The soldier-like man was leading his two followers downstairs. During the movement, River found the man’s mark. Papyrus.
Papyrus ignored the two who were already looking around. Instead he spoke to the man and woman behind him, his voice so full with authority that it made everyone nearby flinch at hearing it. “The games can only be finished if we find the right issue. Watch everything, notify me immediately if something is off, and don’t bother the shadows.”
“Yes!”
The woman quickly nodded her head, giving a fawning smile, while the unknown man at her side glanced around.
Aspen and River exchanged a quick look.
The concept of the dreams being games with a specific goal must have spread. Evidently this man was going to try doing that.
In theory, that sounded nice.
In practice, it was a disaster.
As the shadows reacted in real-time, every single change could affect a lot. Three groups running around in a small space, moving and changing things?
Not to mention that they’d mess up each other’s plans, there was the additional issue that just finishing the game didn’t allow everyone to leave safely. A certain amount of participation was necessary, and it was hard to say if you could reach the right amount if you were acting against two other competing groups.
Lastly – and River was honest, this bothered him the most – someone else doing the puzzle wouldn’t give him any satisfaction. He wanted to do it!
Like this, the dream wasn’t going to be enjoyable at all!
Aspen was freaking out over the appearance of a predator way above his weight class and River was going to be affected by the existence of competitors messing with his actions.
What a terrible timing for this.
River rubbed his aching forehead. The movement wasn’t too big, but Aspen reacted to it.
River felt a slender hand grab his own and looked down in surprise, gaze falling to meet Aspen’s.
And for a moment, the world was actually quiet.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Terror.
Elnfg kbcvfgfv obg tjio j rfmbcv lo Ujqsger mbeiv jmaejiis rmjgf Crqfc ab remt j vfugff, ab wjxf tlr fsfr ub klvf jcv uijhf bnfg klat atf mbivcfrr bo la… Dea tf jcrkfgfv tlr bkc defralbc.
Aspen was scared of Papyrus, yes, but what terrified him was River.
Ktf Elnfg ktb ygbxf vbkc lc atf yjatgbbw, atf Elnfg ktb yjgfis wjcjufv ab ygfjatf atgbeut tlr rbyr, atf Elnfg ktb kjr fwqas jcv vfjv jcv j mjcvif ubcf bea. Ktf wbra afggloslcu atlcu ab Crqfc gluta cbk kjr atf atbeuta bo Elnfg ygfjxlcu ab qlfmfr ja jcs wbwfca, jcv atf ibcfilcfrr atja kjr bcis kjlalcu ab rkjiibk eq Crqfc atf wbwfca atja tjqqfcfv.
River returned the hold on the long, soft fingers and gave them a gentle squeeze.
“I’m okay”, he whispered soundlessly. Okay, just okay. He wasn’t good, he wasn’t even fine, but he was okay.
Right now he wasn’t completely alone, so he was okay. Not yet broken. Not yet.
The terror settled and faded away. As if nothing happened, calmness returned to Aspen’s eyes. “The husband’s moving”, he said, redirecting River’s attention to the male shadow, but he didn’t let go of the other’s hand.
The husband wasn’t just a husband, he was a father. He called up the stairs, and River heard the messy group of youths exclaim in surprise when a door opened.
Two shadows came out. They were small, clearly children, and they held each other’s hands as they walked downstairs.
The family sat down for breakfast.
Some of the young people – Ivory and Vault, the couple – came down to look at them.
“Man, what an awkward breakfast”, Vault joked, giggling.
River, Aspen and the stern Papyrus however were frowning deeply.
“She’s not looking at them, is she?”, Aspen wondered out loud as the breakfast went on for a few minutes. The kids were very quiet and independent, making their own breakfast and replying peacefully when their father asked them something, but there was a complete lack of interactions with their mother.
It was to an abnormal extent. She never even looked at them, despite talking animatedly with her husband.
“You have a good eye.”
Papyrus’ voice was bound to make them flinch every time they heard it.
River did not respond in Aspen’s stead this time. They returned the scrutinizing stare without moving for a few seconds before turning away. There was no real reason to talk to the man.
“Soooo weird”, Ivory said with a click on her tongue. “Is she their stepmom or something? What is she being such a bitch about?”
The girl went forward, lightly kicking the mother’s chair from behind. It was enough to make the shadow bubble up for half a second. The girls found it hilarious.
