Chapter 5 The Glass Room

The image of the cracked glass with a mysterious wet handprint cast a heavy silence over the room. Everyone froze, unable to move, too stunned to even speak. The silence now felt heavier than any noise that had come before—so absolute, you could hear every breath.

The wet handprint on the glass remained. It showed no signs of drying, even though, under normal conditions, a human hand’s moisture would have begun to evaporate by now.

Ploy, the quiet young woman in a university uniform standing closest to the tank, hadn't spoken a word since arriving. But now—she was staring at something inside the aquarium, something that seemed… familiar.

It struck a chord in her, as though she had seen it before but couldn’t recall when or where. She became entranced. Her gaze was fixed, her expression blank—but her eyes gleamed with an odd fascination.

“Ploy…” Praewa called gently.

Ploy didn’t respond. Her hand slowly rose toward the tank, her fingertips coming within a centimeter of the glass. She stopped—just in time—as if snapping out of a trance.

“Don’t,” Arisa said, catching Ploy’s wrist. Her voice was calm but firm.

“I just want to see... if it’s real,” Ploy replied, still staring at the tank. “Maybe this whole place is just some elaborate TikTok prank set up for viral content.”

“But the rules were clear…” Kawin began, but before he could finish, Ploy pressed her fingertip against the glass.

Everyone gasped.

But her face remained expressionless—void of fear or emotion.

And then, in less than a second—

No alarms.

No warnings.

No flashing lights.

Only a faint crack.

A chill swept down everyone’s spine. They turned to one another, eyes wide, waiting for the consequences of breaking the Iron Rule.

The first crack appeared under Ploy’s finger—like ice fracturing on a frozen lake.

“Step back!” Ith shouted.

But it was too late.

The crack spread like a spiderweb, radiating outward to cover half the tank in just three seconds.

Ploy recoiled instinctively—but she wasn’t scared.

She was surprised.

Because up until that moment, she hadn’t believed any of it was real. She thought it was just a simulation—an elaborate hoax for social media.

But now, the rules had proved otherwise.

The water inside the tank began to churn. Bubbles surged from the bottom, and the shadow within stirred. It didn’t move like a fish—and though no one could see its eyes or face, they all felt it watching them.

Everyone in the room sensed it—the shadow knew someone had broken the rule.

“Is it going to break?” Boom asked nervously.

“If it does… it means the rules are now truly in effect,” Arisa replied.

“Why now?” Kawin muttered. “Didn’t Miki touch the glass earlier too?”

“Yeah,” Miki added. “When I touched it, there was just a small crack.”

“I think it’s because you didn’t mean to,” Praewa said. “Ploy did it on purpose. She was curious.”

Then came the voice from the ceiling speaker—but this time, it wasn’t the same as before. It was rough, raspy, aged—as though the vocal cords behind it had been strained beyond repair.

“You touched it… now wait for the result.”

The image in the tank changed instantly. It now showed Ploy floating face-down in the water, her hair fanned out, eyes wide with terror, mouth agape in a scream.

The glass continued to crack.

“Aahhh!!” Ploy screamed, stumbling back and slamming into the table. She panted heavily, feeling as if something was tearing through her mind.

“Don’t look at it!” Ith shouted. “It’s not just a projection! It’s planting a false memory—it’s making what never happened become real!”

The image in the tank froze, then vanished. The aquarium returned to normal. Ploy’s drowning reflection was gone.

But the fear remained. Ploy was still shaking.

The glass stayed cracked. And on the floor—there was a wet trail of water leading from the tank to Ploy’s hand.

Even though her body was completely dry.