Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sound of their steps echoed endlessly in the narrow stairwell as the group climbed, their breaths coming in labored huffs. No one dared to stop, their frustration mounting with each passing minute.
"Goddamn it! Why is this never-ending?!" Minji finally screamed, her voice bouncing off the cold, stone walls. She looked back at the others, her expression a mix of anger and exhaustion.
Kyung-min wiped the sweat from his brow, his usually calm demeanor cracking under the pressure. "What can we do? Other than climb, I mean," he muttered, avoiding her gaze as his eyes scanned the spiral behind them.
Seo Yuna nodded, her tone grim but steady. "Kyung-min's right. There's no way back down, and even if there were, do you think it'd lead anywhere? We're stuck here."
"Just keep climbing," Jaehyun interjected, his voice tinged with unease. He gripped the railing tighter, his knuckles white. "Be careful. I don't trust this place… anything can happen, so stay alert.
The group trudged forward, step after step, their frustrations now mingling with an unspoken fear that none of them dared to voice. For the next thirty minutes, the oppressive silence was broken only by their uneven breathing and the echo of their steps.
Then, out of nowhere, Kyung-min spoke, his voice tinged with hope. "Wait—look! There's a floor up ahead!"
The group froze for a moment before they all scrambled forward, their exhaustion momentarily forgotten. Sure enough, a flat, solid surface awaited them, like the end of the climb they had desperately sought.
"A floor!" Yuna cried out, her voice trembling with relief.
"Finally!" Minji said, practically sprinting the last few steps.
But Jaehyun hesitated, his instincts screaming at him. Something about the sudden end didn't feel right. He slowed his pace, his eyes darting around the spiraling stairwell. As he reached the edge of the floor, he paused and glanced back one last time.
His heart skipped a beat.
The stairs that had carried them upward for what felt like an eternity were gone. Vanished.
"Huh…? Where are the stairs?" Jaehyun murmured, his voice barely audible. He stared at the empty void where the stairs should have been, his chest tightening with unease.
"What is it, Jaehyun?" Minji called from the floor ahead, turning to see his pale expression.
"The stairs... they're gone," he whispered, his gaze still fixed on the endless abyss below.
But before anyone could respond, a deep, guttural groan reverberated through the air. The floor beneath their feet trembled slightly, like something alive shifting restlessly beneath the surface. Dust motes swirled in the faint light, and the oppressive atmosphere grew heavier with each passing second.
"Did anyone else feel that?" Yuna asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Before anyone could answer, Jaehyun stumbled as the vibrations intensified, grabbing the nearest wall for support. A gust of air whipped through the space, and the floor beneath them seemed to ripple, as if the solid stone had turned to liquid.
Then came the impossible.
A large rug in the center of the floor began to rise, hovering several inches off the ground. It twisted unnaturally, its fabric curling and unfurling as though alive. The single beam of light shining from above flickered, casting eerie shadows that danced around them.
"What... the hell is happening?" Minji breathed, her voice trembling as she instinctively stepped back.
Jaehyun's pulse quickened, his unease now a full-blown panic. "Stay back!" he shouted, his voice cutting through the tense air.
The rug twisted and rose above, the air around it growing heavier with a sinister energy. And then, from the very center of the hovering fabric, a low, guttural voice emerged, echoing through the vast space
The voice resonated, deep and hollow, like the mournful echo of a forgotten tomb. It enveloped Jaehyun, its words slicing through the stifling stillness of the air.
"You don't belong here... but you came back anyway."
The words rippled through him, carrying a weight that seemed to drag his very soul downward. The presence loomed closer, tendrils slithering like living shadows. They weren't just reaching for him—they were studying him, probing the edges of his sanity.
Jaehyun's breath hitched. His surroundings blurred, the lines between reality and nightmare smudging together.
"W-what is this?" he gasped, his voice trembling.
There was no answer, only the heavy thrum of something vast and unknowable pressing against his mind. His vision darkened at the edges, and for a brief, agonizing moment, he thought he might collapse. But then, as suddenly as it had begun, the oppressive presence stilled.
