Beyond the door—
There was nothing.
Not even darkness.
It felt as if something alive had swallowed everything—light, air, even sound.
Lin Wan stood at the entrance, her fingertips cold.
She held her breath, trying to hear something.
But the wind was gone.
Even her own heartbeat felt muffled, as if stuffed with cotton.
This wasn't silence.
Something was covering it.
"I'll go in first," Zhang said in a low voice, though a faint tremor slipped through.
He switched on his flashlight.
A sharp beam cut into the void—
But it barely reached three meters ahead.
Beyond that was a thick, ink-like abyss, as if the light itself dissolved the moment it touched it.
"…The light isn't right," Lin Wan said softly.
Zhang frowned. "What do you mean?"
"It's too short." Her eyes fixed on the beam. "Like something solid is blocking it."
He didn't reply.
Tightening his grip on the flashlight, he stepped inside.
Lin Wan followed.
The moment her foot crossed the threshold—
A freezing chill shot up from the ground, piercing straight through her body.
The air turned heavy.
Thick.
Every breath carried a rotten, damp stench that clung to her throat.
The hall was empty.
Dust covered the floor like a silent blanket.
But—
No footprints.
Except theirs.
And the trail that had led inside—
Stopped.
Right at the doorway.
Cut off.
As if something had taken it.
Lin Wan's heart sank.
"You saw that?" she whispered close to Zhang's ear.
Zhang nodded, his face pale. "It was just there… it led all the way in…"
Before he could finish—
"Thump."
A dull sound came from above.
Slow.
Heavy.
Like someone—
Barefoot—
Taking a step on the ceiling.
Both of them looked up.
Nothing but darkness.
But the sound was clear.
Right above them.
"There's someone upstairs," Zhang said, his voice tight.
Lin Wan didn't respond.
Her gaze slowly shifted to the wall on their right.
It was just a wall.
Old. Yellowed. Cracked.
But to her—
It was moving.
"...That wall," she said, her voice tightening.
Zhang frowned. "What? There's nothing there."
Lin Wan turned sharply to him, her eyes filled with fear.
"You don't feel it?"
"It's moving."
Not the wall itself.
Something inside it.
Something shifting beneath the surface.
Like swollen veins under skin—
Bulging.
Fading.
Bulging again.
The air dropped in temperature instantly.
Lin Wan's breath caught.
"It's inside," she whispered.
Zhang's face drained of color.
He stared at the wall.
Then—
The surface bulged.
Slowly.
Gently.
Like a hand pressing from the other side.
"Tap."
It vanished.
The wall returned to normal.
As if nothing had happened.
Zhang's lips trembled. "You… you saw that too?"
Lin Wan didn't answer.
She kept staring at the wall, her fingers tightening unconsciously.
Then she stepped back.
At that moment—
"Thump."
The footsteps above sounded again.
This time—
More than one.
"Thump."
"Thump."
"Thump."
Slow.
Steady.
Getting closer.
Zhang's voice turned stiff. "It's… coming down?"
Lin Wan's pupils shrank.
A cold realization struck her.
That sound—
Wasn't coming from upstairs.
It was—
Right above them.
But this floor—
Had no second level.
"Don't move," Lin Wan whispered, grabbing Zhang's arm.
The footsteps stopped.
Silence fell again.
Heavy.
Suffocating.
Then—
"Thump."
The sound came from behind them.
Very close.
Too close.
Like it was right against their backs.
Both of them froze.
Neither dared to turn around.
The air turned icy.
Lin Wan could feel something cold hovering over the back of her neck.
Her fingers tightened around Zhang's sleeve.
She spoke slowly, her voice almost swallowed by the darkness—
"Zhang…"
"When we came in…"
"There was nothing behind us… right?"
Zhang couldn't answer.
Because he knew—
That was no longer true.
In the darkness—
Something was standing behind them.
So close—
It was breathing with them.