"The presence of spirits is very bad, I perceive many ephemeral spirits, but they are hidden, fleeing from the lantern's light," Jacob trembled as they walked.

"I perceive a strange flow of magic here, everything is very tangled like Mina's hair," to which Íthil received a blow to the back of his head.

"I think this is a place we shouldn't be," Mina looked ahead as they advanced, trying to find something more than abandoned tools. The terracotta and orange passages, stained by the lantern, stretched endlessly before them and disappeared into the deep darkness of the place.

"It's as if the lamp's light is afraid to go ahead," Mina exclaimed as they walked, trying to discern the path through the darkness.

"You're just making me uncomfortable, Mina, how about we sing instead?" Íthil said, scared.

Jacob and Íthil trotted behind Mina; at some point, she moved ahead of them, while the dripping moisture and the absence of animals only made them more and more uncomfortable.

"This is very bad, I feel several spirits nearby, some very strong, they would harm us if they could, but they keep their distance, many of them are stronger than us," Jacob left paper seals on the cave walls behind him.

"What are you putting up, Jacob?" Íthil said without looking back.

"Well, they're watchman seals in case we need to…" Jacob stopped and stammered, pale and scared.

"Ru… run… run, move… quick! A very strong entity is behind us," Jacob said in a low voice, biting his lips to keep from screaming as he pushed them.

Hurryingly and with growing fear, the chase began. Not a word, not a sound, only footsteps, only cold sweat and emptiness in their guts. Running and guided by the lantern that seemed to be their only salvation, the darkness refused to yield, imposing itself with every step as if fighting for the space the light claimed. For a moment, they heard the intermittent sounds of something rolling behind them, thundering and dragging itself. None of the three dared to steal even a glance, only to flee. Whatever was behind them was beyond their comprehension.

They felt their strength and knees giving way behind them; just looking meant death. Fleeing silently, for a moment, the thing slowed down without explanation, which allowed a moment of lucidity in the irrational terror that the chase had caused. Jacob took the black pearl into which the centipede had turned, throwing it behind them. It broke free and emitted a familiar screech, fleeing in the opposite direction. Just then, the three threw themselves to the floor. Mina threw her lamp in the direction of the centipede, which got stuck in its tail. Silent and at the brink of fear, they felt the thing run after the centipede. With tears in their eyes and recovering from intense dread, they saw the bars of an elevator, to which they silently and in the darkness headed.

As the elevator started, it began its noisy, metallic descent; none of them yet had the courage to utter a sound. Íthil, sitting on an edge with his hands on his temples, made no noise. Mina, for her part, hugged herself, swaying back and forth continuously. Jacob sniffled and cried, standing in the elevator. Suddenly, they heard the centipede's screech followed by a silence that sounded even more eerie.

"So how do we get out?" Íthil said without standing up.

"I don't know, this is more than we can handle… this is simply unstoppable, we won't last a minute if we fight, I don't even know if it will allow us to fight," Mina sighed shakily.

"Hey, do you hear that tapping?" Jacob put his hands to the sides of his ears, trying to hear better. Mina and Íthil looked around and above them; there were 2 dry bodies with bare bones, bearing wooden emblems.

"I think we found the Klein brothers," Mina said.

"Here's the third one, take the medallions," Jacob said as he looked under the twisted base of the elevator. A dry tapping sound was heard as the third body bounced against the elevator structure descending through the diagonal tunnel. A feeling of insecurity invaded them as they wondered if a simple metal box could stop what they were leaving behind. Suddenly, the tunnel began to lose its sense of direction; they couldn't tell if it was going up or down.

"Hey, did the elevator stop?" Íthil asked.

"I don't think so, I feel like it's been rotating for a while now," Mina was slightly dizzy.

"We're probably suffering from motion sickness," Jacob sat down while the others followed suit.

"Okay, look, we need to be prepared, we might be going down into the tomb, that means whatever we find won't necessarily obey physical or natural laws," Jacob took his weapons and the others prepared themselves.

