The nursery lights died instantly.
Total darkness.
The baby spirit's soft glow flickered—
then dimmed.
Something stood behind the crib.
Tall.
Thin.
Motionless.
Only its eyes glowed.
Two pale, hollow circles staring back at them.
Rhea whispered, trembling, "That— that is not the baby's spirit."
Dev pulled Yuvan behind him. "Nobody move. NOBODY. MOVE."
The shadow leaned forward—
so quietly that even silence felt loud.
Kian's voice cracked, "Why does every chapter introduce a new creature? Is this a game or a haunted zoo?!"
Zoya held Mira's hand. "I don't want to die in nursery wallpaper!"
Ravi squinted at the shadow.
"It's… it's reaching for the crib."
The glowing baby spirit whined softly.
Aria panicked. "It's trying to take the infant back!"
Suddenly—
SNAP.
A single beam of moonlight shot through the window.
It hit the figure.
And it screamed—
a distorted, heart-twisting sound—
then melted backward into the darkness.
Gone.
Just like that.
Everyone exhaled at the exact same time.
Kian slumped to the floor. "My lungs filed for resignation."
Yuvan wheezed, "Did we win? Is it over?"
Aria swallowed. "No. That was a warning."
The scroll updated:
THE MOTHER SPIRIT IS NEAR.
BUT SHE IS NOT ALONE.
Mira grabbed Zoya's arm.
"The mother spirit?! Is she the shadow?!"
Ravi shook his head.
"No. That wasn't the mother. That thing… moved too glitchy. Too corrupted."
Dev frowned.
"So if that wasn't the mother… who was it?"
The lights flickered.
The baby spirit floated up from the crib—
now glowing brighter.
It pointed to a small wooden door behind the rocking horse.
A door the group hadn't seen before.
Rhea whispered, "The baby wants us to go… there?"
"Of course it does," Kian muttered. "Because nothing good ever hides behind tiny doors."
Aria took a deep breath.
"We're going."
---
THE CRAWLSPACE OF WHISPERS
Dev opened the door.
A cold blast of air hit them—
like the breath of something old and trapped.
A narrow crawlspace stretched into darkness.
"NOPE," Yuvan said immediately. "I don't do tight spaces. My soul is claustrophobic."
But the baby spirit drifted inside.
Aria followed.
The others crawled behind her—
shoving, complaining, panicking.
Kian whispered, "If I die in a crawlspace I swear I will haunt you all."
Mira snapped back, "Who told you we'd survive to be haunted?!"
The crawlspace suddenly widened into—
A small, dim hallway.
Lit only by a cracked lantern swinging on its own.
Scratch marks covered the walls.
Deep.
Long.
Like someone with claws had been dragged away.
Zoya whispered, "This feels like… the place she was taken."
Ravi nodded, voice shaky.
"This must be connected to the mother's disappearance."
The lantern flickered violently.
Then a faint sob echoed.
A woman's sob.
Soft.
Heartbroken.
Close.
Aria turned. "Guys… she's near."
Rhea gripped Dev's sleeve. "I don't want to see a crying ghost."
Yuvan shook. "I don't want to see ANY ghost. Or crying. Or women."
Dev stared at him. "Why women?"
"They scare me emotionally!"
Before Yuvan could elaborate on his trauma—
the sobbing grew louder.
Closer.
Then suddenly—
A figure stepped out.
A woman.
Tall, wearing a torn nightgown.
Hair long and tangled.
Hands trembling.
Face hidden by her hair.
Her body flickered like a corrupted hologram.
The baby spirit floated toward her.
Zoya gasped. "It's— it's the mother spirit!"
But something was wrong.
Very wrong.
The mother spirit slowly lifted her head—
revealing a face with no eyes.
Just hollow sockets.
Dark.
Empty.
Screaming silently.
The group backed up violently.
Kian: "NOPE! THAT'S NOT A MOM THAT'S A NIGHTMARE!"
Rhea: "I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR EYEBALL-LESS JUMPSCARES!"
