Chapter 005

My heart thudded loudly as the bus stopped with a screech that sounded more like a scream. It lurched, making the chains hanging from the ceiling rattle.

The door opened on its own with a metallic groan, and I swear I could hear my heartbeat.

Somewhere in the distance, carnival music began to play. It was warped, broken, and scary rather than funny as it was supposed to be.

As I peeked outside the window, I caught my reflection on the foggy glass. My face was pale—hollow eyes and afraid.

“Dead?” I whispered to myself.

I couldn't believe I was dead.

But everything here seemed too… real.

The air that tastes like iron. The foggy atmosphere that you could barely see your feet. And the smell was like wet wood.

Was I really dead?

Dead? I shook my head.

No… no, no. Dead people don’t panic. Dead people don’t sweat. Dead people don’t…

I touched my chest… ba‑dump, ba‑dump… it was there—my heartbeat.

So… why is my heart beating like a trapped rabbit if I’m dead?

And if I was not, then what was this place?

I couldn’t possibly be dead. Could I?

[Player 09. Player 013. Reaper 077.

Head to the Exit.

Bus doors will be open for survived players after dawn.]

An old man from seat number 09 stood and waited at the entrance of the door. He didn’t seem scared at all.

As if he was used to all of this.

“It’s better for you to start! If you delay, the system will decrease your points, and if you lose all of your points, you’ll be deleted from the system and the game!” a voice hissed right behind my ear.

I jumped in fright.

I swallowed as I turned toward the source of the voice.

I wished I could erase that smug smirk off the masked man’s face.

“Points?” I asked in confusion.

“Lose your points… lose your soul,” he explained. “You start with three points in your inventory. Every time you do not entertain the audience, you lose points and hearts—then you will die forever!”

“Audience? Which audience?” I inquired with a frown.

His eyes shone in the dim light as he locked eyes with mine. “The demons,” he hissed. His voice was low and had a dangerous edge. “They’re watching now.” His tone sent a chill down my spine that the hair on the back of my neck stood up.

I gulped.

“How am I dead, and yet I feel my heartbeat, my blood, and I still breathe?” I asked, my heart pounding vigorously in anticipation.

“Your soul is stuck between worlds, and the bus is only a method to travel between these worlds.”

A deafening siren rang out. Then, the bus voice echoed as the screen lit up:

[Player 013, you lost two points.]

“How many points do I have?” I asked in panic.

The masked man’s eyes shimmered.

“Three points. You lost two, and still have one!”

One point.

And then die again?

Oh my God!

I was a loser in real life, and now I was going to become a loser again and waste this ‘second chance at life’ opportunity?

I looked at the scary old man with a scar along his cheek, still standing at the bus door. He didn’t seem like he had lost any points.

“Is he the reaper?” I asked, pointing at the old man.

Something dark, deep dark, shimmered in the handsome masked man’s eyes. As if he wasn’t looking into my eyes, but rather into something deeper inside me, my core, my soul.

“No, he’s not,” he stated. “He’s Player 09.”

He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear.

“I am the reaper, little ghost,” he whispered.

This one single gesture of tucking my hair, and his scary harsh voice, made my knees knock against each other.

Instinctively, I took a step backward.

Then… if I lost, he would kill me!

The bus flashed with warning red lights again, increasing the dose of adrenaline in my blood.

[Five…]

It started counting.

[Four…]

Downward.

[Three…]

The old man jumped out of the bus.

[Two…]

“Jump out of the fucking bus, now!” the masked man shouted.

He ran to the door, pulling me behind him. The moment we curled down on the hard ground…

[One…]

… a faint sound from inside the bus said,

[Mission Activated] as the door locked.