"It's best to avoid confrontation as much as possible. Jacob, you guide us while Mina takes the middle position; if something happens, she'll be within reach to react and help anyone in the group. I'll go last, I have a better chance of defending with shields or vision, plus I see better than you in low light," Íthil prepared the group; if he showed fear now, the group would collapse. He wasn't a leader, but at this moment he had clarity and reasoning.

Minutes later, the elevator stopped its pathetic movement and with a spine-chilling screech opened its door, revealing a tunnel covered in old, crumbling concrete, full of uncapped crates, containers, and barrels. The smell and appearance of it gave them a feeling of having been submerged in water, as if horrible times were spilling onto its walls. The tunnel by itself was a terrifying enemy.

"The boxes here in the tunnel, have you seen them?" Íthil whispered as the group advanced cautiously.

"They're full of shoes, clothes, and household utensils of all kinds," Mina said, stopping momentarily to sniff around.

"I see several rusted or closed doors, I don't think they can be opened without attracting attention. Ahead there's a split, and to the right there's what looks like light," Íthil told Jacob as they walked.

"Understood, be ready, this tunnel has its own malice and will stop us if we try anything against it or its master," Jacob paused to pray for a moment with his rosary while the group halted their advance, focusing only on maintaining guard. Jacob left a strip of yellowish paper every 5 meters; on it was drawn what appeared to be a closed eye.

The tunnel swallowed all light in the area and only left a few distant points now and then where a deteriorated light bulb flickered solitary.

Inside the tunnel, upon reaching a bifurcation, they could see light on the right side and an entrance adorned with several hanging ornaments that swayed with the scarce wind in the tunnel.

"It's a 15-minute walk from here to the elevator. If that thing doesn't move faster than us, we have a 10-minute action range," Íthil presented his plan, to which Jacob cooperated and placed 3 Jassubiana thread barriers.

"And with this barrier, I hope it gives us at least another 10 minutes," Jacob said as Íthil and Mina nodded their heads, and as a group, the three headed towards the illuminated room.

"Of course, he he," Íthil smiled worriedly. Mina turned to the top of the door where there was a rusty and faded sign. Íthil looked, and they read together in a low voice:

"Dark Room, please keep door closed," they said.

"Can you read Arrosthoc?" Jacob asked.

"Yes, at least I learned it during raids on ruins of darkness," Mina replied in a low voice while Íthil looked at him and said:

"The tone of the language seems curious to me, that's all." Jacob, intrigued, proceeded with the plan.

The door revealed a central wall that blocked the entrance, leaving space to enter the same room from the sides. A strong, yellow light was visible on the sides of the wall. The three adventurers entered from the right side. Upon entering, they arrived at what appeared to be a workshop.

"Wood carving tools and tailoring supplies," Jacob picked up a nearby tool and put it back down as they looked at various carved doll parts and possibly handmade clothes.

"Look at that!" Íthil said, pointing, mouth agape, at the back wall.

"Divine Enrya!" Jacob, Íthil, and Mina looked scared and pale at a stepped wall where several dolls sat on small chairs and stools, and in front of each doll, a nightgown or carefully folded dress.

"All for a party… all smiling… all happy…" they suddenly heard coming from the tunnel, in unison with something galloping and shouting the same phrase over and over:

"ALL HAPPY, ALL SMILING, ALL FOR A PARTY!" The talismans instantly boiled and the strings snapped like hair as it passed.

"!!!QUICK, MOVE, IT'S COMING!!!" Jacob said loudly as tears of blood streamed from his eyes.

"The dolls, the nightgown in front of them, and their clothes match the clothes of the missing young women," Mina said as her fury overtook her fear, and she prepared to fight.

"QUICK, MOVE, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS THING!" Íthil moved behind a workbench, shielding Jacob whose sight had abandoned him. For a moment, everything seemed to move slowly; no one knew what to do.