Oh, good! I know some ski lodge authors prefer if the readers didn’t share theories, so I just wanted to check in :) So, here are my ~theories~:

So the remaining guests are Avara, Darkling, Tsuki, Silver Crystal, and Writing, which means one of them must be the murderer. 

I believe Writing, Tsuki, and Avara cannot be the murderer because they were accounted for when Flamarestii was killed on Day 4 (though the scream MIGHT have been from someone finding the body, so none of them are entirely off the hook) however, this does make Darkling and Silver seem more guilty. Plus, recent events confirm that Writing cannot be the murderer. 

Darkling, Silver Crystal, and Avara go into the funhouse with me/pangolin and pangolin is later killed. Although it is possible that someone could have entered the funhouse once they were already inside, it’s likely that one of those three is the murderer. I’m pretty sure Avara is innocent, so that leaves Darkling and Silver Crystal.

Darkling disappearing mysteriously on Day 5 is suspicious, however it was addressed, and I feel like if they were the murderer it wouldn’t be directly addressed. Unless this is some sort of reverse psychology, I feel like Darkling is not the murderer. So, that leaves Silver Crystal, and potentially Avara if the Flamarestii clue can be disproved somehow.

So another theory — Layla. Twice, she had knowledge about the places the hotel was traveling to that she shared with Sonder: that you could walk on the walls and that the tiles played music. This, and her power to make people forget the deaths suggests she has some sort of power over the ski lodge. 

Then, on Day 6, we see Ink make a deal with one of the alters, but don't learn who. Shortly after, Ink begins using Layla’s powers. This might suggest that Layla was the one Ink made the deal with; however I don’t think Layla has said she wanted to have her own body — her motives seem more fixed in stopping the deaths, I feel like? So it might not be her — it could’ve been anyone.

So, that's about all my theories! I know I've said this before, but I absolutely love this ski lodge, Peri! It's unique and wonderful and so complex, and I can't wait to see where it goes <3

Day 10, Part 22

Journalist and Dusk were now talking about what order they should approach the memories in.

“How many Dark Essentials do you have?”

“Our Dark Essential is more like one person,” said Journalist. “We’d have to look through at least a few memories.”

“Oh,” said Dusk. He paused, and after a moment his eyes seemed to widen with realization. “Ohhhh.”

Journalist sighed. “It’s scary. He’s scary.”

Atom, witnessing this entire conversation, looked at his feet. Dusk and Sonder exchanged a glance.

“Can you do it?” Dusk asked. 

“Do I have a choice? They have to get out of here.”

Dusk still looked upset about it, but held his hands up and backed away from the little boy. “You ready?”

“No,” Journalist and Atom said at the same time as the room began to change.

***

Avara, OS, and Underscore were flying.

Well, technically Underscore was flying, and OS and Avara were holding their hands.

“I didn’t know the wings actually worked!” Avara shouted over the wind. “I thought they were just for show!“

“Nope!” Underscore shouted back. “Epic, right? This is just like that one cartoon…” And then they started rambling about some show with magic and flying and stuff, most of which Avara and OS didn’t hear because the wind was so loud.

When they got to what appeared to be the center of the maze, Underscore swooped down and then started speeding back up in a spiral. “Here we go!”

OS seemed to know what was happening, but Avara did not. She got too dizzy to understand as the world around her seemed to fade away and -

THUMP!

They hit the ground. Except they hadn’t been falling. Had they? Wait, what?

Avara sat up. She was in a concrete room - concrete walls, concrete floors. There were computers, and a large glass window looked out towards a view of what appeared to be endless white light - filled with ones and zeroes. There was a low humming coming from somewhere.

“Not your best landing, Underscore,” OS said, rubbing the elbow she’d landed on.

“I know, I know. I’m working on it.” 

OS walked over to stand next to Avara, who was still looking out the window. “That,” she said, pointing to it, “Is where the power source is. And the computers control how we use it. Underscore, turn the brightness down.”

Underscore fiddled with the computers for a minute, but eventually the light dimmed, and Avara could see better. She realized that in the room, there were two large glass cylinder cages - and in those cages were -

“Tsuki and Darkling!” Avara shouted.

“Your friends?” OS asked.

“Yes! How did they get in there? We need to get them out!”

“No can do,” Underscore said. “Once the maze picks a power source, the power source stays.”

OS gave her a look that bordered on threatening. “Will that be a problem?”

Avara looked at Tsuki and Darkling, writhing in pain, then at OS and Underscore.

“She said, will. That be. A problem?” Underscore matched her glare, wings spread out behind them in a way that said “I could hurt you if I really wanted to.”

