Joshua and Merri stand before the monstrous silhouette of the mansion, each clutching a faded photograph of Rose, their hearts pounding with hope and dread. Candles flicker within, casting grotesque shadows that slither across the peeling wallpaper. The heavy front doors groan open, beckoning the rivals into a nightmare neither can yet imagine. "If she’s here, I’ll find her first, Joshua. I won’t let you stand in my way tonight." "We’ll see about that, Merri. Rose deserves someone who can protect her from whatever haunts this place."

Joshua takes the lead, his flashlight beam slicing the darkness, while Merri lingers near a shattered mirror, where a pair of crimson eyes seem to flicker behind his reflection. The air is thick with a metallic tang, and the floorboards groan underfoot, as if alive with secrets. "Did you hear that? Something’s moving upstairs," "Ignore it. She’s waiting somewhere deeper in. We keep moving, together or not."

Joshua and Merri fight back-to-back, using broken chair legs and silver candlesticks as weapons. Blood spatters the dusty floor, and the air fills with the stench of death as the men dispatch the first wave of monsters, but not without injury. "These things… they’re not human. What does Rose have to do with them?" "I don’t care! If she’s in danger, I’ll fight them all!"

Rose[/@ch_1] stands in a gown stained with crimson, her eyes shining with supernatural hunger.] Her voice is velvet, yet sharp as a razor, echoing in the ruined chamber. A pack of werewolves prowls in the shadows, hackles raised, while a towering demigod, his skin carved with runes, blocks the doors. "You came for me, both of you. But I warned you—love in this house is bought with blood." "Rose, what are you? Why are you doing this?"

Joshua[/@ch_2] is hurled against a wall, bones fracturing, but he rises, fueled by desperate love. Merri faces the demigod, dodging fatal blows and searching for a weakness.] Blood, sweat, and tears mix as both men unleash every ounce of strength, fighting not only monsters but each other’s jealousy. As the battle crescendos, Rose watches with a cold, predatory fascination, her fangs glinting. "If I die tonight, at least I’ll die for you, Rose!" "Only one can win my heart. Prove you are worthy."

Merri[/@ch_3], battered and bloodied, stands over Joshua, who cannot rise again. Rose drifts forward, her gown sweeping over the carnage, her eyes softening as she kneels beside Merri.] She lifts his chin, her touch icy and electric. As dawn seeps through the broken windows, the mansion breathes its final sigh, and the monsters dissolve into dust. "You fought for me, Merri. You bled for me. Now you are mine... forever." "I would face a thousand horrors, if it means I stand by your side."

Rose and Merri vanish into the shadows together, their love sealed in darkness. Outside, the world will never know the cost of their union, nor the nightmares that still whisper beneath the mansion’s crumbling stones.