Downstairs, Jet, Tony, and Kim were still shaken by what had happened. The broken sculpture lay scattered across the floor. The air was thick with cold and fear, the kind that made even breathing feel heavy.
None of them spoke for a while. Only the faint creaking of the old palace filled the silence.
Upstairs, Samy and Tin were still unaware of the chaos that had happened below. They continued exploring the endless hallway lined with those strange, identical doors. Each time they opened one, they found nothing but empty rooms — beds covered with white sheets, mirrors cracked, and wallpaper peeling away like dead skin.
But then they came across a door slightly open — just enough for a faint light to spill through.
Samy pushed it open carefully.
Inside was a room unlike any other. Furniture still stood in place — a desk, a chair, a bookshelf covered with dust. There were papers scattered everywhere, and on the wall hung strange sketches of human figures and dark shapes that didn't look quite real.
"It looks like… someone lived here," Tin whispered.
"Or maybe worked here," Samy said, walking toward the desk. "Look — this isn't just a room. It's like some kind of research place."
On the table lay several books, their pages yellowed and brittle. Samy picked up one — it was a diary. The cover looked oddly familiar, with the same pattern and symbol they had seen before, the one in the old mansion that started their nightmare.
Her heart raced. "Tin… this is the same diary we saw before. The same one."
Tin leaned closer. "So this palace… it's connected to everything. Whoever wrote this must've been part of it."
They turned the pages, but the ink was smudged. Only a few words were readable:
"The experiment... failed... shadows took form... can't destroy... must seal them…"
A cold wind brushed against the back of their necks.
Tin looked at Samy. "Let's go. We've got what we came for. Maybe this can help the others."
Samy nodded, clutching the diary tightly. They turned toward the door—
But something was standing there.
A massive, dark figure blocked the doorway. The same one Jet had faced downstairs.
Its shoulders were broad, its shape uneven like its body was made from shifting shadows. Two dim red lights glowed where eyes should be. The sight froze both girls instantly.
Samy screamed — a sound that tore through the silence and echoed down the hall. It was enough to tell how terrifying the thing really was.
"Run!" Tin shouted.
They bolted from the room, clutching the diary, sprinting down the endless corridor. The monster's heavy footsteps thundered behind them, shaking the floor. Doors slammed shut on their own as they passed, as if the palace itself was trapping them.
The corridor seemed longer now, stretching endlessly. The walls twisted and blurred, and every time they turned a corner, they found another hallway waiting.
"Keep running!" Samy gasped.
They didn't dare look back. The sound of the giant's steps was enough — slow but powerful, steady, unrelenting.
Downstairs, Jet, Tony, and Kim heard the scream.
"That was Samy!" Jet shouted.
They rushed toward the stairs, but as soon as Jet placed her foot on the first step, a violent wind burst upward from the staircase, almost knocking them down. It wasn't a normal wind — it was cold and heavy, like it had a will of its own.
They tried again, but each step they took, the wind pushed harder, refusing to let them go up. It was like the palace was guarding something, or someone.
"There's no way we can get up there!" Kim shouted over the roar.
"There has to be!" Jet snapped, frustrated. She stepped back, thinking fast. Then her eyes lit up. "Wait… what if we go from outside?"
Tony frowned. "Outside? You mean— climb?"
"Yeah. It's stupid," Jet said, already heading for the main doors, "but it's better than standing here!"
The three ran outside into the cold night. The black palace loomed above them, its windows like empty eyes staring down. The wind was even stronger out here, whipping through the dead garden, but they had no choice.
Kim pointed. "There — those drain pipes. We can use them."
Tony looked doubtful but nodded. "Let's do it."
They started climbing. The pipes were slippery with frost, the metal groaning under their weight. The climb was hard — fingers numb, breaths short, fear pulling at their minds. But they didn't stop.
They couldn't.
Back inside, Samy and Tin were hiding. They had ducked into a small closet at the far end of the hallway, clutching the diary close. Through the narrow crack in the door, they saw the dark figure moving slowly through the corridor, searching.
It sniffed the air, its movements twitchy and unnatural, like it could sense them.
Samy held her breath. Tin covered her mouth, her heart pounding so hard she was sure the monster would hear it.
The creature stopped just in front of their door. It leaned in closer, the faint sound of its breath — heavy, rough, like stone grinding against stone — filled the air. Then, suddenly, it turned away, heading down the hall again.
They didn't move. Not yet.
Outside, Jet nearly slipped, grabbing the edge of a window frame. Tony reached out and caught her arm.
"You good?"
"Yeah," she panted, pulling herself up. "Almost there."
Kim pointed upward. "There's an open window — second floor!"
They climbed toward it, and Tony noticed something — a set of broken stairs on the side of the building, half-buried under vines.
"Wait — look!" he said. "Those stairs! We can use them."
They moved toward it carefully, climbing across a narrow ledge. It wasn't much, but it was faster and safer than the pipes.
Finally, they reached the second floor and climbed in through the open window, landing in one of the countless rooms above.
The moment they got inside, the air felt different — heavier, darker. The same unnatural cold that haunted the hall downstairs was even stronger here.
They could hear faint footsteps outside — slow, echoing through the corridor.
Jet raised her hand, motioning the others to stay quiet.
They listened.
The footsteps stopped. Then another sound — a low growl, deep and distant, coming from somewhere close.
Tony whispered, "It's here…"
They looked at each other, silent but ready. Somewhere in these fifty rooms, Samy and Tin were hiding, holding the only clue they'd found — and the monster was hunting them all.
The palace was awake now, alive in its own dark rhythm, and every corner felt like it could swallow them whole.
And this time, there was no guarantee any of them would make it out before the shadow did.