“N-no,” Avara said. “Of course not.” 

***

Going through Rose’s memories was not particularly interesting for Silver or Writing, but Rose and AR seemed to be having fun. They discussed adventures, baking, and school. There was one of a carnival where a boy Silver and Writing assumed to be Rose’s brother, called Eugene, led a younger Rose through a funhouse, then insisted they go again.

“The funhouse was always Eugene’s favorite,” Rose said. 

But, slowly, the memories got darker. Silver and Writing watched a young, bright, happy Rose’s eyes get dark circles under them. They watched Eugene, who was always talking about something or other, grow quieter. They watched a woman called Paola get thinner, and a man called Leo grow more and more worried. They watched neighbors take care of the family, offering home cooked meals and sad smiles. And eventually, they watched sympathy cards and flowers decorate a once-cheery home. 

Writing and Silver now stood awkwardly next to AR and Rose, both feeling as though they were intruding in a private conversation. But neither version of Rose seemed to mind. It seemed as though there was an understanding between the both of them.

“I gotta go home,” Rose said. “And I have to get what few guests remain home, too.”

Silver and Writing exchanged a worried glance as they both seemed to realize they could hardly remember what “home” meant for them. Still, they didn’t dare interrupt a moment that seemed to be a turning point for Rose. 

“And I have to help the Sunflower Hill System however I can. I need to stop seeing them as Echo with a problem and start seeing them as a whole.”

AR looked proud. “Yeah. You can’t ignore your problems, Rose, but you can find a solution to them. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” 

Rose nodded. “Thank you,” she said. 

Then there was an awkward silence. “So…” Rose said. “Any more memories?”

“Uhhh. Not really any important ones? This is normally the time when I’d fade away, representing a part of you you now understand and can let go of, and allowing you to leave, but because OS and Underscore apparently are not very punctual, it would appear you and I will have to wait until Silver and Writing can be granted their exit from the maze.” 

“Well, can you find them?” Writing asked. “Do you have, like, a way to communicate or something?”

“Not really,” AR sighed. “But if they don’t show up soon, I’ll have to figure something out.”

“Let’s give them five more minutes,” Rose said. “I’m sure being a guide through this sort of thing is not an easy job.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” AR shrugged. “And it is technically their first day.” 

***

This part sets up a few things to happen in the next couple parts, so get ready…

Aaand as always, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed this part :D 

Day 10, Part 23

The room had changed. It now appeared to be a fancy living room, where nine boys of about ten stood in front of the fireplace, all holding violins, and a man stood before them. He walked down the line of children, who each wore a matching white sweater with a name tag, and said their names.

“Christopher.” The boy the man currently stood in front of, who had dark hair and eyes just like the man did, nodded and played a melody on his violin. It went on for about two minutes until the man stopped him, pulling a notepad out of his pocket and writing something down. The boy called Christopher stood up straight, but you could see him gulp nervously if you were paying enough attention.

After he finished writing down whatever it was he was writing down, the man moved to the next boy. This one was named Alexander and also had dark hair and eyes. Alexander played a little longer than Christopher had before the man stopped him, and, like he had with Christopher, wrote down notes. Alexander seemed better at hiding his nerves, however - in fact, if he was nervous at all, it didn’t show.

And so this pattern continued until they got to the seventh boy, who unlike everyone else in the room, had red hair and green eyes. It seemed he was the only one who had these features. He was also the smallest.i

“Adam.” The man squinted at the boy’s name tag. “You’ve spelled your name wrong. It’s A-D-A-M.”

“I like A-T-O-M better,” the boy said firmly. They were the first of any of the other kids to speak. “And it’s my name, so why shouldn’t I be the one to decide how it’s spelled?”

The boy next to Memory-Atom, who was named Timothy and had played almost five minutes, laughed, but stopped immediately when glared at by the man. 

“Thank you, Adam, you can return to your room now.” 

“Thank you, Xavier, but you can’t even play the violin. Why do I have to listen to you?”

Timothy looked over at Atom and shook his head as if to say, “No, don’t.” Unfortunately, his warning came too late, and the man shouted.

“I am your father! And you will listen to me! You are lucky that I have kept you under this roof so long, despite your defects!”

The Atom in the memory, the Atom next to Sonder, and Journalist all flinched at the word “defects.” Most of the other boys in the memory looked frozen in fear. Memory-Atom seemed to shrink. They opened their mouth, closed it, and opened it again to say quietly, “Yes, sir.”

Slowly, the child brought himself up the stairs, carrying his violin. All the other boys watched. Timothy, who seemed particularly sad, shook his head again, this time slower. The memory faded.

