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

Chapter 829: Rain [2]

An article appeared in my notification feed.

My thumb hovered over it before I pressed on it.

The television continued playing in the background, repeating some of the same questions that appeared on the screen.

I ignored all of it as I looked through the article.

The rain continued to drizzle as I scrolled down, reading it slowly.

Then my name appeared.

Seth Thorne.

“…..”

My thumb stopped for a moment before continuing.

I could feel my heart skip a beat for a moment. Looking through the article, there wasn’t much about me. To some extent, this was good. But I knew… that this was just the start.

I continued reading, my expression remaining mostly unchanged.

After Malovia, there was Malia.

The Butcher.

They even included some of the things written about me afterwards. The praise, the attention, and the way my reputation continued to grow. In fact, even the article praised me at certain parts. Except, looking deeply, I could see questions forming.

I reached the bottom.

And that’s where I saw it⎯

‘His involvement in the two greatest incidents of the past year is undeniable. Is its a coincidence?’

The first seed of doubt.

For a little while, I simply stared at the sentence.

Then I took a slow breath and placed the phone on the table, pushing it away from me.

“…It looks like they’re starting to roll things out.”

I knew that from this moment forward, things were going to become even more difficult for me. The Hand was no small organisation.

They weren’t releasing everything at once. There was no need for them to do that.

They could wait.

Wait for the articles to spread. Wait for people to start looking at me differently.

And wait for VILE-1048 to make things worse.

‘They want to make sure I can never climb back up.’

I took another breath, but I found myself struggling to do so, the air feeling incredibly heavy. For a fleeting moment, I regretted my past actions. I… regretted sending a message. But I quickly shook that thought away.

‘That’s the only reason I’m still alive.’

This much was true. Had I not done what I did… I would’ve likely been dead.

But…

That was all I did.

I delayed the inevitable.

My attention moved towards the computer.

The recordings were still playing on repeat.

Drip! Drip!

When I looked out the window, the rain seemed to have become even stronger, each droplet smacking against the window as a thin fog formed across the surroundings.

“Achoo.”

Suddenly, the surroundings started to tilt.

My hand immediately pressed against the glass as the floor seemed to move beneath my feet. I remained where I was, my fingers spread against the cold surface as my head started to burn. I could feel myself slowly struggling to breathe.

I could hardly make out the surroundings, the background noise becoming nothing but mumbles as I felt myself growing weaker.

“Hahaha.”

Before I knew it, a small laugh escaped my lips.

Slowly…

It felt as though everything was crumbling before my very eyes. I felt trapped from all sides with no way out.

And yet⎯

“Hahaha.”

All that did was make me laugh.

This was…

Quite something.

The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous the situation seemed.

Not only was my head not in the right place, but my nodes were also in a terrible state. On top of that, I was infected with some sort of incurable disease, and the only thing I could do was wait for the anomaly to come for me.

As if that wasn’t enough, the truth about my past was also beginning to surface.

The room grew quiet.

My laughter slowly faded, leaving only the sound of rain against the window.

For a moment, I stood there with my hand still pressed against the glass.

Then—

Krrr!

My gaze moved towards the desk.

A soft static sound started to envelop the entire room, growing louder before fading beneath the sound of several people speaking.

BANG!

Then something struck a hard surface.

The static stopped for a moment.

Gradually, my lips parted, but no word came out.

The room remained quiet.

But only for a moment, as a voice fell.

⎯I hereby pronounce you guilty!

BANG!

The sound echoed through the room, its sound overtaking everything else.

The sound lingered in the air before my lips curled.

“H-a.”

It was louder this time.

“Hahaha.”

My laugh.

It was much louder than before.

“Hahahahaha!”

I pressed a hand against my forehead, my shoulders shaking as I leaned forward. My chest hurt, and the sense of suffocation that engulfed me seemed to grow increasingly worse.

But I couldn’t quite stop.

The radio returned to static.

The rain kept falling.

And I continued laughing.

