‘I died.’
…At least, in the vision.
Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself down and replayed everything that had happened in my mind.
“The old man is a lunatic who doesn’t like people lying to him.’
This much became clear to me after he killed me for something like lying. Maybe he didn’t even care that I lied and just wanted to kill me?
‘No, that’s not it…’
Recalling those last moments and how enraged he looked after catching me in my lie, I could tell he genuinely disliked people lying to him.
I didn’t understand why but I noted this piece of information in my mind.
There was something more important that I needed to take note of.
‘…The tune.’
The old man said something about the tune keeping the puppets away.
I replayed the tune in my mind.
It wasn’t complicated. In fact, it was quite easy but…
‘Mary the little lamb?’
“Uh…?”
Thinking about the tune again, I felt my face change. It had seemed vaguely familiar before, but now I realized it really was ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb.’
Why would…?
‘More importantly, can such a tune really keep the puppets away?’
I looked around me and frowned.
I really couldn’t see how such a tune was keeping the puppets away but the old man was clearly living without any worries in that basement of his.
“Then again, he’s strong. That might be why he is unaffected.”
But if he was strong enough to survive this far, he probably was also strong enough to escape. That made his claim seem a little bit more realistic to me.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have anything to play the tune.
Otherwise, I might’ve tested it.
‘What should I do?’
I chewed my lip and looked at my pocket watch.
Tik, tik-
It was 12:14 A.M.
My first thought was to recover a bit and wait until ten minutes before the reset, then head back to the old man. That way, we’d only have to last for ten more minutes before the puppets stopped and were forced back.
Even if something did go wrong, our lives wouldn’t be in too much danger.
At least, not from the puppets.
Who I was really worried about was the old man.
Who knew what other ticks he had? If he wanted to kill us, then he could do so easily.
I had to tread carefully.
Nibbling on my lips again, I looked at Pebble and sighed. I would’ve told Pebble to look for an exit, but getting out of the palace was the least of my worries. What I was worried about wasn’t the people within the building, but the ones outside who were stronger, faster, and more powerful.
Even if we did manage to get out, we’d have to worry about those outside.
That was unless Leon and the others could think of a way to solve this problem.
‘… The old man might really be the only way for us to get out of this place.’
I sighed at the thought.
“Hoo.”
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and looked at my hand where another vial appeared.
I didn’t really want to do this, but…
‘I just need to make sure the old man is on our side.’
After a little bit of thought, I opened my mouth and Pebble poured the contents of the vial into my mouth.
Tik, Tik-
It was 12:17 A.M.
*
‘W-why would you do this? I thought we were on the same side… How could you? How could you…!?!
‘Same side? Ha…’
‘You..’
‘Toren, there are things I see-things so far beyond your grasp, they would tear your very soul apart if you could glimpse them. They follow me, relentlessly, through my sleep, they bleed into my daydreams, and they torment me whenever they have a chance.’
‘But-‘
‘These sights, these truths… I never asked for them, yet they are mine to bear, dragging me into the abyss whether I wish to look or not. I am cursed to see what others cannot even imagine, and it is a curse that bleeds through every moment of my existence.”
‘…Y-you, you have gone mad, Emmet! You have gone mad!’
‘Hmm, maybe I have. No, I probably have.’
‘Uh…!’
‘But in my madness, I am sane enough to know… to know that you all must die.’
*
Tik, Tik-
It was 12:21 A.M.
Dang, da~
A familiar tune played in the air.
“Haa… Haa…”
Holding my chest, I looked ahead and turned around to see the old man standing behind me.
“You’we made it quicker than I… expected.”
Same lines and words as before.
“What about your two friends? Did you ditch them?”
“Yes.”
I didn’t lie this time.
“I ditched them.”
Because I knew he disliked liars.
“Hmm.”
The old man’s eyes narrowed, and a powerful pressure enveloped my entire body, paralyzing
me on the spot and leaving me feeling suffocated.
“…You’re quite honest.”
Thankfully, the pressure didn’t persist for very long. After a quick glance in my direction, the
pressure alleviated.
“I like honest people.”
I sighed in relief upon hearing his words.
Thump! Thump!
However, that relief only lasted for a brief moment before I heard the muffled sound of
footsteps coming from above.
“They’re coming.’
“Hmph.”
