30 minutes...

Third-person POV:

As Darien and Eirian were pulled while their mouths were covered to prevent any sound, Darien nearly bit the hand over his mouth if not a muffled 'shhh!' that sounded like it belonged to a child.

'Huh?'

Once they were pulled further inside and hidden behind a pile of stacked boxes, the two brothers were released. 

They immediately turned to see who it was, putting some distance between themselves and the person who had dragged them, remaining wary. But then, Eirian exhaled in relief, his once tense shoulders dropping slightly as he recognized one of the children. His face then shifted as if he wanted to scold the person.

"Raiden... Please don't do that again," Eirian scolded, but in a whisper. The bright blond boy just grinned, scratching his head before turning to look at Darien, who appeared confused while staring at him.

Raiden himself felt puzzled why Darien seemed not to recognize him. 'But he only woke up yesterday, maybe he doesn't quite remember because he was in a coma for a month,' he thought.

"Sorry for startling you two, but we had no choice but to drag you here," Raiden replied, giving an apologetic smile.

'... Raiden? Ah! He was Darien's best friend when they were little, but he died too, if I'm not mistaken... How is he still alive-Oh... They'll find us here. How much time do we have left?' Darien thought, feeling anxious again.

"Status window," Eirian, Raiden, and a sky-blue-haired girl simultaneously looked at him with a strange and curious expression, but Darien ignored them. He was too busy looking at the status window in front of his eyes.

"Darn it... Only 30 minutes left? I thought only 15 minutes left..." he muttered, sounding annoyed and worried. Darien closed his status window, almost lost in thought, when he realized his brother and the two children were staring at him as if he had grown two heads.

"Oh... That... We can check how much time we have left..." Darien explained, starting to feel nervous but trying to hide it. Without his knowledge, Eirian was looking at him with a suspicious gaze but remained silent, not questioning him further. Not now.

"How do you know?" the blue-haired girl asked, sounding nervous. She looked to be about Eirian's age. Darien looked at the girl's face, trying to remember who this character was.

She had beautiful sky-blue hair, long past her shoulders, skin as white as crystal, though there were a few bloodstains on it, and her eyes were black, trembling due to shock and trauma from the earlier.

'If I don't know her... That means she'll die too. From the original plot, all children died except Darien. If that's the case, we need to leave here now. Perhaps this is where these two characters are meant to die,' Darien thought, and feels a little dread.

"Not now, we need to leave here and keep hiding until time out," Darien said, trying to be a bit firm. He hoped they understood. The girl and Raiden exchanged uncertain glances, while Eirian remained silent.

"But isn't it safer here?" Raiden asked, sounding uncertain. "If we keep wandering around, they'll see us," the girl added, trying to reason with him.

Darien glanced briefly at his brother, who was once again lost in thought. He didn't feel uneasy every time he saw Eirian acting differently than usual, but he would think about it after they survived this main scenario.

He then turned to look at the two children again with a serious expression, this time, hiding his trembling hands and the pain in his chest. 'I'm worried I can't hold on much longer, but I need to hold out until we're truly safe. I don't think I can leave those two.' Darien thought.

"Please, we will die here if we don't find a place where they won't find us. The Grim Reapers will surely come here... This place is too risky," Darien pleaded. Though his face looked serious, his eyes glimmered with pleading hope.

Raiden and the girl were stunned before exchanging glances, then nodded and looked back at Darien. "Alright, but where, Darien?" Raiden asked, giving a small smile. Darien was about to answer, but Eirian spoke first.

"Our usual hiding spot when outsiders used to visit. Darien said the Grim Reapers won't find us there."

"In that case, let's go now," the girl replied. Meanwhile, Darien looked shocked because Eirian suddenly acted normal again, but he still felt uneasy about his gaze.

'Does he know something?' Darien thought, feeling unshakable about him. But that thought disappeared as Eirian held his hand tightly, then pulled him, leaving the spot. Raiden and the girl followed them from behind.

As they walked, trying not to make any sound, Darien could feel that familiar warmth again. He smiled faintly and felt relieved. For a moment, he felt meek when Eirian held him like that. 'It seems I'm just overthinking, it's impossible for Eirian to know I'm not the real Darien.'

Unbeknownst to him, they reached the end of the building. Raiden and the girl immediately grabbed some boxes they found and built them like a wall to cover them from being seen by any Grim Reapers that might come there later.

'Phew, I'm relieved they both thought quickly, because this is a dead end. We'd be finished if the Grim Reapers found us trying to hide here,' Darien thought, exhaling in relief.

Eirian, meanwhile, tried to open a small vent cover to hide inside. The space was small but big enough for all of them since they were still children, and the Grim Reapers wouldn't know they were hiding there. But Eirian seemed to be having difficulty opening it.

