The Crossed Eye Door

Upon opening up the door, Scythe is greeted by a small, dimly lit room. Gas lamps with ornate decorations set on the walls cast their flickering lights across the floor's olive green and cream white tiles. Up ahead of him is an old-fashioned, grated elevator door, and next to it is a wooden lectern with some items laid out on it.

Two of them are cards: one with an ear and one with a hand, both of which are crossed-out. He notices that a third card - one featuring the crossed-out eye he saw above the door he walked in through - is currently inserted into a slot in some sort of old-fashioned machine built into the wall beside the elevator. Two more vacant slots sit under the first. Lastly, there's a small book sitting on the lectern, as indicated by a fizzling neon side that aggressively blinks pink and orange as it insists, READ ME! and points an arrow down at it.

"Whatever," Scythe grumbles. He picks up the thin little booklet and begins to thumb through it. He realizes it's a rulebook, describing how some kind of game built into the elevator works.

"Each card has a different effect when inserted into a slot," he reads out loud in his quiet, faintly raspy voice. "At least one card has to be inserted for you to be able to use the elevator. It will stop at three floors on its way down, allowing... huh." He notices with furrowed brow that the next page is missing. However, the booklet continues after. "You can choose which card to insert, and if you insert more than one card, it will let you skip one or two floors in exchange for stacking each card's effects. Once the elevator reaches the bottom floor, you will be able to collect a key and return to the place you entered from. You must use the elevator." Looking over his shoulder, Scythe confirms that the door quietly locked itself shut behind him while he was reading.

The only way forward is down.