“Hahahahahahaha!”

I just couldn’t stop.

***

Liora stopped the recording.

For a moment, the Guild Master remained seated without saying anything. His attention stayed on the screen, where Seth sat with his hands resting against his thighs.

A wide smile remained on his face.

“The Silver Lanterns recordings show the same thing.”

Liora said, her voice soft.

“It wasn’t an isolated incident.”

The Guild Master slowly lowered his gaze.

“And he remembers speaking with someone?”

“Yes, that’s what he told me.”

“Every time?”

“Right…”

Liora placed the tablet on the desk.

“In one of the recordings, Maren Holt was beside him. She didn’t notice anything unusual either.”

His fingers stopped against the edge of the folder.

“The anomaly was there while she was speaking with him?”

“That’s what it appears to be.”

“And she couldn’t see it.”

“No.”

The old man looked back towards the paused recording.

There was nothing frightening about the room itself. It was an ordinary examination room, with the same equipment used for other members.

“Where is he now?”

“In his room. I told him to stay there until we decide what to do.”

The Guild Master nodded.

Liora watched him for a moment before continuing.

“This needs to be reported to the Bureau.”

“I know.”

“With these findings, they’ll want him returned immediately.”

“I know.”

Her mouth closed.

Outside the window, rain moved across the glass. The buildings below were barely visible through it.

The Guild Master rested his hands together.

There wasn’t much uncertainty about the procedure.

Seth was a confirmed target of an anomaly that could approach him without anyone nearby noticing. Even the people examining him weren’t necessarily aware of what was happening.

The sensible decision was to place him somewhere secure.

Bring in the specialists.

Watch him closely.

Then wait for the anomaly to approach again.

His fingers tightened slightly.

Bait.

They could use another word for it, but that wouldn’t change what they were asking Seth to be.

‘Should I do it?’

If this were another member, he would already be arranging the transfer. Even if they were a major Guild, going against the BUA was no simple matter. In fact, it had already put a large strain on the Guild.

The thought made him uncomfortable.

He was the Guild Master. There were other people in the building, and he couldn’t ignore what might happen simply because the person involved was his grandson.

But he could still remember Seth’s face when he offered to take him out of the hospital.

The surprise.

The way he asked whether he could really leave that day.

Now he was supposed to send him back.

“Grandfather.”

He looked up.

Liora remained standing across from him.

“…Should we just tell him?”

“…..”

His attention moved towards the closed door before returning to her.

“Now?”

“You’ve been dragging it for quite some time. I know you’re afraid, but…”

She paused.

“…I feel like he deserves to know.”

The old man lowered his eyes.

For a while, neither spoke.

Then Liora’s expression changed slightly.

“And there’s something else.”

He looked towards her.

“He asked for money.”

“Money?”

“A loan from the Guild. He says he needs quite a lot.”

“What for?”

“He didn’t tell me.”

The Guild Master looked down at the tablet again.

Seth’s smile remained frozen on the screen.

Liora turned it off.

“I was going to discuss it with you anyway, but perhaps this would be a good time to tell him.”

His brows drew together slightly.

She looked at him before explaining.

“He’s willing to borrow money, but its obvious that he’s noticed the different treatment that we’ve been giving him. If you come clean, he’ll at least understand instead of being wary of us. I know what you’re trying to do, but instead of making him warm up to us, you’re making him more cautious.”

“…..”

“In that case, the best approach is to just be truthful.”

The old man let out a slow breath.

He understood this all too well.

“If he knew it was his family helping him…”

Liora paused.

“Perhaps it would be different.”

“Perhaps.”

“That being said, he might still refuse to join us.”

The Guild Master gave a small nod.

That was possible too.

There were quite a few things Seth might say once he knew. Not all of them were things the old man wanted to hear.

His hand moved towards the folder before stopping.

Liora waited.

Eventually, he leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment.

“Alright.”

When he opened them again, his attention settled on his granddaughter.

“I’ll tell him.”