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Episode 2

The hallway breathed.

Not metaphorically.

The walls expanded and contracted in slow, wet pulses, like lungs struggling to stay alive. The doors lining either side shifted ever so slightly with each inhale, their hinges creaking in uneven rhythm—as if they were trying to sync with something deeper in the building.

Sebastian didn’t move.

…Don’t open any doors yet.

His voice sounded wrong.

Not just shaken—delayed, like the building had to approve it before letting it exist.

Jake wiped sweat from his forehead, glancing at his own door.

Oh yeah, great idea. Let’s just stand in the flesh hallway and do nothing.

Melissa hugged herself tighter, staring at the floor.

It’s not flesh… it’s not… it just looks like that…

The floor twitched beneath her feet.

Frank let out a low breath.

I’ve worked in some bad kitchens… this smell? This is worse. Way worse.

A faint drip echoed somewhere far down the hall.

Then—

Another voice.

Not theirs.

Not from ahead.

Not from behind.

From inside the walls.

“…open…”

Gordo growled, low and guttural, backing away from the nearest door.

Grrrrrr…

Koroshi crouched, pressing his ear against the wall.

There’s… layers again. Like before. But now it’s… overlapping voices.

Neptuno clutched his DSi tighter.

I don’t like this. I really, really don’t like this…

The DSi screen flickered on.

None of them had pressed anything.

A message appeared:

SAVE FILE CORRUPTED. RESTORE?

Neptuno’s hands trembled.

I didn’t— I didn’t open anything…

The screen changed again.

PLAYER COUNT: 11

Everyone froze.

Slowly… they turned to each other.

Keinieo let out a dry laugh.

Yeah, no. Nope. Not doing this again. We’re all here. I can see you.

Nommanic shook his head.

Sight isn’t reliable here. Memory wasn’t either. Now it’s counting us…

Weegee stepped forward, forcing a grin that didn’t quite land.

Hey, hey— we handled the last puzzle, right? We just gotta figure out the rules again.

Sebastian’s gaze drifted to the open door at the end of the hall.

The one without a name.

Something inside it shifted.

And this time—

It stepped closer.

…We don’t go there. Not yet.

—

A click.

Melissa flinched.

Her door had just unlocked.

No one touched it.

It slowly creaked open.

Inside—

A bedroom.

Soft lighting. Warm. Safe.

Completely untouched by decay.

Melissa’s breath hitched.

…That’s my room.

The others looked inside.

Everything was perfect.

Too perfect.

The bed neatly made. The air still. Even the faint scent of perfume lingered, untouched by the rot outside.

Jake frowned.

Okay, that’s… actually nice. Suspicious, but nice.

Sebastian grabbed Melissa’s wrist before she could step forward.

Wait.

She pulled slightly.

It’s fine. It’s just my room. Maybe this is how we get out—

The mirror inside the room shifted.

Not visibly.

But wrong.

Koroshi noticed first.

Don’t go in.

Melissa stopped.

Why?

Koroshi pointed.

Look at the mirror.

They did.

Everyone’s reflection stood in the hallway.

Except Melissa’s.

Her reflection was already inside the room.

Standing by the bed.

Smiling.

Melissa’s face drained of color.

…I’m not doing that.

The reflection tilted its head.

Then raised a hand.

And knocked on the inside of the mirror.

Three slow taps.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

The real Melissa stumbled back.

The door slammed shut on its own.

Locked again.

—

No one spoke for a long moment.

Then—

Jake’s door clicked.

Oh come ON—

It swung open violently.

Inside—

Darkness.

Total.

Except for a faint metallic glint.

Jake swallowed.

…That’s not my place.

A voice came from inside.

His voice.

You already picked wrong once.

Jake staggered back.

Nope. Nope. Not listening to that.

The darkness moved, stretching toward the doorway like fingers.

Sebastian slammed the door shut.

No one goes into their rooms.

Nommanic nodded slowly.

These aren’t safe spaces. They’re… distortions. Personalized traps.

Frank looked down the hallway again.

Then what’s the goal? We just avoid everything?

The answer came immediately.

From every door at once.

They all creaked open.

—

Inside each one—

Something waited.

Not rooms.

Not memories.

