Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary! novel Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Jester [5]

[00 : 00s]

The time ended, and the earbuds stopped working.

But it no longer mattered. The music had stopped, replaced by an unsettling, suffocating silence.

"H-ha."

My chest trembled as I drew in a shaky breath.

By now, my stomach had flipped, twisted, and contorted in every possible way.

Yet, as I locked eyes with the conductor, an unbearable weight pressed against my gut, as if something inside me wanted to crawl out.

"...R... repeat that."

His voice was low, grave—like something clawing its way up from the depths of hell.

I swallowed silently, trying to pull down the bile that had built up in my throat.

'Relax, remain calm.'

The situation was unfolding exactly as I wanted it to. I just needed to finish what I started.

But what if it doesn't work? What if what I thought was the wrong answer? Could it really work? But—

Amidst all my unnecessary thoughts, my lips slowly parted.

"Your music..."

I paused, forcing down the lump in my throat.

"...It's garbage."

RATTLE!

The entire hall shuddered. Chairs scraped against the floor. Curtains swayed. The balconies trembled. Instruments clattered to the ground.

The rattling continued—violent, deafening—until it suddenly stopped.

"G... garbage?"

The conductor's head tilted at an unnatural angle, the motion slow, deliberate. A sharp crack echoed through the silence.

"...My... music is garbage?"

Crack!

This time, the sound was louder, sharper. The conductor's head twisted further—past 90 degrees, past 180—until it dangled upside down.

"Yes."

I nodded, forcing composure. Or at least, trying to. Then—

A cold hand gripped my shoulder.

".....!?"

I kept my gaze locked forward, muscles tensed. But something pulled at me. A shadow stretched across my lap, and slowly, a faceless figure emerged beside me, its hollow gaze locked onto mine with unsettling intensity.

'I'm about to puke.'

But as if things weren't bad enough—

Cra-CRACK!

The hollow face beside me tilted its head, mimicking the conductor with slow, unnatural movements. A sickening crack split the silence as its face twisted and shifted, skin stretching and tearing with a wet, grotesque sound.

A mouth appeared, and a voice whispered next to my ear.

"Why...? Why do you say this...? I'm perfect. It... was perfect."

My hand trembled, my back soaking in cold sweat.

That voice...

'It's the conductor's voice!'

The creature leaned in closer, its breath chilling my ear.

"Tell... me."

"...The tempo."

I chewed on my tongue, trying my best to remain calm.

"The rhythm. Everything about it felt boring."

Slowly, I turned my head to face the faceless figure directly. I knew I couldn't show any emotion.

The creature... It fed itself through fear.

"Trash—!"

BANG!

The theater shook violently. The piano sheets scattered to the floor. Instruments crashed.

My grip on the armrest tightened.

'Keep a grip of yourself. Keep a grip!'

And then—

"....."

It all stopped.

Silence.

Suffocating to the point of being unable to breathe.

Soon, my ears tingled. The conductor's voice reached my ears again.

"You... do it."

Do it?

I paused for a moment, processing the words.

"If... you say my work... is trash. You do it."

"I do it...?"

I clamped a hand over my mouth, stifling an unexpected sound.

"Ha."

A sound soon escaped my lips.

"What's... wrong?"

"Hahahaha."

That sound soon twisted into a laugh as I suddenly burst out laughing, my voice a little high as a result of all the pent-up stress releasing.

For some reason... it sounded eerily much like that of a clown.

Me do it? What sort of response was this? I wasn't the conductor. It wasn't my job to do their job.

The response was so stupid that I found myself laughing unexpectedly.

Around me, the expressions of the others shifted. The way they looked at me—it was almost the same as how they had looked at the conductor moments prior.

RATTLE!

"....You laugh?"

I was one snap away from death.

'I'm going to die.'

'Work, this has to work!'

Faster, faster, faster!!

Almost, almost!