How long had I been rolling on the ground? I noticed that the fire on the floor was dying out. My vision was blurred. Then, I heard the sound of people rushing in. I could see, through the haze, the silhouette of them pulling Isaac out from under the debris.
Ah, thank goodness. Isaac is being saved…
As soon as Isaac was freed, I felt him hold me tightly.
“Please! Please save Mia! I’ll do anything. Father, please! I’ll do whatever you ask…!”
I wanted to nuzzle my head against Isaac as he screamed, to lick him, to tell him not to cry. But my body wouldn’t move. My eyes wouldn’t open. I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness.
“Mia, Mia…!”
Even the sound of Isaac calling my name began to fade. Darkness closed in, and soon, I couldn’t hear anything at all.
And so, I met my end in Isaac’s arms.
* * *
A musty smell wafted through the air. Beyond my closed eyes, I could sense the scent of dry dust. I felt my body sinking into a damp surface as I slowly opened my eyes.
I was lying on a bed. As I looked around slowly, I realized I was in a bedroom within the mansion.
…What’s going on? Am I alive?
I had thought I had died in Isaac’s arms, but it seemed I had survived. I wasn’t in pain, so I must have been treated well.
But where is Isaac?
I let out a small cry, but there was no response.
I needed to leave and find Isaac. The door was wide open, so I stumbled out.
“Meow…?”
Outside, there was no one around. I perked up my ears, trying to find someone, but there was no sign of life. There should have been plenty of people… Is it nighttime, and everyone has gone to bed? If it weren’t for the few scattered lanterns, the mansion would have been completely dark.
As I walked around, I noticed something strange. Why does the house look so old? The once grand mansion now looked aged, like an old castle. It seemed like it hadn’t been cleaned in a long time, with cobwebs hanging everywhere.
What happened to this place?
As I explored further, I began to hear voices. Finally, I found someone! I hurried toward the voices, eventually finding myself in the mansion’s lobby, where a group of people had gathered.
“Huh? A cat?”
“Ugh, what’s that? A black cat?”
The people, dressed in a mix of noble and commoners’ attire, glanced at me with disdain.
I stared at them in confusion. These people aren’t from the mansion. Judging by their clothes, some were nobles, and others were commoners.
What on earth is going on? I could sense that they didn’t like me, so I quietly retreated to a corner. I could hear them talking.
“So, where are we…?”
“We don’t know either. We just found ourselves here when we came to…”
Is this some kind of afterlife…?
Then, one person caught my eye. A man with red hair and orange eyes. He was handsome, but that wasn’t why he caught my attention. His face seemed familiar… And in this situation, it felt like I had experienced it somewhere before.
The red-haired man smiled at the group. “Why don’t we introduce ourselves? I’m Lian.”
Lian. That name sounded familiar too. Where have I heard it before?
As I tried to remember, a notification window suddenly appeared in front of me.
[Night of Fear: The Night of Terror]
[Chapter 1. Encounter]
2. Still Trapped in the Game
What…?
I stared blankly at the notification window. Night of Fear? Chapter 1?
Only then did I realize why all of this felt so familiar. Yes, the game’s opening started just like this. And Lian was the protagonist, the character I had controlled.
Am I still trapped in this game…?
Now I understand the situation. I remembered clearly how ‘Night of Fear’ played out. ‘Night of Fear,’ also known as ‘Horror Night,’ starts with the protagonist, Lian, searching for his missing younger brother. He visited his brother’s home and discovered a strange symbol. Then, every midnight, he was dragged to the nightmare mansion. There was no way to escape, and he couldn’t wake up until morning.
This mansion is disconnected from reality. The mansion at night is filled with various creatures, and if you die in the dream world, your real body dies too. It was a dangerous place, but it held clues about his missing brother. Because of this, the protagonist must investigate the mansion at night to find clues about his brother’s disappearance and then return to the real world during the day to continue the investigation.
The mansion at night was a perilous place, and while playing the game, I died many times. The game was quite difficult, and I had played it nearly ten times, trying to find the hidden ending. So, I knew the storyline very well. And if this really was the opening of Night of Fear…
“Meoooow! Meoow!”
I ran toward the people, crying out frantically. They looked at me in surprise.
“W-What? What’s with this cat?”
“Get out of here! Shoo, shoo!”
Run away from here! Quickly! I tried to warn them, but they couldn’t understand me. They just frowned at me.
One man approached me, lifting his foot as if to stomp on me. “You cursed cat…”
Squelch. With a sickening sound, like a fruit being crushed, the man’s head was smashed before he could kick me. The sight of a human being killed right in front of me made my vision spin. There was a moment of silence, then people started screaming.
“Aaaack!”
“W-What is that?!”
“Look up!”
At Lian’s shout, everyone looked up, and there was the killer. It was a giant spider. Or at least, it resembled a spider.
The spider had a human face attached to its head, with long fangs protruding from its mouth. Its legs were dark and hard to distinguish, but they were actually human arms. Four pairs of arms were attached to its body, moving like legs. The ‘spider,’ one of the creatures from the mansion, grinned eerily as it chewed on the remains of the man.
“Run! Everyone, hide!”
At Lian’s cry, the people scattered in panic. I also ran for my life. But then, another spider appeared from the opposite direction. It spotted me and grinned, revealing its torn, grotesque mouth. Black liquid dripped from its fangs. It had the look of a predator who had found its prey.
I desperately looked for a place to escape, but all the doors were closed. While I was panicking, the spider quickly approached.
Crash! Its leg slammed down where I had just been standing. A chill ran down my spine. If I were human, I would have been impaled. Luckily, being a small and nimble cat saved me. I barely dodged the first attack, but it wasn’t over. The sound of the spider’s footsteps grew louder as it chased me.
Kihihihi…! At the same time, laughter like nails on a chalkboard echoed through the halls. The sound sent shivers down my spine.
What the hell is going on?! I just came back to life! If I were the protagonist, I could have used a torch or weapon to fend off or defeat the spider… But I’m just a cat. I have no means of defense. W-What do I do…?
I turned a corner and stumbled into a side room. The door was open. I had to hide there. I dashed into the room and looked around. The only place to hide was behind the curtains. It wasn’t a great hiding spot, but it was all I had. I quickly hid behind the curtains, holding my breath.
Damn it, being a cat means I can’t even close the door… If I could just close the door, the spider wouldn’t be able to get in, but the door was wide open. My heart was pounding like crazy.
How much time had passed? I could hear the spider’s footsteps pacing outside, then slowly moving away.
Am I safe now…?
Just as I started to relax and thought about sneaking out, I heard footsteps approaching again. It felt like all the blood in my body turned to ice.
Who is it? Who could it be? Another creature? Or a person?
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