Days passed in uneasy silence. Azri tried to focus on school, on routine, on anything that wasn't the mysterious door in his basement. But the thought never left. Neither did Mira's warnings or Fran's reckless excitement.
In the end, curiosity won.
The three of them stood in the basement once more, the faint light of the passage flickering against the walls.
Mira's arms were crossed, her face pale but determined. "If we go in, we stick together. No wandering. No wishes. No jokes."
Fran smirked half-heartedly, though his eyes betrayed his nerves. "Yeah, yeah. Lesson learned."
Azri swallowed and pushed open the hidden door.
The world beyond was still ruined, its sky a dim, bruised gray. But the first thing they noticed—the monster was gone. The one Fran had joked into existence.
The silence was heavier than before.
"…It's not here," Mira whispered. "Maybe the barrier destroyed it?"
Azri shook his head. "No. It wouldn't just… vanish."
They walked cautiously through the cracked streets, every shadow stretching too long. Mira stayed close to Azri, her eyes darting around, while Fran tried to keep his composure.
Then they saw it.
At first, just a silhouette in the distance. Then another. And another.
Not one. Not two.
Dozens.
Their forms twisted, broken, each one a nightmare given flesh. Some crawled on too many limbs, dragging themselves like spiders with missing legs. Others stood tall and gaunt, their faces stretched into grotesque grins. A few had no faces at all, just gaping holes where their heads should be.
And every single one of them turned at once.
Dozens of eyes—real and not—locked onto Azri, Mira, and Fran.
Mira gasped, stepping back instinctively. Fran's forced grin dropped, his face draining of color.
"…I told you," Mira whispered, her voice shaking. "This place is wrong."
Azri's grip tightened around his bat. His chest pounded. He could feel it—whatever rules governed this place—it was shifting, escalating.
The first demon twitched, and then, one after another, they began to move.
The streets cracked under their frantic footsteps, every ruined building echoing with the shrieks of the creatures closing in. Azri's lungs burned as he dragged Mira forward, heart pounding.
"Run! Don't stop!"
He chanced a glance back—Fran was gone. One second he'd been right behind them, cursing and stumbling to keep up. The next—nothing. Not even a sound.
"Fran?!" Mira screamed, her voice breaking as she turned, but the swarm was already pouring after them. Dozens of twisted bodies. Too many to fight.
Azri's mind raced. I wish for strength—
Nothing. His body stayed heavy, clumsy.
Speed. Flight. Anything!
Still nothing. His wishes fell into silence, ignored. Panic clawed at him harder than the demons ever could.
"This way!" Mira pointed, spotting a collapsed structure leaning against a wall, leaving a narrow gap beneath. They dove inside, the creatures' claws scraping stone just inches away.
The world went dark and tight, their breathing ragged. Mira's whole body trembled as she whispered, "Fran… Where did he go?"
Azri pressed his back against the cold wall, his mind spinning. His wishes failing. Fran vanishing without a trace.
He clenched his fists. "Something's wrong. My wishes… They're not working anymore."
Mira's eyes widened, fear and confusion blending together. "What do you mean?"
"Here—try it." Azri's voice was low, urgent. "Wish for something. Anything."
Mira hesitated, then whispered shakily, "I… I wish for a knife."
The air shimmered. In her hand, a jagged blade blinked into existence, heavy and real.
Azri stared, his chest sinking. It worked. For her.
Slowly, a terrifying possibility formed in his mind. "It's not broken. It's me. My wishes don't work anymore."
Mira looked at him, pale and trembling. "Why? Why you?"
Azri's breath hitched. His thoughts spiraled, "does the wishes have limits...?" He gasps for air "Does it only work a couple hundred times..?!" Spiraling back to Fran—the way he joked, the way he always pushed for more, the way he vanished.
A cold dread filled him. "…What if Fran wished for it? What if he wished my every wish would fail?"
Mira shook her head violently. "No. He wouldn't—he wouldn't do that. He's our friend."
But Azri's voice was flat, heavy. "But it's a possibility. How did he disappear? And why did the monsters multiply? Think, Mira. What if he's the one making the wishes now?"
The silence that followed was suffocating. Only the distant, sound of the eerie wind broke through.
Mira's knife trembled in her grip. "…Then what does he want?"
Azri stared into the dark, his heartbeat deafening.
He already knew the answer.
"He wants to play God."