The Echoes of What Remains: A Novel of Unseen Horrors

Chapter 12: The Book of Whispers

Kaito carefully pulled the book out. The air in the alcove was colder, heavier, and the sweet floral scent intensified, making their skin crawl.

He opened the book, its pages crackling softly. It wasn't a diary, but a collection of strange, cryptic writings, interspersed with unsettling drawings of swirling mists and distorted figures.

They began to read, huddled together in the dim light of the lobby, the whispers in the air seeming to grow louder, as if the hotel itself was listening.

The book spoke in riddles, in fragmented verses and unsettling proverbs. It hinted at a deep-seated sorrow in the very land, a hunger that had taken root centuries ago.

"Where hearts divide, its breath grows strong. Where fear takes hold, its roots run deep."

It spoke of a place that listened, that remembered every discord, every secret, every pain.

"The walls remember. The ground consumes. A hunger for what tears apart."

It mentioned boundaries, unseen lines that held the essence of torment, and a pervasive, sweet scent that was its very breath.

"Its breath, a cloying sweetness. Its whispers, a hungry hum."

It did not give clear answers, but it painted a chilling picture of a hotel that was not merely old, but alive, and malevolent.

They looked at each other, their faces pale, trying to make sense of the cryptic verses.

"What does this even mean?" Yui whispered, pointing to a line. "'Where hearts divide, its breath grows strong.' Is it talking about us? Our arguments? Ren's choice?"

"And 'a hunger for what tears apart'," Sakura added, her voice trembling. "Does it talking about our fear? Our sadness?"Does it fear?

"It's so vague," Kaito muttered, running a hand through his hair. "It's like a guide, but it doesn't give us the full picture. It just tells us what it does, not how to stop it, or where its 'heart' is."

He looked back at the imposing hotel, no longer just an old building, but a living, malevolent entity.

Just then, the main front doors of the lobby creaked open, and another group of students, who had been searching the upper floors, stumbled in.

They looked as exhausted and terrified as the group in the lobby, their clothes dusty, their faces pale. There were about ten of them, adding to the dwindling numbers.

"Did you find anything?" Kaito asked, his voice strained. "Any other way out? Any clues?"

The leader of the new group, a stern-faced girl named Aoi, shook her head, her eyes wide with despair. "Nothing. Just more empty rooms. And that smell... it's everywhere. What about you? You were down here. Did you find anything?"

Kaito held up the ancient, leather-bound book. "We found this. It's... it's about the hotel. About what's happening."

The new group gathered around, peering at the strange writings and unsettling drawings. They read the cryptic verses, their brows furrowed in confusion.

"What is this gibberish?" a boy named Yuto scoffed, though his voice lacked its usual bravado. "It doesn't make any sense. 'Hearts divide'? 'Ground consumes'?"

Aoi looked at the empty and torned bag of phones, then at Kaito, her eyes narrowing. "You know, when that game first popped up, and it asked for names... we were all scared. But you, Kaito, and Akari, you told us not to play. You told us to put our phones away. You said it was the right thing to do."

Her voice was low, accusatory.

Kaito flinched, a cold dread seeping into his bones. "We thought... we thought it would stop it. We thought if no one played, it couldn't choose."

"But it did choose, didn't it?" Aoi continued, her voice rising, filled with a bitter, desperate anger. "It chose five people! Mika, Haruna, Hiroki, Taro, Jiro! They all died because you told us to defy the game! You blamed Ren for killing Haruto, but because you told everyone to put their phones away, five more people died! You killed them! You're just as much a murderer as Ren!"

The accusation hung heavy in the air, a devastating blow.

Kaito stared at her, his face pale, unable to speak.

The whispers in the air seemed to surge, a triumphant, hungry chorus.

The sweet floral scent deepened, a silent, mocking presence.

Discord. Fear. It was exactly what the hotel wanted.

The night was drawing in once more, and the game was far from finished.