CHAPTER THIRTEEN: The Logic of Pain
The Lobby – 8 Hours After the Confession Chamber
It came with no sirens this time. No countdown. Just a sound like glass cracking.
Then—
> TRIAL CARD: 5♦ – "THE TRUTH MAZE"
Players Required: 5
Objective: Find the True Exit
Rules:
– Each room contains a question.
– Answer incorrectly, and the room resets.
– Answer truthfully, and the door will open—but at a cost.
– One lie allowed per player.
– Use it wisely.
Victory Condition: All five players must exit. Together.
Failure Condition: If more than one player is separated at any time.
Noah stood, already moving.
Reina hesitated. Dylan stretched his arms, bracelet glowing faintly.
Two new players waited near the far door. A girl with a bandaged wrist. A boy with no shoes.
"Another maze," Reina whispered.
Noah replied, "Not like the others."
---
Arrival – The Maze's Edge
There was no grand chamber. No blood-painted walls.
Just a door. Stainless steel. Stark white.
It opened with a hiss.
They stepped inside and the door sealed behind them with finality.
The lights were cold, clinical. Fluorescent.
The hallway split into five branching corridors.
Above them, a robotic voice echoed:
> "This is a game of decisions. Not survival. Not violence."
"But the price of truth is never free."
Reina felt her stomach knot. She hadn't healed from the last price she paid.
---
Room One – Reina
She stepped into her first room alone.
A screen blinked on.
A single question appeared:
> "Would you erase your past to escape your guilt?"
Reina stared at it.
A second line pulsed beneath:
> "Say it aloud."
She hesitated.
Then: "No."
> Door unlocked.
Cost: Memory Fragment Removed.
She staggered as something slipped away.
She didn't know what.
Only that something was… missing.
---
Room One – Noah
His question was different:
> "Do you believe some people are born to be used?"
He didn't pause.
"Yes."
> Door unlocked.
Cost: Relationship Trust Decreased.
He walked forward without a flicker.
---
Room One – Dylan
His screen asked:
> "Have you lied since the last game?"
He smirked.
Said nothing.
> Silence is a choice. Lie Token Activated.
The door opened.
No cost displayed.
But his bracelet dimmed—just slightly.
---
Interlude – The Maze's Design
Elsewhere, the Jack of Diamonds observed the trial unfold.
A man with surgical gloves, a face like polished porcelain, and eyes that blinked out of sync.
He sat in a chair surrounded by diagrams and branching logic trees. Thousands.
"This one," he said, pointing at Reina's path. "This one still hesitates at the edges."
An assistant asked: "Is that a weakness?"
"No," the Jack said. "That's resistance. Much more interesting."
He tapped another screen.
"The boy with the bracelet will break first. Mark him."
---
The Trap Room – Cycle Two
In the next room, all five were reunited.
One screen. One question.
> "Two of you will lie in this game. One already has."
"Identify the liar. Or be punished."
They looked at each other.
Reina's hands clenched.
"I told the truth," she said. "My memory's missing because of it."
Dylan leaned back. "I didn't say anything. That's not a lie."
The barefoot boy spoke. "I said no to mine. But I don't know if it was the truth anymore."
They argued. Voted.
They guessed wrong.
> Punishment: Split Path Triggered.
One will be isolated. Random selection in progress…
A red light pulsed on Reina's wrist.
She vanished before anyone could speak.
---
End of Chapter Thirteen (Optional Cliffhanger)
> Reina opened her eyes in a new room.