Ram stood inside the stone room, breathing fast.
The words on the wall still glowed.
Fear makes you freeze. Move, or remain.
His legs felt heavy. The images from the nightmare kept coming back.
Rahul and Arun lying dead. The monster's shadow.
"I can't stay here," Ram said to himself.
His hands were shaking, but he forced his foot forward. One step. Then
another. The words on the wall faded slowly. A narrow path opened in front
of him.
Ram didn't feel brave.
He just didn't stop.
Rahul walked through the mirror room carefully. Every reflection showed
something different. Some showed him smiling. Some showed him crying.
Some showed him alone.
"Stop," Rahul said loudly.
The mirrors cracked.
Two paths appeared again. Rahul closed his eyes. His heart was beating too
fast to think properly.
"If I think too much, I'll never move," he whispered.
He chose a path without looking back.
The mirrors shattered behind him.
Arun stood in the weapon room. He picked up a sword, but it felt heavy. He
dropped it.Then he tried his dagger. Too light.
He looked at the chains on the door. Instead of attacking, he sat down and
took a deep breath. His tattoo glowed softly, not bright, not wild.
Slowly, the chains loosened and fell on their own.
Arun stood up and walked through the door.
The three of them did not meet.
Not yet.
Each of them walked alone through a different corridor. The walls were
quiet now. No voices. No monsters.
Above them, a message appeared for everyone.
"You have crossed the first crack."
Far away, Rocky leaned against a wall, arms crossed.
"So this is how it works," he said quietly. "Interesting."
The Second Selection was not over.
It had just begun.