But scenes.

Moments frozen in time.

Some familiar.

Some not.

And in every single one—

Something was wrong.

Neptuno’s screen flickered again.

OBJECTIVE UPDATED:

FIX WHAT WAS BROKEN.

OR JOIN IT.

—

Fix… what?

Sebastian stepped forward slowly, scanning the open doors.

…We don’t have a choice.

He pointed to one.

Frank’s.

Inside—

A kitchen.

Burned.

Blackened walls. Melted utensils. A stove still faintly glowing red.

And in the center—

A figure.

Charred.

Still standing.

Frank’s breathing stopped.

…No. No, that’s not—

The figure turned.

Its face cracked as it moved.

Ash fell away.

Revealing Frank’s own features beneath.

Burned.

Smiling.

You left the stove on.

Frank stumbled back.

I didn’t— I would never—

You might have, Nommanic said quietly. Or you think you might have. That’s enough here.

The burned version of Frank stepped closer.

Fix it.

The stove flared brighter.

The room grew hotter.

The smell of burning flesh filled the hallway.

Frank shook his head violently.

I’m not going in there.

The figure tilted its head.

Then—

It reached out of the doorway.

Its arm stretched unnaturally long, fingers splitting at the joints as they scraped across the floor toward him.

Gordo lunged forward, barking wildly.

RAAAAGH!

The arm recoiled slightly—but didn’t retreat.

It just… waited.

…If I don’t fix it…

It escalates, Nommanic said.

We help him, Sebastian added.

Jake shook his head.

Help him HOW? That thing is literally cooked!

Koroshi pulled out a sticker.

It showed the kitchen.

But different.

The stove was off.

The burned figure was gone.

This might be the “correct” version, he said. We need to make it match this.

Frank swallowed hard.

…So I go in there… and turn off the stove.

The burned version of him smiled wider.

Too wide.

Yes.

Sebastian stepped beside him.

You won’t be alone.

Frank hesitated.

Then nodded.

—

The moment they stepped inside—

The door slammed shut behind them.

The heat intensified instantly.

Sebastian’s skin prickled.

The stove roared louder.

Frank forced himself forward.

Just… turn it off. Just turn it off…

The burned version circled them slowly.

You’re too late.

Ignore it!

Frank reached for the stove.

The handle was fused.

Melted into place.

It’s stuck!

The burned version lunged.

Its hands grabbed Frank’s shoulders—

And suddenly—

Frank wasn’t standing.

He was watching.

From outside his own body.

Seeing himself in the kitchen.

Forgetting to turn the stove off.

Walking away.

The flames starting.

Growing.

Consuming everything.

…No…

You left, the burned version whispered.

Fix it.

Frank screamed—

And forced his hand forward.

Through the heat.

Through the melting metal.

Through the pain that shouldn’t exist.

He grabbed the dial.

And turned.

—

Click.

—

Silence.

The fire vanished instantly.

The burned version froze.

Cracked.

And shattered into ash.

—

The door reopened.

Sebastian and Frank stumbled back into the hallway.

Frank collapsed to his knees, gasping.

I felt it… I felt all of it…

The hallway was quieter now.

One door had closed.

Permanently.

Neptuno’s screen updated again.

ERROR CORRECTED.

REMAINING: 10

—

TEN?!

They all froze.

Slowly…

They counted again.

One.

Two.

Three…

Eleven.

Still eleven.

But the screen insisted:

Ten.

Koroshi looked down at his sticker again.

Now—

It showed only ten figures.

…It’s happening again.

Sebastian’s chest tightened.

Who did we lose?

Silence.

No one answered.

Because no one knew.

And worse—

No one could remember if someone had been standing there just seconds ago.

—

At the end of the hall—

The nameless door creaked wider.

The thing inside stepped closer.

This time—

They all saw it.

It had no fixed shape.

Just shifting pieces.

Faces.

Limbs.

Voices overlapping.

All of them.

Every single one.

You are still late.

You are still late.

You are still late.

You are still late.

All spoken at once.

Sebastian’s flashlight flickered again.

And for a split second—

They saw themselves.

All of them.

Standing inside that room.

Watching.

Waiting.

Smiling.

—

End of Episode 2