The new world was a fragile veneer. Lisa walked through the bustling streets, the cacophony of life almost too loud—children laughing, vendors hawking, cars honking. But beneath the normalcy, she felt it: a faint hum, like static under the skin of reality. The crayon door's drawing weighed heavy in her pocket, its edges frayed but insistent.
She paused by the subway entrance, where shadows pooled thicker than they should. A flicker of movement—a silhouette with Lora's stance, thornless but unmistakable—vanished down the stairs.
*"Not possible,"* Lisa muttered. But the Garden's roots had taught her that *possible* was a fluid concept.
---
### **The Sublayer**
The subway tunnels were colder, darker. Flickering ads for Phoenix Serum™ had been replaced by mundane coffee ads, but the walls... the walls *breathed*.
Lora's shadow lingered at the edge of Lisa's vision, leading her deeper. They stopped at a service door marked **AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY**.
"You're not real," Lisa said, knife in hand.
The shadow turned. Lora's face, human again but gaunt, smiled. "Real's a story, Ghost. And you're terrible at endings."
The door creaked open, revealing a corridor lined with mirrors.
---
### **The Mirror Labyrinth**
Reflections showed Lisas she'd never been:
- A CEO in a sharp suit, signing orders to expand the Garden.
- A scientist injecting lavender serum into Rabbit's arm.
- A hollow-eyed puppet reciting Audience lines.
One reflection stepped forward—a Lisa in a lab coat, her tattoo replaced by a barcode. "You think you won? The Audience just *paused* the reel."
The corridor shuddered. The mirrors cracked, oozing black sap.
---
### **Rabbit's Echo**
A payphone rang. Lisa answered.
"*Hey, Ghost.*" Rabbit's voice, glitchy but familiar. "*Check the kid. Third bench, Central Park. Bring popcorn.*"
The line died.
---
### **The Child Reborn**
The girl skipped rope, singing a nursery rhyme Lisa remembered from Loop 1,002. Her eyes were normal—until sunlight hit them, revealing a faint lavender glint.
"Wanna play?" the girl asked, holding out a jump rope made of bioluminescent vines.
Lisa's tattoo flared. "Who are you?"
The girl grinned. "The *new* story."
---
### **The Door's Invitation**
Back at her apartment, the crayon drawing glowed. The door materialized on her wall, pulsing. Behind it: a garden of shattered screens and fractured code, the Audience's laughter echoing.
On the threshold lay a film reel labeled **FINAL CUT**.
---
### **The Choice**
1. **Burn the door**: Risk collapsing the new world.
2. **Enter the door**: Confront the Audience's core.
3. **Find Lora**: Demand answers from the shadow.
The girl's voice whispered through the walls: *"Hurry, Lisa. They're getting hungry."*
---