Death Cast

01.13 | Grecia Bella Theatre

The afternoon came and it is the jester's troupe's turn to perform. They finished the rehearsal abruptly and went to the dressing room to do some retouch and finalize the accessories to be placed on their outfits. Everyone moved quickly. Nobody dared to lag behind.

Jaerim could feel the inquiring gazes while he was seated for retouching. Silvester suddenly appearing on site caused a sensation, not only on their troupe but on the other groups as well. The presence of a grim reaper is quite special and Autumns were kind of sensitive to their existence. It only took one afternoon for all the Autumns in that world to know the event.

He has no idea why Silvester did it so Jaerim simply ignored it. The rules of the world weren't stated clearly from the start, his ignorance could only be blamed on the management. Anyway, he had already accepted the arrangement and the jester wasn't against it. There's nothing else he could do but follow the flow, ah.

After everything is done, the performers then went backstage. The jester busied himself around the staff to cooperate and submit materials like giving the music sheet needed for the musicians to play or the lighting of the stage. They watched the jester with great fanfare as he rush around until his feet could no longer touch the ground.

Jaerim only watched the excitement for a while. His attention is more focused on the stage where he could hear some noises from people performing but no applause from the audience whatsoever. A large theatre like this, aside from the staff roaming around, should be filled with noises from people cheering, laughing, crying, and chatter. The advertisement posters he had seen allowed free entrance so the place should be packed with people.

It's weird to hear nothing in such a lively place.

The stage and backstage were divided by a thick red curtain that fully covered each section. Jaerim moved to the red curtain and searched for a slit or edge where the curtain ends. Noel noticed Jaerim looking around and observed him. The person roamed on the side of the thick curtain for a while before he stopped in a certain section. Jaerim moved forward and placed his head to the curtain as if peeking at something.

He found a slit in the area where the red curtains meet. It should be the section that separates whenever the curtains were raised to welcome the performers. Jaerim nudged the thick curtain to the side to make enough space for his eyes to see while still keeping himself hidden. It would be weird if his head will suddenly pop out in the middle of the stage while the other people are performing.

Most of the lighting is focused on the stage. When Jaerim took a peek, his eyes were almost blinded by the bright light. He took a step back to rub his eyes and proceeded much carefully this time.

None of the Autumns had seen the stage before as well as the auditorium. They entered the place using the special door used by staff. Jaerim moved about his black irises when he felt a shadow fall just above before him. He took a closer look and found a pair of feet floating in midair.

He instantly feels cold. A shiver runs down his spine. The sudden appearance of the feet made his heart jump, rushing blood to his head leaving the other body parts eerie cold. The shock made him look more, his black eyes strained to look up at the feet that were hanging loosely in an angle to the ground.

One can easily tell the posture of the feet - it looked the same with someone who committed suicide.

Before he could understand the situation, a pale eye without sclera suddenly flashed unto the slit. Jaerim immediately took a step back and exclaimed his curses. The body reflex made his adrenaline shoot up, warming up his body while heightening his senses. His hair rose from the jumpscare, leaving an unpleasant feeling on his skin.

He held his palm above his chest that is currently loud and chaotic, like a bird angrily pounding on its nest, wanting to come out. He could even hear the throbbing in his head, making him dizzy. He wanted to close his eyes to clear his thoughts but somehow he could not help the urge to look at the slit that still contain a whole black eye.

Jaerim could feel the fear and dread coming from the eyes as if showing him the gruesome tale of the human wake. Loud noises rang into his head like visions of people pleading for help came by, scratching his heart with their blood-chipped nails and cries of curses. He could not see them clearly since the images are blurred by a hot bright light that seem to burn his skin and flesh to ashes.

It feels very terrible, suffocating as if he had been locked in a suitcase void from the air. It's impossible for a human to fit in a suitcase unless the body had been chopped to pieces or forced to break the limbs to fit in. The pain made Jaerim die on the spot.

Die on the spot...

Die...

A large hand suddenly covered Jaerim's eyes. The cold skin slipped past through from behind, enclosing his head with one arm almost hugging it. Another cold hand touched his neck where both of his hands were unknowingly been placed and gradually removed them. The tightness on his neck had gone and his breathing came back to normal.

"Don't be afraid," a gentle voice whispered in his ears. The warmth of the person's breathe brushed against his sensitive ears. The hand on his neck crept down to his chest where Silvester suddenly pushed in.

Jaerim gasped for breath.

It seems that he had been holding his breath while his hands were placed on his neck to strangle himself. The coldness weirdly made him sweat a lot, drops dripping under his cheeks. What happened to him right now is out of his expectations. He didn't know that the way of death in this world can be easily executed by force.

It's indeed a terrible world no matter how harmless the characters look. He had underestimated the difficulty of the dimension, as well as getting careless on looking around. Jaerim would have died committing suicide through self-strangulation like the owner of the floating feet in front of the stage, if not from Silvester's timely rescue.

"Are you feeling better now?" Silvester asked.

Jaerim tried to speak but his throat seems to have been dried and deprived of water. It is scratchy and hoarse when he tried to speak.

"I understand, don't force yourself. Just take some rest for a while."

Jaerim opened his mouth.

"Don't talk, just stay put. The program is about to start and you are not in a good state. Let's discuss what happened to you later."

His words were reasonable so Jaerim nodded his head. This time, he followed Silvester's instructions and rested until the thick curtain lifted as if signaling them that it's their time to be executed.