Elliot, Orla, and Jonah stepped cautiously into the next chamber. The air was still, thick with the scent of old parchment and aged stone. The room was circular, its walls lined with shelves stacked high with dusty tomes. At the center stood a large pedestal, upon which rested a metallic puzzle box covered in intricate engravings.

Jonah whistled. “Looks expensive. Think it’s booby-trapped?”

Orla ran her fingers along the surface of the pedestal. “No pressure plates or hidden mechanisms—at least none that I can find. But something tells me this isn’t just decoration.”

Elliot examined the engravings on the puzzle box. Symbols, numbers, and letters interwove in a complex design. Then, at the base, he spotted an inscription:

“I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I?”

Jonah grinned. “A riddle within a puzzle. Classic. The answer’s a joke.”

The moment the word left his lips, the puzzle box clicked. The engravings shifted, sliding apart to reveal a hidden compartment inside. Within it lay a small brass key and a rolled-up parchment. Orla unrolled the parchment and read aloud:

“Three doors stand before you, only one is true. One leads forward, one loops you back, and one seals your fate. Choose wisely.”

They turned toward the far end of the room, where three identical doors stood in a row. Each bore a single word: Truth, Illusion, Fate.

Elliot frowned. “This is where things get tricky.”

Orla nodded. “We need to figure out which door leads forward. There’s always logic behind these choices.”

Jonah scanned the parchment again. “Only one is true… That means the other two must contradict each other somehow.”

Elliot paced before the doors. “If one door leads forward, and another loops us back, then the third must be a trap. There has to be a clue somewhere.”

Orla studied the words carefully. “Truth and Illusion can’t both be correct. If Truth leads forward, then Illusion must be a lie, meaning Fate is the trap. But if Illusion leads forward, then Truth would be false, contradicting itself. That leaves only one option.”

She stepped forward, gripping the handle of the Truth door. “This has to be it.”

Elliot and Jonah exchanged glances before nodding. “Only one way to find out,” Elliot said.

Holding their breath, they pushed the door open and stepped through.