The door shut behind them with a heavy, final click.
The floor disappeared.
The walls dissolved.
Everything around Kai turned into darkness.
He stood alone.
A cold air wrapped around him like a blanket made of ice. A faint light flickered ahead, showing something familiar.
Home.
His home.
The living room appeared exactly as he remembered—cracked wall, old couch, broken clock. For a moment, relief hit him like a wave.
Then the air turned rotten.
A slow, dragging sound came from the hallway.
Kai backed away.
A figure stepped out.
His mother.
But her eyes were empty. Her face was pale, as if she had forgotten how to live.
"Why didn't you save me, Kai?" she asked softly.
A glimmer appeared on the floor near her feet.
A key.
She moved forward.
Kai screamed.
And the illusion broke.
Mei fell to her knees, gasping.
She was in a school hallway.
Lockers lined the walls, lights flickering. At the end of the hall lay a body.
Her body.
The air felt thick.
A voice whispered, "You were too weak."
Lockers slammed open. Hands reached out—nothing but shadows, but they felt real.
Then Mei saw something shining around the neck of her own body.
A key.
Mei stood up, shaking. "I'm not weak," she said.
The hallway cracked.
The illusion vanished.
Luca stood under bright lights in a circus tent.
Laughter echoed everywhere, loud and cruel. The audience wasn't real, but it felt like they were watching his soul.
"You're a joke," a voice said.
"You only pretend."
Above him, hanging from the ceiling, was a key.
Luca swallowed hard. He climbed.
The laughter faded.
Vex opened his eyes to fire.
A battlefield of ash and smoke. Shapes moved in the distance, silent and watching. The air tasted like metal.
A figure stepped forward.
"You always survive," it said. "While others lose."
The figure's face was hidden under a cracked mask.
The mask fell.
It was Vex.
A key was embedded in its chest.
"This isn't me," Vex whispered.
He grabbed a broken piece of metal and struck.
The illusion cracked.
They all fell back into the same chamber, breathing hard.
Each of them held a key.
The room had changed. Dark symbols crawled along the walls. A massive locked door stood in the center, glowing faintly.
A low growl echoed.
From the shadows, a creature emerged.
It was made of darkness and broken bones, stitched together like a nightmare. Chains dragged behind it.
"Fear feeds me," it hissed.
It attacked.
They ran.
Traps snapped. The floor shifted. The creature moved faster, healing itself with the shadows.
"The keys—together!" Kai shouted.
They reached the door.
One by one, the keys slid into the lock.
CLICK.
The door opened—
The creature lunged.
Vex shoved Kai forward as sharp claws struck.
Kai stumbled.
The creature roared.
The voice returned, calm and cruel.
"Only those who overcome fear may proceed."
The door began to close.
The creature raised its claws—