Chapter 6 – New Session Starting
Flash.
Again.
Vera barely had time to groan before she slammed face-first into a soft pile of...
...socks?
"What the actual–" she mumbled, yanking herself out of a MOUNTAIN of laundry.
Player 2 dropped beside her gracefully — like a cat.
Because of course she did.
"Seriously?" Vera said, picking a rogue sock off her face. "What is this, the 'Evil Ikea' level?"
Around them was a twisted suburban house, stretched and broken like a glitchy video game:
Floors floated sideways.
Doors led to upside-down rooms.
The ceiling occasionally... dripped pixels.
A big glowing message hovered over them:
> "LEVEL: THE HOME THAT HATES YOU."
"ESCAPE OR GET TRAPPED FOREVER."
"NEW RULE: IF ONE FALLS, BOTH FALL."
Vera read it.
Paused.
Looked at Player 2.
"Guess we're married now," she said dryly. "Congrats, wifey."
Player 2 exhaled — a soft sound that might have been a laugh if you squinted hard enough.
The first challenge hit instantly:
Living Room of Lies.
They stepped into a normal-looking living room.
Except — when Vera tried to walk toward the obvious exit door, her foot went right through the floor like it was made of mist.
"Hah," Vera said. "Nice try, you fake furniture frauds."
Player 2 scanned the room calmly, then pointed at a dusty bookshelf.
Hidden behind it:
A real, solid, glitching door.
"Genius," Vera said. "Remind me to put you on my zombie apocalypse team."
Player 2 tapped her wrist, mock-checking a watch.
"Tick-tock," she said quietly.
(First time she actually joked back. Progress!)
Next: The Kitchen of Screams.
The fridge opened by itself.
Black smoke poured out.
A butcher knife floated toward them — humming like a tuning fork.
"Nope," Vera said immediately, grabbing a frying pan like a shield.
Player 2 grabbed a rolling pin.
They tag-teamed the flying knife like it was a baseball, whacking it midair until it shattered into pixels.
"Cooking show violence," Vera said, "10/10, would watch again."
But every time they succeeded...
...the house whispered.
Low and sweet:
> "Stay forever.
Stay where it's safe.
Why go back to a world that forgot you?"
Vera shook her head hard.
"Wow," she said. "Even haunted houses try emotional manipulation now. Stunning."
But Player 2's face... darkened.
Her hands trembled slightly.
Vera noticed.
Filed it away silently
Third nightmare: Mirror Maze.
Corridor after corridor of cracked mirrors.
Each reflection showing... wrong versions of themselves:
Vera dead-eyed and broken.
Player 2 smiling... but her smile too wide, too sharp.
At one point, Vera caught a mirror showing herself sitting alone, year after year, aging in silence, forgotten.
It punched her in the gut.
For a second — just a second — she slowed.
Player 2 grabbed her wrist fast — tight, grounding her.
"Eyes forward," Player 2 said.
Her voice didn't shake.
It commanded.
Vera nodded, swallowed hard — and moved.
Final room: The Heart Door.
A massive blood-red door pulsing like a living thing.
Above it:
> "ONLY TRUTH UNLOCKS ME."
No puzzles.
No levers.
Just them.
A simple option screen floated:
> "CONFESS OR STAY HERE FOREVER."
Vera turned to Player 2.
"...So," she said slowly, "what do we confess? That we suck at riddles?"
Player 2 stared at the door.
Silent.
Her shoulders tensed — the first crack in her cool armor.
Finally... she spoke.
Soft.
Almost broken.
"I abandoned everything," Player 2 whispered. "Because I thought I'd save it by leaving."
The door shuddered.
Vera blinked.
Heart pounding.
Because deep down —
that voice,
that choice of words —
it sounded like herself.
Older.
Worn down.
Someone who made a huge mistake and never forgave herself.
Vera looked down at her hands.
Clenched them.
Then she grinned crookedly.
"I confess," she said aloud, "that I'm scared that no one actually needs me."
The door boomed —
and cracked open.
Light poured through.
Together, they stepped into it.
Blinding light.
Loading screen.
Then:
> "NEW SESSION STARTING."
"Prepare for FINAL LEVEL."
And one last pop-up whispered across Vera's vision:
> "You're closer than you think."
Vera swallowed, suddenly not sure if she wanted to find out what came next.
But Player 2 simply looked at her —
with a tired, knowing smile.
A smile that said:
You already know. You just don't want to see it yet.
(End of Chapter 6.)