Protruding between its shoulder bdes was the seventh piece. It almost looked like a dispced vertebra.

  “Fate’s been pying,” Jania muttered in frustration as she held the incomplete puzzle tightly. Of all pces, why there? How in the world is she able to get that? Just run, jump, tch, and die? The system gave her no skills, perks, tutorials, or weapons. She had a bag and stationery materials—to what? To decorate the Keeper, adorn it with glitter? Using the st type of zyph carelessly would be a waste. If that was gone now, she’d have nothing left.

  The Keeper eerily turned around to look at her and then waved. Waved using the blood-drenched hand at her with its head cocked to the side and speedily floated toward her.

  Jania winced again and surveyed left and right, thinking about what would be her next step. Honestly, she had no idea what else to do, but she grabbed the remaining avaible zyph and bolted.

  This creature, the Keeper, was having fun entirely by waiting, chasing, and attacking. And even freely showing the st piece. She wasn’t sure if it was intentional, but she felt so.

  Should she use the zyph now? Where should she go? Pn after pn zipped past her mind. They were all, generally, possible, but none of them were within her capabilities. Just run and use the zyph. That was all she had. At some point, she must stop and do something because her legs started to burn and her breaths were becoming uneven. The chamber blurred around her as she thought of these questions.

  Think, Nia! Think!

  A low, hollow rushing sound, like wind being sucked in a pipe or tunnel, filled the chamber. It felt like coming Jania’s way. Although the ice had faded, she could still feel it stinging her whole body,

  Having nowhere else to go, Jania skidded to a stop in front of a solid wall and faced the Keeper; its cwed fingers twitching in anticipation. The sound of its acceleration was horrifying to hear.

  She might have looked like she was running blindly, but her grip tightened around the untested zyph. Every step was deliberate. She was following a path that kept her within reach of the matching keyholes for the st type of zyph she had left, which she plunged into the keyhole on the wall.

  You have activated a special zyph with the mark [????] or

  [CODE 7??6:P]. The powers of the nine have been invoked. The affected area shall now tremble.

  A burst of force erupted outward, and wood groaned beneath her feet. The section of the wooden floor rose into a wall, rising between her and the Keeper, who hesitated for the briefest second; its pursuit momentarily stalled while Jania’s mind snapped to a reckless idea. She didn’t hesitate, jumped, and tched onto the ledge of the rising wooden wall. Her muscles strained as the wall rose higher and higher, but she held on and pulled herself up while the Keeper had already turned its head upward, watching her ascent. Its cws flexed, waiting. Perhaps it believed that whether or not it floated closer or stayed, the result would remain in its favor.

  Jania unslung her bag, unclipped her cw clip, letting her hair free, clipped it on her bag’s strap, and held the strap tight. The puzzle was held fast in her free hand. One thing was at the forefront of her mind: her parents, her friends, her home. She looked at the Keeper below her and thought she had no intention of giving it or the system that satisfaction.

  The second the wall reached its peak, she unched herself forward. The Keeper’s arm twitched, its cws shing inward to intercept her midair. Timing was everything. She twisted her body and hurled her bag like a grappling hook. The strap coiled around the Keeper’s outstretched limb.

  The Keeper’s own attack yanked the bag and her into an arc around its body. Air rushed past her ears as the momentum wrenched her sideways, controlled chaos she barely managed to direct, and she saw it.

  The puzzle piece.

  With the burr puzzle resting in her right palm, she curled her fingers around the piece’s groove and snatched it free. In quick succession, she put the st piece between her teeth, jumped off the Keeper’s back, and let go of the bag, letting gravity take her.

  The air wrapped around her, sharp and fleeting. She tucked her body while keeping the incomplete puzzle clenched in one hand. The impact struck her upper back first. She gritted her teeth and let the momentum carry her, rolling backward over her shoulder; her muscles burned as she did this. She came to a rough stop, sprawled against the wooden floor, breathless but intact. A dull ache spread through her limbs, but nothing felt broken.