The three of them started to get anxious watching Eirian try to open the small grate without making any sound. Raiden went to help him. Darien glanced back for a moment and froze when he saw a large shadow, indicating someone was coming towards them now.

An alarm seemed to blare in his head, and his heart pounded rapidly. 'Grim Reapers... They're coming here.'

It seemed he wasn't the only one who noticed; the girl also realized, except for Eirian Raiden, who were still struggling to open the grate.

"Why is it so hard to open this? It's not like this before." Eirian asked in a whisper, feeling annoyed and anxious. Raiden didn't know what to say because he'd never been here, while Darien, who overheard, became confused. As far as he knew, that grate should be easy to open.

And from the original plot, Darien easily opened that grate also without anyone's help. 'Did something happen to the plot or what?' he thought, feeling more uneasy and scared. Suddenly, someone walked past him; it was the girl.

'What is she going to do?' Darien wondered. Without thinking twice, he grabbed the girl's hand, who flinched and looked at Darien with a confused expression.

"What are you doing?"

The girl seemed to understand before giving a soft and sad smile. Darien's stomach clenched. He knew what the girl's face was conveying. 'She wants to sacrifice herself.'

"Darien... I'll go distract them, so you and the others must hide quickly and don't come looking for me. I'll be safe," she said in a soft tone, though Darien could hear the fear in her voice and the uncertainty in her eyes.

Of course, it would be impossible for her to survive the Grim Reaper. Darien seemed hesitant to let her go. He didn't know this girl, but...

The girl held Darien's hand, then pulled to release it. She gave a last smile before leaving, abandoning Darien, who was still warring with his heart and mind. He looked down, staring at the wooden floor and his feet, his gaze unreadable due to his bangs.

But we know he was deep in thought, making a decision. 'If I stop her, we'll be found before we can hide, but... She'll die... What should I do? I can't increase the risk, but I can't let her die either... Darn it!'

"It's open!"

Darien lifted his head. His eyes showed determination as he had made a final decision.

Meanwhile...

She stopped in front of the Grim Reaper, blocking its advance. Her hands trembled violently, and her heart pounded, but her desire to ensure Darien and the others were safe was stronger. At least, she could give them a little time to hide.

'Finally, I can help Darien with something I couldn't help him with before, but now I see a chance. Even if it means I have to die... That's fine,' the girl thought, smiling faintly with a sad expression.

The Grim Reaper then attacked her with its sickle. "Water vortex!" A large water vortex hit the Grim Reaper, but it had no effect. It didn't budge an inch. The Grim Reaper then advanced towards her again even faster.

"Just like before.. No effect...," she muttered, sounding hopeless. She closed her eyes, waiting for the Grim Reaper to take her life, until she heard small footsteps running from behind her. Her eyes opened again in shock because she recognized the sound of those footsteps, and when she looked back, it was unmistakably Darien.

"What-! No, Darien!"

"Duck!" Darien yelled. She didn't know why, but she ducked, and it was a close call because the sickle almost slashed her if she hadn't ducked. But that didn't mean she was safe until Darien threw something at the Grim Reaper's mask, which then exploded into white dust.

"Flour?" she asked with disbelief and shock, but before her brain could process it, Darien grabbed her hand and pulled her away, running towards where they intended to hide.

The girl looked at Darien's back, smaller than hers, with adoration and relief. She hadn't expected Darien to come to save her. Because Darien didn't see her at all, let alone ever speak to her, but...

'He really is a little angel... No wonder Eirian loves his brother so much... I hope we can be friends later...'

Eirian, who's still waiting outside the vent, looking so anxious, felt relieved upon seeing his brother and the girl safe.

The girl went in first, followed by Darien, who initially told Eirian to go in first, but the blond boy pushed him in. Last, Eirian entered, closing the vent door and immediately backing away as the Grim Reaper arrived at their hiding spot.

He held his breath, his heartbeat loud in his ears. Eirian could feel someone gripping his hand tightly. He didn't need to look to know who it was, because from the small hand, it was Darien.

He exhaled in relief when the Grim Reaper left, as did the others. Suddenly, one of his shoulders felt a little heavy, and when he looked to the side, soft, fluffy hazelnut hair almost fell into his eyes.

Eirian panicked and was shocked when he realized Darien had fainted. He carefully laid his brother on his lap. "Darien?" he called softly, still afraid the Grim Reaper might be nearby.

Raiden and the girl heard Eirian's call and became panicked and worried too upon seeing Darien's condition. He looked very pale, like a sheet, and seemed to be having difficulty breathing. His face also looked like he was in pain.

'He's really not Darien, but I can't help to see him like this too. Wait... his life is in danger now!', Eirian screamed in thought as reality hit him.