She turned away as the doors shut behind her; Joy chose to try and ignore Aku's cheering gesture and simply move forward.

After she had walked through the door, and compared to the bright room she was in before things were much darker here.

That was the problem though, she couldn't really see at all.

She could smell though, it was an iron-like scent but she couldn't place what it was, due to how she couldn't physically see anything.

Everything was dark, the only thing she could see clearly was Ben and even with him, she could barely follow his outline.

"Follow me." He said in a serious tone which was different from his almost relaxed attitude she had been used to.

As soon as he said to follow he started swiftly walking forward, not hesitating to see if Joy was following behind.

She obeyed however, trying her best to follow Ben as he made his way through various hallways.

"Excuse me, Ben? Would you be able to slow down a bit? I can barely follow you due to how dark it is." Joy was squinting now, focusing on his outline as best she could so she wouldn't lose him

However, as soon as she threw out her request it seemed to fall on deaf ears, Ben simply continued moving, not saying another word.

[Where is he taking me? I get this is the test but what would it be testing? My ability to focus?]

Just as she was starting to jumble theories inside her head Ben stopped moving.

"Sorry," she apologized as she bumped into him accidentally, unaware that he would stop suddenly.

He simply ignored her, "We're here," he said in a somewhat detached tone.

After the words left his lips, candles all throughout the different hallways lit up, illuminating the area fully.

Even though candles were lit suddenly it was still very dim. It was bright enough to see Ben clearly now but she wasn't able to see beyond certain points throughout the hallway.

His gaze was focused on something to her left so she turned, and to her surprise, they were standing in front of a door.

Ben was gesturing for her to open it but before she did, she looked all around her; realizing her only option was to open it.

So she did, walking into the room, her eyes still trying to adjust.

Once her eyes did adjust and she could fully see everything, she gasped in pure terror at the scene before her.

There was blood and bodies filled throughout the room. The room was big yet all the blood made it feel much smaller.

Joy held her mouth, wanting to throw up but she tried her best to hold it in.

She panicked, feeling no choice but to back away from the sight before her, and that would prove to be a mistake. She neglected to take into account that Ben was behind her.

She bumped into him and the second their bodies connected, he grabbed her face from behind.

His grim was firm, she tried squirming out of it but couldn't.

He turned her around so they were face to face- Joy closed her eyes, afraid of what he would do to her but-

She was released.

She looked at him in confusion as she slowly backed away, "Huh?"

Ben's earlier bright welcoming smile was now contorted, it was more sinister now, "Sorry If I startled you. I just needed you to know the danger you're in. Anyway, Ms. Joy I suggest you run, I'm sure you'll be able to make it though. Just know I will be coming at you with my full intent of killing you alright?"

His tone was rigid and cold as he looked at her intensely. She knew the look he was giving her, the look of insanity, a madman.

A part of her was confused seeing how his words still carried that familiar kindness she had first been greeted with when entering the void, but unlike before his tone and expressions didn't match up.

She wanted to understand; was this his true nature or was he simply obeying Aku's demands for the test.

However, she realized based on everything she had seen and experienced so far, that it was pointless to ask, so instead of questioning Ben she simply obeyed.

She ran, dashing away quickly trying her best to ignore all of the dried blood.

She quickly opened the front door of the room, running as fast as possible to her left. She didn't hear Ben but assumed he was giving her a head start.

If it was to toy with her or due to the rules of the test she couldn't know for sure.

That distinction didn't truly matter to her, the only thing on her mind being escape.

She refused to die here in a horrid place like this, she had to pass at least one of these tests to be satisfied with her decision to join the one wish challenges.

As she was running she noticed body after body, blood drenched throughout the hallways, trying her best to push through.

She could always process the craziness that was happening later.

If she allowed herself to freak out or have a mental breakdown that would make Arthur's belief in her wasted, while also making her own resolve meaningless.

[Wait- I noticed that shirt…]

Even though she had just thought through why she should keep moving, one body in particular caught her eye.

She recognized the shirt that she had thought of as tacky once before, something that she believed didn't really fit the man's robust figure.

With his signature love shirt- it was Arthur- or rather his mangled corpse.

A quick flash of shock washed over her as she thought of their last meeting. His words of encouragement and belief were ringing in her ears.

She wanted to puke from just the stench of blood that was permeating through the hallway, but she started hearing heavy footsteps heading her direction a bit behind.

The footsteps were getting closer and closer, but she couldn't move yet.

How could Arthur be dead? They had just talked and interacted for what couldn't have been 30 minutes ago.

How could a living breathing human that she felt comfortable by, be dead in this random hallway, in this alternate dimension like this? They didn't talk about their personal lives but she wondered.

Did he have a family? Would anyone grieve over his death? Would anyone back where he lived even know he died or would they just assume he went missing?

She was in shock, [If something like this could happen to a guy as strong looking as him. what kind of chance do I stand!?]

However, just as she felt her losing her resolve; Arthur's words of encouragement and belief rang in her ears, "You seem to have a strong will and while I'm not sure what lies ahead for us, I believe you'll make it far."

She clenched her fist, determination surging through her body.

The heavy footsteps were getting closer and closer behind her which made her realize that stopping to react too long would result in death.

She had to do her best, for herself and for Arthur who believed in her.

She never found out what wish he wanted to get granted but that wasn't important. He believed in her so the least she could do was the same.

With newfound determination in her heart, she turned away from his body, getting into a running stance, "Thank you Arthur, for giving me the resolve I need to pass this test," she muttered.

She took off, dashing full speed away. She rounded the corner turning right, and at full speed she rounded corner after corner.

Joy was trying her hardest to ignore the loud footsteps behind her- which were getting closer bit by bit.

