Death Cast

01.44 | Grecia Bella Theatre

Elias’ upbringing was anything but pleasant.

His parents sold him to a slave trafficker when he was four years old. The monetary value of his life has been calculated to be contained within those three silver coins. The parents whom he thought had loved him dearly sold him out like a piece of bread—his value could not even compare to the price of a simple meal. 

He hadn't seen his parents since.

When he was nine years old, Elias committed his first murder. He had escaped from his violent master, who had always treated him as though he were a beast. He would never forget the day he had to sprint relentlessly across the meadow and through the woodland in order to escape from the fierce chasing dogs owned by his master. His body, which was lacking in all sorts of nutrients, could not handle such a strenuous activity.

It was when he feared he'd die.

He refuses to acknowledge it. In his short life of nine years, Elias always wanted to be free. In his mind, everything was a nightmare, and his body was just attempting to let him know that it was time to wake up. He's probably being roused awake by his parents, who are standing on either side of his bed.

The dream lasted quite a while.

Elias had no idea how he had survived that day, but he was surprised to find himself waking up in a tidy homemade bed the next morning. On a nearby chair, facing a low table, sat a man with round spectacles. He seemed to be thinking about something. The doctor must have sensed the intensity of someone's stare because he turned his head around to view Elias' almost skeleton-like figure.

The doctor clicked his tongue as he walked over to the patient. Elias was immediately hostile as he sat there watching the man approach. The doctor then patted the boy's head. His calm voice is incredibly comforting. Elias wondered if this is how a father's voice sounded.

He can't even remember what his father sounded like. 

The doctor hummed in satisfaction and said, "You are here. You are safe now."

He looked at the boy's eyes for the second time and saw the vitality common for people who always wanted to survive. He doesn't have to worry anymore. This kid will survive. 

After that day, Elias was brought to a dilapidated theatre where there were a lot more ghost stories than the people living in it. He had heard from the old staff that the theatre was hastily reconstructed after it caught fire many years ago, killing almost a hundred people. Paranormal activities started to occur in the area, so they warned the newbies to not wander around randomly at night. 

Elias followed the rumors as he continued his life as part of the staff. He learned, he trained—he had done everything just to earn a living. Despite the harsh instructor giving them a lot of difficult exercises, Elias gritted his teeth and continued. The cramps and body pain are all nothing compared to those nights when he had to sleep hungry after getting beaten up by his master. 

Compared to other days, this feeling is bearable. He could continue doing this forever. 

His efforts earned him a good image among the staff. He is still young and he is just at the right age to start training. He honed his skills and stretched out his muscles until he could do everything with just a few simple instructions. Everyone liked the hardworking youth. They supported him as he grew up. 

When he was thirteen years old, he met Bella. 

Elias fell in love. 

Oh, that's not right. It should have been that Elias took a liking to Bella, a crush, or puppy love of some sort. He'd been surrounded by adults his entire life, so meeting someone his age piqued his interest in the other side. He never dared to approach Bella or introduce himself because he was worried she would dislike him because of the difference in their social standing.

He kept watching from the sidelines as if he were admiring the beauty of a well-known painting from afar. Yes, that should be enough.

No.

It's not enough anymore. The diligent performer, who had reached the age of eighteen, felt as if he could no longer keep his emotions under wraps anymore. Every time he saw Bella, his heart would begin to beat erratically as if it had discovered the reason why it was beating. His brain would be affected by the thrill, which would prompt him to just listen to his heart and confess. Elias was plagued by insomnia as he contemplated how to handle his emotions.

When he thought that he had found the answers, Bella left the theatre without notice. 

There is no complicated explanation for why she left. It seems that her illness acted up, so she had to leave the theatre momentarily. Her father took her to another specialist to look into her status. The lover boy, who was left out, felt like he had missed a good chance. Just when he thought he could finally face her, that’s when she left him out. 

Elias remained one of the best performers in the troupe, but everyone noticed that he was a bit down during performances. He is smiling, using his glib tongue to praise people as usual, but there is a hint of tiredness in his voice that only those people who are close to him would notice. The one who pointed the problem out is Marikit, who is one of the closest adults to Elias. 

