Chapter 16: The Warning

The door creaked open slowly, revealing a dimly lit room. In the center sat a lady in a tattered dress, bound to a wheelchair. She was positioned under the glow of a lantern, her frail figure casting eerie shadows on the walls.

Lumine instinctively took a step forward, but Aether swiftly grabbed her wrist, halting her. “Wait,” he whispered, his eyes narrowing cautiously.

The woman’s head tilted up, her tired eyes meeting theirs. Her voice was soft but carried a weight of sorrow. “Are you... explorers who got lost in this hotel?” she asked, her tone tinged with pity.

No one answered immediately, exchanging wary glances.

The lady continued, her voice dropping to a haunting whisper. “I’m sorry to say... you can’t escape this place. She’s always watching.”

“Who’s ‘she’?” Scaramouche finally asked, his tone sharp with irritation.

The lady didn’t answer directly, her hollow eyes staring into nothingness. “If you see a lady who crawls, her back twisted, and her head turned unnaturally on roofs and floors... run. Turn your flashlights low. She will find you otherwise.”

A chill ran through the group, the gravity of her words settling over them like a heavy fog.

Breaking the tense silence, Lumine noticed something on the wall behind the woman—a large, detailed map. “Furina, please take a picture of this map,” she said, pointing at it.

Furina adjusted her camera and snapped a picture. “This place just keeps getting bigger,” she muttered, her usual dramatic tone laced with genuine unease.

Hu Tao grinned despite the ominous atmosphere. “The bigger it is, the more fun we’ll have!”

“Fun?” Aether shook his head in disbelief. “You call getting chased by some twisted, crawling lady fun? It’s only a matter of time before she separates us again.”

“Sounds like you’re just scared, Aether,” Scaramouche sneered, though his voice lacked its usual venom.

The lady in the wheelchair spoke again, her tone a mix of warning and resignation. “The deeper you go, the harder it is to leave. She thrives in darkness... and despair.”

Lumine turned to the group, her expression firm. “We’ve got a bigger map now. Let’s stick together this time and figure out a way through.”

“Yeah, good luck with that,” Scaramouche muttered under his breath, his gaze lingering on the woman as she fell silent once more.

The group exchanged a few last wary glances before stepping back into the dark hallway, the warning still ringing in their ears. Behind them, the faint, ghostly sound of a distorted melody began to echo, sending a shiver down everyone’s spine.