[Solve the puzzle to escape DEATH.]
As the instruction vanished, the puzzle reappeared on the screen. Below it, a series of stats began to materialize, one after another:
[Time Remaining: 58 seconds] – ticking down relentlessly.
[Attempts Left: 2]
[Incorrect Attempts: 0]
"W-what the heck is this? Is this one of those twisted games from horror movies?" Kaiza thought, his eyes darting over the instructions displayed on the screen.
For several seconds, he stood frozen, paralyzed by shock. His mind raced with questions, each one more terrifying than the last.
What happens if I exceed the time limit?
What if I can't solve the puzzle?
What if I guess wrong, and the timer runs out?
The horrifying scenarios he'd seen in movies played on repeat in his head, each more gruesome than the last. His chest tightened as his heartbeat thundered in his ears. Panic began to set in, his breath quickening.
Then, unexpectedly, the door emitted a sharp beep, snapping him out of his spiraling thoughts.
Kaiza's head jerked up as he stared at the door, his fear temporarily replaced by confusion. "What now?" he muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing as he waited for whatever was coming next.
[Q1- A Game of Hero - fight against the Dowolf beast]
[Q2 - death]
[Q3 - death]
[Q4 - death]
As soon as Kaiza read the message on the door, a chilling realization washed over him—this wasn't a joke. The answers displayed matched the questions he had silently asked himself moments ago, and they were anything but reassuring. He swallowed hard, his throat dry.
If it can answer my questions… maybe it can help me, he thought after a brief moment of contemplation. The idea was absurd, yet the door's ability to seemingly read his mind left him with little doubt.
But as the seconds ticked by, Kaiza hesitated. Fear clawed at him—what if asking for help triggered something worse? What if the door had rules he didn't understand?
Summoning his courage, he took a shaky breath and whispered, barely audible, "Interpret the puzzle… or give me some hint."
Though his voice was faint, the words were spoken aloud, breaking the eerie silence that hung in the air. His heart pounded in anticipation as he stared at the door, waiting to see if it would respond.
[Q5 - question invalid. Unable to answer question]
[All five questions answered, now solve the puzzle]
Kaiza read the message again, and a cold shiver ran down his spine. The tension in the air seemed to grow heavier, suffocating him with each passing second.
That's when he noticed something he had missed earlier—a small note at the bottom of the screen. It read: [Q - 5/5].
His eyes widened in horror as the realization dawned on him. The door only allows five questions. He had used up all his chances without even noticing, his focus entirely consumed by the puzzle and the fear of survival.
"Damn it!" Kaiza cursed, his voice echoing in the empty space. A bitter wave of regret crashed over him. How could I have been so careless?
But what angered him even more was the unfairness of it all. His final question hadn't even been answered. It was as though the door had ignored him, leaving him grasping at straws.
"This isn't fair!" he shouted, his frustration boiling over. Desperation clawed at him as the timer continued its relentless countdown, mocking his dwindling hope.
The door beeped again, pulling Kaiza out of his spiraling thoughts. His eyes darted to the screen.
[30 seconds left].
Half the time was gone.
The realization hit him like a punch to the gut—there was no one coming to his aid. No mysterious voice. No savior. It was just him, and if he didn't figure this out, the consequences would be dire.
"Calm down, calm down," he whispered to himself, forcing his breathing to slow. He shut his eyes, inhaling deeply, trying to suppress the panic clawing at his chest.
Kaiza focused his mind, his thoughts zeroing in on the puzzle. He decided to break it down piece by piece, tackling each instruction in order.
The first line read: Three foot taps on three spots.
He mulled over it, then a possibility struck him. His eyes shot to the floor, scanning quickly. Sure enough, he spotted three faint circles etched into the ground.
"One done," he murmured, a spark of hope igniting within him.
Next, he turned to the second part: Hand on prints.
Kaiza searched frantically, his gaze darting to the walls and the doors around him. But no handprints were visible. A sinking feeling began to creep in, but he refused to let it overwhelm him. Maybe the handprints only appear after the foot taps, he reasoned.
