*FLOOR 3 – 8:45PM*
*[Countdown: 03:10]*
The hallway had gone dead silent again. The only sound was the muffled buzzing of the countdown still ticking on their phones.
Renny stared down the stairwell, jaw clenched.
"You don't even know what that *thing* is..." he muttered, stepping down slowly.
*Step. Step. Step.*
Everyone watched, wide-eyed, breath held as he descended one, two, three steps into the dimness of the stairwell.
Sal whispered to Jesse, "He's going to regret this..."
Kira didn't speak. His eyes tracked Renny like a hawk.
Finally, Renny turned around halfway down the stairs and raised his hands.
*"You see? Nothing happened."*
His voice had a cocky undertone.
But then_he blinked.
A small red drop hit the floor.
His hand moved to his nose slowly.
*Blood.*
His nose started bleeding.
Gasps rippled through the students.
"Oh my God-" one of the girls said, covering her mouth.
Renny stared at his palm, confused.
"I'm fine. I'm... it's probably just something else," he tried to say, but his voice sounded shaky now.
Kira took a step forward. "Get back *up* here."
Renny hesitated, then obeyed, stepping back up onto Floor 3. The moment his foot crossed the line, his bleeding stopped *instantly.*He looked down at his hand. The blood had stopped dripping, the warmth fading.
"What the actual hell," he whispered.
Ryan narrowed his eyes. "This isn't just some prank. Something's controlling this school."
"Or someone," Jesse added.
They all stared at the glowing countdown on their screens.
*[02:45]* and falling.
Kira clenched his jaw.
"This vote... whatever it is, I think we're all in it."
*BUZZZ... BUZZZ...*
Everyone's phones lit up again _ the same eerie app glowing on every screen.
Jesse read aloud as everyone stared, eyes wide and silent:
> "This is the Overboard Game, a relative game to chess and power of hierarchy..."
The hallway felt colder somehow, a chill sweeping through the group as she continued reading.
Her voice faltered as the details sank in.
> "...Different cases holding different roles:
> Case A - Emperor
> Case B - Doctor
> Case C - Cop
> Case D - Villager..."
"What the hell is this?" Blake asked, stepping back, face pale.
> "...It is the role of villagers, cops, and doctors to find the emperors and kill them before they wipe out the whole village..."
Kira muttered under his breath, "They're trying to make us turn on each other."
> "...You can only vote once a day... failure to vote means you get the Orderboard earlier."
"Orderboard... what *is* that?" Sal whispered.
"I don't wanna find out," Joel muttered, already sweating.
The speaker crackled and shut down, leaving just the countdown on their screens:
*[00:54]*
"It's real…" Renny said, shaking his head. "That nosebleed was real."
Miles clenched his phone, scanning the faces around him. "So what, we just vote? Based on what?""There's no clue. That's the game," Ryan said, his tone suddenly serious.
Vibrations echoed again.
A voting panel appeared on their screens with everyone's names.
*Choose someone to vote.*
Kira's brows furrowed. "This is twisted... but we don't have a choice."
*[00:40]*
One by one, trembling fingers hovered over names.
The game had begun.
*FLOOR 3
*[Countdown Ended: 00:00]*
The moment the timer struck zero, all the phones buzzed again .. this time showing their current points.
"*Woah, I got 13 votes!*" Jesse said, smiling like it was some kind of victory.
"*4...*" Reth mumbled, glancing at his screen with a shrug.
"*Mehn, you all haters. I got 1. One?!*" Aster laughed, waving his phone. "Guess I'm the school villain now."
"*This ain't the time to joke around!*" Sal snapped, standing stiff with her arms folded. "We don't even know what's happening, what this game *really* means."
Ken raised a brow, glancing at his screen. "We voted, and... nothing happened. It's probably just a prank. An elaborate one."
But then-
*Clatter.*
Aster's phone slipped from his hand and hit the tiled floor with a sharp crack.
Everyone turned.
He stood still_unnaturally still_eyes wide, staring blankly into space like something had shut off inside him.
"*Aster?*" Jesse's voice cracked slightly, her eyes narrowing in concern.
"Y-yo Aster," Reth said, reaching out, but Ryan grabbed his wrist mid-air.
"*White people and curiosity...*" Ryan muttered. "They ignore consequences."
"*You're white.*" Reth shot back.
"*Yeah. Just with a brain.*" Ryan replied coldly.
But no one was laughing anymore.Aster turned slowly, robotic. Everyone froze. Then..
Without a word, without hesitation, *he sprinted forward—and jumped over the stair rail.*
*"WHAT-ASTER?!"* Jesse screamed, running to the ledge.
Time slowed. The sound of his body hitting the ground two floors below echoed like thunder. Gasps broke out.
"*No, no no no_*" Sal covered her mouth.
Blake stared over the edge. His voice low, terrified:
"*He's… he's not moving. His head... bleeding... His eyes_*"
"*AHHHHHHHHH!*"
The girls screamed, echoing in the halls.
Then the speaker returned. Cold. Mechanical.
> **"Aster has been eliminated by vote.
> He was a Villager."**
Everyone turned toward the ceiling in fear, the words slamming into their chests like bricks.
"*No. No_I can't be here. I *won't* be here.*" Renny backed away, shaking his head.
A deadly silence fell.
One thing was now certain.
*This was real.*
And someone… or *something* was controlling them.