The tendrils retracted, dissolving into the void like smoke caught in an unseen wind.
"H... fu..." Jaehyun whispered, falling to his knees. His chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath, the suffocating weight finally lifting. Around him, the others stirred, their expressions painted with confusion and lingering fear.
"What... what was that?" Minji's voice wavered, her usual confidence stripped away.
"I don't know," Han Kyung muttered, rubbing his temples. "The ground... it started shaking, and then everything went dark. I thought I was... gone."
"Where's Seo?" Jaehyun asked, his voice sharp with concern.
"I'm here," Seo replied, standing shakily. She brushed the dust off her clothes, her wide eyes scanning their surroundings.
As the group gathered themselves, the room around them came into sharper focus. The floor they stood on had risen, revealing a space that defied logic. It was vast, circular, and eerily silent, the walls impossibly smooth and unbroken.
And at its heart stood something extraordinary.
A towering angelic statue dominated the center of the room. Its sheer size was staggering, its head nearly brushing the ceiling. Its face was serene yet commanding, its outstretched hand empty but brimming with an inexplicable promise. The statue was wrought from silver and gold, every curve and detail polished to a blinding sheen.
Surrounding it, smaller angelic figures stood in reverent poses, their faces veiled by shadow. Each held a weapon—a sword, a bow, a mace, a shield—yet their forms were still, as if waiting for something.
It wasn't beauty that struck Jaehyun first. It was the unsettling aura that clung to the air, heavy and suffocating, as if the statues themselves bore witness to something forbidden.
"This is... incredible," Seo murmured, her voice hushed.
"Incredible, yes," Minji said, though she kept her distance from the towering figures. "But it's... wrong, somehow. Like we're not supposed to be here."
Jaehyun said nothing. His gaze was fixed on the central statue, the angel's outstretched hand drawing his attention like a magnet. It felt alive, as though it was waiting for him—or perhaps for all of them.
The light in the chamber shifted. Fires erupted from pillars that ringed the space, their flames casting long, flickering shadows. The room seemed to breathe, its walls pulsing faintly in the fiery glow.
"Look at this place..." Han Kyung muttered, his voice tinged with awe.
"It's beautiful," Seo whispered, but her words lacked conviction.
Beautiful, Jaehyun thought, but not comforting. The longer he stared, the more he felt as though the chamber was watching them, its silence charged with unspoken malice.
"We need to move," he said at last, his voice low. "Standing still won't help us."
The group hesitated, their unease palpable, but eventually, they began to follow him toward the central statue. Their footsteps echoed in the vast space, each sound swallowed quickly by the oppressive silence.
Jaehyun's mind raced as they walked. What was this place? Who—or what—had built it? And why did it feel like they were intruding on something ancient, something sacred?
As they approached the statue, Jaehyun couldn't shake the feeling that they were walking into a trap. The angel's hand, so open, so inviting, seemed almost too perfect.
To Jaehyun, the statues seemed more like illusions than reality. Their grandeur was undeniable, yet something felt profoundly wrong—a false perfection that whispered of deceit.
His steps were hesitant as he moved toward the angelic figures that dominated the space, their towering forms casting elongated shadows in the flickering firelight. Each statue was so impossibly crafted, so immaculate, that it mocked human ingenuity. Polished silver and gold intertwined, their surfaces encrusted with radiant gems that seemed to pulse faintly in the dimness. The artistry transcended mortal capability, exuding an aura that felt... otherworldly.
As his gaze settled on the central figure, Jaehyun noticed something beneath its outstretched hand: a stone tablet embedded in the pedestal. Strange markings covered its surface, curling and twisting like vines. To his astonishment, the symbols were legible.
Why can I read this? The thought struck him, sharp and unyielding. He ran his fingers lightly over the inscriptions, as if touching them might break the spell.
