Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary! Chapter 68: The perfect piece [3]

If there was one thing I understood after the first scenario with the conductor, it was that seeking perfection was a curse.

Many strived to be perfect.

The desire for perfection was a deep human trait, though the intensity and expression of it varied widely from person to person.

Inherently, such logic was flawed.

Even though people strived for perfection, nothing was ever perfect.

Achieving perfection was almost impossible.

Many understood this simple truth and, as such, gave up when they got close to it.

This is enough.

To , it’s perfect.

But...

There existed those who didn’t believe in such a notion.

People or beings who let their inability to reach perfection consu their minds and thoughts.

Their reality...

It was filled with nothing but anguish and despair.

With just the singular thought of perfection completely consuming their minds. To the point of madness.

The conductor was one such person.

I stared at the reflection before . From its sewn eyes and sewn lips. I didn’t understand then, but I understand now.

No voice could tarnish his piece.

No sight could influence his sound.

He sewed his lips and sealed his eyes.

To hear the music all around.

And...

To drown the world outside.

...The madness had reached a point of no return. All the conductor could think about was reaching perfection; his life driven by that one singular thought.

I couldn’t relate to such a thought process.

I wasn’t perfect.

I neither strived to be perfect.

I just wanted to live.

I just...

I blinked my eye slowly.

That was a lie. I could relate a little. I thought back to the ga I had recently developed and thought about all the reactions I managed to see on the internet. The screams, the police calls, the... everything.

I started to understand.

...The feeling of wanting to do more.

Better. More perfect.

Blinking yet again, I stared at the conductor’s image before . He didn’t say anything while he looked at through the polished surface of the piano.

I was starting to understand better, and unknowingly, my back began to hunch over.

I didn’t really understand why.

Dang—

But as I played the next note, sothing about it felt different.

It felt crisper.

Sharper.

"....."

My finger twitched. I felt a certain pain settle into my chest. I raised my head to look at the reflection on the piano.

The conductor was there, his baton in the air.

When did...

"Haa..."

A long breath escaped my lips.

The twitch in my finger persisted as I played the next note, its sound expanding further throughout the room as it lingered for a few seconds longer.

That sound...

’It sounds so good.’

I silently swallowed my saliva. My mouth was strangely dry as I looked at the keys before . I wanted to hear it again.

I wanted to hear the sa crisp sound from before.

And so I tried again.

Dang, Dang!

My hands moved on their own. They danced across the keys, pressing down as the notes echoed in the air.

"H-ho."

My chest trembled as the notes drifted in the air. Staring at the reflection before , the conductor waved his baton.

He was...

Conducting my piece.

Dang!

I began to follow his lead.

...My back hunched further while my hand started to tense.

The more I played the music, the more I started to feel my hands beco light. Each note of the lody unfolded with a fragility that made it seem as though the keys were made of thin glass, ready to shatter beneath the slightest pressure.

I started to be afraid.

Afraid of making any mistakes.

The re thought of pressing too hard made my heart ache.

It made my mind swirl with all sorts of thoughts. Consuming it.

The more I played, the more I understood.

The reason for the conductor’s perfectionism.

It was to...

Feel complete.

Within the emptiness inside the minds of others, perfection was a ans to fill the void. It was a ans to give purpose. To... give proof of existence.

Because only those who achieved perfection could be written in the history books.

Acknowledged.

...And that was all the conductor really wanted.

He wanted to be acknowledged.

’So let do that for you.’

Dang!

I once again added pressure to the keys as the notes dragged into the air with even more force and sharpness.

The conductor remained in front of , his baton waving slightly.

I followed its lead.

...The conductor knew which tempo and rhythm I had to follow in order to strive for perfection.

Da Dong!

My hands moved fluidly, pressing onto the keys with steady precision. I felt sweat drip down the side of my face as I played the piano.

The closer I got to the ending, the heavier the weight on my chest.

I couldn’t ss up.

...I had to be perfect.

I felt my breathing quicken as those thoughts entered my mind.

"Haa... Haa..."

It was getting hard.

But as if possessed, my hands continued to move, their movents becoming even more fluid. The world around had long faded.

The only thing was the piano in front of and the conductor standing not far off, as a certain darkness embraced our surroundings.

I continued to play.

My movents were swift, my execution seamless, and most importantly...

I was perfect.

Dong!

But...

’No, this isn’t enough.’

Sothing didn’t feel quite right about the situation.

I looked towards the keys in front of and the conductor in front.

Sothing was missing.

But what...?

What exactly was it missing?

The answer ca to shortly after as I paused and looked around, the darkness around fading.

That’s when I saw it.

The faces of everyone around the ballroom, directed towards . Not a single person was looking at .

...And none of them were dancing.

’Ah, I see.’

Dong!

I pressed down on the key once more.

It was them.

They were the missing piece to my perfection.

The ones to acknowledge it.

My audience.

***

With the exception of the lody coming from the grand piano in the ballroom, the surroundings were quiet. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the Jester by the piano.

The dance had long stopped.

In that mont, it felt that any extra noise would tarnish his piece.

Nobody dared to make a sound.

But at the sa ti, their expressions couldn’t help but change as they saw the changes happening to the Jester as his back grew more and more hunched, his hands curling, and his shoulders rolling.

The sight was sickening to watch.

...But at the sa ti, nobody could tear their gaze away from him.

’Just what is he doing?’

’...Why is he acting like this?’

’He’s a freak.’

Their stomachs churned as they stared at the host, who was blankly staring in the direction of the Jester.

His reaction said it all.

But it wasn’t like this at the start.

At first, the piece felt normal. Boring. But sothing about it changed halfway through.

It was during the sa ti that the Jester changed, as sothing about the notes that played in the air felt entrancing, mind-numbing.

Zoey struggled to keep her eye away from the Jester.

All of a sudden, she recalled her previous words.

’Your palms are sweating. Nervous?’

’...Am I onto sothing?’

They felt laughable now. Nervous? No, the opposite most likely.

He was probably excited.

Excited to display this before them.

Dang!

And with each note that struck, her mind grew more and more blank.

She couldn’t extricate her gaze from him, and in that mont, it felt as though the world centered around the Jester.

They were rely spectators to his world.

To his piece.

And then—

Dang!

The last note struck, gently spreading throughout the ballroom.

"....."

The silence dragged on as everyone stopped moving.

All thoughts were blank as the note lingered in the air for a few seconds after the last key was pressed.

They only snapped out of it when the note finally faded, and they raised their hands to look at the Jester.

"....!"

"Ah..."

"What is...!?"

It was also in that mont that they saw it.

The long and slender figure that stood on the opposite end of the grand piano, its slender arms resting onto the top as its sewn eyes and mouth stared directly at the hunched Jester, who slowly raised his head.

And soon...

Their eyes t.

Under the stares of everyone in the room, the Jester stood up from his seat and looked at everyone watching.

Everyone was staring at him.

Acknowledging him.

This was...

The perfect piece.

His perfect piece.

He bowed.