"..."
The Conductor stood in silence, its gaze hovering in Sethâs direction as he took another drag of the cigarette. It was dark in the alley, and as a soft breeze brushed the surroundings, Seth took another drag of the cigarette, his eyes darkening alongside the night.
*Puff*
"...Do as you wish. Iâm not going to interfere."
There used to be a time when he wouldâve thought about the consequences of his actions, but lately, he found himself thinking less and less of such matters.
âIâve been liking the peace quite a lot lately. Had I acted faster, I probably wouldâve gotten rid of the rat faster, and I wouldnât have had to take such drastic measures with the Guild Master. I also wouldâve been able to handle Nightmare Forge Studios a lot faster.â
At the end of the day, it all came down to the fact that he was a âpushoverâ.
Indeed, he was one.
He was both a coward and a pushover.
This much he was aware of.
But at the same time, he was slowly changing.
He could feel the change.
*Puff*
Taking the last drag of the cigarette, he tossed the cigarette to the ground and lifted his head to stare at the Conductor.
"Donât hold back."
Riiiiiiipâ!
A wet rip echoed across the surroundings, the Conductorâs stitched coming apart as its lips pulled into a grotesque smile.
"Very well."
"....."
Sethâs gaze continued to hover over the Conductor for the briefest of moments before he turned around and stomped on the cigarette on the ground.
His body faded from the alley a moment later.
And soonâ
The Conductor made its move.
*
What did music mean to the Conductor?
It meant everything to him.
In that case, how did it feel when it knew that someone stole from it?
Rage.
Unbelievable rage.
It wanted nothing more than to tear apart the ones responsible for stealing its music.
How dare they!?
But the Conductor was no longer the same as it had been. Its powers were greatly weakened, and it was no longer in full control of its decisions. It had given up those rights after being defeated by Seth.
As such, the Conductor could only hold back its rage.
But each day that passed, the rage it felt only grew. It grew to the point where it wanted to destroy everything that was within its sight.
And thankfullyâ
âDo as you please.â
He was finally unleashed.
Upon entering a certain room, the lights flicked on.
He entered the room in silence, his eyes sweeping over the scattered instruments before he made his way to the podium, where his baton rested, waiting for him.
Picking it up, he slowly lifted it in the air.
The room fell completely still.
But within the stillness, the Conductor could hear it.
Countless melodies drifted through the air, each one concealing the true tune that belonged to him. His lips curled wider, and his eyes slowly tore open, revealing two hollow, depthless voids.
And thenâ
Swooosh!
He slashed the baton down.
Regardless of how far he was, his music was always within his control.
***
The update released by Nightmare Forge Studios was met with significant backlash from some members of the internet.
âThey really released the update?
âAre they really that desperate?
âI mean, if you think about it... It makes sense. They are currently facing significant backlash, and the best way to address it is to send out the update. That will get people to talk more about the game than their situation. Itâs not like this is the first scummy company out there.
âYouâre right. Still, Iâm not buying it. Boycott this shit!
âBoycott!!
Many were calling for a boycott, but the movement was hardly significant.
The update was still downloaded by many, with several dozen others purchasing the game altogether.
To make matters worse, many of the people who had been criticizing the game or the update suddenly found their posts removed or deleted.
Silenced!
They were all being silenced!
In a certain room.
"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit."
Darwin sat alone in his room, gnawing at his nails as the screen before him flickered, the update slowly downloading. His hair was a tangled mess, and dark circles clung stubbornly beneath his tired eyes.
"Despite everything that Iâve done for them, theyâre doing this to me... Shit! Shit! Shit! It was just a simple mistake. Itâs nothing too big."
Darwin stared at the papers in front of him.
They were the lawsuit sent over to him by Nightmare Forge Studios following the situation.
Darwin understood that they had no real legal grounds, but he also understood that this wasnât their goal. They were trying to destroy him with legal fees and time. They were planning on dragging it out in order to make him suffer.
"Shit...!"
Darwin cursed once more.
Thankfully, there was a way out.
âSo long as I can help them regain their reputation. Yeah, I can do that.â
His following had grown significantly following the previous stream. In fact, over 50,000 viewers were waiting for him to start his stream.
"Hoo. Hoo."
Darwin took several deep breaths, taking some time to fix his hair and putting light makeup under his eyes to hide the dark circles before forcing out a smile and turning on the stream.
"Yoooo! How are you all doing!? I can see that a lot of you are excited for the upcoming stream! Nice!!"
He glanced at the chat, and the smile on his face nearly faltered.
However, he still managed to retain it as he focused on the update that had just finished downloading.
"Today Iâll be playing the newest update of Nightmare Forge Studioâs game, like I previously mentioned. I honestly canât wait to try it. Iâve been told itâs a really amazing update with all-new features and modes. Letâs give it a go!"
The entire time Darwin spoke, he didnât once talk about the situation. He kept ignoring it, and as a result, the chat kept exploding. Even the viewers started to grow as a result.
"Ehm. Letâs start."
Darwin started the game a moment later.
He was already familiar with the game and, as such, was able to easily handle the first few parts without any problems. He also took the time to explain how the game worked to the new viewers.
The gameâs music echoed in the background as he played.
What he didnât notice as he played the game was the sudden itch on his neck.
Scratch!
At first, it was easy to ignore it.
However, as the game progressed, the itch only grew.
Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!
"Huh? What the hell?"
It wasnât just his neck this time.
His back, his cheeks... His entire body started to itch.
He wasnât the only one experiencing such an inch.
Even the viewers were no different, their entire bodies starting to itch.
Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!
Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!
Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!
âWhat the hell?!
âWhatâs going on!?
It grew more and more unbearable with each passing second, but this was merely the start.
".....!?"
Suddenly, the room started to tilt.
"Huek!"
Darwin held onto the chair, trying his best to keep himself from falling.
"W-what the....!!"
Left to right.
Right to left.
It suddenly felt as though the entire world was tilting.
But that wasnât even the worst part.
Soonâ
Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!
Darwin felt a quiet sense of dread, the room suddenly chilling as his entire body started to shudder.
Suddenly, his eyes drew to the monitor in front of him.
The game was still on, but he appeared to notice something within it.
A figure.
Tall and lanky.
It stared straight at him, hands raised.
"Haa... Haa..."
Darwinâs breath grew more and more ragged, his expression twisting.
W-what...
What in the world was happening?
And soonâ
The figure slashed down.
"Haaaaâ!"
He suddenly found himself running towards the screen, his face planted right on it.
Crack!
A crack sounded, and the screen cracked.
But it wasnât over.
BANG! BANG!
Darwin smashed his head over the monitor again, this time harder.
"Haaaa! It... It-hurts... Ha... Haha.. Hahahaha!"
Soon, his screams turned into laughs.
"It hurts! Hahaha!"
BANG! BANG!
BANG! BANG!
"Hahahahahaha!"
He wasnât the only one to act like this.
Almost everyone watching or playing the game experienced the same thing.
BANG!
BANG!
That night...
Terror reigned.
It was a night of terror.