—Don’t look…
Kaelen quietly repeated Serelith’s words, his eyes falling on the cracked mirror and the words that were written in blood red.
He swallowed silently, feeling his throat drier than usual.
However, he was quick to snap out of it as he cleared his throat and pulled his gaze away.
—I take it that this must be some sort of clue for the second floor. Given how the tension is slowly rising within the game, I suppose we’ve yet to encounter the true point of this game.
—You’re probably right, but it can also be because he’s sick. It did say he’s forgetting stuff.
Sarah added while moving a little closer to the words on the mirror in order to see if there was anything else that she might’ve missed.
As her gaze drifted across the shards of the broken mirror, she froze. Reflected within the jagged glass was a pair of hollow eyes staring back at her, and for a moment, her expression nearly faltered.
—….!?
[Yes, he was indeed sick. That might be the case.]
A brittle, yet soft voice echoed, catching everyone off guard as they immediately turned in the direction of the voice, finding an old lady standing not far from where they were, her frail hands gripping onto her lamp.
She smiled, exposing her toothless mouth.
That was all she did.
Other than that, she said no other word and just stared at them.
The group of three sat silently, feeling the old lady’s gaze to be uncomfortable.
Kaelen clicked his tongue.
—Is this supposed to be scary? It feels kind of cheap.
Although he said that, his grip on the mouse, for the briefest of moments, had tightened.
But this was something that he himself had not noticed.
Still, something about her reply bothered him. It was too well-timed.
’It’s just a coincidence, though. No way this game can do that.’
—Let’s go. This looks like a cheap attempt at a jump scare.
He shook his head while mumbling, ’What am I even doing?’
He then went ahead to the second floor, Sarah and Serelith looking at each other before following from behind.
Silence hung in the air as the three of them moved towards the second floor.
—Eh? Why is it so dark?
Coming out of the room, he realized the place was a lot darker than before. He could hardly see a thing, and even as he leaned closer to the monitor, he struggled to see ahead.
Then—
Creeeak.
[Oh, dear.]
The old woman’s voice again. A faint glow bloomed behind them.
[It appears that the lights need replacing. I also see that you’re done with the first floor. Why don’t you come up? It should be brighter up here.]
She slowly ascended the stairs, lamp swinging gently.
—I guess this is the start of the second phase.
Sarah muttered, plucking her lips together as he turned to look at Kaelen’s character and then the old lady.
—…The old lady looks pretty creepy, though.
Creak!
The moment the words left her mouth, the old lady paused, slowly turning around to face her direction.
The lights flickered once, so briefly it was easy to miss.
[That’s not very nice.]
—….!?
—!?
Almost instantly, the three of them tensed at the same time as they looked at the old lady, who kept her gaze focused on Sarah, her heart skipping a beat as she felt the old lady’s hollow eyes.
In that moment. For the first time.
She forgot about the fact that all of this was a game.
But then…
The old lady cracked a smile as she dangled the lamp forward.
[…I am leading the way up for all of you. It’s not nice to stay so far from me. I won’t bite.]
Right after that, she beckoned them with her hand.
[Come. Let’s not waste any time. Follow me.]
Creaaak!
The steps creaked once more as she moved up.
Kaelen looked at the baffled Sarah before looking towards Kyle, who shook his head.
—Ah, what a pity. I almost thought you had made a face.
—…Tsk. Not that easy to scare me. I was just taken aback.
—Sure thing.
Kaelen smiled while moving the character forward. He looked completely unfazed, but despite his appearance, lingering doubts appeared in his mind.
’Is this really a coincidence? This isn’t the first time… Can she hear us?’
Kaelen looked at the back of the old lady as she moved up the stairs and pursed his lips.
Unknowingly, his demeanor grew a little more serious.
The same was true for the other two as they moved up the stairs and reached the second floor, where the old lady waited.
[You look excited, officers. I really do hope you find something.]
The old lady illuminated the room up ahead.
But the moment she did, everyone stopped dead in their tracks, their hands clutching onto their mouse.
There, for the briefest of moments, they caught sight of a tall and lanky figure.
It lingered by the door, its head lowered, revealing only the faint outline of a top hat. In the blink of an eye, the figure vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving behind an unsettling silence. The image burned itself into the minds of the three, who whispered amongst themselves.
—Did you see that?
—Yes, I did.
—Mhm.
Kaelen looked back at the door, his mind recalling the previous warning.
—Looks like this was just a warning. If I’m not wrong, the goal from this point forward will be to not look at it.
—That should be easy enough.
Sarah added, which was soon followed by a soft ’hm’ from Sarah.
—Alright, good. So long as you understand, let’s enter the next door. If you see anything, quickly report it.
—Yes.
—Mhm.
Kaelen felt a lot more confident upon hearing their confirmations as he pressed the key forward and entered the next room. However, right before he entered, a thought crossed his mind.
’Wait, why am I whispering?’
Before he knew it, Kaelen realized he had been whispering to the others.
The thought made him pause, but he quickly dispelled it and entered the room. It wasn’t anything important anyway, and as he entered the room alongside the others, he opened his mouth, prepared to speak normally when…
—This…
He found himself stopping, his gaze falling on the words on the floor written in blood red, seemingly smeared through sheer desperation as the ends faded.
[Everything is a lie!]
[I… I am not sick! They are sick!]
[They try to trick me! They trick me through sight and sound!]
[Run!!]
Kaelen held his breath for a moment, feeling his palms sweatier than usual.
Especially when he saw the last line.
But then…
Creaaaaak!
A soft, drawn-out creak echoed, and the surroundings suddenly felt heavier than before.
The silence lingered for what felt like forever as neither of the three moved, recalling the words from before, until…
“Oh, you’re here. Did you find anything?”
An all too familiar voice echoed, and the three visibly relaxed.
’So it’s the old lady.’
Kaelen smiled faintly, slowly inching the mouse in the direction of the old lady.
However, right as he was about to turn, he heard it.
—Hip!
The soft yelp.
One that was followed by Kyle’s voice.
“Sarah has been eliminated.”
Kaelen froze, his eyes blinking slowly as he felt goosebumps slowly rise at the back of his neck.
’W-what the hell just happened?’