The walls of the house twisted and groaned, shifting like a living thing.
Renji's breath caught in his throat. That thing wasn't his mother.
It looked like her. It spoke like her. But its face—
The spirals in its eyes stretched and spun, endless black voids that threatened to pull him in.
Kaito yanked Renji back. "That's not real! We have to move!"
Aoi was frozen, her eyes wide with horror. "Renji, what is that?"
The thing that wore his mother's face tilted its head.
Its neck cracked.
> "You don't recognize me?"
The voice was soft. Almost gentle.
Renji clenched his fists. "You're not her."
The thing's smile widened, too far. The skin at the edges of its lips cracked like broken porcelain.
> "I never left, Renji. I've been waiting for you… waiting for you to come home."
The spirals in its eyes spun faster.
And the house shuddered.
---
The House Traps Them
The floorboards beneath them shifted.
Renji's stomach dropped. The wooden planks stretched and warped, curling into spiral patterns.
The door behind them slammed shut.
Aoi whirled around, yanking on the handle. "It won't open!"
Kaito cursed, scanning the walls. "The whole place is moving!"
Renji's heartbeat pounded in his ears.
The thing that wore his mother's face took a slow step forward.
> "Come back to me, Renji."
Her voice wove into the air like a lullaby. A sickening, hypnotic pull.
Renji's legs wobbled. His vision blurred.
No. No, no, no. It was trying to drag him in.
Aoi grabbed his arm. "Renji, fight it!"
He gritted his teeth. "I… I know. But how—"
Kaito suddenly grabbed a nearby broken chair. Without hesitation, he swung it at the creature.
CRACK!
The wood shattered against its head.
For a split second, silence.
Then—
The woman's head snapped back unnaturally. A deep, guttural crack echoed through the room.
And when she lifted her gaze again—
> Her face was gone.
Where her features had been, there was now only a gaping, swirling void.
A spiral.
Renji's stomach twisted.
The house rumbled violently.
Aoi screamed, "It's collapsing!"
Kaito grabbed Renji's wrist. "We have to run—now!"
---
Escape Through the Walls
The floor buckled beneath them.
Renji forced his legs to move, sprinting toward the nearest doorway.
But as he reached it—
It wasn't a door anymore.
The walls had shifted.
The entire house was rearranging itself—trapping them inside.
Renji clenched his fists. No.
He refused to die here.
His eyes darted around the room. The windows—still there.
"Kaito! The window!"
Kaito didn't hesitate. He grabbed a nearby lamp and hurled it at the glass.
SMASH!
The shards exploded outward.
Aoi went first, climbing through, then Kaito.
Renji turned to follow—
But then—
> A cold hand grabbed his wrist.
He gasped.
His head snapped back.
The creature's spiral face was inches from his own.
> "Stay."
The word slithered through his mind, wrapping around his thoughts like a noose.
The spiral spun faster.
Renji's vision blurred—
The world tilted—
Then—
Kaito's hand snatched him back.
Renji fell through the window, crashing onto the ground outside.
The moment his body hit the dirt—
The house let out a screech.
And then—
It collapsed inward, folding into itself like paper.
The twisted remains of the house spiraled downward—
Until there was nothing left.
Just an empty lot.
As if the house had never existed.
---
The Aftermath
Renji lay on his back, his chest heaving. His skin was ice cold.
Aoi clutched his arm. "Are you okay?"
Kaito leaned over him, eyes sharp. "That thing almost had you."
Renji swallowed hard.
It wasn't just that it almost had him.
It had spoken to him.
It had known his mother's voice.
And for a moment—
It had nearly convinced him.
His fingers curled into the dirt.
"I don't think we're dealing with just memories," he muttered.
Aoi's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Renji's voice was quiet.
> "I think something in this town is trying to bring back the dead."
Silence.
The realization settled over them like a thick fog.
And then—
From somewhere deeper in the abandoned town—
Another door creaked open.
Waiting.
Watching.
Calling them forward.
---
End of Chapter 26
---
To Be Continue