The atmosphere in the room shifted dramatically after the voice echoed. An eerie silence swallowed the group, leaving a sensation of unease in the air. It felt like a hallucination. But when their vision cleared, they realized the room was no longer the one where Lyra's body had been found.
Instead, they were in an entirely different space—vast and empty, with an oppressive stillness. The walls were bare, the floor cold and smooth, and in the center of the room stood an unusual sight.
A circular rock, smooth and dark, jutted up from the ground like a pedestal. Atop it was a shallow dish, seemingly carved from the same stone, and resting inside it was a single apple, vibrant and red. Next to the apple lay a gleaming knife, its blade catching an invisible light in the dimness of the room.
The group stared at the strange setup in confusion. But before anyone could speak, the voice returned.
"Well"
It said with a hint of amusement.
"Shall we begin?"
The room seemed to darken, and from the shadows emerged a figure. He was dressed in a peculiar outfit—a blend of butler elegance and circus flamboyance. A long magician's hat tilted slightly on his head, and his face bore a painted smile, though his sharp eyes betrayed a menacing glint.
With a theatrical bow, he places his right palm on his chest.
"Hi, everyone,"he said, with a bow that was far too theatrical.
"I am known as Joker."
A heavy silence fell over the room as the group exchanged uncertain glances.
"I've been hired to oversee this trial you'll be going through."
The words sank in, and confusion quickly spread across the faces of the group.
"A trial?" Ethan's voice cut through the tension, his expression a mixture of disbelief and anger.
"What do you mean by trial?"
Before Joker could respond, William's sharp mind pieced things together.
"Oh, I see what's going on. Are you saying that anytime one of us dies, there's going to be a trial?"
Joker's smile widened as he nodded.
"Exactly. But not exactly in the way you think."
Joker chuckles as his gaze lands on William. "Well, your name certainly speaks volumes—The Archive, huh? You're so clever, William. You figured out a key rule to the trial just by what was said—'someone must die before the trial begins'."
William's brow furrowed, but Ren spoke up, his voice tinged with sarcasm. "Wait, what? So, you're saying we'll always go through a trial whenever one of us die? Is that it?"
"No, no, no, forget what he said," Joker interrupted, waving his hand dismissively. "That's not the right question, but it's a step in the right direction."
Kaida, who had been silently processing the situation, turned to Anna. "Do you know who this is? Is he part of the mansion staff?" she asked.
Anna shook her head. "No, never seen him before. If I had, I would have known. And that face doesn't ring any bells."
"Ah, I nearly forgot!" Joker clapped his hands, drawing attention back to him. "Allow me to introduce myself properly. As I said, I'm Joker. I'm one of the '5 Wonderers' I am known as the Entertainer. Joker… The Entertainer."
Ethan's confusion was palpable. "The '5 Wonderers'? What is that?"
Joker's grin grew a little wider, but his tone shifted to something more cryptic. "Oh, don't worry yourself about that just yet. What the '5 Wonderers' are… well, doesn't matter.
Lucas, unable to hold back his sarcasm, scoffed. "Wow, first, there was a princess playing dress-up. Now we have a prince playing dress-up. Seriously? Is this mansion just full of royalty playing dress-up?" He waved his hand dismissively at Joker. "This guy looks nothing like a butler. He looks like a prince trying to play dress-up."
William shot him a sharp look. "Seriously? You think this is the time for jokes, Lucas?"
Ren, who had been quiet up until now, smirked. "Well, he's not wrong. I mean, the guy did say he's the Entertainer. Is he going to dance like a clown for us?"
Joker's grin never wavered. He looked at them all. "Ah, I see. The humor, the banter. It will all seize once the trial begin.
William snapped at the others. "Seriously, this is not a joke. This is serious. We need to focus."
Joker gave a dramatic bow once again, then stood straight, adjusting his oversized hat. "Oh, nearly forgot. I was hired to oversee this trial and will be hosting it. Now, shall we get into the details of the Trial"
"Well, I suppose that's why this trial had to be designed the way it is. If it weren't, people like you would solve it far too quickly. But believe me, this trial is both the easiest and the hardest of them all. You'll find that thinking outside the box will be… nearly impossible."
William narrows his eyes. "What do you mean by that? Think outside what box?"
Before Joker can respond, Ren steps forward, his expression skeptical. "Hey, Joker guy, isn't that apple… strange?"
He points to the apple resting on the rock.
"When I look at it straight on, it seems perfectly intact. But if I tilt my head to the right, it looks like there's a bite taken out of the right side. Then I tilt to the left, and there's a bite taken out of there too. But straight on, it's whole again. What's the deal? Is this some kind of illusion?"
Joker smiles slyly. "No, it's not an illusion. But thank you for noticing—that saves me the trouble of explaining it myself."
He waves his hand theatrically toward the apple. "This, my dear guests, is your trial. To end it, you must make the apple whole."
The group stares at him, confused. Ethan scoffs. "Make the apple whole? What does that even mean?"
Joker spins on his heel, ignoring Ethan's comment. "The trial lies in uncovering the mystery of the apple. Why does it appear whole at certain angles but bitten from others? Where did this apple come from? Who left those bite marks? And most importantly, why?"
He smirks, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Solve the mystery behind the apple. That's the only way this trial will end."
Ethan furrows his brow and says, "Solve the mysteries of the apple? How?"
Joker chuckles lightly, crossing his arms. "Well, it's not too difficult, I guess. All you have to do is figure out the origin of the apple, where it came from, the bite marks—whose they are—and the reason behind them. Solve all of that, and the apple will become whole. Then, the trial ends."