With a low grunt, the old man turned in the opposite direction of the puppets and headed
toward the large box at the corner of the room. I looked in his direction with surprise but before I could question what he was doing, his large hands gripped the box and pushed it to
the side, revealing another trapdoor.
Clank!
Lifting the trapdoor open, the old man looked at me.
“…Get in.”
“Yes,”
Nodding my head, I checked the time.
It was 12:23 A.M.
As I stepped through the trapdoor, a small flight of stairs descended before me. When I turned
around, I saw the old man follow, closing the trapdoor behind him, and plunging us into
complete darkness.
The darkness didn’t last long as the old man pulled out a small light, using it to illuminate the
surroundings.
As he did, he looked back up at the trapdoor and waved his hand.
Crank!
‘Telekenisis?’
…That looked to be the case as I heard the box above us shift right onto the trapdoor.
“Follow… me.”
Walking past me, the old man led me down the stairs and into another door.
Coming to a stop before the door, I could hear the sound of the piano even louder than before.
Da Dang~
‘It’s just like I thought. The melody is the same.’
Crude and yet nice to the ears. This was without a doubt ‘Mary The Little Lamb.’
Clank-!
“Go in.”
As the old man opened the door, I was greeted by the sight of a small room. An old wooden bed sat against one wall, a small wardrobe stood nearby, and a piano rested in the corner. The space had a crude, unfinished feel to it, as though time had forgotten this place.
Spiderwebs rested in the corners of the place as dust filled the space.
When I looked around, I also noticed a small box.
Da Dang~
‘Ah, so that’s what’s making the sound.’
I had previously assumed that someone was playing the piano but I was wrong. There was
nobody else here.
The box was the one responsible for creating the noise.
“… What is that?”
“It’s an old toy of mine.”
The old man replied, placing the lamp down and sitting on the bed.
“It wards the puppets away.”
“Ah.”
Indeed, he had already told me this before.
But…
‘If it really wards them away, how come he’s still here? How come…’
As if noticing my doubt, the old man walked up to the box and picked it up. “There’s a limit to how many it can ward away at once. If we were to stand on an open field, it would only ward away a few dozen befwore no longer working. The only reason this place is
safe is because no more than a dozen puppets can come at once given how narrow the place
is.”
“Ah.”
It all suddenly clicked in my mind.
Still, it suddenly made me question something.
“Why does this tune stop the puppets?”
“…I don’t know.”
The old man replied as he turned his head and retrieved an old book.
“I don’t remember too well.”
He rubbed his head.
“….!”
It was just as he raised his head that I finally noticed it. Maybe it was because it was dark
outside, but now that I stood in front of him, I saw them.
‘Strings.’
The overwhelming amount of strings that were attached to the old man. One, two, three,
four… twenty, thirty…
Just how many…?
“Ah, you noticed.”
The old man brought his hand down to show me the strings in his hand. There were so many
of them.
“With each day that you spend here, a string attaches. The box and music do not help… very much when it cowmes to the strings. They all appear at the same time, every day. Just before
everything resets.”
“Then…”
“…You don’t have to worry.”
The old man pointed at the box.
“So long as the box keeps playing, the strings won’t force you to move. But…”
With a bitter smile, the old man looked at the box.
“The box doesn’t have much time left. It’ll soon run out of energy, and when the time
comes…”
The old man closed his eyes, the meaning of his words clear to me.
“I… I…”
Making a face, the old man rubbed the back of his head.
“…I’ve lost count of how long I’ve been here. I think it’s been about a month. Maybe two? I
don’t know. I’ve lost track.”
“This seems to be in line with what I know.’
From what I knew, all of this started about a month ago.
“How did things become like this?”
“It was eh… the wedding of the first son. He was about to marry his fiancee. It was supposed
to be his wedding when all of this happened. I don’t remember very much. Why can’t I remember?”
Rubbing his head again, the old man frowned.
“Ah, fuck it.”
Waving his hand, the old man seemingly gave up on thinking. Turning to look at me, he
crossed his arms and leaned back on the bed. His entire persona shifted to a more jovial one.
“Anyways, I was getting quite lonely. It’s a good thing that someone close to my age has come. Hur, hur.”
With a laugh, the old man slapped his thigh.
However, I didn’t laugh.
Similar age?
…That, could he not see through my disguise?
“Actually…”
I was about to peel my mask off when the old man laughed again.
“How old are you? I’m… twenty-eight.”
My hand froze mid-motion.
What?