Chapter 5: The Blood-Stained Mall

The eerie silence that followed their victory over the Dollmaster did nothing to ease the tension among the surviving players. Their breaths came in sharp gasps as they surveyed the aftermath of the battle. The shattered remains of porcelain dolls littered the ground, their hollow eyes still gleaming with unnatural light. The system’s announcement echoed ominously in their minds:

[Dollmaster has been defeated. The path to the next floor has been unlocked.]

Noah wiped his forehead, his hand coming away sticky with sweat and blood. He wasn’t sure if it was his or one of the many players who had perished in the fight. Only seven of them remained from the original twenty.

“We have to keep moving,” Ava muttered, reloading her shock pistol with trembling hands. “That thing might be gone, but I doubt this mall is finished with us.”

She wasn’t wrong. The unnatural fluorescent lights above flickered erratically, casting strange, shifting shadows across the ruined aisles of the abandoned shopping center. Beyond the broken display windows and overturned shelves, the elevator doors stood open, glowing with an unsettling red light.

Noah exchanged a glance with Ethan, who clutched his Void Edge tightly. The weapon’s dark energy crackled softly, as though reacting to the residual malice lingering in the air.

Lena approached the elevator cautiously. “It says the next floor is unlocked... but this game never makes things easy.”

The moment her foot crossed the elevator threshold, the screen inside flickered to life, revealing a system message.

[Floor Two: The Feast of the Wardens]

Warning: Players who enter may not return to the first floor.

Survive the night.

Escape before the feast begins.

“What the hell does that mean?” Jacob, the quietest of the remaining players, spoke up. His fingers twitched against the hilt of his combat knife. “The feast?”

Ava frowned, stepping back from the elevator. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

Noah took a deep breath. There was no use standing around in hesitation. They had no food, no water, and the game wouldn’t let them rest for long. “We don’t have a choice. We move forward.”

With reluctant nods, the group entered the elevator, watching as the doors slid shut behind them.

The descent began.

A Floor Drenched in Horror

The elevator shuddered before coming to a halt. A small, tinny chime echoed, eerily cheerful despite the dread thick in the air.

Ding!

The doors slid open, revealing a massive dining hall stretching beyond sight.

Noah’s breath hitched.

Long tables covered in black silk lined the cavernous room. Silver plates and crystal goblets sat neatly in place, gleaming under the dim chandeliers overhead. The air smelled sweet, almost sickeningly so, like overripe fruit mixed with something metallic.

Then he noticed them.

The Wardens of Gluttony.

Tall, emaciated figures dressed in regal servant uniforms stood motionless near the tables. Their faces were wrapped in cloth, except for their mouths—which were grotesquely wide, lips stretched into frozen grins, revealing rows of needle-like teeth.

Ava whispered, “Don’t move.”

Noah swallowed hard. The Wardens didn’t react to their presence.

Yet.

The system’s voice rang through the hall:

[Second Trial Begins: The Feast of the Wardens]

Objective: Survive until the chimes ring thrice.

Do not consume the feast.

Do not make a sound.

Jacob took a step back, his boot scraping against the marble floor.

A sudden shift.

The Wardens’ heads snapped toward them in unison, their teeth chattering hungrily.

“Oh, shit.”

The first Warden lunged.

A Deadly Game of Silence

Noah dived to the side, barely avoiding the Warden’s clawed fingers. The creature let out a guttural clicking sound but did not pursue further.

“They react to sound!” Ethan hissed. He clamped his hand over Jacob’s mouth before he could scream.

Ava signed frantically. Stay low. Stay quiet.

The group moved in careful, measured steps, weaving between the tables. The scent of the “feast” was overpowering—steaming meats, glazed fruits, spiced bread—but something was terribly wrong with the food. It glowed faintly, as if pulsing with an unnatural life.

Noah saw Lena trembling, her stomach rumbling audibly. Her fingers twitched toward a silver goblet filled with dark liquid.

He caught her wrist just in time. Her eyes were hazy, unfocused.

“Don’t,” he mouthed.

She blinked rapidly, then recoiled, shaking herself out of whatever trance had almost overtaken her.

Noah turned to the others. “The food is cursed.”

Ethan nodded. “We can’t trust anything here.”

They continued their slow, tense journey toward the far end of the hall, where an ornate clock stood, its hands frozen just before midnight.

The First Chime

DONG!

A single chime echoed through the hall.

The Wardens twitched violently, their jaws stretching wider as they let out a horrible, wet gurgling sound.

The feast had begun.

The Wardens lunged toward the tables, shoveling food into their mouths with inhuman speed. The sounds of chewing, slurping, and gnashing teeth filled the hall.

Noah suppressed a gag.

“We have to move faster,” Ava mouthed.

They quickened their pace, careful to avoid knocking over chairs or stepping on loose utensils.

The clock at the end of the hall still didn’t move.

They had to last until the third chime.

A Fateful Mistake

Jacob was the first to falter.

He stumbled against a chair, knocking over a golden goblet.

CLANG!

The hall fell silent.

Then—

The Wardens stopped eating.