They were six.
Some still avoided looking at the empty seat Samer had left behind, while others pretended the first room was nothing more than a bad dream. But the truth lay in their ragged breaths, their wary glances, and the way their steps had become more cautious, heavier, as if they were walking through a hidden minefield.
The new door opened slowly.
A pale white light seeped out—colorless, cold, merciless—carrying with it that ancient dread… the dread of the unknown that offered no chance of retreat.
They entered one after another, without discussion this time. No one wanted to speak before knowing their fate. The walls inside were smooth, cold, like diseased skin. In the middle of the room, a black screen suddenly lit up, and the following text appeared:
"The Second Room: A New Decision."
"Either you choose one of you to die now… Or Nayan is left alone for an hour in a locked room with the most dangerous criminals."
"The decision must be made within 60 seconds. Countdown has begun."
The timer appeared on the screen, counting down with a deadly silence, each number dropping like a blood droplet in water.
00:59
No one moved. The air grew heavier, as if the walls were pressing in on them.
00:54
Stunned silence reigned. Even Jarm, who rarely showed emotion, took a step back as if he'd received an unexpected slap. His hand instinctively rose to touch his neck.
"Is… this a joke?" Kai mumbled, staring at the screen with half-vacant eyes, trying to comprehend the words.
"It's not a joke." Faro's voice came, faint, steady, as if he were reading a line from an old book whose ending he already knew. His eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the screen.
00:42
Ira looked at Nayan immediately, then at the others. She whispered, "We won't choose for someone to die."
Jarm retorted with a strained tone, his fist clenching his thigh: "And who said we'd send Nayan?"
"Because the choice is clear!" Ira cried out, losing her usual composure for the first time. "They named her… alone! This isn't just an option. They want her."
00:35
Nayan said nothing. Her body stiffened in place, her eyes fixed on the screen as if trying to escape into it. Her fingers trembled, her lips unable to speak. There were no tears, just a deep void that began to expand in her eyes.
00:30
"We don't kill anyone, that's clear." Kai said, trying to keep his voice steady, but he clutched his fist as if it were the only thing connecting him to reality.
"So we send a child to be destroyed?" Jarm said bitterly.
"The choice isn't between good and bad, but between bad and worse." Silo mumbled, his voice barely audible, as if talking to himself.
00:25
Everyone looked at Faro, as if waiting for a decisive opinion. But he didn't speak. He just stared at Nayan… at the emptiness that began to grow in her eyes. He wished he didn't understand her gaze now.
00:20
"I…" Nayan finally said, her voice barely a whisper, as if every word drained strength from her. "I'll go."
The sentence fell like a rock into a sea of tension, creating silent ripples.
"No, Nayan, don't say that." Ira said, approaching her, extending her hand then withdrawing it. An invisible wall began to form around Nayan, a wall of silence, of broken acceptance, a wall that declared the end of all hope.
00:15
"I'm not sure I ever lived to begin with," Nayan said, her voice soft yet chilling. "I was only delaying this crossing."
00:10
She moved alone towards the side door, which opened automatically, as if the system had responded to her declaration even before the countdown ended. The light behind the door was dim, choked, as though not born from any sun. A light without mercy.
And before she crossed the threshold, she turned to them for a moment.
There was something new in her eyes. Something that wasn't there before. It wasn't despair, nor fear, but a terrifying acceptance of fate—an awareness that no longer belonged to this world.
Then she entered.
And the door closed behind her with a dead thud.
Silence.
The countdown disappeared.
One minute passed.
Then two.
Then five.
Everyone stared at the closed door as if waiting for it to explode, to scream, to give them any sign. But nothing came. Only the echo of Nayan's silence imprinted on the walls.
Ten minutes.
Half an hour.
A full hour.
Then… the door opened. Slowly. Wide. As if revealing a horrific truth.
Nayan came out.
But it wasn't Nayan.
She was a faded version of herself, like a shadow that had lost its features. Her steps were heavy, hesitant, as if each one bore the weight of death. Her shoulders were slumped, arms crossed tightly over her chest as if trying to protect what was left or hide what had been taken. Her footsteps made no sound, as if she were walking on ash, or as if the world no longer acknowledged her presence.
Her face wasn't crying, but it wasn't still either. It was the face of someone whose inner light had been extinguished without anyone turning off the lamp. Her eyes were mere black wells, devoid of spark, staring into nothingness, as if they had seen what should not be seen. Underneath them, faint, bluish bruises spoke silently of cruelty unspoken.
Ira covered her mouth with her hand, a choked gasp caught in her throat—as if witnessing not a person but a soul returned half-torn.
Silo closed his eyes, unable to bear the sight; it shattered something in him.
Kai stared at the floor. He couldn't face the truth.
Jarm punched the wall, his fist cracking the silence. But no one moved toward her. No one called her name.
Faro… Faro felt something inside him rupture. It wasn't pity. Nor anger. It was like a scar forming before the wound. A dreadful certainty that something irreversible had happened—that a piece of them all had just been stolen.
But he also noticed something else—something that chilled his spine.
In the depths of her silence… there was a new note.
Not pain.
Not numbness.
But something else.
Like a quiet, unfathomable hunger.
Something had entered with her.
And not all of it had left.
Nayan said nothing.
She walked, sat in one of the chairs.
She froze.
And disappeared.
From within.
"Next decision in one minute."