Since he had already come this far, the Doppelganger had set no more locked-door puzzles. When Shade reached out and touched the Blood-red Room Door, it silently opened a crack. Shade pulled it open and stepped inside.
It was still the familiar scene. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all writhing flesh, while the Blood Pool sat at the center of the room. On the far side of the Blood Pool stood the Flesh Doorway, endlessly dripping blood.
But perhaps it was only Shade's illusion; the room seemed to have grown somewhat larger, while the Blood Pool had become shallower.
He stood at the doorway, preventing the open door from vanishing. He looked around before turning toward the butler-like Doppelganger that emerged from the red wall beside the Flesh Doorway.
It was this creature that had moved the House of False Men from Tobesk to this place. After arriving with the delegation, it had immediately escaped by faking its death. If Shade had not reacted in time, then given Fatumonst Island's population, the Doppelgangers might truly have caused a disaster on the island.
"Where is the surprise you promised me?"
Shade asked from the doorway, and the butler replied:
"Please wait patiently. Before we begin, I would like to confirm something—the matter in Tobesk. You were involved in that as well, weren't you?"
Shade raised an eyebrow.
"Does that question matter?"
"It does. If you know what we did in that Northern Kingdom city, then you should understand why the Doppelgangers were able to multiply so quickly. It was not because we gained new powers, but because so-called true humans sometimes do things even less human than we do."
Shade did not deny that.
"I know some of what you experienced in Tobesk. So what are you trying to say?"