There was silence until Sonder broke it with something that was barely even a whisper. “Who was that?”

Atom was quiet for a moment until he eventually said, “That was Xavier. My dad.”

Another moment of silence. “And the other boys? Were they your…”

“Brothers? More or less. Some of them were biologically related to Xavier, others were adopted. He only adopted kids with dark hair and dark eyes. Somehow all his biological children inherited those traits naturally… Except me.” He straightened. “I got my mother’s traits.”

The room shifted again - or, it tried to. A faint voice came from somewhere. It seemed to be a woman’s, and it was singing. “My mother never wanted to marry Xavier,” Atom said. “But there was very little in her life that was up to her.” They looked around the room, frowning as it seemed to give up on shifting. “My memory of her is non-existent, save for a few voice recordings she left. She died having me. We don’t know why. She’d never had any problems with my brothers. Anyway, Xavier hated how alike I looked to her. He called that a ‘defect.’” Atom paused. “Well, really he just kind of called me a defect in general. After Mom died, he adopted a few kids and turned the household into a sort of school, where we were trained to do things like play violin and do complicated math and whatever it took to get richer. Then, the moment they turned eighteen, he married them off to rich girls.”

The room shifted again, back to the living room. This time, only a few of the boys, who were taller and older now, stood in front of the fireplace. Xavier was talking to a woman, whose four daughters stood next to her.  An Atom who appeared to be about thirteen sat on the couch, watching. 

One of the boys, who everyone assumed was Timothy because he was wearing a name tag that said Timothy, looked at Atom and smiled, rolling his eyes. Atom stuck his tongue out at him. The two made faces at each other until Xavier brought a blonde girl over to Timothy. That’s when his shoulders sagged.

Yes 

Xavier left Timothy with the girl. Timothy had never been particularly interested in girls - or anyone, really - but tried to make some form of conversation with her. He must’ve failed, though, because the girl walked away, uninterested, halfway through the conversation.

Timothy looked a bit defeated, but Atom got his attention again and mouthed “snobs.” Timothy nodded, but there was a sadness in both of his eyes.

“He got yelled at, later,” Atom said. Journalist nodded and the room changed again. This time thirteen-year-old Atom stood outside an office door, listening to a loud argument that ended with Timothy storming out of the room and slamming the door behind him.

“Was it that bad?” Memory-Atom asked timidly. 

Timothy sighed. “He said I lost him a lot of money. All I had to do was get some girl whose name I didn’t even know to marry me, it wasn’t that hard!” He laughed coldly. “C’mon, let’s go stargazing.” He started down the hall.

“We don’t have to if you’re not feeling up to it.” Atom struggled to keep up with his older brother.

“Nah, it’ll cheer me up.”

They walked in silence for a while, out of the house (which, on the outside, was very big), and to the backyard, where at long last they flopped down on the ground. The sun had been setting all along, and by the time they got to their spot, stars decorated the sky above them.

Timothy chuckled with delight. “See? Who needs girls when you’ve got the stars?”

Every version of Atom in the room laughed at that, and the memory faded. 

“What happened to your family?” Sonder asked. “Are they still around?”

Atom’s laughter faded. “Some of them, I guess. A few of them married whoever my dad made them. Two of them ran away. Well, actually, three, if you count me. And Timothy…” 

Journalist walked over to Atom and grabbed their hand. The two sighed in sync. 

“He was a good brother,” Journalist said. 

“Yes.” Atom blinked back tears. “Timothy was the best of us.” 

Sonder and Dusk exchanged a horrified look, then they both quickly wrapped Atom and Journalist in a hug. It was an awkward hug that lasted too long for their liking, but both Atoms appreciated the gesture anyway.

“Soon after Timothy’s funeral,” Atom sighed, “I ran away. I was going to have to eventually. Like Timothy, I’ve never had any interest in girls. But the difference between him and me was he didn’t like anyone and I liked…” His voice trailed off, and Sonder squeezed their hand.

“Xavier wouldn’t have accepted me,” Atom said. “Would’ve told me it was another defect and I’d have to marry a rich woman anyway, to be of some use to the family. And without Timothy there to make it somewhat bearable, I just had to go. I couldn’t live like that anymore.” 

Atom and Journalist both began to cry, then, so Dusk hugged Journalist and Sonder hugged Atom. And though the hugs were still awkward, this time neither of them noticed as they cried for their brother, for their past. For the fear of their future.

***

Atom's backstory has been revealed! See how much of it you can actually understand, though, I tried to make it as not-confusing as I could but it still kinda came out a little hard to follow, sorry XD