Hide And Seek From The Grim Reaper (Part 1)

Third-person POV:

"I trust you."

Darien was stunned once again by Eirian's response. There was no hesitation, and it was as if he fully trusted Darien.

He felt something within himself; it gripped his chest but didn't hurt. He felt like he could breathe again, and for the first time in his life, Darien felt deeply touched and relieved. No one had ever responded like that, but here, Eirian, the brother of the body he now inhabited, trusted without hesitation.

Ding!

Darien and Eirian flinched violently as the clock in their room let out a sound much louder than it should have, as if it had twisted the room's atmosphere into something cold and horrifying.

Darien's breath seemed caught in his throat, and he could hear his heart pounding wildly as if it wanted to escape his ribcage, while Eirian stared at the clock with suspicion and fear.

'Why is the clock ringing when it's not time yet?' Eirian thought.

He felt a sense of dread when the clock made such a loud noise just now and didn't follow the proper time. He turned to see that several children had woken up because of the clock's sound. 

'That sound must have been really loud if it woke them all up,' Eirian thought, looking worried.

He then turned back to look at his brother, noticing that Darien was still staring at the clock with a horrified expression, his face pale. He immediately grew more worried and tried to reach for his brother, but Darien mumbled something that made him stop.

"11:59... It's starting."

"Starting? What's starting?', thought Eirian, looking confused.

"Darien, what's wrong?"

The hazelnut-haired boy turned to his brother with a very serious expression, unlike anything Eirian had ever seen before. It seemed to confirm what Eirian was feeling now: something bad was about to happen.

"Eiri-niichan, I don't have time to explain what's going to happen, but we need to go hide now. Everyone will die, including you, Eiri-niichan,  if we don't act immediately," Darien said seriously, but his voice sounded fearful and slightly panicked.

Eirian's mint eyes widened before he looked at the other children in the room with a horrified expression; some of them still looked confused and scared, and some were trying to go back to sleep.

He turned back to his brother, who still looked serious, but his crimson-red eyes betrayed fear and panic. It was as if he was calm on the outside but in turmoil within.

Eirian wanted to open his mouth to ask what he meant, but he closed it again, remembering what Darien had just said. He then said the opposite of what he wanted to ask, "In that case, we need to tell the others."

Darien looked hesitant and worried, but he nodded anyway, gulping. He looked at the other children in the room,  who still seemed confused and scared. Just as Darien was about to speak, the clock rang again, louder than before.

DONG!!!

"!!!"

Everyone fell silent, and the room became eerily quiet, as if making it difficult for them to breathe when the clock rang precisely at 12. They shivered and swallowed hard in fear. It was as if something had paused time there, as there was no sound, neither a fan nor crickets, nor anything else in the world.

As if they had been transported elsewhere. A place without life or sound.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Gasp!

"What in the-!"

All the children, including Eirian, were shocked to see a strange object, a large rectangular thing, suddenly appear and float in front of their faces, except for Darien, who stood frozen like a statue, staring at the object with an unreadable expression.

The rectangular thing, or rather, the screen like in-game, was dark purple with words written in white, and its light was blinding to some of their eyes. Eirian's eyes widened further when he finished reading what was displayed on the screen.

Main Scenario #1: Playing Hide and Seek From The Grim Reaper
Category: Hard
Conditions:
Play hide and seek from the Grim Reaper. Hide in a place that is difficult to find within the given time. Do not be found or caught by the Grim Reaper. If this happens, game over.
Time Limit: 1 hour
Reward: New world information
Penalty: Death if found or caught by the Grim Reaper.

Eirian felt his heart stop beating when he read the penalty. His hands suddenly felt cold, and he found it hard to believe. No matter how many times he read it, it remained the same.

'What in the world is happening now? Death? By the Grim Reaper? And... New world information? What does it mean?' Eirian had so many questions in his head now, but he remembered Darien saying something about them all dying tonight.

He turned to ask Darien about it, but seeing his brother's serious and calm face stopped him from asking again. 'It's really true.... But how does Darien know?' he thought, but not for long, as Darien suddenly pulled his hand and got off the bed.

"We need to hide now, in our usual hiding spot. They won't be able to find us if we hide there,"  Darien whispered for him to listen in a calm and steady voice. Eirian speechless. 

'... What?'

As the two of them tried to leave, Darien stopped, his eyes darting to see the other children in the room beginning to panic, confused and scared. Some were already crying, and some looked like they had lost their souls.

Darien bit his lip in frustration, not at the children, but at himself.'I'm risking our chance to be safe, but I also have to warn these kids. They're just children.'

"Everyone! Listen here! Go find a hiding place now and NEVER come out unless you are found. Quickly run away and find another hiding place!"

They all stared at him with shocked and confused expressions, including Eirian. A plump boy snorted while snickering at him. He was the only one relaxed there besides him.

"Tch, you believe that? This is probably just a prank from someone trying to scare us."

Darien clenched both his hands so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Eirian looked at him with a worried expression and tried to help his brother reason with the boy.

"Jin, we should listen to him. I don't think this is a prank. We need to find a hiding place now."

"And why should I listen to you two pieces of trash? Even if it's real, we can fight back with the magic powers we have. You don't have it right?"

"But-"

"You'll die."

Eirian and Jin turned to stare at Darien, who was now looking down, while a girl, still sitting on her bed while clutching hard at her blanket, choked on her tears when she heard what Darien had just said.

"De... Death!?"

"You believe him? This is just a joke, okay?" Jin said with a snicker.

"Dammit! Are you stupid or what!? YOU'LL DIE! Find a hiding place immediately!" Darien yelled, startling Eirian, who was beside him. Darien started to lose his patience and grew frustrated. He couldn't believe he was wasting his time here and risking his chance to save Eirian.

But he couldn't bear to see those children die mercilessly later. It would haunt him, but Eirian also couldn't die.

"We need to-!"

"No one is going anywhere!" a woman suddenly shouted, appearing at the door of their room. She looked a little disheveled, and her breath came in gasps as if she had just run a long distance to their room.

"No one is going anywhere. Huff... This is an order from the warden. They've contacted the palace and are on their way now," the woman said again, still gasping.

They all looked at each other with uncertain expressions, while Eirian turned to look at his brother with a worried gaze. Darien still had his head bowed, making it hard to read his expression now.

'Everyone will be dead by the time the palace arrives. Even if they arrived early, they couldn't enter this area. The same goes for other places. This is really annoying me. Why is it so hard for them to listen to me?'

"So, all of you-"

"We're going to die... Why are you all so stupid? Can't you see what the system is telling us? They're giving us time to hide now, for god's sake! Not to wait here to have our lives taken!"

"Darien! Please don't make everyone panic! This is an order-"

"Main scenario starts now."

A robotic female voice echoed in all their heads, including Darien's, making them all flinch simultaneously. Darien felt his heart stop beating, and his eyes, along with those of the other children and Eirian, widened in horror.

'I'm too late,' thought Darien, feeling hopeless.

They were all staring at something behind the woman with a shocked expression. Then, something terrifying and unforgettable happened before their own eyes.

Slash!

"Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!!" A scream echoed through the room, filled with horror.