The room was completely silent, except for the faint beeping sound coming from the machine.
The three of them stood still — like time itself had stopped.
Aya spoke softly,
"So… it means one of us has to stay behind?"
"Or maybe…" Ryan said, eyes fixed on the screen,
"maybe it just wants to mess with our minds."
Maria snapped,
"What do you mean? It clearly says — Only one can move forward!"
Ryan replied, "Yeah, but it's a game… and every game has a trick."
He walked over to the machine and started typing.
"Ryan, don't mess with it," Aya warned.
"What if this is a trap?"
"If we don't do anything, the timer will run out anyway," he said, still typing fast.
03:14… 03:13… 03:12…
The codes on the machine began to flicker and change.
Suddenly, the screen turned red.
'Unauthorized access detected.'
"Ryan!"
"Wait, I can bypass it—"
But before he could finish, the room's lights flared up.
A glowing circle appeared on the floor, crackling with blue electricity.
"Ryan, get out of there!" Maria screamed.
He jumped back, but a spark hit his arm.
He clenched his teeth — "Ahh… shit!"
Then new text appeared on the screen —
'Penalty activated: One must sacrifice.'
"What do you mean, 'sacrifice'?" Aya whispered, her voice trembling.
Suddenly, their faces appeared on the wall — all three of them —
and beneath it, glowing words:
'Select a Player.'
Ryan said quietly, "It wants us to decide who stays."
No one spoke.
Just silence.
Only the beeping of the machine and the ticking of the timer.
01:09… 01:08…
Tears filled Maria's eyes.
"If someone stays… what happens?"
Ryan answered softly, "Then they probably don't come back."
Aya took a deep breath.
"I'll stay."
"Are you insane?" Maria shouted.
"You two have already done enough for me," Aya said,
"Now it's my turn."
She walked to the machine and tapped her name.
On the screen:
'Player Aya selected. Sacrifice confirmed.'
The lights turned blue.
Aya smiled gently,
"Go… and finish this game."
"Aya, no!"
Maria screamed, but the door opened instantly.
A bright light surrounded Aya — and she vanished.
Ryan and Maria just stood there —
in an empty hall, beside a dead machine,
and the cold, robotic voice echoing through the air —
"Level 1 complete."
To Continue 🌟