Chapter 25: The missing piece [3]
The darkness swallowed me from all directions.
Then the music slithered into my ears—soft at first, almost hypnotic—but the more I tried to block it out, the louder everything else became.
Every sound exploded in my mind: the slow, splintering creak of the wooden chair beneath me, the strained groan of the rope, the shallow breaths escaping my lips.
Each noise scraped against my nerves, crawling beneath my skin, until it felt like the only thing I could focus on.
But soon, the music changed.
Tiii—
A familiar melody started to play, and my entire body started to shiver.
The temperature in the room dropped so suddenly that it stole the breath from my lungs. I turned my head, heart racing, half-convinced I'd left a window open.
But the moment my head turned, a deeper chill settled over me.
There were no windows.
There never had been.
'It's coming!'
I squeezed my eyes shut, gripping the armrest of the chair, my hand trembling as though something was creeping into my thoughts, threatening to take over.
'I just need to hold on for five minutes. Five minutes...'
The rhythm began slow—almost gentle—but that only made it worse. The slower it pulsed, the more insidious it became, like it was lulling me into a trance. Each beat slipped deeper, weaving its way into my mind, pulling my thoughts along with it.
I could hear my heartbeat now—loud, uneven, as if it were echoing from somewhere outside my own body.
Thin, cold streaks slid down my face. Sweat? Tears? I couldn't tell. But the sensation felt amplified in the darkness.
Each second that ticked felt agonizing.
'How long has it been...?'
I wanted to check the time, but it was just as I was about to open my eyes that I heard a subtle clicking sound. My heartbeat accelerated.
Click!
The sound came from the direction of the door.
'Someone unlocked the door?'
The handle creaked as it turned, followed by a dull thud—the door slamming against the table I'd shoved in front of it.
Clank!
A pause followed.
And then—
The door violently struck the table again.
BANG!
This time, it was louder than before, making my entire body flinch.
But as if that wasn't enough.
BANG! BANG!
Once. Twice. Again. Each attempt more violent than the last, each thud echoing like a gunshot in the tight, airless room.
The table rattled under the pressure, wood groaning, legs scraping across the floor.
Whoever—or whatever—was out there wasn't just trying to get in.
My eyes had already been open, and yet, I couldn't see a thing. It was dark. Too dark for me to see.
'...I feel like puking. I really need to puke.'
My entire body trembled, seized by a fear so raw it made my skin feel too tight.
With every slam of the door, my stomach twisted, flipping like it wanted to crawl out of me.
'The one trying to enter the room is most likely someone affected by the music or the conductor itself. Thankfully, it doesn't seem strong enough to break the door apart.'
...It was unfortunate that I was sure there was no one else in the vicinity.
This meant that...
Clank!
I flinched, and the pounding stopped.
Silence.
Then, the music crept back in, louder now as the tempo switched.
My arms began to twitch. Small at first, then sharper, more erratic. As if the melody was pulling strings buried beneath my skin.
Pulling it to move in ways that were beyond my control.
I suddenly started to recall the horrifying scenes in the first scenario, and my heart nearly leaped out of my chest.
'It's starting.'
It first started with a subtle itch on my face. It was subtle enough for me to ignore at first, but that quickly changed with the passing of time. The itchy sensation became even more pronounced, and I started to be unable to resist.
"H-ha."
Each breath was shakier than the last as my hand unknowingly pulled at the ropes in an attempt to scratch my face.
Thud!
But the ropes stopped me before I could do that.
I tried to steady myself, to breathe, but my body wouldn't listen.
The longer I sat there, the worse it got. The itch beneath my skin intensified, spreading rapidly, like something was writhing just beneath the surface.
Every second stretched, dragging a fresh wave of discomfort with it, until my entire body felt like a thousand different insects were crawling beneath the skin of my face.
'I need to scratch... I need to scratch...'
I started to feel desperate. The itch didn't step. It only grew with time, and my hand started to pull at the ropes as I instinctively tried to bring my hands to my face in an attempt to scratch it.
"Ukh...!"
The discomfort intensified with the music. As time dragged on, the itch grew more unbearable, gnawing at my insides relentlessly.
'...Two more minutes. I just need to resist for two more minutes.'
The timer next to me never stopped counting.
I just needed to persist for a little longer.
I just—
"....!?"
A cold sensation swept across my face, sending a shiver down my spine. It felt like a cold and lanky hand had just brushed against my face.
The sensation threw me off completely as it continued to brush against my face.
'No, no, no...'
I slowly turned to stare in the direction of the door. However, the darkness prevented me from seeing anything.
And yet...
Even though it was dark. I understood perfectly that the door was now wide open.
My breath left my lungs as the realization hit me.
And then—
"Ukhe!"
The sickly hand grasped my face, holding it tight as it kept me rooted in place. A warm breath whispered next to my right ear as shivers ran down every part of my body.
'This is really bad!'
The door shouldn't have been able to open. And yet, there was someone standing behind me. My breath quickened, and my heart pounded in my chest, its beat thundering in my ears.
The hand squeezed my face with even more force, blocking my mouth and nose, as though it was trying to suffocate me.
'At this rate, I really will die! I need to do something!'
I hurriedly lowered my hand to stare at my forearm, where I felt something wiggle.
'Go!'
BANG!
A loud crash echoed as the hand yanked away, leaving me gasping for air.
"Haaa... Haaa..."
My chest heaved with each breath, but the room was shaking now, a series of deafening crashes echoing through the darkness.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
I could only sit in my seat, surrounded by the darkness, unable to tell what was happening.
I was a sitting duck.
A duck waiting for it to be slaughtered.
'I need to persist for a little longer. Just a little bit longer.'
I scanned the ropes tangling my body. Because of the nature of the situation, I did not set anything up that would allow me to escape from the ropes. This was so that I wouldn't abuse the system and fall into the temptation of the music.
I knew this was the right decision, but at this very moment, it felt like the wrong one.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The sound continued, growing louder, more frantic. The table groaned beneath the force, the chair creaking alongside it.
The entire room shook, each sound amplified in the darkness as I sat anxiously.
But then...
It all grew silent.
"....."
The only sound echoing in the air was the sound of the music. It was calm, but at the same time felt like a gentle whisper from death itself.
Step.
A single footstep behind me. The floor creaked under its weight.
I couldn't move. My heart pounded in my throat.
Did the walker... manage to?
The step stopped. It was right behind me now.
A warm breath slid down my ear.
I felt my breath freeze in my chest.
And then, just as the anxiety threatened to crush me—
The music stopped.