She glanced back to confirm it wasn't coming from either of them.
"I can hear something."
*What is it?*
The group became alert.
Ren took a slight step back. As someone who isn't an expert at hiding his trace, it's best not to go ahead — he may unknowingly alert whatever it was.
"I'm unsure... it's weird. It feels like breathing, or a faint whistling on the air. But other than that there was no more sound."
Serein listened again, feeling confused and unsure.
But.
Since they were already here.
They couldn't turn back now.
No matter what lay beyond the dark corners of the stairs — they had to push through it.
Serein clicked something on her suit. In an instant, a bright light lit up over her forehead like a searchlight, sweeping across the dark parts ahead.
Asylia turned her headlights on too.
"Huh? There's still this function?"
Ren followed suit.
Since even if they tried to hide they would still be caught off guard, it was better to just light up the way ahead and face it head on.
In an instant, three warm beams illuminated the dark, humid space, revealing a smooth structured stairway.
On the stairs, something seemed to move under the light — retreating deeper into the darkness.
"There really was something."
A murmur.
"Let's go."
Serein took a deep breath and stepped forward, her pupils glowing faintly as she followed the traces.
They carefully made their way up. With each step, the places that unknown thing could hide became fewer and fewer.
"It's right there!"
Ren jerked his hand out, pointing upward in surprise.
The lights converged in that direction.
In the upper right corner of the wall, they saw strange blue-white flesh — no, more like flower roots, blue-white and meaty, clinging to the wall. Its tendrils gripped like jelly, retracting its body away from the light. But there was no other way out, so it could only curl up pitifully against the corner.
A small greenish-blue flower at its center opened and closed slightly, making a sound like soft breathing — a passing of air in its gentle movement.
"What is that?"
"A... plant?"
*Why does this look familiar?*
Asylia didn't lower her guard, but as she observed it a recognition stirred at the edge of her memory. It looked quite different from what she remembered, but she was certain she had seen this kind of plant before.
*Wasn't it a decorative flower in this restaurant?*
*But why can it move?*
*And that movement—*
"It's releasing spores!"
Her eyes caught the tiny dust-like particles drifting in and out of its flower.
Serein saw it too and quickly checked her suit for any gaps. Fortunately it was sealed tight.
"Should we kill it?"
Asylia signed for them to keep their headlights on the creature.
Just as they were about to move on it —
Tap!
The sound of water hitting the floor rang out. Faint but clear in the quiet space.
"Ren."
Asylia called out without moving her eyes from the flower.
*Yes.*
Ren understood immediately and swung his headlight away from it, toward where the sound had come from.
!!!
He froze.
On the deeper parts of the ceiling, another flower clung to the surface. Then another. Their silhouettes in the dimness reflected the light like countless eerie eyes staring back at him.
"One... three... six?!"
"Did we just walk into a monster nest?!"
He was horrified.
"Asylia. Serein. Look."
*This...*
"I see it."
"What do we do?"
They all went silent, staring at the harmless-looking flower in front of them, thinking about their current situation.
They chose peace over violence.
Fortunately, these flowering plants were as harmless as they looked — consciously avoiding the group's path as they passed. After a few more steps the three were even more stunned. There weren't just a few plants; there were far more, sometimes lining entire corners of the stairway.
They became even more grateful for their decision.
"As long as we don't disturb them, they won't attack."
Ren moved his head slightly to one side. His headlight followed.
Like creepy spiders the flowering plants retreated from the light, the sound of their movement and their shifting silhouettes making the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
He felt like he was in a horror movie, walking straight into a monster's lair.
In the beams of light, something floated like dust — appearing in the brightness and fading into the void. Countless particles filled the space. He already knew they must be spores drifting out of those flowering plants.
He touched the crack on his visor, confirming there was still an inner layer intact so he wouldn't breathe in whatever was in the air.
"I'm getting tired."
His breath was muffled and close to his ears inside the suit.
He glanced at his companions beside him and felt a little more grounded.
Without realizing when it had happened, they had already reached the entrance to the second floor.
Clang!
He stepped onto flat ground and breathed a sigh of relief.
Looking back, the dark stairway lay behind him, fading bioluminescence casting the impression of countless eyes blinking open and shut — a massive creature moving through the faint light.
He knew it was just an illusion caused by those flowering plants shifting all at once.
"We're here."
Asylia's voice cut through, clear and distinct.
"Those plants really didn't do anything. That's a relief." Serein's voice was soft.
The tension across their shoulders eased.
They had made it to the other end of the stairs. It opened into the corner of a wide hallway. They stepped out and looked around.
The atmosphere was slightly different here — lighter design, sparse and open. There were barely any stalls or shops like there had been on the third floor. A row of sofas faced the ocean outside, where a circle of blue light drifted past in the dark water.
There was no one else here.
Strangely, there was barely any sign of chaos — not what he would have expected. It seemed as though everyone had simply stood up, collected their things, and walked out calmly when disaster struck.
It felt wrong.
He looked away.
"Hmm?"
Something caught Ren's eye.
"A footprint?"
They looked at the floor. Messy traces of footprints spread all across it, as if someone had stepped through a puddle and tracked it from the corridor into the hallway.
*What...*
Serein's ears perked up.
*That sound.*
A muffled slamming, faint but distinct — like water rushing against something.
*Don't tell me.*
"Is there a breach in this area?"
She murmured it softly.
The group turned their heads, scanning the space. Analyzing the traces. Piecing it together.
*But this area should already be contained and isolated — otherwise we wouldn't be standing here.*
Asylia reached behind her and pulled out the 3D map.
2nd floor. **(Green mark)** — Current location.
Goal — 1st floor...
She studied it, thought for a moment, then added a warning marker beside the green dot.
*Original pathway — possible breach. To be avoided.*
Still... she confirmed they could bypass that area and still reach the first floor. It was just a shame it was far. It would cost them time.
But they still needed to move through the area ahead first — just to confirm whether there really was a breach or not.
Because.
She glanced at the time and went quiet. It was almost the hour the train should dock. If it ever—
She shook her head, pushing the thought away.
"Guys. Let's go."
With her free arm she beckoned them forward, a hint of a smile in her voice.
Serein nodded and glanced briefly at Ren before moving on.
I pulled my wandering gaze back. Gripped the handle of my bag and let the weight of it settle my tingling nerves.
"Coming."
Ren whispered, stepping forward to follow them both as always.
Behind them, alongside the wet footprints already scattered across the floor, three new sets of tracks appeared.
A quiet evidence that they had walked this path.