Mira: "WHY IS EVERY GHOST MISSING THEIR FACE?!"
Yuvan: "WE NEED BETTER GRAPHICS!"
The mother spirit reached out—
hands trembling—
toward the glowing baby spirit.
Aria stepped between them. "Wait—!"
The mother spirit froze.
Her empty sockets turned toward Aria.
She whispered—
"Give him back…"
Her voice wasn't angry.
It was broken.
Desperate.
Dev whispered, "She thinks we took her child…"
Zoya cried instantly. "NOOO SHE'S SAD DON'T HURT HER—"
But suddenly—
CRACK.
Another shadow appeared behind the mother.
The same corrupt creature from the crib—
taller now.
Longer.
Crawling on the ceiling like a spider made of nightmares.
It hissed—
A glitchy, distorted warning.
Aria gasped.
"IT'S NOT AFTER US—IT'S AFTER THE MOTHER!"
The shadow lunged at her.
The mother screamed.
The baby spirit wailed.
And the lights shattered.
---
CHAOS ERUPTS
Dev grabbed Aria. "MOVE!"
Mira pulled Zoya back.
Kian yanked Ravi away.
Rhea shoved Yuvan into safety.
The mother spirit fell to her knees, clutching her head, trembling violently.
Ravi shouted, "THE SHADOW IS A MEMORY EATER!"
Kian yelled, "THERE ARE MEMORY EATERS NOW?! WHY DOES THIS GAME HAVE DLC ENEMIES?!"
The shadow-creature screeched and leapt again—
straight at the mother spirit.
Aria reacted fast.
She grabbed the baby spirit and held it close to the mother.
Golden light burst.
The mother spirit gasped.
The shadow hissed and recoiled.
Mira shouted, "THE BABY IS HER WEAKNESS! IT'S TRIGGERING HER MEMORIES!"
The scroll lit up:
SECOND SPIRIT OBJECTIVE:
Help the mother remember.
Before the shadow consumes her.
Aria took a deep breath.
"GUYS! Form a circle! PROTECT THEM BOTH!"
Dev, Kian, Ravi, Mira, Yuvan, Zoya, and Rhea formed a shaky, screaming, terrified barrier around Aria, the mother, and the baby spirit.
The shadow attacked—
again
and again
and again.
Each time the baby spirit glowed—
and the mother's memories flickered behind her like fragmented scenes:
Her singing.
Her rocking the baby.
Her laughing with her husband.
Her reading bedtime stories.
Her whispering "I love you."
Zoya sobbed. "THIS IS SO SAD I CAN'T HANDLE THIS—"
Kian shouted, "FOCUS ON NOT DYING PLEASE!"
The mother spirit suddenly whispered—
"…my… baby…"
She touched the infant spirit gently.
And for the first time—
Her face glowed.
Her eyes returned.
Soft.
Warm.
Human.
The baby spirit giggled.
The shadow screeched—
shrinking.
Cracking.
Melting like burning ink.
Aria yelled, "NOW! FINISH IT!"
Dev swung a lantern.
Kian kicked the shadow.
Yuvan threw an entire chair.
Mira screamed battle cries.
Zoya dramatically flung a shoe.
Ravi threw salt he found on the floor.
Rhea prayed aggressively.
The shadow evaporated into nothingness.
The mother spirit glowed bright white.
Held the baby spirit.
And whispered—
"Thank you…"
The scroll chimed:
SECOND SPIRIT SAVED
TIME REMAINING: 02:19
Next: FIND THE FATHER.
The lights flickered.
The hallway shook.
The floor cracked open.
The child's voice returned—
far colder than before.
"You saved the wrong ones."
Aria froze.
The child stepped out of the darkness.
Eyes black.
Smile gone.
"Now the father will not forgive you."
Before they could react—
The floor collapsed.
They fell into darkness.
Again.
Screaming.
Again.
Straight into the father's domain.
And this one…
Wouldn't be "saveable."
---