"Are you ready?"
The man who spoke was a middle-aged figure standing before the round table. He was clearly the current patriarch of the Le Domas family—Alex's father.
He held a small black box with both hands and slowly set it on the table.
"Long ago, my great-grandfather Victor met a gentleman named Le Bail."
"It was thanks to that gentleman's generous support that our family built the vast gaming empire we have today…"
As the patriarch recounted the family's history, he pushed the black box toward Grace.
"One of the many collections Mr. Le Bail left behind is the box before you."
His eyes locked onto Grace, excitement gleaming in them. "Whenever a new member joins the family, we insert a blank card into this box to replace one game."
"The new member must personally press the mechanism and draw the card. Le Bail's will decides what card you pull—and therefore what game we play tonight."
The patriarch made a polite gesture, staring at Grace with eager anticipation. "Dear, it's your turn now."
Grace still hadn't grasped the gravity of the situation. She simply found the whole theatrical ritual ridiculous.
She picked up the heavy box and, following instructions, pressed the mechanism on its side.
At that exact moment, Soren—hidden in the corner—sensed an ancient demonic power stirring inside the wooden box, manipulating the cards.
Click.
The mechanism sprang open. Grace pulled out a card.
The moment Alex saw the words on it, his face drained of all color.
"What does it say?" the aunt they had met in the corridor earlier asked, hands planted on the table, voice impatient.
Grace flipped the card over and cheerfully showed it to everyone.
On it was written a single English phrase: hide and seek.
"Are we really playing this game tonight?"
Grace looked around at the group and burst out laughing.
A bunch of adults gathering to play hide-and-seek felt hilariously childish to her.
Alex shot his father a helpless glance.
Across the table, his brother Daniel gripped his wine glass so tightly his knuckles turned white, pupils shrinking to pinpricks.
The rest of the Le Domas family members wore shifting expressions—some stunned, some terrified, but most barely containing a sick kind of excitement.
Seeing their strange reactions, Grace toyed with the card in her hand and looked puzzled at her husband. "What's wrong?"
Alex clearly hadn't expected his wife to be this unlucky.
He froze for a second, now placing all his hopes on Soren actually being as good as his reputation and keeping Grace alive until dawn.
"It's… it's nothing. Family tradition."
The middle-aged patriarch rose from his seat and slowly walked behind Grace. He placed both hands on her shoulders and said softly, "This game is your initiation rite into the family."
"So tonight, you'll be the one hiding."
With that, he walked over and knocked on the door, signaling the butler outside to open it.
"Grace, listen—later, find that bodyguard named Soren. No matter what happens, stay right beside him. He'll protect you!"
Taking the brief opening, Alex grabbed Grace's hand tightly and whispered urgently.
"No! Alex, I want to play this game properly."
Grace pulled her hand free, thinking her husband was being far too dramatic.
"Even if it feels weird, it's your family's tradition. I don't want to ruin it."
The patriarch returned, gently pushing Grace toward the door.
"The rules are simple," he told her. "You can hide anywhere inside the estate. We'll count to one hundred, then come looking for you."
He shut the door behind her without mercy.
Grace stared at the closed door and let out a helpless sigh.
She turned around and looked at Soren, who had been standing silently in the corridor the whole time. She shrugged.
"Look, whatever my husband just told you, tonight I want to enjoy this initiation game the way it's meant to be played."
Soren looked at the naive woman and the corner of his mouth curled into a small smile.
"Of course, ma'am. I guarantee you'll experience every bit of fun this game has to offer."
His mind moved.
The next second, Grace's vision went black. She vanished from the corridor without a trace.
Under normal circumstances, dealing with horror-movie victims like this meant even knocking her unconscious and stashing her somewhere safe would probably end with her waking up at the worst possible moment, running out screaming and causing all kinds of trouble.
Better to eliminate the risk entirely.
With his increased control over Silent Hill, he could now send living people into the Otherworld himself—no need to go through Alessa.
Since she wanted to play so badly, he'd let Alessa keep her company inside the domain.
After mentally instructing Alessa Don't actually kill her, Soren sat down on the sofa.
Now all he had to do was sit here quietly and wait for dawn—game over.
...
Helen Le Domas pushed open the door to the family armory with a cold face.
Thirty years ago, on a night just like this, she had been forced to personally slaughter the man who drew the "Hide and Seek" card—her own husband.
Ever since, hunting down new family members with brutal methods had become the only thing that filled the emptiness inside her.
Helen carefully scanned the weapon racks. A double-bladed battle axe caught her eye.
She lifted it. The heavy weight made a sickly smile spread across her face.
Soon they would drag that little bitch Grace out of whatever rat hole she was hiding in.
And when they did, Helen would use this axe to split open her chest and listen to her scream and beg in despair.
However…
Things were not going as she expected.
The entire Le Domas clan—seven or eight members, plus a few hastily drafted maids and butlers—armed themselves with every kind of weapon and tore through the mansion searching high and low.
Yet after a long time, they still hadn't found even a trace of Grace.
It was as if the woman had simply vanished from the face of the earth.
"Damn it! Did she already run outside?"
The frustrated group gathered in the security room in front of the monitors.
To honor the old hunting tradition, every screen on the wall had been deliberately left off.
The short-haired woman—neat and sharp—slammed her bow onto the table in irritation and cursed.
She had only married into the Le Domas family for the money.
She had zero intention of dying tonight because of some stranger.
"Turn the cameras on," she demanded.
"No." The patriarch's face was grave; he rejected the idea instantly. "If we cheat during the game, we'll anger Mr. Le Bail."
"To hell with Mr. Le Bail!" Helen roared, gripping her battle axe. "If we don't find her before dawn and finish the ritual, every single one of us dies!"
"Since we're all going to die anyway, why not use the cameras? Do you want us to just sit here and wait for death?!"
Her words struck every weak spot in the room.
The security room fell silent.
Several family members turned their eyes to the patriarch.
His expression flickered. He glanced at the countdown clock on the wall; panic flashed in his eyes.
Finally he nodded at the butler. "Turn them on!"
The monitors lit up instantly.
Everyone crowded around, rewinding to the moment right after Grace had drawn the card.
On screen, the bride in her wedding dress stood in front of the guest named Soren, talking.
Then, the next second, something that made everyone's scalp tingle happened.
Without any warning or glitch, Grace simply vanished into thin air on camera.
A chorus of "fuck" erupted inside the security room.
The patriarch stared at the screen, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
After Grace disappeared, the so-called "friend" Alex had brought home simply sat down on the sofa like he was waiting for something.
"What are we waiting for?" Helen snarled, hefting her battle axe, eyes burning with murderous intent.
"He's the one who hid her! Go grab him. I refuse to believe his mouth is harder than my axe!"