Enchanted University of Magemenos

Chapter 72: Jigsaw pieces

We approach the old lady cautiously, making sure not to touch either her or the child as we wait for her to open the door. She pushes it open slowly, the creaking hinges echoing in the silence. We glance at each other and step inside just as the new loop begins with the countdown of another eight minutes.

The room we enter is disorienting—a closed space with six identical doors on each wall, both in front and behind us. It feels like we're surrounded on all sides, and every surface is covered with right-arrow symbols pointing in various directions. In the center of the room, a steep, narrow table holds a puzzle.

"Probably this is the right loop," says the blond guy, glancing around.

The room hums with tension, the arrows creating an unsettling sense of urgency. We gather around the puzzle, realizing it might hold the key to unlocking one of the doors.

The puzzle looms over us like a mini-mountain, filling almost the entire room with its towering stack of jigsaw pieces. It's overwhelming, and we know right away that solving it in just eight minutes is impossible. We scatter the pieces across the floor, but that only makes the challenge feel even more hopeless. Without a reference image—no clue if it's supposed to form a scene, a face, or something else entirely—we're left guessing. 

The weight of urgency settles over us, pressing down as we stare at the scattered pieces, trying to figure out even a hint of where to begin.

I notice a few clues scattered among the pieces: some contain letters that could lead us to matching pieces by forming words or phrases. But the rest? They're random shapes and colors, maybe parts of a floor plan if I squint hard enough.

"Alright, here's the plan," I say, trying to sound confident. "One person and I will work on connecting all the lettered pieces, and the rest of you can tackle the unmarked ones. You can try matching by color or guessing until something clicks. Once we get a few pieces together, we might see a bigger pattern."

We dive into our roles, my partner and I tackling the alphabet pieces first. Each letter looks like it could fit with two or three others, so we're essentially left to trial and error. Meanwhile, the other team's managed to piece together a two-row section horizontally, though without any clear indication of whether it's a top, middle, or bottom segment, so they're holding it aside for now.

Just as we start seeing a possible phrase take shape in the alphabet pieces, the loop timer buzzes. A wave of frustration rolls over us as the entire puzzle resets, scattering every piece back to its original position.

"Ugh, forgot about the loop—this is such a waste of time!" one guy exclaims, frustration etched across his face.

I take a breath, realizing we need a better strategy. "Alright, look. We need someone to keep track of the time and give us a heads-up before the loop ends so we don't keep getting reset mid-solve."

The blonde guy spins toward me, his face red with anger. "Why should we listen to you, huh? She's setting us up! You're the reason we're getting stuck!"

Startled, I take a step back. "What? What are you talking about?"

He steps closer, voice rising with every word. "Every mistake we make brings the void closer to swallowing us whole, even a wrong piece in a stupid jigsaw! And you—yeah, you!—you took the easy job of fitting the alphabet pieces, while we're left guessing! Admit it! You're planning to get us all killed so you can be the last one standing!"

The intensity in his voice shakes me, and I can see others around us eyeing me with suspicion. It's like he's possessed, his rage stoked by the pressure of the loop.

"Hold on! That's not true!" I say, hands raised. "Look, we're all in this together, and I only suggested dividing tasks so we could make progress without losing track!"

But the blonde guy doesn't back down, and now others are muttering, their eyes darting between him and me.

"No, that thought never crossed my mind, I swear! Does anyone believe me?" I plead, scanning their faces, hoping for a spark of trust. But all I see is cold suspicion. Everyone here knows, deep down, that it's ultimately an individual game.