Chapter 8 The Sound Behind The Wall

• That answer made everyone more nervous.
• They reached the vault door. A mechanical voice crackled to life from a speaker embedded in the wall.
• “Puzzle 3 Initiated. Solve the equation or lose one of your own.”
• Under the speaker, a metal panel slid open to reveal a strange board — nine squares filled with half-faded numbers, symbols etched in blood-like paint.
• A timer began. 3 minutes.
• No one moved. No one spoke.
• Then Ava stepped forward, shaking. “It’s a logic pattern. This row adds to fifteen… Maybe it’s a magic square.”
• Theo helped her, fumbling with the pieces. Everyone watched the numbers, not the room. Not the walls.
• Except Niko.
• His head turned sharply toward a sound no one else seemed to hear a scraping behind the wall. His fingers twitched like he recognized it.
• Tick. Tick. Tick.
• Ava gasped. “It’s wrong no, wait, we need to swap the middle tile
• 10 seconds.
• Theo reached to adjust the final square
• Click.
• The vault door hissed open. The timer stopped at 3 seconds.
• Everyone exhaled, trembling. But Niko didn’t move. His eyes were fixed on the wall behind the vault, where a smear of black liquid oozed from a crack in the corner.
• “What is that?” Marcus asked.
• No one knew.
• But Niko stared too long. His hand twitched again. Then he turned to the group, smiling faintly. “Let’s keep going.”
• As they entered the next room, Zara whispered to Theo, “He knew we’d survive that. He didn’t even try to help.”
• Theo nodded slowly. “Yeah. Like he’s not playing the same game as us.”
• Behind them, the wall shuddered. The crack spread wider. Something moved inside it.
• And deep in the shadows, the system watched and smiled.
• The corridor beyond the vault door was narrower, walls slick with condensation and lined with cracked mirrors
• that reflected distorted, fragmented versions of themselves. Every footstep echoed twice, as if the house itself was duplicating their fears.
• The air tasted of rust and stale breath. Fourteen minutes on the timer still plenty of time, if they could move without panic.
• Niko led the way, his posture rigid, eyes constantly flicking from one mirror to the next. Each reflection showed a different version of him: some pale, some gaunt, some almost smiling. On a subconscious level, everyone felt drawn to avoid looking directly at their own image.
• Theo trailed close behind, clutching the rolled-up map they’d found in Chapter Four. “Does this map even align with what we’re seeing?” he muttered. The map showed a straight hallway no vault, no vault room, no mirrors. “This place is rearranging itself.”
• A faint whisper rippled through the corridor, like a voice echoing from another dimension. Ivy’s name, half-spoken, full of longing.
• No one dared answer. Marcus crouched beside one of the larger mirrors, gently tapping the glass. His fingertip left a smear black as ink. “Check this out,” he said softly. “It isn’t just a mirror.”
• Niko stepped up, peering at the smear. When he flicked the glass with his finger, the surface rippled like water. Liana gasped. “It’s a liquid mirror,” she said. “We can pass through maybe.”
• Zara frowned. “Or maybe it’s a trap.” But Niko was already pressing his palm against the surface. A moment later, the mirror yielded, the glass dissolving beneath his hand, revealing a dark passage behind.
• Theo hesitated. “Are you sure?”
• Niko turned back, expression unreadable. “We’ve solved every puzzle so far by stepping through what scares us.”