There, it was a… Jania didn’t know what to call it. It was a humanoid figure with limbs that were too thin. Her fshlight gave light to not only one but multiple of these creatures engaged in their own activities. They all looked rugged and uneven, revealing what appeared to be mismatched textures, some resembling pale, waxy flesh, others like cracked porcein or frayed leather. Jagged seams ran across their bodies, held together by crude bindings of wire, thread, or even thorn.

  The one in front of her was looking at a wall, not even giving Jania a side gnce. It was waving its arm, moving in a manner that suggested it was dusting an invisible surface with no duster.

  Jania observed that the rest were also doing certain actions, like they were cleaning. She took a few steps back and waved her phone side to side. They didn’t react. Not even the faintest twitch. She watched the beam dance across their forms, half-expecting them to spring to life, but they remained eerily still, continuing their silent, purposeless tasks.

  Her mind raced. They don’t react to light or scent. How about noise?

  Nope. She wasn’t going to test it while in direct contact with them. She had two choices: go forward or turn back to where she came from. The thought of the other terrifying unknown crossed her mind again.

  Yeah, no. Not going back. She wasn’t going to risk encountering whatever she heard back there. The cutter in her bag’s side compartment came to mind, but what good would it do? It was sharp, sure, but against whatever these things were? She could swing once. After that, how would she deal with the whole group? If it came down to it, she’d use it, but only as a st resort. So, she strained her eyes to see an opening to a side corridor past the group of…creatures.

  Swallowing hard, Jania took her first step forward, shoes pressing soundlessly against the dusty carpet. Another step. Then another. The creatures continued doing their mindless motions.

  The fshlight’s beam nded on the figure ahead, another humanoid creature bent low, its ragged movements mimicking the act of sweeping the floor. She observed its face, if it could be called that. The eye sockets were covered with uneven scraps of stained fabric, hastily stitched into a face that hardly resembled anything human. The skin hung, stretched over the skull. The whole thing seemed less like a face and more like a cruel experiment gone horribly wrong.

  Jania shuddered and looked away. Then, she sidestepped, careful to keep her steps quiet. Her trembling hands made the fshlight beam jitter. The thing didn’t react. It continued its sluggish, mechanical motion, dragging its invisible broom across the filthy floor.

  Ahead, another one of the creatures crouched low, methodically wiping the floor in circur motions, its gnarled hands moving as if clutching a rag that wasn’t there. The head jerked, cocking to one side, drawn by something. Something that Jania didn’t know and was not interested in knowing, so she adjusted her path. She skirted along the wall to avoid it while also avoiding the other humanoids. Her light caught several creatures in the distance. Their movements were more erratic as they wandered, mopping. Its arms swung in exaggerated arcs, holding an invisible handle that it shoved back and forth against the air.

  This made Jania raise her eyebrow at the scene. Really? Mopping on carpet? The absurdity made her pause for a split second, raising her eyebrow. They moved in a robotic manner, the sort of aimless activity bound to an endless cycle with no thought or reason behind it.

  Jania’s pulse raced, a heavy thudding against her ribs, as she slipped between them, her steps soft. When she passed the one crouching on the floor, its head twitched, snapping upright.

  Jania froze mid-step, her heart lurching into her throat. The motion from the creature was sudden and unnatural, like a puppet yanked on invisible strings. Beneath the creature's patchworked sockets were its eyeballs moving left and right, seeming to scan the air, its head rotating. It wasn't looking at her, but instead, it stared straight ahead at the corridor where Jania came from, its eyeless gaze locked onto nothing. It was searching, scanning the hall, its mouth agape and its jaw, which was hanging by the threads, sck.

  The creature slowly turned its head toward her, its features coming into the fshlight's beam.

  Jania held her breath, her muscles tensed, and her fingers gripped her phone.

  ….

  Pause, Jania thought.

  …

  It’s okay. It’s okay. Jania said over and over again in her mind.

  …

  After an agonizing moment, it returned to its endless wiping, its attention mercifully elsewhere.

