"Tonight… the door will open completely."
The moment those words echoed in my ears, my body stiffened.
My legs refused to move.
The library light flickered once.
The shadows stretched long across the walls and began to writhe.
I took a step back.
"W-who's there…?"
Even my own voice sounded unfamiliar to me.
No answer came.
Only a slow, heavy scraping sound rose from deep beneath the floor—
the sound of iron dragging against iron.
I understood at once—
this sound was not coming from above.
It was coming from below.
From the underground chamber.
Something strange began to pull at my chest from the inside.
Fear and curiosity worked together within me.
I wanted to retreat—
but my legs no longer obeyed me.
Slowly, leaving the library behind,
I crossed the corridor.
The air inside the Cortez was unnaturally cold tonight.
It felt as though the walls were damp,
and the air carried the raw scent of iron.
As I reached the main hall,
my eyes fell on the trapdoor.
The iron lid—
the one I had locked tightly—
now stood slightly open.
A gap no wider than a finger.
Through that narrow opening,
thick black darkness was rising,
and with it came a sharp, freezing stench—
ashes, wet earth, and the smell of old blood.
My throat went dry.
I knew—
this was the moment I should turn and run.
But I didn't.
I stretched out my hand and, very slowly,
pushed the trapdoor fully open.
The iron shuddered with a harsh, echoing cry.
The sound seemed to spread through the entire Cortez.
Below, the stairs drowned in darkness.
Switching on my torch,
I began to descend, one step at a time.
By the time I reached the first few steps,
my body started trembling.
This was not ordinary cold—
this cold felt alive.
It clung to my skin
and crept slowly inward.
When I reached the bottom,
I stood before that narrow corridor once more.
Five cells.
Tonight, it was not silent like before.
From the far-right cell,
something was moving.
Through the metal bars,
a hand was slowly shifting inside.
My breath caught.
I aimed the torch toward it.
I saw it clearly—
A weak, scorched hand,
skin darkened and split in places,
the nails long and broken.
The hand slowly slipped forward through the bars.
My body went numb.
No sound would come from my throat.
And then—
From behind that hand,
a girl's face slowly emerged.
Her hair was burned and shriveled,
one side of her face blackened,
yet her eyes were impossibly alive—
deep, endless, filled with burning pain.
She was looking at me.
Straight into my eyes.
Something tore apart inside my chest.
I knew it then—
This is her.
Ales.
Her lips moved.
No sound came out.
But inside my head,
her voice rang out clearly—
"You saw me…"
Tears filled my eyes.
I didn't know why I was crying.
Was it fear?
Or was it pity?
I couldn't tell.
Suddenly, Ales's face twisted.
Her eyes flared red.
The air around us grew heavy.
She spoke again—
"The door is open now…
there is no time left to run."
At that very moment,
a violent wave of hot air burst out of the cell.
The stench of fire.
The ground beneath my feet shook.
Along the corridor walls,
something like a black stain began to race wildly—
like living shadows.
I tried to scream—
but my voice failed me.
The torch went out.
In an instant, everything drowned in complete darkness.
And in the heart of that darkness,
I felt it with terrifying clarity—
Someone had come to stand behind me.
Slowly,
warm breath brushed against the back of my neck.
And right beside my ear,
a whisper slid through the dark—
"Now… your body is the door."
At last, my scream broke free.