In the room that was plunged into darkness, a few rustling sounds rang out.
Everyone was surprised by the sudden turn of events.
"What's happening?!"
"Is this a power outage?"
"Hey! What's going on with your lights?!"
A burly, middle-aged man shouted at an employee in uniform.
"Sir, please wait a moment. We're working to determine the cause."
Ren's vision dimmed. What had been a bright, welcoming space became a gallery of shadows, with only silhouettes of people standing and talking in hushed, worried tones.
"This shouldn't be a normal occurrence, right?"
He immediately shook his head. Judging by their reactions, this was decidedly *not* normal.
A uniformed employee with slicked-back hair attempted to calm the growing unease.
"Everyone! Please don't panic. Our engineers are already investigating the cause of thi—*ahh!*"
*Squelch!*
The voice transformed into a scream—raw terror and agony compressed into a single sound.
Behind him, concealed in the darkness, something moved. A silhouette with too many limbs—like a spider or an octopus magnified to nightmare proportions. One appendage lashed out, piercing through the man's chest with a wet, terrible sound.
In the weak lighting, its chaotic form seemed far larger than anything natural.
Then the limb *pulled*, dragging the man into the deeper darkness. The shadows swallowed his screams, leaving only the sound of something wet and heavy hitting the floor.
*Thud!*
For a heartbeat, the crowd stood frozen.
Then reality crashed back in.
Someone screamed. Chairs tumbled with loud crashes. People near the attack stumbled backward, their faces pale with shock.
"Someone just died?!"
A man in an elegant black suit lurched to his feet, his face twisted with horror. Moments ago, he'd been calmly enjoying a drink. Now something wet and blue floated in his glass.
All eyes fixed on the tables shrouded in shadow.
"What *is* that?!"
Even in the darkness, they'd remained relatively calm. But witnessing such violence—so sudden, so brutal—
The atmosphere crystallized. Tension pressed down on everyone like a physical weight.
Ren's pupils dilated as he witnessed the scene unfold.
He'd seen it clearly.
"A-a monster?!"
Without thinking, he shot to his feet.
His hands gripped the armrest as he shoved back from the table, nearly tripping in his haste. His shin cracked against something hard, pain flaring bright and sharp. But he barely registered it. He just needed to get away from whatever that *thing* was.
Stumbling backward...
His spine hit something solid.
He'd reached the glass wall. Beside him clustered a group of young people wearing identical blue-white uniforms, each with a symmetrical insignia on the left chest.
Hearing his collision, the nearest person—a tall man—glanced at him, pausing at his uniform slightly, but didn't say anything.
Pressed against the cool glass, Ren released the breath he'd been holding.
"What the hell is happening in this place?!"
Then—
"Call security!"
A quick-thinking staff member tapped frantically at the device wrapped around his wrist.
"There's no signal?!"
The communicator remained dark.
"Doesn't matter! Get the security guards—we'll hold this thing ourselves!"
Another staff member, galvanized into action, shouted while rushing toward the monster's last known position.
*Crackle!*
They drew short, white-blue metal batons. With an electric sizzle, brilliant energy erupted from the tips like flames, casting dancing shadows as they plunged into the darkness.
"What's going on?!"
"Please, stay calm!"
"How can I remain calm?!"
A few people had already started to panic, which the staff hastily calmed down.
"Honored guests, we deeply apologize for this incident, but you must evacuate immediately. We will provide a full explanation later!"
The staff bowed deeply even as another rushed past to summon additional guards.
The crowd needed no encouragement. They surged toward the exits in a barely controlled tide.
"Let's go to our room!"
"This way, everyone!"
Ren joined the flow, carried along by shared panic into a wide corridor.
At the corner, his vision dipped.
His foot caught on something. He stumbled, thrown off balance, but managed to brace himself against the wall.
Worst of all, someone hit his shoulder in panic, continuing on without looking back.
"Damn it!"
Ren lifted his head and kept moving, following a group of reliable-looking people to the right.
The passage was broad and circular, constructed from crystal-clear glass reinforced by silver-blue metal supports. Through the transparent walls, massive cylindrical structures loomed in the deep blue distance, connected by corridors like the one he now fled through.
With proper lighting, this would have been magnificent—breathtaking architecture suspended in an underwater world.
But now?
All he felt was dread. Primal fear.
The seawater looked impossibly deep and dark without the light of civilization to push back the shadows.
He couldn't help but imagine what would happen if this glass shattered.
Suddenly—
A deep, resonant sound echoed through the corridor—like a mountain moving, ancient and inexorable.
Heavy presence filled the air, an almost tangible pressure.
"Floor 4 Guardian."
A flash of blue light swept across his face like a searchlight.
He looked up.
Ahead, a massive armored figure approached.
