They didn't land this time.
They slammed into something cold.
Hard.
Metallic.
CLANG—THUD—AIIEE—OW MY FACE—
Rhea groaned. "Where… are we?"
Aria coughed, pushing herself up.
A dim lantern flickered overhead, swinging by a rusted chain.
They had fallen into—
A basement.
Not a normal basement.
A labyrinth of corridors.
Brick walls lined with scratch marks.
Chains hanging from the ceiling.
Dust floating like slow-motion snow.
And in the distance…
A deep, heavy breathing.
Dev clenched his fists. "Whatever that is… it's big."
Yuvan whispered, "And angry."
Zoya grabbed Mira's hand.
"This is the father's domain, isn't it?"
The scroll chimed:
FINAL FAMILY SPIRIT: THE FATHER
Be warned:
He does not want to be saved.
He does not want you here.
He does not want anyone to leave.
Kian flinched. "Wait—HE DOESN'T WANT TO BE SAVED?! Then what does he want?!"
A sound echoed—
KRRRRRK—DRAG—THUMP.
Something huge dragging something heavy across the floor.
Ravi swallowed.
"He wants us."
The lights flickered.
Dev whispered, "Stay quiet. Stay close."
But staying quiet was impossible when Zoya stepped on Yuvan's foot and he screamed like a dying kettle.
Instantly—
BOOOOOM.
A deafening roar shattered the silence.
The lantern exploded.
The walls shook.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Aria hissed, "MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"
They scrambled down the narrow hallway—
tripping, pushing, wheezing, yelling—
as the heavy footsteps thundered behind them.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
Closer.
Louder.
Angrier.
Mira gasped, "HE'S COMING FASTER—"
Rhea screamed, "WHICH WAY?! LEFT OR RIGHT—?!"
Ravi spotted a faded arrow scratched into the brick.
"LEFT!"
They shoved themselves into the left corridor—
panting, choking, nearly falling—
but the presence didn't slow down.
It sped up.
Dev growled, "Whoever this father guy is, he's BUILT DIFFERENT!"
Kian wheezed, "He's BUILT TERRIFYING—"
The corridor lights flickered wildly—
and suddenly…
They saw him.
---
THE FATHER SPIRIT APPEARS
He stepped into the light like a nightmare becoming real.
A tall, hulking silhouette.
Shoulders broad enough to block the entire corridor.
Head bowed.
Hands dragging chains twice his size.
His body glitched like broken code—
but his face…
His face wasn't blank like the mother.
It wasn't hollow like the shadow creature.
It was angry.
Twisted with grief.
Eyes glowing red.
Jaw clenched tight.
Rhea gasped, "H-he looks… alive."
"No," Ravi muttered.
"He looks like someone who never moved on."
The father spirit took a step forward.
Chains scraped the ground—
each drag echoing like thunder.
He spoke for the first time—
his voice deep, shaking the walls:
"You don't belong here."
Kian whispered, "Sir, with all due respect, WE KNOW—"
The father roared.
The corridor behind them collapsed.
"RUN!" Aria screamed.
They sprinted deeper into the basement maze.
---
THE CHASE
The father moved unnaturally fast for something his size.
They turned left—
he smashed through the wall.
They ducked into a tunnel—
he ripped the ceiling down.
They slid under a pipe—
he snapped it like a twig.
Every impact shook the ground.
Every roar felt like thunder in their bones.
"WHY IS HE SO FAST?!" Dev shouted.
"HE HAS DAD STRENGTH!" Yuvan screamed.
"HE'S NOT EVEN ALIVE!" Mira cried.
"THAT MAKES IT WORSE!" Zoya yelled.
They reached a fork.
Two hallways.
Both dark.
Both terrifying.
The scroll flickered—
Follow the heartbeat.
Aria listened.
Left: silence.
Right: faint, soft heartbeat.
"RIGHT!" she yelled.
They rushed down the hallway—
the heartbeat growing louder—
warmer—
closer.
Until they emerged into—
---
THE FATHER'S MEMORY ROOM
A small chamber lit by a single candle.
On the floor lay a broken music box.
Photos scattered.
A tiny blanket.
A cracked family portrait.
The father spirit stood in the doorway—
but this time…
He didn't roar.
He froze.
Staring at the memory objects.
Aria whispered, "This is… his grief."
Zoya covered her mouth. "No wonder he became like this."
Rhea teared up. "He lost everything at once…"
Ravi stepped forward carefully.
"He wasn't consumed by a monster.
He BECAME one."
The father spirit dropped to his knees—
chains clattering.
And for the first time—
his glitching stopped.
His voice cracked:
"They were taken from me…"
Aria knelt beside the memory objects.
"We're here to help you."
The father spirit shook his head violently.
"No.
You're here to finish the story.
To leave."
His voice turned colder.
"I can't let you."
He lifted the chains.
The room trembled.
He prepared to strike.
Aria grabbed the family portrait.
"STOP!"
He froze.
Eyes widening.
She held it up to the faint candlelight.
A mother.
A father.
A baby.
Smiling.
"Remember them," she whispered.
"Not the pain."
The father spirit's hands shook.
His breathing slowed.
Fragments of memory began glowing—
the mother singing,
the baby laughing,
the family hugging.
The chains fell from his hands.
He whispered—
"Please… give them back…"
Aria stepped closer.
"We did."
She gestured behind him.
The mother spirit appeared.
Holding the baby spirit.
Glowing softly.
The father spirit's eyes flooded with light.
He reached out—
Hands trembling—
slow—
gentle—
afraid to break the moment.
The mother took his hand.
The baby reached for his sleeve.
The father's form glowed—
Then exploded into white light.
Peaceful.
Warm.
Final.
The scroll chimed:
THIRD SPIRIT SAVED
FAMILY RESTORED
ROUND 2 NEAR COMPLETE
The basement shook.
Walls cracked.
The maze collapsed.
A doorway opened—
leading upward into the final room.
But before they could move—
The child's voice echoed behind them.
Cold.
Hateful.
No longer pretending.
"You shouldn't have done that."
They turned—
and the child stepped forward.
But he wasn't a child anymore.
His eyes glowed red.
His smile sharpened.
His shadow stretched unnaturally across the floor.
"Now the house is hungry."
The floor crumbled beneath their feet.
They fell.
Into the final showdown.
---