  Even as she y there, heart hammering, she forced herself to move. She reached up, pulling the st piece from between her teeth, her fingers trembling. The Keeper descended near her in a blur of motion, and before she could react, searing pain exploded through her arm.

  Jania hissed through her teeth. Blood spilled down her arm, her vision blurring from the shock. But her fingers stayed steady. Drive by resolve, the final piece slotted into pce.

  You have earned the right of passage from the Keeper.

  The Keeper’s courtesy has been extended. It hopes you will visit it again soon.

  The room’s lines of gold glowed. The zyphs faded away, and keyholes were sealed by the creeping bnket of wood. However, Jania remained still because behind the transparent notification window was the Keeper’s other cw, inches away from her face, frozen mid-strike.

  A single drop of blood dripped from its fingertip, nding warm against her cheek.

  She didn’t move. Didn’t breathe.

  The Keeper slowly retracted its cws and straightened.

  Seeing this, Jania cautiously sat up. At least, a position where she could roll to the side and run if needed. The eccentric face of the Keeper observed her closely. Was that a nebu? Jania thought that since she saw stars or gaxies in the keyhole of the Keeper’s face, now that she could stare at it without any blurriness or behind a veil of panic. Then, to her shock, it inclined its head, an acknowledgment, a gesture she had never expected.

  Her breath caught in her throat. An approval? Understanding? Amusement?

  The Keeper did not speak, nor did it linger. Without further movement, it turned, its form gliding soundlessly toward the farthest wall. The wooden surface warped and folded unnaturally, bending outward to allow its passage. In mere seconds, the Keeper left, vanishing into the depths.

  The chamber remained eerily silent as if the very walls had been holding their breath. Only then, when the tension finally began to dissipate, did she allow herself to colpse to her knees, her arm throbbing, her entire body trembling.

  She was alive. And injured.

  You have gained 211 EXP.

  Forgetting her gained points, she let go of the complete puzzle and hissed through clenched teeth, her arm throbbing as blood trickled down to her fingertips. The Keeper had left her bag on the floor a few feet away. She forced herself up and staggered toward it, swiping it up with her good hand.

  Never in her life had Jania experienced such a wound, and in just one day, she was able to experience it more than three times. She found it ughable that even though she healed three wounds, she couldn’t heal this. She chuckled as she fumbled with the straps, undid the fp, and reached inside. Macarons. Pencil cases. A water bottle. Notebooks. A Hand sanitizer.

  Jania took out the water bottle. Biting her lip, she reached for her water bottle. Not the best, but it was all she had. She tilted it over the wound, wincing as the liquid ran down her arm, washing away some of the blood. The exposed injury stung, but at least she could see it better now. The cut wasn’t a smooth slice; it had jagged edges and, worse, splinters embedded in the torn flesh. Splinters. Small, pale shards of wood stuck out along the cut, making her stomach turn. She had to remove them.

  Jania exhaled sharply, steadying herself. “Breathe the ground, Nia..”

  With her uninjured arm, she grabbed the hand sanitizer, squeezed a small amount into her palm, and rubbed it between her fingers. The strong, cool scent stung her nose. Once her hands were as clean, she carefully reached for the splinters, plucking out the rgest ones first. Some came free easily, but others clung stubbornly to her skin. A sharp inhale escaped her as she pulled at a particurly deep one.

  After getting rid of every splinter, she pulled out the cutter from the side pocket of her bag. She thought it would easily break if she tried to use it against the Keeper. Plus, trying to wield a weapon against any creature in the Arrival Hall, in close combat, would be more of a liability than a defense.

  She looked at her wide-leg chinos. Plenty of fabric to spare. Gripping the cutter, she pinched the material at her calf and sliced it. The material resisted for a moment before giving way, and she tore a long strip free. I’m so sorry, ma, she thought as she scrunched her eyebrows. The pants were a gift from her mother, and she wasn’t comfortable ruining them, but, for sure, her mother would understand.

