PHI AM – THE CURSE OF THE NIGHT (EP4)

1. Lost in the Darkness

The candlelight had vanished, swallowing the temple in absolute darkness. Lisa, Jake, and Alex were trapped in an unnatural void, where even their own breaths felt muffled by the oppressive air.

Lisa’s fingers trembled as she reached for Jake’s arm. “We have to stay together,” she whispered, barely able to hear her own voice.

A faint scraping sound echoed through the room.

Then—

A whisper. Soft, sinister. “You should not have come…”

A gust of frigid air swept past them, carrying the scent of decay. Alex fumbled for his phone, trying to turn on the flashlight. The moment the beam flickered to life, the three of them gasped.

A figure stood at the far end of the temple. Phi Am.

Her distorted grin stretched beyond human limits, her hollow eyes locked onto them with a terrifying hunger. Her body twitched, contorted, as though she was shifting between the shadows.

Then—

She vanished.

Lisa grabbed Alex’s wrist. “Move. Now!”

They sprinted towards the nearest hallway, desperate to escape. But no matter how far they ran, the temple twisted around them, warping into an endless maze.

They were trapped in Phi Am’s domain.

2. The Forgotten Ritual

Panting, they stumbled into what looked like an old shrine room. Unlike the rest of the temple, this chamber was untouched by decay. Incense sticks lay unlit before a golden statue of a monk, and faded symbols covered the walls.

Alex’s eyes darted across the engravings. “These look like… instructions?”

Lisa knelt beside the shrine, brushing off centuries of dust. “A ritual. Maybe… maybe this can banish her.”

Jake frowned. “How do we know it’s not some useless superstition?”

A voice, cold and guttural, echoed through the chamber.

“Superstition?”

The candles lit themselves, casting flickering shadows that danced across the walls. The air thickened, pressing against their lungs.

Lisa’s heartbeat pounded. “We don’t have a choice.”

She grabbed a small ceremonial dagger resting at the shrine’s base. The inscriptions detailed a blood offering—a sacrifice to weaken Phi Am’s grasp.

Lisa met their terrified gazes. “One of us has to do this.”

Silence.

Then, Jake took the blade.

3. The Price of Defiance

Jake pressed the blade against his palm, gritting his teeth as blood dripped onto the shrine. The moment his blood touched the stone, the temple shook violently.

A scream erupted from the shadows, filled with rage and agony.

Phi Am appeared before them, her twisted form trembling with fury. “You think this will stop me?” she hissed.

The air turned ice-cold. Lisa clutched her amulet, whispering the incantation carved into the walls.

“Spirits bound by the veil, release thy hold. Depart and return to the abyss.”

Phi Am shrieked, her form distorting, flickering between existence and nothingness.

Then—

A sudden force yanked Jake backward.

Lisa and Alex screamed as Phi Am’s clawed hands dragged him into the shadows.

Jake’s eyes widened with terror. “Help me—!”

And then—

He was gone.

4. The Escape

The temple began to collapse. Walls crumbled, the floor cracked beneath their feet.

Lisa grabbed Alex. “We have to go!”

They sprinted through the shaking corridors, dodging falling debris. The shrine’s magic had weakened Phi Am, but it had also destroyed the temple’s barriers, setting off a deadly collapse.

The entrance—finally, they saw it.

Bursting into the open air, they stumbled onto the dirt path, gasping for breath.

Then, silence.

The temple stood in ruins behind them, swallowed by dust and shadows.

But Jake was nowhere to be seen.

Lisa fell to her knees, tears burning her eyes. “He’s gone…”

Alex clenched his fists. “No. We’re going to find him.”

And in the wind, a whisper drifted through the trees.

“It’s not over…”

(TO BE CONTINUED…)