  Jania’s foot finally touched the edge of the hallway. She turned the corner and felt a wave of relief filling her chest. Behind her, the weird-looking creatures continued their mimicry, oblivious. She ducked further into the corridor, far enough away to feel a sembnce of safety, and crouched low against the wall. She wanted to rest, but she couldn’t let herself rex.

  Not here. Not yet.

  Jania steadied herself, focusing on her breaths, willing them to calm, as she leaned against the wall. She couldn’t stay here; she needed to move, to find a spot where she could think without the constant threat of discovery. Pushing herself upright, she pressed forward into the corridor as she tried to keep her mind bnk, a way to calm the tremor coursing through her body.

  She tried to move swiftly and silently at the same time. She wanted to create as much distance as possible while maintaining a calm mind. However, her current environment was certainly not a pce of inner peace.

  The faint glow of the night streamed through the narrow windows on one side, casting snted bars of silver across the floor and walls. The beams fractured against surfaces, interrupted by jagged wooden pnks crudely nailed over some of the windows. The whole setting she was in made Jania feel she was in some horror game.

  The air was stale here, faintly tinged with mildew and dust, and she could hear the faintest whistle of wind find its way through unseen cracks in the walls, threading the space with an eerie, almost melodic tone. She gnced at the windows, squinting at the dark world beyond the gss. Nothing but a vast expanse of pale, moonlit mist greeted her gaze. Whatever y outside was inaccessible, imprisoned behind gss panes that seemed both too thin to protect and impossibly sturdy to break.

  Jania's fingers brushed against the wall beside her as she moved, feeling the cold, uneven surface beneath her touch. Parts of the wallpaper had peeled away, exposing ancient wood. Deep grooves and scratches marred the surface, evidence of something or someone cwing at it in desperation. Her fingers trailed lightly along the questionable markings and symbols. The texture was uneven, worn down by time, with dark, fking residue still clinging to the grooves.

  Raising her hand, she took a look at the tattoo on her left wrist and compared it with the marks on the walls to check if there were any simirities. Could this be a match? She had been doing the same actions whenever she saw any form of inscription.

  None.

  There were no simirities. The markings on the walls were angur or sharp, while the ones on her wrist had curvy or soft lines.

  Jania shifted her focus from the tattoo to the corridor ahead, where her eyes searched for any sign of shelter.

  The dimly lit hallway seemed to go on forever, an unbroken stretch of uncertainty. In the distance, her eyes caught the faint outline of doors, their outlines not so visible through the shadows.

  Jania didn’t really have any big hopes that any of them would be open, as all the other doors she had encountered were locked. Nevertheless, she inspected the nearest door and reached for the bck doorknob.

  Please let it be open. Please let it be open. Jania chanted in her mind.

  As soon as she made a single attempt to twist the knob, her hope disappeared. It was locked.

  Well, Jania could pick a lock—if it was a simple, modern lock, that is. She squinted at the strange square keyhole, trying to see what was inside. Everything she could see was bck, even with the fshlight’s help.

  With her first encounter, she tried inserting a paper clip, but she couldn’t even get it in because a small barrier blocked the clip. This was why Jania didn’t try pick-locking again and, instead, moved on to the next door.

  However, the next door was also the same.

  And the one after that, and the one after that.

  Each door had the same locking mechanism. And it was impossible to open. Smashing the doors was not an option for Jania as it might attract creatures.

  She was growing more scared at the thought of not finding a hiding spot to rest. What if there was no room? Would she have to hide in the corridors, exposed, vulnerable?

  Still, the small ember of hope refused to die, and she pressed her hand against the knob. Something felt...off. The knob wiggled under her touch, slightly loose. Could it...?

  She swallowed hard and pushed gently against the door instead of twisting the knob. To her surprise, it gave way with a soft creak, swinging inward a few inches.

  Her breath hitched. It wasn’t locked. Snudged it further open, gncing nervously down the corridor to make sure no one, or nothing, had heard.

  She wasn’t sure why the lock was broken, and she didn’t care. This was her chance.

