-1. Floor : Through the Dark

Realizing that the house they arrived at was Mark’s house was a bit difficult. The house was located at the entrance of the neighborhood, and it was a rather simple-looking place. Joe got off his bike and started looking around the house. He wanted to understand what had suddenly stopped him in front of this house. Meanwhile, Oliver was checking if anyone else was around. Joe approached the garage and tried to open the garage door. Suddenly, the garage door opened by itself. When the door opened, the vehicle was there in front of them. The infamous car, the license plate, the broken headlight, and the purple color... This was indeed Mark’s house. Oliver got off his bike and walked over to Joe.

“You know, this could really be the end for us, right?”  Oliver was serious. “If you want, we can turn back and head home. Yes, we should worry about what happened to Evan, Sebastian, and Lucas, but this is beyond us.”

“I’m aware. But now that I’ve found the reason for that feeling that has been pulling me back, leaving me in depression and pessimism for years, even if it ends in death, I will demand answers. You can turn back if you want, Oliver, but I can’t leave this place.”  Joe was resolute.

“If you’re this determined, then it’s my duty to support you and stand by your side. After all, that’s what best friends are for.”  Oliver was fully onboard now.

Before entering the house, the two performed their usual handshake one last time. Then, they slowly entered the garage. The door inside the garage was open. They thought about entering the house from there, but Mark could be inside the house. They waited behind the door. Just in case, Joe attached his axe to his belt and took his flamethrower from his back. They were about to move inside when they heard a sound. It sounded like crying, but it was a loud wail. That’s why Mark was probably not inside the house but in a place similar to the experiment rooms.

The two immediately entered and began looking around. What they saw didn’t look like the home of a killer but rather the home of a family man. Just then, they heard a noise coming from the room next to them. Oliver drew his gun, and Joe prepared his flamethrower. The door opened, and the person who came out wasn’t Mark. It was Jason. Joe and Oliver had been so caught up in everything that they had forgotten about Jason’s existence. Jason was also very surprised to see them, especially with the weapons they were carrying. Jason calmed down.

“What are you doing here? And in this way?”  Jason asked.

“Where’s your father?”  Joe pointed the flamethrower at Jason. “You’re going to answer without playing any games, Jason. Trust me, I have no mercy for anyone.”

Jason was terrified. Suddenly, Oliver grabbed Jason, covering his mouth with his hand, and pressed his gun to his head. They took Jason to his room and entered with him. Maybe they could act quickly and use Jason as a weapon against Mark. As soon as they entered the room, they locked the door. However, as soon as Jason entered, he ran toward the phone beside his bed. Oliver didn’t hesitate. He shot him. Right in the head. It was a sad moment because it wasn’t supposed to happen this way. The gunshot echoed throughout the house. Joe was no longer affected by what was happening. His mind was still on Evan’s suicide. Oliver, on the other hand, now realized that hesitation was the biggest mistake they could make.

They exited the room. They looked around a bit but realized there wouldn’t be anything useful coming from the house. They would have to search for a staircase leading to the basement. They checked a few rooms, but there wasn’t any such room. Then, they entered Mark’s room. It was very tidy. Oliver’s eyes were drawn to the photograph beside Mark’s bed. It was a photo of Mark’s family—his wife, Jason, a little girl, and presumably his parents… What could this man’s true purpose be? When Oliver saw the little girl, he remembered something. Jason had once talked about his sister, who had passed away. Oliver began to suspect something, but they were already very close to getting answers. They had looked through all the rooms in the house. They needed to find the way downstairs somehow. As they stepped into the hallway, they saw traces on the floor. These tracks led to the room next door.

They entered the room. This room, which they had initially entered randomly, now felt different. It was just a normal living room. However, Joe realized something was off with the bookshelf behind the couches. They tried to move the bookshelf, but they couldn’t. But then they found a small button behind the bookshelf. Joe pressed the button, and the bookshelf slid aside. Behind it, there was a doorway with stairs leading down. This was now the second phase.

