The room was swallowed in darkness, vast and undefined, as though it existed outside the bounds of any ordinary space, with no walls clearly visible and no sense of depth to anchor the eye. Only a single, dim source of light existed, suspended above a circular table at the center, its pale glow falling downward in a controlled radius that illuminated exactly seven figures seated around it, leaving everything beyond them in absolute shadow.
Each of them wore a mask.
Different.
Distinct.
Unsettling.
The designs ranged from grotesque to abstract, from symbolic to entirely unreadable, yet none of them revealed even the slightest hint of the faces beneath, their identities erased completely under the stillness of their presence.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then—
A low, warped sadistic chuckle broke the silence.
"Hu… hu… hu… you didn't get what you want… hu… hu… hu… hu… hu…"