She had guessed, after watching over the youth, that he had fallen in love. And the subject of his affection was probably the young lady of their troupe. They had never seen it coming, but they weren’t opposed to it. Elias is such a good gentleman, who has a very good-looking face and good manners. Who would hate him?

However, they still have to consider Bella’s father, who is very stubborn and strict when it comes to Bella's suitors. To be honest, ever since Bella turned fifteen years old, there have been a lot of suitors all over the world coming to ask for her hand. Although most of them backed out after seeing her status, there is still a handful who wanted her as their wife and used their marriage conveniently. Her father would never want that to happen. 

Thus, they decided to help Elias. 

Bella has a genetic condition where her bones weaken as she grows older. A few months ago, she was already using a cane to support herself. Right now, she is being pushed by a wheeled chair. There is still a smile on her beautiful face, but anyone can see the hint of sadness and hopelessness coming from her eyes. Elias could feel his heart aching as he watched the love of his life suffer like this. 

It must be painful. No, it could only be painful.

Elias, who had started to get cowardly again, was pushed by his family to send Bella a letter. They reason that since he is shy about meeting with Bella, why not become penpals instead? In this way, they will gradually earn each other’s trust and will also give Elias insights into Bella’s opinion of the lower class. That short episode started the whole barrage of letters exchanged between the two young people. 

Eventually, they did fall in love with each other. 

“Elias!” 

The jester snapped out of his memory lane when someone slapped him in the face. He looked at the person who dared to touch his good-looking face and frowned. Jaerim is standing there, his red palm still facing upright. The black-haired youth looked at the jester suspiciously and probably wanted to slap him again when Elias grabbed his wrist.

“What are you doing?” Elias asked. 

Jaerim blinked his eyes like an owl. “Well, we have been running around since the fire has spread, and I found you here standing alone without moving. I thought you had fallen under a spell or something.”

“So you slapped me?” Elias could feel the sting in his cheeks.

“Yeah,” Jaerim honestly replies, and he did not look like he is sorry for it. 

“You had the guts?”

“Why not?” Jaerim smirked. 

Elias rolled his eyes. Jaerim must be getting back at him as revenge for kissing his cheeks earlier. The guy who had been cautiously avoiding him before dared to bite back. Anyway, he doesn’t care. It’s not important anymore. He must focus on saving Bella. 

As Jaerim said, the fire had spread out quite quickly thanks to the help of the corpses that would stick anywhere flammable. The fire had covered most of the walls, and the foundations on the ceiling seemed to collapse at any moment. However, some parts of the theatre are still bare from the fire. The focus is still on the stadium, where most of the corpses are running amok. 

“We have blocked the passageways so they will stay inside,” Jaerim reported. 

He wiped the sweat on his forehead while he hissed in pain silently. The warm temperature is affecting the wounds on his neck and his cheeks. With his sweat trickling out, it’s only making the feeling worse. Elias looked at him, then shifted his attention to the operation room. The door had been opened. Actually, there is no door since it is now quickly burning. 

“You go and join your friends as I-”

Elias wasn’t able to finish his words when Jaerim pushed him to the side. A large beam of embers and fire had fallen to the ground where they were standing before. The size of the fallen debris is quite large and if they haven’t avoided it, they will either die from getting crushed or from burning themselves into smithereens. 

“Hey, are you alright -coughs-” Elias called out, since he could not see with the beam and fire hindering his sight. But it seemed that the fire had become more serious than he thought. Jaerim reacted quite calmly around him so he wasn’t able to register the situation well. 

Who would dare to chat and stand around idly in a place being raged by fire? 

It was his first time encountering one. 

“Hey! Can you hear me-” Elias started coughing. The smoke is getting into his lungs. He is familiar with this feeling. After all, he had experienced this thing many times before. And during those times, the pain in his chest could never be compared to the feeling of despair as he tried to reach out and save Bella from the fire. 

This time… he wanted to save her this time. 

It’s the only opportunity he had.