To Tok—
The door knocked again.
I didn’t react immediately. My thoughts were clouded by the previous notification.
’Eight floors...? There are eight floors?’
It was common knowledge that the hotel only had seven floors. So where had the eighth floor come from?
To Tok—!
The door knocked more forcefully this time, and I finally snapped out of it, turning my attention towards my team members as they all looked at me.
Joanna’s expression was especially tense.
"This..." She bit her lip. "...There’s never been a time in any scenario when someone knocked."
"I know."
I had read enough to know.
In that case...
I turned my attention towards the door. Who was it...? Who was knocking? Why were they knocking?
To Tok—!
My stomach churned, but I held it back and took a step towards the door.
The soft carpet muffled my footsteps as I edged closer to the door. A chill ran through me. I could feel someone standing on the other side, their shadow stretching across the carpet as I came to a halt before it.
I grew tense.
To—
Clank!
I opened the door before they could finish knocking, ready to attack at any moment, but...
"Hello."
A soft smile greeted me.
Tipping his cap, the attendant in a spotless beige-white uniform bowed politely. His movements were practiced and precise, yet there was something about the stiffness of his smile and eyes that gave me the same unease feeling from the reception.
"...You must be the guests in this room. I’ve come to inform you that there’s been a change in the plans."
"A change...?"
"That’s right."
The attendant continued to smile.
"There’s been an unfortunate change to the plans we had set for everyone. An accident occurred on the third floor, and we’re working to resolve the situation. As a result, the third floor will now be closed. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience."
"....!?"
"What...!?"
A look of shock marred our features as we looked at the attendant.
Joanna was the first one to speak up.
"What do you mean the third floor is closed?"
"...There’s been an unfortunate accident."
"Accident? What accident?"
"There’s been an unfortunate accident."
The attendant repeated, his smile the same as before.
"Wha—"
I raised my hand to stop Joanna.
The attendant bowed slightly, pressing a gloved hand against his chest.
"But fret not. To make up for this, we’re offering a complimentary dinner for everyone on this floor. We’ve brought in the finest chefs in the building to prepare an excellent meal for all of you."
Even as his words rang polite and pleasant, there was something in the stiffness of his posture and the unsettling steadiness of his gaze that made the air around us feel incredibly heavy.
The attendant raised his body again, extending his hand in the direction of the corridor.
"...If you would please, I’d like to escort you to the venue."
As if time itself had paused, the attendant remained perfectly still. His smile was stiff, almost forced, and so were his eyes.
No...
It almost looked like they were shaking.
"What should we do?"
Pulling my attention away from the attendant, I looked back at my team. Despite the unsettling situation and the initial shock, everyone had managed to regain a surprising measure of calm.
Niel was the first to speak up.
"According to the document, things shouldn’t have started like this. There’s no mention of the third floor ever being blocked, and attendants have never escorted members anywhere before. It’s clear that something unusual is happening inside the gate."
Pausing for a moment, Niel’s voice lowered.
"Something... I’m not entirely comfortable with."
His words brought a certain silence to the surroundings. A deep and suffocating one as the eyes of the attendant continued to shake, lingering in our direction with the same forced smile of his.
Soon, all eyes turned on me.
"Squad Leader?"
"...What do you think the best option is?"
"Should we stay? I don’t know if that’s a good option. I’d say we should go. There’s no way something like this happened without a reason."
I didn’t answer immediately. It was clear that the gate had changed. This much was obvious. I wasn’t surprised by this, taking into account the fact that this tended to happen whenever I entered a gate.
’In a way, I guess it didn’t really matter if I didn’t learn the information about the gate in advance. From then to now, I’m still very clueless.’
However, if there was one thing I had learned about gates, it was that when something happened, running away was never the answer. The best course of action was to face it head-on.
In that regard, I agreed with Joanna’s words.
Opening my eyes, I took a step forward.
"We’re going."
This was the only realistic option that we had.
The attendant’s smile grew even wider. So did the shaking of his eyes.
"You’ve made a great choice."
*
Following the attendant, we were soon led into a vast hall, dominated by a massive wooden table at its center.
Draped in a white cloth and set with silver plates, candles, and various decorations that gleamed under the lights of the chandelier, the table looked meticulously arranged and impressively grand.
A soft tune floated through the air as a band played at the side of the room. Attendants moved among the tables, their familiar smiles in place and silver trays in hand. I paused for a moment, taking in the sight of the various teams seated around the grand table.
They all looked just as lost and confused as we were.
"Please take a seat."
Coming to a stop, the attendant showed us to our seats.
I hesitated briefly before taking a seat. As I settled in, a soft, aromatic fragrance drifted through the air, carrying faint hints of citrus mixed with something sharper... Mint, perhaps? I wasn’t too sure.
"...The dishes will be coming to you soon. Please enjoy yourself while we wait for the remaining guests."
The attendant left shortly after that.
A brief silence settled over the table as Joanna took the opportunity to glance at the other teams and speak with them so that she could get some information. In the end, there wasn’t much to learn. They had all experienced the same thing we had. They were all preparing for the gate when the knock came.
As I listened to the conversation, my gaze drifted across the venue, taking in the details of the room.
I hadn’t noticed it at first, but when I looked up at the ceiling, a mural came into view. It depicted a weird mannequin-like figure. Or was it...? I couldn’t quite tell properly. It looked like some sort of body, but it had no face or expression.
Staring at it, I found myself tilting my head.
There was something unsettling about the mural, though I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what. I kept staring, searching for details, but the more I looked, the less I could make out.
All I could focus on was the blank face of the mannequin.
In the end, I shifted my attention back to the table. My gaze landed on the nearby cutlery, and I picked up a spoon, examining its perfectly polished surface as it reflected the soft light of the candle before me.
’It’s very well polished.’
I could see my reflection in it.
I tilted my head slightly, trying to get a better look at my reflection.
’How did they manage to get it this polished? I wonder ho—’
"....."
Time slowed down.
The sound of the room drained away, leaving only the soft, uneven flicker of the candle. A cold tendril of dread slithered up my spine, curling into my neck, coiling around my chest. My hands trembled, each breath shallow, harsh in my throat.
A pair of hollow eyes stared back at me from above. Right where the mural appeared. They belonged to a desiccated, almost rotting face, a silver ring between the nose ridge, with torn lips and yellowed teeth dangling loosely, as if the mouth itself had been ripped apart
"H-ha."
Mustering a shaky breath, I pulled the spoon down, and all of it faded.
The silence. The face. Everything.
Slowly. So extremely slowly... I turned my head back.
Back towards where I saw it.
But—
"...."
All I saw was the same mural from before. The same faceless mannequin.
"Squad Leader?"
"...Is everything okay? You don’t look so well."
Hearing my squad’s words, I swallowed silently before looking back at the spoon, the dim light from the candle flickering faintly.
Okay...?
Am I okay?
"I..."