Chapter 24: Night’s End, Daybreak

　　Part 1: Breaking Point and Guidance　　"Who are you?" I stared into the pitch-black narrow doorway, not daring to enter.　　"Come with me." The female voice's reply was a non-answer.　　"How? Through… through that little door?" I took a few steps forward, directing my headlamp beam into the opening. The light was completely devoured by the darkness within, not a single ray escaping.　　"This door is way too sinister!"　　"Come with me!" If the tone hadn't been more urgent than before, I might have thought I was listening to a broken record.　　"I can't!" My legs felt like jelly, trembling with fear of the bottomless dark beyond the threshold. I could only hesitate at the entrance. But the voice kept urging, so I tried to test the waters, to probe the depths. I tossed a stone ahead. It vanished like a clay ox plunged into the sea, producing not a single sound.　　"Hurry! Itis coming back!" the female voice said urgently.　　Sure enough, a single, faint drip…echoed once more from far behind me. To save my own skin, I steeled my nerves, took a deep breath, and stepped through the doorway.　　The passage beyond was long, narrow, deathly s