the cavern, there was a feeling of urgency but at a reasonable level. She felt more confident that they would be fine, though she did feel cautious as to not put herself into unnecessary danger.

Moving away from Jade and Kimberly, Ji-Min saw Liz and Venessa. The two appeared anxious, their eyes rolling about. Ji-Min knew that they were experiencing the same thing she had felt before she was shaken awake by Jade. In the back of her mind, she tried to understand that made her feel more confident and reassured about everything, no longer chained by her negative thoughts.

Ji-Min, Liz, and Venessa had long ago abandoned their protective helmet, choosing human contact over security. They understood, from watching it happen over and over that the helmets would be as secure as paper against those monsters.

When she reached Liz and Venessa, Ji-Min raised both hands to cup the sides of the girls' faces. "It'll be okay. We're finally free to return home." She soothingly said to both of them. Ji-Min's fingers ran through the two girls' hair, as she brushed it back from covering their scared faces.

Closing her eyes, Ji-Min moved towards Liz's face and kissed her on the forehead and then proceeded to do the same to Venessa. A feeling of peace washed over her, and when she opened her eyes, it was apparent that Liz and Venessa felt the same. Their eyes were no longer trembling and instead were fixed on her.

"Ji-Min?" Venessa asked, confusion running through her voice.

Hearing the strength and wonder in Venessa's voice, Ji-Min knew that Venessa was experiencing something similar to what she had gone through. "I know," was all Ji-Min responded with, not feeling like their current location was best to talk about such things.

Liz nodded her head in agreement with Ji-Min's words, saying, "Let's leave this place of death."

With the hand that was cupping Liz's face, Ji-Min brushed her thumb on Liz's cheek. Turning to face everyone else, it was clear that Jade and the others were confused by the events they were witnessing. Steve looked like he was about to say something, when his sister, Lexi, interrupted his thoughts.

"I agree with Liz. We need to talk to the Captain about what has happened. There might not be much time remaining before any of those things, especially more like those two, come back after changing their minds. Our mission isn't complete until the Captain knows what we know." Lexi sharply said, not wanting to hear anything other than an agreement to her thoughts.

Jade nodded her head. Turning to look at the other teams, Jade announced, "We'll be rushing back to the base. Get ready to depart!"

"It'll be good to be back and not worry about team members getting kidnapped," A boy's voice was heard through the speaker.

Ji-Min was startled by the voice, feeling as if the boy had struck at memory deep inside of her. Without her helmet, she was unable to see the name of the voice.

"Ji-Min? Are you okay?" Venessa called out to her.

"Y-yeah. I just thought I remembered something." Ji-Min stuttered, feeling like something significant was on the tip of her tongue.