Location: An Underground Museum Exhibiting "Things That Never Existed"
The Scandinavian city wasn't on any map—nor on travel schedules.Yet it existed, like a secret folded into a place whose name must never be spoken twice.
The three arrived via the Network of Shadows, which transported not only the body but memory as well.They emerged into a courtyard enclosed by an ancient glass ceiling, dust scattered upon it like the ash of forgotten time.The air here was different. Not humid, not dry.It carried the taste of iron—as if the city itself was being poured slowly into a hidden mold.
Raien gazed at the buildings shaped with impossible angles.
"This isn't a city... it's a museum in itself."
Lima, more uneasy than usual, whispered:
"And this museum… they say it doesn't display what was—but what never was."
Niko smirked.
"A museum of lies?"
The answer didn't come from any of them.It came from a bronze plaque on the massive stone door before them:
"Museum of Things That Never Existed."
The doorman was an old man with no features worth remembering—as if he had been created to be forgotten. He let them through without a word.Once inside, the light changed.No windows. No lamps.Yet everything was visible—as if the walls themselves gave off a quiet glow.
The First Hall
Behind thick glass, exhibits stood on display:
– A book titled "The Future Unwritten"– A clock that ticked backwards– A train ticket to a station that never opened– A human mask bearing a double smile
Each item whispered a lie… or a memory deleted from reality.
Raien paused before a framed photograph—no apparent reason at first.Until he saw himself in it.
Black and white. Too clear to be comfortable.It was him, standing beside another child.
His brother.
Stunned, he stepped closer, almost pressing against the glass.
"This… this isn't possible. I never took this picture."
Lima turned to him, then studied the photo.
The child—Raien—was smiling. A true smile. Something she hadn't seen on his face since the journey began.The other child, his brother, had his hand on Raien's shoulder—either promising something… or saying goodbye.
Niko approached slowly.
"Who took it?"
Raien didn't answer. He just stared, searching the frame for someone hiding behind the lens.
"This photo is impossible. There was no camera. No one else but us."
Lima whispered:
"Or maybe… you didn't know someone was watching."
Silence leaked into them like dark smoke.This wasn't just a picture.It was a confession.
Lima looked around.The walls said nothing.The glass held no answers.But something shifted in the air. A presence. A shadow.
As if the killer himself had once walked through these halls—and left behind a scar on the museum's heart.
The Forbidden Gallery – Memory of Shadows
In the museum's depths, past a stone hallway, a third door creaked open—like it hadn't moved in centuries.Inside, no glass protected the exhibits.No spotlight welcomed the eye.Everything lay under deliberate warm shadows, as if the museum was hiding what it couldn't bear to destroy.
"What is this?" Lima muttered.
They stood inside a circular room. Copper chains dangled from the ceiling, holding twisted metallic frames.Each contained an object labeled "A Thing That Never Was."And each object defied logic:
– A mirror that reflected nothing– A journal full of ink but no words– A knife with two hilts and no blade
Each seemed like a leftover from a broken dream… or an honest lie.
But in the far corner stood the only display fully lit, as if even the light dared not leave it.
Lima approached first.
Inside was a small cloth-bound notebook, stitched with childish red thread.Something about it made her hand tremble before touching it.
"This looks like my notebook… the one that disappeared the day I left my sister."
Raien gently laid a hand on her shoulder.Niko watched silently, alert.
She opened the notebook.
The pages were blank.
She stared for a long moment—until ink began to appear, slowly, as if the words had been waiting for a guilty hand to reveal them.
Page One:
Lima, you've finally returned. I knew you would… just as I knew they wouldn't believe you.
Page Two:
If you're reading this, know that the one who killed your sister wasn't just drunk… or mad. He chose it. And I was there.
Lima gasped—a sound torn from somewhere deeper than tears.Her eyes did not weep.They froze.
"This can't be… I never wrote anything like this...!"
"He's been watching us since childhood."
Still clutching the notebook, Lima said:
"He knows everything.Not just our crimes or sins…But our memories.He knows where we break—and where we lie to ourselves."
Niko said nothing.He moved to the next display—a wooden plaque etched with the words:
"The witness who sees does not survive—unless he denies what he saw."
He whispered:
"This isn't a museum.It's a prison for the universe's memory."
The Tunnel of Forgotten Names
Lima wanted to leave. Her steps weren't steady—more like she walked across invisible threads trying to pull her back to the past.
Raien moved toward her but said nothing.All the world's words felt empty beside what they had just read.
But Niko—usually the quietest—sensed a change in the space.He looked behind them.
The hallway they had entered through… was gone.
"No… this isn't an illusion."
He ran to the wall, touched it.It was solid.But it pulsed softly—like it was alive.
"The museum is reshaping itself."
Raien looked at the photo of him and his brother.Then to Lima.Then to the notebook.Then to the wall.
"It's testing us."
"What do you mean?" Lima asked.
"This place only shows us what we fear most. But every revelation… is a step forward.It's like—if we admit what we saw—the path opens."
He placed his hand on the wall and whispered:
"I saw him die… and I did nothing.But I won't run from that moment anymore."
Silence.
Then—the wall began to dissolve.Not like wax…But like a memory fully told.
Behind it, a long tunnel.On its walls, names were carved.Human names… and names that weren't.
"What is this?" Lima whispered.
Niko read softly:
"The Tunnel of Forgotten Names…Everyone who denied what they saw had their name carved here.If they returned—they were forgotten.If they faced it—they were recorded."
They stepped into the tunnel.Each footstep brought them closer to the end of a chapter… and the start of another.
The Gate of the Final Witness
At the tunnel's end lay a stone circle engraved into the floor—its symbols resembling the Shadow Network, but older… and more alive.
They stood at its center.The air changed again.The scent of ash mixed with rain.
Above them, words appeared—as if written by the light itself:
"To those who faced their past—You now stand at the threshold of truth.Your next destination will be chosen… by the honesty of your intent."
A book appeared before them.Not made of paper—but of light.Its pages turned softly.
Raien stepped closer and asked:
"Where do we go from here?"
But before touching it—He turned… toward the reader.
A Question to the Reader:
If you were in their place—After facing the echoes of your past…and uncovering the first thread of the killer—
Which city would you choose to confront the truth?
The City of Water?
The City of Smoke?
Or the City Without Time?
The book's final page glowed—And light swallowed the scene.
When it vanished…the three were no longer in the museum.