As Oliver started descending the stairs, Joe was still standing by the bookshelf. When Oliver turned to him, he realized that there was truly no turning back from here. The two descended the long staircase. At the bottom, there was an elevator. In front of them stood the elevator that would take them to the heart of everything. They pressed the elevator button and waited for it to arrive. When they saw the number "-4" on the elevator’s digital screen, they were terrified. Mark had built a whole different world beneath his house. While they were still in shock, the elevator arrived at their floor, and the door opened. The elevator itself seemed perfectly normal. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. They got inside and looked at the floor buttons. There were only “0, -1, -2, -3, -4” buttons. The 0th floor was the ground floor above. They decided to check out floor -1 first. They pressed the -1 button, and the elevator descended.

When the elevator doors opened, the scene before them was familiar. It looked like the corridor leading to Evan’s hospital room. Everything was dark. As they took their first step into the hallway, automatic light sensors activated, illuminating the corridor. There wasn’t much around, so they started walking. It was a straight hallway for now, and they could see the door at the end of the corridor. Joe and Oliver walked, holding their axes in hand. As they got closer to the end, the corridor began to narrow. When they reached the door, they heard a sound from behind it. Oliver kicked the door open and immediately stepped back. Lucas emerged from behind the door. Lucas was looking at Joe and Oliver with lifeless eyes, as if nothing had happened.

“Hello. I think I know you,”  said Lucas.

“Yes, you do,”  replied Oliver.

“Why don’t you come inside? Let’s have a little chat,”  said Lucas.

“Inside? Where?”  Joe was confused.

After inviting them in, Lucas gestured to the space behind him. This room opened up to an entirely different house. Mark had built a massive house on this floor, and it was almost like he had constructed a real street around it. Joe and Oliver, completely bewildered, followed Lucas inside. Lucas wasn’t alone in this house. There were other people in the other rooms. But it seemed as if everyone’s minds had been wiped clean. Their eyes had changed. In the center of their pitch-black eyes was a small white dot resembling a pupil.

Joe and Oliver were already used to this horrifying situation. They moved to the living room and sat down. Lucas, along with another person who appeared to be around their age, also entered the room. With soulless eyes, Lucas began to question them.

“What are you doing here?”  Lucas asked.

“I think that question should be asked of you,”  Oliver responded.

“Our Father brought us here. He gave us a new life. Did He bring you as well?”  Lucas said.

“Your father? Are you talking about Mark?”  Joe asked.

“His name is not Mark!”  Lucas was angry. “You will refer to him as Our Father.”

“Lucas, look, man, I don’t understand what’s going on here, but we came to rescue you and your friends. Please realize what’s happening,”  Joe said.

“Yeah, buddy, your dad is really worried about you,”  Oliver added.

“Why would my dad be worried about me? The one who brought me here and gave me life is him,”  Lucas replied.

Joe and Oliver understood. Mark, using the control that Eternum gave him, had brainwashed them, making them believe he was their father. This made them emotionally attached to Mark.

“Lucas. Do you remember your dad, Henry? Your father is not Mark. He’s trying to harm you and your friends,”  Oliver said.

“You’re a liar! My father wouldn’t hurt me. Brothers, let’s take these to our Father!”  Lucas suddenly yelled.

Joe immediately lunged forward with his axe, trying to decapitate Lucas, but the person next to Lucas intervened. He grabbed Joe’s axe and didn’t let go. Oliver quickly responded by chopping off the person’s arm with his axe. As Lucas tried to retaliate, Joe aimed his flamethrower at Lucas’ head and fired. Though the flames were small at first, Lucas quickly caught fire and burned to ash. Eternum made the body vulnerable to fire, and they saw it with their own eyes.

They had no time to mourn for Lucas, as three more people entered the room from the door. They were all moving like zombies. Joe immediately fired the flamethrower at them and burned them all. The two then rushed out of the house and headed for the elevator. When they reached the elevator, they saw that it had returned to the 0th floor. Mark was aware of everything. However, Joe and Oliver wanted to explore the other floors to see what was happening. They called the elevator and waited, ready for a fight in case Mark stepped out. The elevator arrived, the doors opened, but it was empty again. They descended to the -2 floor. This time, the scene they encountered was very different.