Act 1: Blue Ocean Pavilion - Chapter 127: The Floor Is Lava?

Act 1: Blue Ocean Pavilion - Chapter 127: The Floor Is Lava?

The boy asked Oscar if he wanted to play a game together.

Oscar did not reply to the boy's request. He was missing a lot of information, and this boy seemed to have some answers, calling the creature a Keeper. He sat down and motioned for the boy to sit in front.

The boy compiled and stared at Oscar with longing. It had been so long since he met someone else, not since he was trapped in this place.

"I will play with you." Oscar quickly interrupted the boy, who was about to burst into joy. "But can you answer my questions?"

The boy bobbed his head up and down fast in his excitement. He would answer anything as long as he could play a game together with this mister. His eyes gleamed with radiance despite his poor conditions, waiting for Oscar to ask away.

"First. What is this place?"

The boy looked to struggle for a moment as he tried to remember. He scratched his head nervously and kept it up as the hairs started to fall off. Oscar saw the boy was in an odd state; the boy's eyes rolled back as his breathing quickened, prompting Oscar's worry.

"Stop!" Oscar held the boy's wrists to stop him from scratching into his skull. The boy had scraps of flesh and blood under his nails, and blood began trickling down his pale head. "You don't need to answer that question. I'll ask another one."

"Huh? What question?" The boy blinked innocently. Was he trying to answer something? He tried to remember and moved his fingernails toward his head.

"Enough!" Oscar stopped him again and quickly asked the next question. "Who are you?"

"Abe! My name is Abe!" The boy, Abe, shouted.

"What about your last name?" Oscar asked. "Everyone has a last name."R/ê/Ad lateSt ch/a/pters at nô(v)e(l)bin/.c/o//m Only

"La-Last name?" Abe swayed from left to right; his brows scrunched as he thought hard to remember. Oscar was on standby to stop Abe from scratching his head. Then Abe's eyes widened with a smile. "Oh! My last name is Elire."

"Abe Elire," Oscar muttered. "That's a good name."

Oscar was still suspicious but decided to treat Abe like a child and patted his head. Abe smiled widely despite the blood on his pale face and felt comforted by Oscar's warm hand.

Something was odd with Abe.

Oscar thought about Abe's strange behavior when asked the first question. It was as though he was possessed and unaware of what he was doing. The fact he forgot he was asked a question was very telling of his strange situation.

'If I inquire about the things Abe shouldn't answer, he'll scratch himself until his brains fly out.' Oscar took out a piece of jerky he kept in his bag and passed it to Abe. "Have some. You must be hungry."

Abe drooled at the sight of the dried meat and gulped his saliva audibly. He snatched it out of Oscar's hand and devoured it in mere seconds. He started to have a coughing fit.

"Don't eat so fast. Here's some water." Oscar passed his water, which Abe drank profusely.

"Thank you, Mister! I haven't eaten something this delicious in so long!" Abe wiped his mouth with the ragged cloth he wore.

"In so long? That leads to my next question. How long as you been here?" Oscar continued his line of questioning.

"Uh. Mmmm." Abe took a long time to process the question, but he shook his head. "I don't know. I've been hiding in this house from the Keeper forever."

Abe looked at the door. "We must go back to the entrance and step on the stool near it to start. Mister! You're fast; you must be great at the game!"

"But the Keeper will be outside to stop us." Oscar reminded Abe of the dangers.

"Oh...." Abe lowered his head sadly, about to cry. He had finally found someone to play the game with, but he forgot about the Keeper.

"Come here." Oscar decided to trust Abe. From everything he gathered, Oscar realized Abe was an unfortunate prisoner in this house. "What about the other people?"

Emily was still somewhere in this place, so he had to find her.

"I didn't see anyone else." Abe tilted his head in confusion. "There's only you and me here. But if there's anyone else in here, going to the back entrance can free them all!"

Oscar's brows raised up. If Abe's words were true, then Emily and perhaps Frederick could be freed from this nightmarish house if he succeeded in reaching the back entrance.

"Are you certain?" Oscar asked.

"I'm sure!" Abe answered confidently. "The house will stop if we get out! "

"Ok, hang on tightly to me. We'll be exiting this place." Oscar held the skinny boy with one arm, letting him cling to his neck. Abe was so fragile and thin that he felt like a sheet of paper in his hands.

Abe started to tremble, remembering the scary monster, the Keeper, that had hunted him for so long. His grip tightened on Oscar, who patted him comfortingly.

"I'll keep you safe."

Abe's scared face loosened as a small smile appeared.

Oscar unsummoned his deer anima. His deer anima was not the best choice in such a precise game like this. Slowly, Oscar unlocked the door, letting his head peek through.

There were no signs of the abhorrent Keeper nearby.

Quickly and silently, Oscar returned to the entrance where he had arrived with Emily. There he saw the stool Abe mentioned.

Abe pointed with one hand while the other covered his mouth to hide his excitement. Through his muffled voice, Abe said, "That's the stool. Jump on it to start the game."

Oscar looked around with caution, eyeing the stool. It was a white stool with engraving carved into its legs; even the stools in this manor were well decorated.

But this was not the time to admire it.

Oscar leaped on the stool and looked around.

Suddenly, the white-marbled floor became black as the void. In contrast, all the other objects, like the stair handles, fences, and lamps, had a white glow around them.

Oscar's face tensed up. The game was on.