It appeared to move slowly, but in the blink of an eye, it had closed the distance impossibly fast.
Standing roughly three meters tall, it carried what resembled a weapon—rifle-like, but with glowing lines and crystals embedded throughout its structure.
A name was etched across its chest plate.
Where a face should be was a smooth white mask, its surface covered in intricate, complex patterns.
Behind the empty eye sockets, brilliant blue light blazed.
Rapidly scanning everything within the corridor.
{Risk evaluation: Immediate danger to guests.}
Ren glanced back one final time at the chaos behind him.
*BOOM!*
A muffled sound like a cannon's discharge shook the air.
{Countermeasures: Execute.}
Ren caught only a glimpse of searing blue light illuminating the darkness before he turned a corner and lost sight of the scene.
No matter what happened back there, survival came first.
Taking a shuddering breath, he assessed his surroundings. He'd followed the staff into another section lined with circular doors on both sides, each separated by several meters.
Rooms.
Relief washed through him.
Finally. Temporary sanctuary.
Seeing that they'd safely arrived here, the staff quickly went away. He had more important things to do.
"Damn! What kind of restaurant lets an unknown beast slip inside?!"
"They're going to get destroyed with bad reviews!"
Someone cursed under their breath—not loudly, but with clear venom.
The others didn't linger.
Cards flashed. Doors slid open and closed with muted chimes. One by one, people disappeared into their rooms until the corridor felt strangely hollow.
The noise faded quickly. Voices. Footsteps. Even the echo of panic thinned until only the low hum of emergency systems remained.
Ren stood still.
His gaze drifted to the door beside him—already sealed, its surface smooth and indifferent.
Only then did it hit him.
"...I don't have a room."
No card. No key. Nothing.
Behind him, faint dull booms sounded alongside chaotic screeching that made his skin crawl.
Hearing the sounds, the last few stragglers hurried toward their rooms.
Ren reacted on instinct.
"Wait—!"
He stepped toward a man unlocking his room, forcing a smile that felt tight and unnatural.
"Sorry. I—my key got lost during the evacuation," Ren said quickly. "Can I stay inside for a bit? Just until things calm down."
He hated how desperate he sounded.
The man hesitated, eyes darting past Ren, down the corridor, toward the shadows.
"I'm not comfortable with that," he said, voice strained. "Not right now."
The door slid open just wide enough for him to slip inside.
"Wait—"
*Click.*
It closed.
Ren stood there, staring at the smooth surface for a second longer than he should have.
Others avoided his eyes as they passed. No malice. Just silence. Each door shut with a soft finality, sealing him out.
At last—
He was alone.
All doors were closed. He was the only one left in the hollow silence.
It was a deafening, heavy quiet—heavier than the millions of tons of ocean pressing against the glass. The world turned cold. He knew these people didn't have a responsibility to save him, but he'd hoped for a shred of compassion.
*You wouldn't lose your life sharing a room, dammit,* he thought bitterly at the blank metal faces of the doors.
He looked up. The main ceiling lights remained dead. However, a faint, ethereal glow began to pulse along the baseboards and through the decorative planters. The bioluminescent algae, sensing the power failure, had activated. It cast a beautiful, dim light that didn't quite reach the center of the hall.
Where the light couldn't shine, a terrible fate seemed to wait for him in the ink-black shadows.
Swallowing hard, he turned toward the path ahead. He couldn't stay here. He had to move.
Just as he stepped forward—
He stopped suddenly, as if a weight had been placed on his back.
A hand grasped his shoulder.
A soft but calm female voice rang out close to his ear.
"Don't go there."
Ren's breath hitched. He'd never noticed someone behind him!
"Who?!"
He turned his head slightly.
A girl stood behind him. Tall with a graceful figure, wearing a high-end blue-white uniform. Her long wavy hair fell naturally over her clothing, framing delicate features. Cute accessories dangled from her wrist.
The other girl from before. The one who'd been sitting with Asylia.
Her azure eyes seemed to be looking at him and at something behind him that he couldn't see.
"That section of the corridor isn't safe."
She shook her head and gently released his shoulder.
Rubbing it, Ren took a closer look at the dim corridor. He thought he heard something.
Wait.
Closing his eyes, he listened. A very faint sound. He wouldn't have picked it up if not for his heightened senses—adrenaline and the quietness amplifying everything.
It sounded like something sliding across a smooth surface.
"Did you hear it? It's dangerous."
She whispered.
"If you want to be safe, don't make noise and follow me."
Her tone made it impossible to tell whether she was inviting or commanding.
Opening his eyes, Ren didn't hesitate.
With almost no knowledge of this place, how could he navigate alone?
Not to mention, he couldn't help but feel that following her seemed safer than staying here.
He didn't know what lay ahead, but moving forward seemed to be his only choice.
Looking at her back, he took a step forward.