  Jania shook off the thought, pced the cutter down, and folded the torn fabric over itself, making sure it was thick enough to work as a bandage. With a steadying breath, she pressed the makeshift cloth against the wound, flinching as fresh pain fred along her arm. The longer the wound stayed exposed, the higher the risk of infection. Then, with her free hand, she twisted the remaining fabric around her arm, looping it tight enough to apply pressure but not enough to completely cut off circution.

  The bleeding slowed, the fabric darkening as it absorbed what still seeped through. She hissed through her teeth as she secured the knot, making sure it wouldn’t come undone easily.

  Finally, she exhaled.

  It wasn’t perfect, but it was the best she had right now. Good thing, it didn’t need to be sewn.

  Speaking of sewing, she could feel the air touching her shoulder. Although the wound beneath it was gone, the fabric remained ruined. Couldn’t they just fix it too? Jania thought in frustration. This made her look at the other pant leg, which had sections on her calf. Bloodied but can be repurposed into a patch.

  Before proceeding, she scanned the chamber first. Her heart still pounded from the earlier scene, and she knew better than to assume she was safe. The whole chamber was still and the same when she initially came in, but without the keyholes and zyphs.

  Jania reached for her pencil case, fingers moving with practiced ease as she unzipped it and pulled out her needle and thread. She had been making decorations at her school previously, and even though events were canceled, the needed materials stayed in her bag. She picked up the cutter and used it to tear a section free. Then, peeled off her top, leaving her in her sports bra. The cool air prickled against her sweat-damp skin, but she ignored the discomfort.

  With quick, practiced movements, she spread the cut fabric over the damaged shoulder area, aligning it with the sshes.

  She unzipped her pencil case and retrieved her needle and thread. A familiar sense of focus settled over her. She’d done this countless times before, stitching decorations, fixing props for school events, though never in a pce like this. She moved efficiently, weaving the needle through both yers of fabric. The first few stitches were tight and secure, reinforcing the weakest areas where the cw marks had torn through.

  As she worked, she kept her ears sharp, her senses alert. Her hands might have been occupied, but her mind remained on edge, ready to react. Finally, she tied off the thread and gave the patch a light tug. Secure. Good enough. She pulled her top back on, adjusting the fit over her newly patched shoulder. The fabric sat snugly, a bit stiffer where the extra yer had been added, but it held. With that done, she pced all her items in the bag.

  Jania slung her bag over her shoulder and stood up, but a wave of dizziness washed over her. Her vision blurred for a moment, and she swayed on her feet. She took a slow breath, waiting for the sensation to pass. It was just her first encounter with a creature that could only be seen in horror or fantasy films. She had survived. This also meant she needed to find weapons or make one as soon as possible, but she was already tired. Extremely tired. However, doing nothing meant death.

  She reached for the clip attached to her bag strap and gathered her hair up, securing it in pce.

  A forgotten item on the floor caught her eye. The puzzle box. But it looked different? It looked like a normal zyph now. She crouched down, fingers brushing over its surface before picking it up. As she held it—

  Zyph [AH. 17]

  A reward from the Keeper. A key to one of many rooms.

  That was all? If she did find the room, would she meet another creature again? She would have liked rewards with certainty. Food. Water. Shelter. Clothes. Weapons. Skills. Anything but another unknown.

  Jania let out a very deep sigh as she looked up at the mysterious ceiling. She counted in her head. Ten. Breathing deeply. Nine. Her fingers rubbing together in anxiety. Eight. The day was still long. Seven. And still many unknowns. Six. She wanted to go home. Five. Pretend that everything was just a dream. Four. That she was at home, in the living room, watching a movie with her parents. Three. She could see all of her friends. Two. Nobody was missing. One. That this pce did not exist.

  …

  …

  When she opened her eyes, she was still in the same room. Same pce. So, Jania looked at the only door, its doorknobs mysteriously reappearing, and moved. There was nobody else going to save her but herself.