  Jania stepped into the room cautiously, her fshlight cutting through the dim, stagnant air. The moment she closed the door behind her, she realized how still the space felt. There was no breeze, no movement, no noise except the muffled thump of her heartbeat echoing in her ears.

  The first thing that caught her attention was the faint silver glow of moonlight slipping through the gaps in the wooden pnks that sealed the windows. Dust particles floated in the air, swirling in her fshlight's beam like ghostly motes. Jania surveyed the rest of the room. It was small, maybe meant as a utility closet or a storage space. Shelves lined the walls, but they were bare except for a few scattered nails and cobwebs. A small pile of unused pnks y against one corner of the room, piled messily.

  This will do, Jania thought. However, there was one problem. She turned around to look at the door again.

  How am I supposed to barricade this? Her gaze darted to the doorframe. On either side of the frame, metal brackets had been bolted in pce, their purpose immediately clear. They were meant to hold a pnk horizontally.

  Jania checked the pnks she saw near the window. She turned off her phone’s fshlight and put it in her bag before she knelt, running her hand over the pnks. They were sturdy enough. She grabbed one of the pnks, testing its weight. Though heavy, it was manageable, especially with the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Carefully, she stood and carried it all the way to the door, maneuvering it into the brackets, and slid it into pce. It fit snugly, bridging the width of the door.

  Taking a few steps back, relief blossomed within her heart. Problem solved.

  After all the walking in the corridors, the endless searching, and the nerve-wracking moments of near panic, Jania finally felt a sembnce of security. The door wasn’t invincible, but at least it was reinforced now, and anything trying to get in would make enough noise to warn her.

  With a clear intention, she summoned the hologram. There was no need to speak aloud. This system, whatever it was, seemed to respond to intent alone.

  Jania Amis

  Arrival Hall 101 | Guest 7765

  DAY 0 - DAY ??

  Age: 20

  Pnet: Verd

  No changes. No signs of levels or abilities, but that was not the purpose of summoning the hologram. She looked at the ghost that appeared at the window. The sign it held was now bnk. There was a detail she discovered though.

  It could answer her questions. Specific questions only. She discovered it when she was asking for more information about the sanctum earlier.

  “What…were those?” Jania asked, referring to the humanoid creatures, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Writings began to appear on the ghost’s sign.

  Attendants.

  She waited for more information, but the system or the ghost didn’t eborate. Further expnations or descriptions weren’t provided. Just that one word.

  “Are the attendants hostile?”

  If order is maintained, then no.

  “What do you mean by ‘order’?”

  The ghost remained still, its bnk expression betraying nothing. Jania waited, and slowly, the words formed again:

  Do not disturb the estate’s peace.

  This got Jania thinking. Peace. Her thoughts spiraled as she tried to piece together what little she knew. Did it mean she shouldn’t interfere with the Attendants’ actions? Or the rules of this pce? Perhaps it was something reted to staying within these halls?

  “If so, then no noise? Not interrupting their actions? What else?”

  Please explore the rules of the Arrival Hall on your own.

  Jania rested the back of her head against the wall while looking at those bck dot eyes of the ghost and the words again. Those were the same words she always received when she asked about exits, other guests, her friends, other creatures, abilities, levels, and so on. In other words, this was the default response for questions that were restricted.

  This is like asking a person to find out and die, Jania thought as she looked at the hologram and ghost again. At least, I have some food and water with me… That was thanks to her mom for always reminding her to bring one if she pnned to go out.

  Nevertheless, she had to find a good drinking water source soon.

  She checked the time on her phone that was inside her bag, without taking it out—11:01 PM. Does time even flow the same here? Jania doesn’t exactly know. Resting would be a good choice at the moment. Then, tomorrow...

  Would the tasks reveal themselves, or was she supposed to stumble upon them? What if tomorrow wasn’t about finding tasks but surviving another horror?

  Tomorrow held too many unknowns. Tasks. Rules. Peace. Whatever the estate had in store for her, Jania would be ready. She had to be.

  Deep down, she knew she wasn’t.