The eerie laughter all around made Selena's body hair stand on end. She looked around uneasily but could not find her parents or sister-in-law. All she saw were the people around her staring at her, their faces wearing exaggerated, unnatural smiles.
Selena felt chilled to the bone and stumbled out of the reception hall.
Everyone in the hall watched Selena leave as though they were watching a show, their unnatural smiles still on their faces.
Only after stepping outside did Selena realize that it was already night.
All of a sudden, the reception hall went completely dark, and every light in the valley vanished.
All the buildings seemed to transform into monsters, as though they might charge over and devour Selena at any moment.
The warmth from the Key Ring gave Selena courage. She called out for her father and mother while trying to stay away from those buildings.
Just then, Selena finally saw two people in the snow—an adult and a child. Both wore hats, had red noses, and red scarves wrapped around their necks.
"Sir!" Selena saw no unnatural smiles on their faces, so she hurried over and asked, "Have you seen my parents? What happened here? Why has everything become so strange?"
"This was originally quite a nice hot spring resort!" the man answered, his eyes wide. "A few days ago, a thick fog suddenly drifted in from the horizon. Ever since then, the staff and guests here have all become very strange."
"A thick fog?" Selena asked.
The child, who also had huge eyes, said, "Yes. It felt as though something terrifying was wrapped inside the fog. Look, that fog is coming!"
Selena looked in the direction they pointed. The dense fog there seemed alive, roiling as it formed a human figure that descended before the