The stairs were strange.
It wasn’t a simple staircase that went straight upward.
Instead, I would climb one flight before reaching a small landing, where the staircase turned ninety degrees to the right and continued upward.
It was the kind of staircase you’d see in an old apartment building.
Step.
Step.
Step.
The sound of my footsteps echoed through the narrow stairwell.
At first, I wasn’t bothered. I even found it somewhat entertaining.
’This is probably part of the attraction... what an interesting concept!’
I continued climbing.
One flight.
Two... Three... Four... Five.
I reached another landing and stopped as I looked upward again...
There was still another staircase.
"Huh."
I scratched my head.
’It’s pretty tall.’
I continued to another flight.
Then another.
Then...
I finally took the time to stop.
’Man... they really nailed the sense of eeriness on this one...’
I thought in appreciation. I was quite excited to see where this attraction lead.
I looked behind me. The staircase continued downward.
Nothing seemed unusual, but I still innately frowned.
’How many flights have I gone through?’
I tried counting.
Five... Then six.
I had already gone through six flights of stairs.
And yet... I still hadn’t reached the second floor.
’What is this...’
I stood there for a moment.
Was this really some sort of horror feature of the shop?
Was it really designed to induce a sense of participation amongst the buyers?
That had to be it. Right?
I went through one more flight.
Step.
Step.
My foot landed on the next landing.
Sweat suddenly beaded across my forehead.
I didn’t know when it slipped from my mind, but I suddenly realized something.
T-the exterior...
The exterior of the shop!
I remembered what it looked like.
It was a tiny, one-story building.
There was absolutely no way this place could accommodate a second floor.
Why did my memory blur just now?
"..."
My expression stiffened.
’No.’
I immediately turned around.
I started walking back down.
Step.
Step.
Step.
My pace gradually became faster.
I counted the flights as I descended.
One.
Two.
Three.
...
Eight.
I stopped.
"..."
My heart sank.
’The ground floor is gone.’
I quickly realized it.
I had only gone seven flights upward.
But when I tried to go back down... I had already gone through eight.
That was impossible.
Unless...
"This..."
Fear crept into my mind.
What was happening?
Was an actual supernatural event happening to me right now?
I immediately shook my head.
’Calm down.’
I had always been an avid fan of horror.
I’d read countless stories about people getting trapped in supernatural spaces.
I had seen the stupid decisions characters made and I had even laughed at them.
I’d even wondered why they didn’t just stop and think for five seconds.
And now I was in the exact same situation, so I definitely had to act the opposite way so I wouldn’t die.
’If I don’t want to die, I can’t let myself get swept up by my emotions.’
I took a deep breath.
’First, I have to further confirm if there truly is no "ground floor" anymore.’
’But I shouldn’t exceed a certain number of stairs. If things get strange, I have to go back immediately.’
With that in mind, I carefully began descending.
I counted every single flight.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
...
Ten.
Fifteen.
Twenty.
I stopped.
There was still no sign of the ground floor.
I swallowed.
’Okay.... twenty flights. That’s enough, no need to go further...’
I turned around.
Instead of going further down, I decided to test the opposite direction.
If there was no ground floor below me... Then perhaps there was something above me.
I started climbing.
One flight. Two. Three.
I kept counting.
Ten. Fifteen. Twenty. Fourty...
I stopped again.
Nothing. Just the same endless staircase.
I stood there, panting heavily as my stamina drained me from having climbed too much.
"..."
The realization slowly settled in.
There was no way out.
At least... Not through the staircase.
Realizing the inevitability of my situation, I couldn’t help but sweat and shake a little.
I was only an ordinary high school student and an avid fan of horror.
Someone who enjoyed reading about supernatural entities and watching fictional characters get themselves killed by making stupid decisions.
So...
Why was I suddenly in this situation?
Usually, the feeling of a "main character" situation would excite a typical high school student.
If this were [Fantasy], I’d probably be jumping for joy.
But this wasn’t [Fantasy]. The genre of this situation was...
[Horror].
And horror was the kind of genre where the main characters... were the ones who died.
"...Fuck."
’Calm down... calm down... calm down...’
Repeating those words to myself, I took a deep breath and analyzed the situation once more.
From the books and wikis centered around [Arcana], there were quite a few horror scenarios where stairs were the main variable.
Although most of those were about staircases that were encased in darkness, there were also horror scenarios in [Arcana] that focused on never-ending scenarios.
Such as never-ending hallways, never-ending grass fields, or looping scenarios where one would eventually find themselves back at the same place no matter how far they went.
Combining my knowledge of them, I quickly formed a plan.
One of the things I had learned from these kinds of scenarios was that the only way to escape a looping or never-ending scenario was to figure out how one had "entered" the place, and what was unique about them that allowed them to enter the situation in the first place.
’I entered this place through the staircase, so that information isn’t relevant...’
I thought for a moment.
’As for something unique about me... could it be the ring?’
I quickly took a look at the newly bought ring on my finger.
Recalling the information about the Ring of Sacrilege, I knew one thing.
Since this was a ring that made one’s entire being similar to a supernatural entity, could it be that I had triggered some sort of reaction that made me enter a supernatural situation?
Although it was an absurd theory, the situation itself was already supernatural and absurd, so I could only make use of this information.
’Should I take off the ring to see if the supernatural situation occurring in these stairs disappears?’
I hesitated.
’But what if the ring is the only thing protecting me right now...?’
Due to the fact that horror situations were things that had no guarantees of solutions, I could not help but begin to overthink.
Worry and doubt filled my head.
Just as I was about to arrive at a solution, I suddenly heard the sounds of numerous footsteps going up.
Step.
Step.
Step.
’People...?’
That was my first thought.
But I quickly changed my mind.
Since this was a supernatural situation, the ones climbing up the stairs had a higher chance of not being people.
I slowly went up as well, not wanting to meet with whatever the things were that were going up.
I was careful not to make a noise.
Step.
Step.
Step.
I continued climbing, making sure that my footsteps were as quiet as possible.
The footsteps below continued to grow closer.
’Don’t look back.’
I told myself.
I didn’t know what was behind me.
And, frankly...
I didn’t want to know.