The silence of the house still trembled with the whispers they'd heard in the attic.
Emma spread the map across the table.
Jessica and Nóra stood beside her—both pale, hands trembling.
The center of the spiral lay beneath the house.
Somewhere deep—beyond the basement, buried in darkness.
Emma traced her finger slowly across the map.
"There must be something down there. Something controlling all of this," she whispered.
Nóra's voice was soft, uncertain.
"And what if there's nothing? Just… more nightmares?"
Emma looked into her eyes.
"Then at least we'll know we tried everything."
Jessica nodded.
"Better to face it than live in fear forever."
They gathered what little they had:
a few candles,
a dull pocket knife,
and Emma's spiral pendant, now burning hot beneath her skin.
The basement door groaned open.
The air was denser there—colder.
Emma paused at the threshold.
According to the map, there was a hidden passage behind one of the rear walls.
Something that had been kept secret.
They descended slowly into the dark.
The candles flickered, lighting only a few steps ahead.
The basement was small: rusted barrels, broken shelves, dusty crates.
But the back wall—
It was different.
Not stone like the others.
Wood.
And carved into it—a spiral.
Emma stepped closer.
The wood was ancient—crumbled at her touch.
At the spiral's center was a hollow.
The exact size of her pendant.
Emma knew: this wasn't coincidence.
She slowly removed the pendant from around her neck.
Jessica and Nóra held their breath.
Emma placed it into the hollow.
For a moment, nothing.
Then—a click.
The wall began to shake.
Dust rose in clouds.
And slowly, the wall tipped outward, revealing a tunnel that sloped down into the earth.
Cold wind rolled up from the fog below.
And something—something whispered from the depths.
Emma knew:
They'd reached the heart of the spiral.
There was no turning back.
She lit a candle.
The small flame danced in her hand, casting long shadows on the stone walls.
The steps twisted downward, narrow and winding—as if the earth itself had been carved into a spiral.
They descended slowly, one step at a time.
The fog grew thicker.
And the whispers—louder.
No words could be made out, but the meaning was clear:
"Turn back."
"Don't come closer."
"You don't belong here."
Emma glanced at the map.
The lines coiled tighter and tighter.
They were close.
Jessica pressed her back to the wall to keep her balance.
Nóra's breathing quickened, as though something unseen pressed against her chest.
Emma stopped.
A massive stone door loomed before them.
Etched into the stone—an enormous spiral.
Its center was black.
Empty.
As if it opened into a void.
Something lay at the foot of the door.
Emma stepped closer.
Another doll.
But this one—
It wasn't made of rags.
It was… more real.
Its skin was grayish.
Its eyes stared blankly at them.
Emma turned her gaze away, fighting nausea.
Around the doll's neck—
A small key.
Emma picked it up carefully.
A spiral was engraved into the metal.
Jessica froze.
"Maybe… maybe we shouldn't…"
Emma held the key tightly.
She knew the decision was hers.
If they opened the door, they would enter something they might never escape.
But if they didn't—they'd remain prisoners forever.
She looked at the others.
Both nodded.
Fear in their eyes—but determination too.
Emma stepped toward the door.
The key fit perfectly.
Click.
The spiral on the stone began to turn—slowly.
As if it were alive.
The door creaked open.
Inside—darkness.
But at the center of that darkness… something glowed.
A massive stone spiral.
And in the center of the spiral—
Something waited.
Something pulsed—like a heartbeat.
And the whispers now spoke clearly:
"I've been waiting for you…"