The group arrived at the door to enter the sixth floor. They used Richi's card to open it and stepped inside cautiously. The door closed automatically as the last of them entered. The space was vast, with an intricate labyrinth featuring five distinct paths, each flanked by what appeared to be rooms. The walls were covered in a cold, metallic material, and the air carried an indefinable yet unsettling scent, as if the very environment was warning them they didn't belong there.
Billy was the first to notice something unusual: along one of the paths came several toy fire trucks. "Look, remote-controlled cars!" he thought, immediately excited. Maria also felt a spark of curiosity as she watched them approach. However, their excitement quickly faded when the toy trucks began firing a freezing liquid. Dani reacted instantly, stepping in front of Billy and taking the hit. Before Maria could protest, Dani's body began to crystallize into ice, his features frozen in an expression of surprise. Terrified, Billy and Maria retreated toward Eduard, who destroyed the toy truck with a precise strike before it could attack again.
Suddenly, a dozen more toy trucks emerged from the same corridor. Eduard shouted, "Careful! Run, don't let them spray you with that liquid!" Everyone began running in different directions, trying to escape the killer toys. Amid the chaos, Lidia dropped the rope she had been using to restrain Don Richi, who bolted down one of the hallways. Before Lidia could catch up to him, a toy helicopter descended upon him and sprayed him with the freezing liquid, turning him into a statue of ice. Eduard tried to destroy the toys with kicks and punches, but every time he knocked one down, another appeared to take its place.
Next to be frozen was Elena, who was attempting to enter a room when a toy helicopter appeared from the side where Don Richi had been. Eduard tried to distract the toys while the others fled, but there were too many, coming from all directions. Lidia drew her weapon and began shooting at them, but her efforts were futile; the toys kept coming in endless waves.
Maria and Billy found one of the rooms and decided to hide inside. They took refuge in a large piece of furniture, similar to a wardrobe, that could fit both of them. They closed the door slowly and peered through the crack as the toys passed by. Though they felt momentarily relieved, uncertainty overwhelmed them. They didn't know what to do or how to face this surreal situation.
The helicopter toys finally caught up with Lidia, who froze instantly in a tense pose, as if still aiming at her weapon. Eduard fought valiantly, but the toys surrounded him and wore him down until they all unleashed their respective freezing liquids. Just before he was completely encased in ice, Eduard looked at Podbe and said, "You're our only chance." Then, his body turned to stone.
Podbe, confused and anguished, had also been fighting some of the toys, biting them and striking them with his paws. Reia, inside him in the white space she had created earlier, said, "We need to escape and come up with a plan."
The canine responded with frustration, "But we never give up! We can't leave others to their fate."
"I know," she replied firmly, "but we must think strategically."
With no other options, Podbe decided to follow Reia's advice. He slipped past the toys and found a room with a partially rusted duct. He easily opened it with his fangs and crawled inside, securing the cover with his tail so it wouldn't fall. The toys arrived shortly after, but detecting no movement, they moved on.
Meanwhile, Maria and Billy emerged from their hiding place, looking at each other with a mix of relief and confusion. "What just happened? It's like that old movie where toys turn psychotic," Maria remarked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Yes, it was terrifying, but we lost them," Billy replied, though his tone betrayed more uncertainty than confidence.
They began inspecting the area and noticed a ventilation grate similar to the one Podbe had used. They decided to enter it and move forward to see where it would lead them.
Meanwhile, on the seventh floor, Aiden was still suffering from the effects of the liquids he had been injected with. At one point, he appeared to faint, but in reality, he entered a vivid dream. He found himself outside what seemed to be the orphanage where he had lived, but everything was gloomy and destroyed. Behind him, shadows with glowing eyes and mouths radiating terror began to follow him.
Aiden ran toward the orphanage's gate, but as he approached, hands emerged from the ground, trying to pull him down. Terrified, he sprinted to the main door and used all his strength to close it. When the hands threatened to break through, he found a piece of wood on the ground and strategically placed it to block the door.
Once inside, the place was not the same as he remembered. A path illuminated by a bright neon blue light caught his attention, accompanied by ethereal voices urging him to move forward. The door behind him began to tremble, as if it might collapse at any moment. With no stairs or visible exit, Aiden had no choice but to venture into the path. As he advanced, the door vanished, and the voices continued whispering, "Keep going, continue, Aiden."
The path soon forked. From the left, melancholic voices told him, "This path will free you from your pain." From the right, a calm and clear voice instructed, "Follow this path, and you will see what you are made of. I will accompany you."
Hesitant, Aiden chose the path on the right. However, from the left, smoke-like hands emerged, attempting to drag him toward a vortex that shifted in color from blue to red. Voices filled with malice murmured incomprehensible words as the vortex began to swallow him. Just before he was consumed, a feminine silhouette wrapped in blue smoke appeared, running toward him. With a massive sword, she sliced through the smoked hands and shattered the vortex, saving him.
"I told you I would protect you," the figure said before vanishing into soft laughter.
Aiden returned to the fork and took the path on the right. He walked until he reached a well from which the neon blue light emanated. The gentle voice encouraged him to jump, and the boy, trusting completely, leaped without hesitation.
"Everyone has the opportunity to have a new beginning. No matter where you are heading, if you move forward with love and happiness, you will always find a new dawn."