The silence of Silent Hill was a lie.
Adam felt it in his bones as he slowly descended a rusted staircase hidden beneath the altar of a burned church. The walls creaked as if alive, and the air grew thicker with every step — a mix of ancient dust, oxidized iron, and something that smelled like charred flesh.
The map he found in a yellowed journal led him to a forbidden place: the former lair of the Children of Judgment, a cult that worshipped pain and sacrifice as paths to redemption. According to the notes, there lay an artifact capable of interfering with the spiritual links between this world and the bell — and maybe, just maybe, it could affect the monster that guarded it.
The Watcher of Penitence.
Adam shivered at the thought of the creature he barely escaped from not long ago.
The staircase ended in a narrow corridor carved directly into rock. The walls were covered in twisted religious symbols — inverted crosses mixed with corrupted Latin inscriptions.
He turned on his flashlight. The beam flickered.
— "Can't count on you till the end, huh?" — he muttered to the object, tapping it lightly on the side.
Before continuing, he closed his eyes and activated his ability.
[Whispers from Beyond – Active]
A sudden chill spread through the air. The voices didn't come as words — they were emotions, fragments, painful memories trapped in the walls.
"...there is no salvation...", "he sees...", "only sound can set you free..."
The words echoed in Adam's mind, but one in particular stood out, clear as if whispered directly into his ear:
"The price will be your blood."
He swallowed hard.
— "It always is, isn't it?"
He continued down the corridor. Silent steps. Alert mind. Every corner seemed to breathe.
He spotted a room ahead. Rusted arches held up a collapsing ceiling. In the center, a pedestal with a black metal box, adorned with chains and spikes. Around it, five skeletons sat in meditation posture, still wearing red robes.
Adam approached.
[Warning: Ritual Zone – High Risk of Spiritual Activation. Do you wish to open the container?]
— "I didn't come all this way to back out now," — he whispered, cracking his knuckles. — "Let's see what's so important."
He took out a small vial of rock salt and drew a circle around the pedestal. Then wrapped his hand with a cloth soaked in holy water before touching the box. The chains vibrated slightly at first contact.
Then… CLANG!
The lid snapped open. Inside, a small black bell with golden inscriptions pulsing in dark tones.
[Item Acquired: Bell of Spiritual Control – Unique Relic]
This artifact can repel or attract spiritual entities depending on the wielder's intent. Prolonged use causes bleeding, hallucinations, and emotional corruption.
Adam's eyes widened.
— "This is gonna be… complicated."
Before he could store the bell, one of the chains in the room rose on its own. Then another. And another.
The skeletons opened their eyes.
They weren't dead. They never had been.
One of them moved with the dry snap of ancient bones, staring at Adam with hollow eyes.
— "Sin… without penitence…" — it murmured with a voice that seemed to come from the ground itself.
Adam stepped back. He grabbed the iron knife and activated the system mentally.
[System – Status]
Name: Adam R.
Active Skill: Whispers from Beyond (Lv. 2)
Passives: Dark Intuition (Lv. 2), Mental Resistance (Lv. 1)
Relics: Bell of Spiritual Control (Sealed)
Current Mission: Survive the Guardians' Judgment
Without hesitation, Adam threw salt onto the ground. The skeletons hesitated for a moment — just enough for him to bolt toward the opposite door.
The chains whipped through the air behind him. One grazed his shoulder, slicing it open deep.
He screamed, but didn't stop.
Corridors. Sealed doors. Tight tunnels. The cave felt like it was expanding, alive, trying to consume him.
But something in his mind guided him. An instinct — or Larissa's voice, faint and whispering — that said:
— "Left."
He turned. And escaped through a crack in the rocks just as everything behind him collapsed.
Now, breathless, bloodied, and clutching the bell soaked in his own blood, Adam found himself in another part of the map — in the forgotten depths of the city.
What he had discovered was clear: the bell wasn't just a weapon. It was a key.
But to what door… or what prison… remained a mystery.
And the price, as always, kept rising.