"Let's do this," Kaiza said under his breath, steeling himself as he prepared to take the first step. His heart pounded in his chest, but his determination burned brighter.
Kaiza tapped on each spot three times as instructed, his movements precise and deliberate. He looked up, holding his breath, hoping his theory was right.
Just as he had imagined, the screen cleared, and a pair of handprints appeared.
"I knew it," he muttered, a small surge of relief washing over him.
But as Kaiza raised his hand to place it on the prints, something unexpected happened. More handprints began to materialize, spreading across the screen like a virus.
"What?" he whispered, his hand freezing mid-air. His eyes widened as confusion and dread set in. "What now?" he muttered, his brows furrowing as he studied the sudden twist.
The screen was now covered in palm prints, each identical to the original pair. There was no indication of which one was correct, and time was slipping away.
Kaiza's mind raced, trying to make sense of the new development. He couldn't afford to make a wrong move, not with the clock ticking down.
Panic threatened to overtake him, but he forced himself to think. Within moments, a theory began to form in his mind. Maybe it's not random. Maybe there's a pattern or a clue I missed.
Kaiza scanned the screen again, this time more carefully, searching for anything—anything—that could guide him to the right choice.
Kaiza sighed, his breath shaky, and slowly raised his hand toward the door, his fingers trembling as they hovered just above the surface. He moved his hand across the door, palm prints lighting up wherever he passed.
His eyes scanned each print carefully, searching for one that matched the size of his own hand. When he finally found it, he hesitated for a moment, then pressed his palm against it.
"This has to work," he muttered under his breath, though his voice carried a mix of hope and resignation. His mind was already bracing for the worst. If I'm going to lose my life here, at least the briefcase will be lost in this cave too.
As soon as his hand connected with the print, everything stopped.
The countdown, the faint mechanical hum of the door, even Kaiza's own breathing—all froze in place. Only his heart continued its relentless rhythm, pounding so loudly he could hear it echo in his ears.
Time seemed to stretch infinitely. Kaiza's mind raced with questions, his body frozen in anticipation. Did I succeed? Or is this the end?
Summoning the courage to face whatever came next, he opened one eye cautiously, then the other. His gaze darted around, expecting to see either salvation or some otherworldly afterlife.
But no, he was still standing in the narrow space between the ancient cave door and the advanced tech door.
As his vision cleared fully, his eyes landed on the screen. A new message had appeared, glowing faintly in the dim light. Kaiza's heart skipped a beat as he read the words, their meaning slowly sinking in.
[Congratulations]
[You escaped death.]
Kaiza exhaled deeply, his chest heaving as he finally allowed himself to breathe again. Relief washed over him, but it was fleeting, as another message promptly flashed on the screen.
[Unlock door with key.]
"Where is the key?" he muttered, frowning as he read the instruction. Before he could voice another question, a metallic clunk echoed above him, startling him. His eyes snapped upward, searching for the source of the sound.
There it was—a key, suspended mid-air, as if held in place by an invisible force. Kaiza didn't hesitate. He grabbed the key and turned toward the door, inserting it into the lock. With a click, the door creaked open.
He stepped through cautiously, unsure of what awaited him on the other side.
Kaiza froze as he took in the sight before him. His mind struggled to process what he was seeing. He had expected to walk into a sleek corridor, perhaps something futuristic, leading to another challenge or a virtual world. But this… this was beyond anything he could have imagined.
The room was vast, its walls shimmering with an otherworldly energy. Strange symbols floated in the air, glowing faintly in shades of blue and gold. The floor was a mix of polished metal and translucent glass, revealing intricate circuits that pulsed with light beneath his feet.
On one side of the room stood a massive console with screens displaying incomprehensible data streams, while the other side housed what looked like ancient relics encased in transparent containers. The blend of futuristic technology and ancient mystery was both mesmerizing and unnerving.