The hallways were similar to the mansion they had just been in.

The lamps were pretty much the same, even the color scheme was… wait.

Joy had an epiphany!

As she kept running full speed through the hallways she remembered what Ben had said when they left her room. She was told to pay attention to her surroundings to avoid getting lost.

This must've been the test's purpose? But if so what would be the goal…

Joy had been running for about a minute straight at full throttle and was starting to get tired and sluggish, she wasn't too good at long distance running.

She quickly turned to look behind her but to her surprise Ben wasn't there.

She had been so lost in thought and under stress that she didn't pay attention to how close he was following.

She honestly couldn't say when she had lost him or if he lost him at all and he was simply following her outside of the candlelight.

Despite her fear of not knowing where he went, she took the opportunity to quickly look around for anywhere she could hide, to think.

She scanned the long hallway but there was hardly anything so she started moving again; slower now however since she hadn't seen Ben still close by.

Joy was slow and cautious, looking out for any sign of him as she made her way slowly along.

She continued, passing body after body as she held her nose, hoping to block out the stench but it proved fruitless.

The stench was too strong.

She couldn't say for sure how many people Ben had killed but one thing she knew was the number of bodies lying around were more than she could count even using both hands. Things weren't easy to count either seeing how many bodies were severed and sprawled randomly.

As she kept walking slowly and cautiously, she spotted a corner in the hallway ahead and after rounding the corner her eyes lit up. There was a door to another room.

She walked over grabbing the nob; turning it quietly.

She peeked in and as far as she could tell Ben wasn't there.

The room was fairly small and had 3 candles on different sides of the room. It seemed more like a bedroom due to the different tapestries and designs.

"Wait. Isn't this the room I first woke up in?" Joy question, confusedly.

She closed her eyes, trying to think intently but the second she opened them another wave of confusion hit her, as the room filled with candles she had been standing in before was now a modern looking room with a lamp.

The room's design stayed the same with the rose embroidery being on the walls and different appliances like the bed and desk.

"All right everyone." Joy could hear a voice speaking. She couldn't hear it normally, instead of hearing a possible direction the voice came from, it was just in her head as it kept going, "The first test is over. We want to thank all 44 of you who participated and after this test, only 20 remain. We thank you for your valiant efforts and wish you the best in these upcoming tests. One thing you should know is that since we're in this next stage of sorts we upgraded the void so it's more modernized."

After the person finished speaking they gave out a boisterous laugh which felt all too similar to Aku's. However the voice didn't sound like him, it was more energetic and deep but then again, she had heard Aku speak using multiple voices so she couldn't say it wasn't him for sure.

After finishing their laughing burst the person continued, "Besides the Void getting modernized you should know that you'll have some downtime in your personalized room for about 3 hours. Don't worry about entertainment though, you can access a TV in your room to watch some quality television! Also if you so wish you may press the doorbell inside your room to call for room service. We'll keep you posted for further updates." And with that the voice inside Joy's head stopped speaking.

She scanned the room and to her surprise, not only was the TV in front of the bed, but a doorbell was plastered on the wall beside the door as well.

[I'd say that I'm a pretty observant person. There definitely wasn't a TV or doorbell when I first walked in here. Even after the room "updated" it wasn't there. Its almost like those things were conceptualized the instant the person spoke it.]

Joy fell on the bed, exhausted and relieved that things were over, at least for now. She was planning on racking her brain on what the test was but it seemed to just be making it to a room, or maybe her specific room. The room she had first arrived at the Void through.

[If that was the test then I hate to admit it but I passed through sheer luck.]

Before she could fully sort her thoughts through, she heard a knocking at her door which made her shoot up, startled.

She just sat in the bed, frozen. She knew she should probably answer or at least see who it was but her nerves from the previous experience still weighed heavy on her.

She was trying to get up but couldn't be too exhausted to do so.

There was another knock and then silence.

Just as she started to call out the door opened, Ben walked through them.

Joy quickly grabbed her covers, holding them in front of her as an attempt at a defense. He was wearing a normal expression; the same expression she had first seen him have when the two met.

"How are you doing, Joy?" He asked in a kind tone.

She scowled, "Don't ask that. You're the reason I'm like this right now."

[I don't think I should be this aggressive to him but him acting like everything's fine is pissing me off. Talking like he cares! As if! He killed 20 people…including Arthur…"

"Can you just say what you have toi say and leave?" She growled towards him, her hands were shaking with fear though and Ben noticed.

He stopped walking towards her, he realized she was just truing to keep up a tough bravado. "Well I knew that out of everyone who passed you had the worst experience."

"Oh, and why would you say that?"

Ben gave her a puzzled look, "Since you were the last contestant. You had to see the corpses of all who failed previously so I have no doubt that added pressure." He paused hoping for a response but Joy was silent, "You also saw Arthur's body correct?"

She clenched her fist, "Yes why?"

"You two seemed close, no?"

"Not at all. I was just bothered since I was thinking that It'd be nice having a possible ally in future tests."

Ben gave her a skeptical look before turning away from her, starting to walk out of the room. "Well Ms. Joy if you need anything don't hesitate to press the doorbell. We'll get whatever you request out to you as quickly as possible."

Joy called out, "Wait."

Ben stopped after hearing her call to him, "What is it?" He inquired.

"It's something simple. I was just wondering why you killed all those people so easily. Was it because you enjoyed it or due to orders?"

There was a long pause and without responding he turned away. "That sounds like a question for someone who was close to someone killed but that wouldn't be you would it?" He lightly chuckled, "You should be more honest to yourself. You care about people," And with that he walked out her room, closing the door behind him.

Now, left all alone in the room, Joy could think. Finally.