“Oh my god, stop it! You’ll make her mad, haha!”
“Are you two insane?!” The older woman next to Papyrus took a step towards them. “Stop playing with the shadows!”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Ivory rolled her eyes. She went back to Vault’s side, muttering something about “boring” under her breath that had Vault giggle.
“No discipline at all”, Honey – the male older adult – complained. After using the woman that River knew as Honey two times (and her getting killed both times), the Gambler switched over to using an older man. He uncomfortably reminded River of his teachers. “Children these days.”
That comment immediately had the air crackling.
While two sides glared at each other, Papyrus walked forward. He loomed over the children, eerily similar to a monster, watching their every move with a hum.
River didn’t go any closer. He had no need to.
He recognized that body language.
After breakfast, the parents left to change clothes. The two children, followed by River, went to brush teeth and wash up on their own. Afterwards they walked back into the kitchen, beginning to clean the table and wash the dishes.
They were too small to reach the sink comfortably, so they dragged out a stool from a corner. The whole thing happened without a single word, so quiet that if they hadn’t responded during breakfast, one would have to wonder if they were mute.
The atmosphere in the house was actually very relaxed. The mother laughed as she talked to her husband and they exchanged fleeting touches and kisses when passing each other by. They were the perfect image of a loving couple with no hint of acting to be seen. This was not where the problem was lying.
When the two adults left the house, the children – twins, River mused – were left alone. The sight made River frown.
It was hard to say as he only had their heights to guess, but he judged them to be roughly old enough to go to elementary school. At that age it was possible to leave your children at home for a while, individual cases varying. It was definitely an age where you shouldn’t leave your children alone if possible, or if you did only for a short period of time.
“Do you think I can scare them if I play ghost?” Bronze popped up from somewhere. His eyes were glinting with mischief the same way that Ivory and Vault’s eyes were.
If this were a simple game, River would have understood the guy’s enthusiasm for playing around. But this was a beautifully crafted puzzle.
“Don’t-”
His sentence broke as he winced, getting no further. Bronze happily made the plates that the twins had cleaned clatter, causing one of them to fall with a loud sound.
The only reason the twins didn’t bubble up into the gigantic, man-eating slimes was that they both believed themselves to be at fault for the plate to fall, somehow. They got off their little stool and expertly cleaned up the shards.
River stared at them and Aspen stared at Bronze, whose face was one of overdone surprise. “Oops!”
“Isn’t…” The guy who spoke up hadn’t said much before. Silver stood behind the much more outgoing young girls, fidgeting with his hands. “…the first round for observing?”
“Eh, what’s a plate gonna do.” Bronze shrugged.
“A ton.” It was River who forced the words out. He was nauseous from losing ShuShu. He had a pounding headache. Everything around him was too loud… Ah. Yes, indeed, he could understand Aspen. “Don’t you know the difference between a broken plate and a whole one? What it means for the parents to see their children let one break?”
Aspen helped him out. “They might get a punishment they otherwise wouldn’t have gotten. The whole timeline can shift because there’s an additional conversation that wouldn’t have happened if this plate was whole.”
“So?” Bronze still didn’t understand the problem. He nudged a shard with his shoe, where the twins couldn’t see it.
“You’re supposed to observe the first round so that you know what you have to do.” Silver’s voice was quiet and uncertain. He fidgeted from one foot to the next, avoiding eye contact with anyone. “…At least that’s what the guide said.”
There were complete guides now?
Had that been built from Amber’s description of their game together, or had someone else created one?
“There’s only four people here. It can’t be that hard to figure out.” The noise had attracted Ivory and Vault over again. They stood close to Bronze, perfectly relaxed. “Don’t worry so much, Silver. All’s fine.”
“If you say so…”
Author’s Note
Reminder that the “names” are marks. They signify which Gamblers has sent the player into the game. That’s why some names repeat with different players.
Thanks for the chapter! ^^
I knew they were going to cause problems. In itself papyrus is rather a good thing after all. Having a rival is another way to push yourself to do your best, but the two three-week-old bunnies… hugh…
Forgive me X’), a horror film will always have protagonists with the intelligence of a chickpea.
And for children… It’s a form of abuse, isn’t it? Abandoned his duty as a parent, huh…
Thanks for this chapter!