Ren rubs his temple, looking skeptical. "Wait. How are we even supposed to figure that out? Didn't you just say that thinking outside the box would be nearly impossible in this trial?"
Joker smirks. "Yes, but there are many ways to get the information you need. You just have to know where to look."
Ren's eyes widen as realization hits him. "Oh, yeah! This is a mansion, and there's no way a mansion like this wouldn't have a library!" He quickly turns to Anna. "Hey, Anna, is there a library in this mansion?"
Anna nods slowly. "Yeah, there are actually two libraries. The normal library and the overall library."
William raises an eyebrow. "Normal? What do you mean by that?"
Anna explains, "The normal library is called that because the information there is limited. It doesn't contain everything you'd want to know. But the overall library? That's the Akashic library. It holds everything. The past, the present, the future—every single event, thought, or action from the beginning to the end of existence. Infinite knowledge."
William folds his arms with a competitive grin. "Well, I guess I've found my rival. If this mansion thinks it can rival my Archive, I'll show it who the real keeper of knowledge is."
Ren smirks at William's response. "Great. So, we just need to find this Akashic library then."
After Ren mentioned they'd have to find the Akashic Library, William's expression shifted. His brow furrowed, and he muttered, "But something is bugging me though. How does something like the Akashic Record even fit in the mansion... and it's a library? Seriously, how big is this mansion? When we were coming in, the mansion didn't look that big, so how come?"
Ren paused, giving William a thoughtful look. After a beat, he shrugged casually. "Seriously, William, I think you would've figured this by now."
William raised an eyebrow, a bit taken aback. Ren's voice grew slightly more serious, though his tone remained calm. "Oh, I see... thinking outside the box, right? Well, since the trial has started, I guess I get why you'd ask that. But you realize this mansion isn't normal, right? Everything that's happened since we got here..."
William opened his mouth to protest, but Ren cut him off, pressing on.
"The inside is much bigger than the outside, that's for sure. And believe me, inside this mansion, it's a whole other world. Seriously. The inside is much bigger than what it looks like from the outside. So don't let the looks fool you, okay? And try not to think too much about it, since we can't think outside the box."
William pauses, processing the observation. He finally says, "Well, that does explain a few things. But if what Anna says is true, and there's an Akashic Library here, then it changes everything. If we can access it, we could find answers, not just to the trial but maybe to how to escape this mansion altogether."
Kaida then chimes in, "But wouldn't that be too easy? If the Akashic Library holds all knowledge, wouldn't the answers to the apple mystery just... be there? Why even have a trial if we can cheat our way through?"
Joker chuckles, amused, and interrupts, "Oh, sweet Kaida, that's assuming you can't even reach the Akashic Library. You see, the normal library is accessible to everyone. But the Akashic Library? Well, let's just say it doesn't open its doors to just anyone. You have to be… worthy."
Ren narrows his eyes. "Worthy how?"
Joker smirks mischievously. "Oh, I'm not spoiling the fun. That's something you'll have to figure out for yourselves. But don't worry, I'll be watching—very closely."
At this, the group exchanges uneasy glances, and Ethan mutters under his breath, "Great, as if this place wasn't creepy enough already."
After Joker's cryptic remark, everyone stands in a tense silence. The weight of the words hangs in the air, but then Sebastian, ever the observant one, looks around, a sudden realization dawning on him.
"Wait, Joker," he begins, his voice tinged with confusion. "Didn't you say we're all here, and now the trial shall begin? But... there's someone missing."
A murmur of surprise spreads among the group. Ren furrows his brows. "Someone is missing? What do you mean? We're all here."
Harrison, who had been quietly observing, scoffs. "Seriously, you don't care enough to even notice your teacher isn't here?"
Ethan blinks, his mind slowly catching up. "Wait, you're right... I didn't notice that myself. Where is the teacher?"
Kaida, having gone to fetch Ana earlier, speaks up. "When I went down to call Ana, she... wasn't there. I completely forgot about her. It was as if she... never existed. I don't know how to explain it, but we all just suddenly forgot about her."
The tension in the room thickens. Joker's eerie chuckle rings out, catching everyone's attention. "I see... So, you've all noticed now." He pauses, savoring the moment before delivering his cryptic explanation. "The trial only begins when everyone who is still alive is gathered together. If someone is missing, the trial cannot continue."
William's brow furrows as he tries to make sense of the situation. "Wait, so are you saying our teacher is...?"
"Yes," Joker responds flatly, his tone shifting to one of finality. "Your teacher is no more."
Ethan's eyes widen in disbelief. "But she just went outside to take a break! What happened to her?"
Joker shrugs, almost casually. "Well, I guess that's another mystery for you to solve. Not my business." His voice grows colder. "Farewell. I'll only interfere if I must, but until then, good luck with your trial."
With that, Joker vanishes into thin air, leaving the group in stunned silence, contemplating his words.
Ethan, still processing, finally speaks, his voice steady but with a hint of frustration. "Alright, we need to focus. Let's all go to our rooms and figure out our strategies. We'll hold a meeting to discuss how to solve this."
He looks around, his gaze landing on Marcy. "Marcy, maybe you can go with Ren and William to their room. Since your roommate is no longer with us, it makes sense for you to join them."
Marcy nods, her face a mix of uncertainty and determination. "Okay, I'll join them."
But as soon as the words leave her lips, something strange happens. The room shifts before their eyes. In a blink, the hallway— their safe havens — are back to normal. A sense of disorientation fills the air.
Yet, without any hesitation, they all know exactly where to find the room with the apple. It's as if the rooms have rearranged themselves but the knowledge of where the apple lies, the center of their investigation, is clear. Without further word, they all head straight to their rooms, ready to dive deeper into the mystery.
CHAPTER ENDS.