Arthur remained for a few seconds staring at the wall where the mirror had existed.
Now it was only stone.
Cold.
Still.
As if nothing had ever happened.
Mia was still breathing quickly.
— Arthur…
He finally removed his hand from the wall.
— Let's keep moving.
There was nothing more they could do there.
The corridor returned to being just a narrow passage within Mount Arf, yet the silence felt heavier than before. Each step echoed with a hollow sound, distant, as if the place itself were swallowing the noise.
Mia still leaned against his shoulder as they walked.
— You saw that… didn't you? — she asked.
Arthur nodded.
— I did.
— And they saw you too.
He didn't answer.
Because the memory of Kidero's gaze was still too vivid in his mind.
They kept walking.
The corridor began descending again, slowly curving to the right. The rock around them seemed different — smoother, darker, as though it had been shaped by something other than time.
After a few minutes, the path ended at a narrow opening.
Arthur frowned.
— Another passage.
The opening was too thin to be a natural tunnel. It looked more like a fracture, as if the mountain had been cut open and simply left that way.
— Do we go in? — Mia asked.
Arthur studied it for a moment.
— We don't have another direction.
They stepped through.
The moment they crossed the opening, the world reacted.
The same effect as before.
For an instant the ground seemed to vanish.
The air lost its weight.
Sound stretched and warped.
As if they had passed through something invisible.
Then everything settled.
Arthur stopped immediately.
— …Mia.
She had seen it too.
In front of them was a lake.
But it was not like the other one.
This one was dark.
The water looked far too thick, almost motionless, like a heavy liquid that swallowed the faint light of the chamber. Small bubbles rose to the surface at slow intervals, bursting with muted sounds.
The lake filled almost the entire cavern.
And inside it…
There were figures.
Dozens.
Maybe more.
Mia grabbed Arthur's arm tightly.
— Arthur…
The figures were partially submerged.
From the height of their armpits downward, everything disappeared into the black water. It was impossible to see depth, or any movement beneath the surface.
Only darkness.
Above the water, the bodies were visible.
Dolls.
All alike.
Some had faces too delicate to seem natural — skin smooth like porcelain, eyes large and hollow. Others had more rigid features, almost artificial, as if they had been molded and abandoned there.
Their hair hung wet over their motionless shoulders.
And all of them moved the same way.
Slowly.
One shoulder lifted.
Then lowered.
Then the other.
Lifted.
Lowered.
As if they were breathing.
Or as if something beneath the water were pulling their bodies from side to side.
One at a time.
Without rhythm.
Without pattern.
Mia took a step back.
— I… I don't like this.
Arthur didn't either.
He studied the lake, the movement, the silence.
Something there was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
— They're not trapped — he said quietly.
— What?
— They're… waiting.
At that exact moment, one of the dolls slowly turned its head.
Its empty eyes looked directly at them.
Then another did the same.
And another.
Within seconds every head was facing Arthur and Mia.
The shoulder movement continued.
Up.
Down.
Up.
Down.
The surface of the lake began to ripple.
One of them took a step.
Or something like a step.
The black water shifted around her body.
Then another.
And another.
The figures began approaching the edge of the lake.
Mia tightened her grip on Arthur's arm.
— Arthur… they're coming.
He didn't hesitate.
— Back.
They retreated immediately.
First walking.
Then running.
The bubbles in the lake began appearing faster, bursting one after another, while the movement beneath the dark water seemed to multiply.
Arthur didn't look back.
They crossed the dimensional opening again.
The distortion returned.
The world bent.
Then they were back in the corridor.
Arthur didn't stop until they had run several meters.
Mia leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath.
— That… that wasn't normal.
— No — Arthur said.
He looked down the corridor ahead.
Then he noticed something.
A passage.
Narrow.
That hadn't been there before.
— Mia… look.
She stepped closer.
The new path looked natural, but something about it felt different — fresh marks on the ground, as if someone had passed through recently.
Arthur frowned.
— This path…
Then he heard something.
Very faint.
A metallic sound.
Stone scraping.
Heavy breathing.
Mia heard it too.
— Someone's there.
They moved forward.
The closer they got, the clearer the sounds became.
Footsteps.
Breathing.
And then the corridor opened.
Arthur stopped instantly.
On the other side were them.
Kidero.
Ayame.
Shirō.
The corridor was devastated.
Stones scattered everywhere.
Deep marks carved into the walls.
And on the ground…
Kazuko.
His body lay slumped against the rock.
The sword still embedded in him.
Arthur froze.
Mia too.
And for a moment no one spoke.
Because now…
Everyone was in the same place.