Hana leaned forward to grab the rolled parchment…
And noticed a small metallic shape beside her.
"Miyu!"
The creature chirped brightly and hopped onto her shoulder, nuzzling her cheek as if scolding her for leaving it behind. Relief washed over her. At least something in this place hadn't vanished or turned monstrous.
She unrolled the parchment.
Elegant calligraphy flowed across the page in some kind of foreign language she didn't recognize, yet somehow understood perfectly.
Even more strange, the words shifted and rearranged themselves in sync with her reading pace.
[Welcome to the Castle of Contortions.]
Hana frowned.
Castle of Contortions?
What kind of name was that?
The text shimmered.
[You survived the 1st room in the castle!]
"…What?" she muttered.
The parchment pulsed again.
[You have killed 29 Terror Bears!]
She gulped.
"'Kill' is a pretty strong word," she whispered. "And it was an accident…"
Terror Bears?
This was crazy.
Her thoughts spiraled, but the parchment didn't wait.
[You survived skill 'Cast Terror']
She coughed.
"Skill?!"
So that overwhelming fear she felt… wasn't natural. It was a skill. A deliberate effect.
Her vision flickered as she realized something…
The parchment wasn't reacting to her radioactivity.
She tested it, letting a small pulse of energy brush the page.
Nothing.
Not even a scorch mark.
The parchment responded instantly.
['Radioactivity' is ineffective against Castle of Contortions.]
Hana's jaw dropped.
"What the…?"
What was this place?
Had it existed before the apocalypse?
Or had the apocalypse begun long before she ever realized?
Her head throbbed. She clutched it with both hands, groaning. Miyu clicked sympathetically and rubbed its metal head against her cheek.
She sighed. "Okay… what should I do now? I see a lot of other rooms, but they don't look as… dangerous as this one."
She stood and approached the nearest doorway. She peeked inside…
And immediately stepped back.
"Uh… right. The Terror Bear room didn't look dangerous either. This is… stressful!"
Something dropped onto her head.
"Ah!"
Another parchment.
She unrolled it.
[Objective: Survive a total of 5 minutes in each room of the first floor to continue to the next floor!]
Hana groaned loudly.
"What?!"
She paced in a small circle, thinking fast.
If I want answers, I need to meet the Director. But I have to find him first.
She exhaled sharply.
"Fine," she muttered. "If surviving these rooms gets me closer to him, then I'll do it."
She squared her shoulders, Miyu chirping determinedly beside her.
The castle stretched before her, with hallways that seemed like they were twisting, impossible architecture, and doors that seemed to breathe. It didn't feel like the Director was here.
But if she wanted to reach him… She had to play the castle's game.
"Five minutes per room," she said under her breath.
"Should be easy enough!"