Silence filled the room—
Not the kind of silence you know,
But a silence so heavy, so suffocating, it felt as though the entire world had stopped breathing…
As though time itself had hesitated, uncertain whether to move forward or remain frozen before what was coming.
I stood there, beside Cairo, in utter darkness.
A darkness so dense that nothing could be seen.
Nothing could be heard except for the sound of our trembling breaths…
and the faint whisper of sweat sliding down our foreheads, vanishing into the gloom.
We didn't know what to do.
There was no clear way out.
No light to guide us, no exit offering a promise of salvation.
But there was one thing we knew for certain—
Escaping the doll… would not be easy.
I felt my mind begin to spin—
Thoughts crashing into each other in a tangled storm, each screaming for a way to survive.
What do I do?
Should I scream?
No—no, that's stupid. It might attack me instantly.
Break a window?
In this darkness? I can't even see it, let alone know where it is.
Run? But… where?
I can't even see my own feet!
"What do I do? What do I do?"
The phrase echoed in my head like a maddening lullaby, playing on repeat until I felt I would lose my grip on reality.
But before I could spiral any further into that abyss of panic—
Her voice cut through.
That voice…
A voice that couldn't truly be called childlike, even though it sounded like a little girl.
It was fake… distorted… wicked.
A voice like someone had twisted the keys of a broken music box and forced it to speak.
She said, in a tone dancing on the edge of insanity:
"So… shall we start the game? What do you say? Heeheeheehee..."
A chill crawled down my spine.
Not because of her words—
But because of the way she said them.
Like she'd been waiting for this moment for a very, very long time.
I turned my head in a desperate attempt to see something—anything—
But the darkness was thick, like dust smothering a forgotten mirror.
I couldn't even see Cairo, though I knew he was right beside me.
Breathing. Watching. Just like I was.
I didn't know what he was thinking,
Didn't know what expression he wore…
But there was one thing I was almost sure of—
Cairo was scared too.
He might not show it.
Might not admit it.
But he was afraid… just like me.
More moments passed in suffocating silence,
And I felt my heart pounding so hard it might lift me off the floor.
I wanted to say something—anything.
I wanted to take control…
Or at least pretend I had some.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady my voice, though the sweat still poured from my brow,
And I spoke—softly, with a slight tremble:
"S-So… from what I understand… you want us to play a game with you… right?"
I fell silent after that, waiting for a reply.
It felt like throwing a stone into a bottomless well…
Not knowing when—or if—an echo would come back.
But the voice answered sooner than I expected.
She said, in a tone coated with sickening glee:
"Heeheehee… That is right! I want to play a game with both of you..."
The way she drew out the words—
How she turned a simple sentence into a twisted melody dancing on the edge of madness—
It made the ground beneath me feel like it was beginning to tilt.
A game?!
What kind of "game" does a moving doll, one that vanishes and traps its victims in darkness, want to play?
Is this her idea of fun?
Are we just toys in her game?
Is this merely the beginning… of something worse?
I looked toward where Cairo stood and whispered, not expecting a reply:
"Hold yourself together… Don't weaken… Don't let her see your fear…"
But inside—I was shaking.
And for the first time since arriving in this world…
I realized that there exists a kind of evil that needs neither sword nor supernatural strength—
Just a smile in the dark… and an invitation to play.
---
Seconds passed.
Then I heard it—
Quick, uneven breathing… Cairo's.
He really was scared.
But what could I do for him?
I was terrified too.
I didn't want to speak.
Every cell in my body screamed: "Stay silent!"
"Don't say anything!"
"Don't provoke her!"
And yet—despite the fear crushing me—
I couldn't stay silent forever.
I had to understand.
I had to know.
Or at least… buy us some time.
I inhaled slowly, deeply—
Trying to sound calm, even though every heartbeat in my chest said otherwise.
Then I whispered into the dark, speaking to the unknown:
"S-So… what game do you want us to play with you?"
My words floated weakly into the air,
Lost and uncertain—
But not unanswered.
I heard the laugh first.
Soft at first… slowly growing louder.
A laugh that held no innocence—only pure, delighted madness.
Like someone savoring the moment before striking.
Then her voice returned—twisted as ever:
"Hmm… What shall we play? What shall we play?"
She sounded genuinely thoughtful,
Like a little girl flipping through a toy box, deciding between her favorite doll or her tiny train set.
But she… wasn't… a girl.
She continued, with a voice dripping in mockery:
"Shall we play… the sacrifice game?"
My breath caught in my throat.
"The sacrifice?!"
What does she mean?
Is that just a name…?
Or does she mean actual sacrifice?
I couldn't suppress my tension, and I whispered—afraid, trying and failing to hide it:
"What? The sacrifice game? What… what do you mean?"
But she ignored my question entirely, as though my words didn't matter—
And continued, in that eerily cheerful tone:
"Or maybe… hide and seek? Or truth or dare?... Ehehehehehe..."
I felt the walls of the storage room closing in—
Shrinking.
Tightening around us like a trap snapping shut.
Still, she didn't stop—
She said with feverish excitement and terrifying indifference:
"I just do not know what to choose...there are so many games I want to play...But...what a shame."
She paused, then added with a disturbingly childlike pout:
"I only have two people to play with..."
And with a fake sigh of disappointment:
"If only I'd waited a little longer...maybe more people would have come!"
At that moment—
My blood turned to ice.
What was she saying?
Did she know we were coming?!
Was she waiting for us all along?!
Since when?
Since we entered the mansion?
Since that first night?
Were we nothing more than pieces…
Waiting for our turn on her twisted chessboard?
I stared into the void, eyes wide with fear.
I couldn't see her…
But I felt it—
She was watching us.
I couldn't see her,
But I knew—
She saw us clearly.
She might be smiling now—
That warped smile I'd seen before.
The one that held no humanity…
No mercy. No logic.
Only the pleasure of control.
And I wondered…
Was this doll simply craving amusement?
Or was there something far greater hiding behind that thick curtain of madness?
Were we a coincidence… or a target?
Had she been waiting for specific victims?
Or worse… was she not alone?
Questions tore through my mind,
Sweat pouring as if my body was burning from the inside—
With no way to extinguish the fire.
But the worst part of it all—
Was that I had no answers.
Only… the darkness.
The doll's voice.
And the game—
That was about to begin.