As they made their way to the main lobby, the creaky floorboards groaned under each step, filling the stillness with a faint, haunting echo. Gray clutched the room key in his hand, glancing around the dust-laden room. The lobby looked even more desolate in the morning light, with the same thick webs hanging from the corners, shimmering faintly like ghostly threads. Dust blanketed every surface, giving the place a sense of age and abandonment that clung to the air like a musty fog.
"Mister Innkeeper?" Gray called out, his voice breaking the silence as it echoed through the emptiness. "I'm here to return the key. Thanks… for, uh, the stay, I guess."
But there was no reply. The inn was empty, save for the creaking of wood and the distant rustling of unseen drafts sweeping through unseen cracks.
Vanisa crossed her arms, eyeing the dusty counter with a frown. "What gives? Where is he? It's like this place has been abandoned for years."