Kaiza took a hesitant step forward, his gaze darting around the room. "What is this place?" he whispered, his voice barely audible over the soft hum of the energy coursing through the space.
It was indeed a modern hall, just as Kaiza had foreseen, but far grander than he could have ever imagined.
In front of him and stretching around the room were floor-to-ceiling screens, their soft blue hue casting an ethereal glow across the marble floor. The light seemed to ripple gently, creating an almost surreal atmosphere. The vastness of the space amplified its emptiness—there was nothing else in the room, just an expanse of pristine marble and the radiance of the screens.
Above him, the glass ceiling reflected the shimmering blue light, adding an otherworldly dimension to the room. At its center hung a magnificent chandelier, its intricate design refracting the light into a cascade of soft glimmers, like stars scattered across the ceiling.
Kaiza stood motionless in the center of the hall, his eyes wide and his jaw slack. The sight was breathtaking, almost overwhelming, even though it wasn't entirely unfamiliar. He had seen places like this before, in movies and extravagant celebrity house tours—back when the world was more stable, before the second coming of the Dowolf beast had upended everything.
Yet, standing here now, amidst the grandeur and silence, the experience felt entirely different. This wasn't a set piece on a screen or a fleeting glimpse of luxury; this was real, tangible, and far more profound.
Kaiza couldn't help but feel a mix of awe and unease. "What kind of place is this?" he whispered, his voice barely audible as it echoed softly in the cavernous space.
Being here and witnessing this with his own eyes was an entirely different experience. Kaiza couldn't tear his gaze away from the mesmerizing display of lights and the elegant glow cast by the screens. The beauty of the room held him captive, his mind momentarily forgetting everything that had happened earlier.
But the moment was fleeting.
Suddenly, the room plunged into darkness, and Kaiza's breath hitched. He glanced around nervously, his heart racing. Just as the silence began to weigh on him, the chandelier above flickered to life, its light growing slowly. The screens followed suit, their glow returning gradually until the darkness was banished.
Kaiza's relief was short-lived.
On the screen in front of him, letters began to appear, one after the other, forming words and then sentences. The final message read:
[Welcome!]
[Let's play a game.]
Kaiza's heart, which had been brimming with excitement moments ago, sank like a stone. The word game struck him like a thunderbolt, his mind freezing in disbelief.
"Am I trapped in a game world now?" he muttered, his voice barely audible as his thoughts spiraled. His earlier awe and admiration dissolved into a cocktail of fear and confusion.
Before he could make sense of it, the screen wiped itself clean, the letters disappearing one at a time, just as they had appeared.
A new message materialized:
[All you have to do is play my hero.]
"H-hero?" Kaiza stammered, his voice shaky. The word struck a chord, echoing in his mind. What does it mean by hero? he wondered, his confusion deepening.
Before he could process the thought, yet another message blinked into existence on the screen:
[Shall we begin?]
Kaiza took an involuntary step back, his legs trembling as the weight of the situation bore down on him. His eyes darted around the room, searching for an escape or a clue, but there was nothing—only the glowing screen and its enigmatic messages.
"What kind of twisted game is this?" he murmured, his voice barely audible. His mind raced, but no answers came. The word hero lingered in his thoughts, taunting him. Was he supposed to be some kind of savior? Or was this just a cruel illusion, designed to toy with him before delivering some fatal blow?
The chandelier's light reflected off the glossy marble floor, casting a surreal glow, but it offered no comfort. Kaiza's hands clenched into fists as he struggled to steady his breathing.
The screen remained still, waiting for his response. The silence stretched, oppressive and heavy, as though the room itself was holding its breath.
Kaiza finally mustered the courage to speak. "What do you want from me?" His voice was louder this time, defiant despite the fear gnawing at him.
The screen flickered, and a new message appeared:
[Your journey begins now. Only the brave survive. Will you play, or will you perish?]
Kaiza swallowed hard, his throat dry. He didn't know what lay ahead, but one thing was clear: there was no turning back.