The words on the tomb seemed to stir, their meaning unraveling in his mind:
**"In shadowed depths, where echoes dwell,
A tomb's dark secrets start to tell.
Engraved in stone, a cryptic plea,
'To break the chains of reality,
A sacrifice, a heartfelt cost,
Something dear, forever lost.
An offering held in trembling hand,
Toward the tomb, where shadows stand.'"**
The verse tugged at Jaehyun's consciousness, its rhythm unsettling, its promise darker still. As he continued to read, the air around him seemed to thicken, resonating with an invisible tension.
**"With bated breath and whispered fears,
They search their hearts, their minds, their tears.
A locket, a book, a childhood toy,
Tokens of love, of grief, of joy.
One steps forth, with tear-filled eyes,
A photograph, their sacrifice.
A lover's face, a memory's hold,
Released with pain, a story told.
Another follows, hand outstretched,
A withered flower, love's last breath.
A symbol of hope, now turned to dust,
A sacrifice born of faith and trust.
Each offering placed upon the stone,
A piece of self, forever flown.
The tomb glows bright, a blinding light,
As they're pulled back to their world's sight."**
The words struck him like a blow, as if they weren't merely written, but spoken directly into his soul. He stepped back, his chest rising and falling in uneven breaths.
"Jaehyun?" Minji's voice broke through the silence, her tone tinged with worry.
He turned toward her, startled. The others had drawn closer, their expressions reflecting the same unease he felt.
"What's wrong?" she asked, her gaze flicking between him and the glowing inscriptions.
"I... I don't know." He looked back at the tablet, its cryptic message now burned into his memory. "This place—it's asking for something."
Han Kyung frowned. "Asking for what?"
Jaehyun didn't answer immediately. Instead, he glanced at them Minji', Han Kyung's , Seo yuna .
He looked down at his own trembling hands.
Why do I feel as though this was meant for us?
The statues remained motionless, their cold and unyielding gazes a stark contrast to the weighty presence of the tablet's message. Yet, the words engraved upon the stone seemed to ripple in the air, as if whispering to them from some unseen void. The oppressive atmosphere pressed heavier with every passing moment.
Jaehyun's trembling hands brushed against the edge of the pedestal. The sensation was cold—too cold, as though the stone itself rejected his presence. Behind him, the others began to gather, their expressions painted with the same unease that clawed at his chest.
"What does it mean?" Minji whispered, her voice barely audible.
Han Kyung furrowed his brow, his eyes locked on the cryptic inscription. "It's asking for something. A sacrifice, maybe—something deeply important to us."
Seo looked uneasy. "A sacrifice? How could a place like this demand that? This has to be some kind of—"
Before she could finish, an unnatural chill swept through the chamber. The temperature plummeted, and the faint warmth of the golden fire pillars seemed to dim. Jaehyun's breath came out in visible puffs, and he felt his heart quicken as an inexplicable dread crept into his veins.
Then it happened.
Jaehyun glanced at the central angel, whose face had been fixed in serene neutrality, and froze. Its lips, which had been frozen in divine stillness, now curled into a smile. A smile that shouldn't have been there—a smile that sent a shiver racing down his spine. It wasn't warm or benevolent, but something grotesque. Twisted.
"The statue... It's smiling," Jaehyun muttered, his voice barely audible.
The others turned their eyes upward, and there it was—the faintest trace of that unsettling smile etched into the angel's face.
"That's impossible," Han Kyung murmured, his voice wavering. "It's just a statue."
But Han Kyung's unease deepened as he caught something Jaehyun didn't: a flicker of motion. His sharp eyes locked onto the angel's outstretched hand, and in that instant, he realized what was coming.
"Move!" Han Kyung shouted, his voice a desperate roar.
Before the others could react, the air shifted. A sharp crack echoed through the chamber, followed by the sound of something slicing through the air.
Jaehyun spun, his heart lurching, just in time to see the spear—gleaming and impossibly fast—racing toward Minji.
"Minji!" Seo screamed.
Stab.