Eric couldn't help but shiver, goosebumps rising on his arms. Since childhood, he had always avoided horror films. While he could endure being chased by a giant python or bitten by a shark, he had no tolerance for the eerie and uncanny. Yet, he knew he had to persevere. He consoled himself, thinking that courage is forged through trials. After all, he would soon face supernatural challenges, and he needed to toughen up quickly.
Sitting back down on the ground, Eric kept his eyes open, bracing himself for the next trick the voice might play.
"Why aren't you speaking? Would you like to go out and play with me?..." The voice chirped with a lively tone, far more energetic than the one from the previous night, its words coming in rapid succession. Eric soon found himself overwhelmed, his head throbbing with the noise.
At first, it was merely irritating, but as time dragged on, Eric felt his mind beginning to unravel. For a fleeting moment, he lost control, his mouth opening as if to respond. Fortunately, he snapped back to his senses, alarmed by the brief lapse. He realized the voice had a hypnotic effect, and if he were subjected to this mental assault all night, he might not be able to resist responding at some point.
He stood up and walked out the door.
The NPC aunt was still in her spot, snoring loudly.
She had actually fallen asleep!
Eric inspected her and deduced from the traces in her mouth that she had eaten the fruit from the sack. So, it was true—these fruits allowed one to escape the eerie voices of the night and slip into a safe slumber.
Reaching into the sack, Eric pulled out a red fruit.
Throughout this, the voice in his ears never ceased; in fact, it grew more intense, as if trying to prevent him from eating the fruit.
The voice seemed to take on a physical form, occasionally brushing against his ears as it spoke. The slimy sensation, combined with the mental assault, made Eric feel as though his mental defenses were on the verge of collapse. The fruit in his hand emitted an increasingly sweet aroma, and his eyes were drawn to it as if it were the only thing that mattered...
"Eat it... eat it... eat it!"
The fruit slowly moved toward his mouth—
No!
Eric snapped out of it and threw the fruit away.
"Why won't you eat it? Aren't you hungry? Aren't you tired? Don't you want a good night's sleep?"
The enchanting voice pierced his ears. Eric clenched his teeth, returned to the room, and locked the door.
The night was excruciatingly long, lasting a full twenty hours.
By dawn, Eric felt as though he had lost half his life.
After resting for a while, Eric left the room. Outside, he saw that half the fruit in the sack had been eaten. As the NPC aunt began to stir, her eyes widening and her mouth opening as if to scream for help, Eric quickly stuffed a cloth into her mouth.
"Shall we catch up on sleep?" John opened the door, dark circles under his eyes.
"Sure."
Four hours later, it was dark again. No wonder the NPCs had rushed to pick the fruit as if their lives depended on it—the day was indeed short. Four hours of sleep was far from enough, and the night that followed was even more unbearable. Twice, Eric found himself on the verge of opening the door, as if something outside held an irresistible allure. Three times, he nearly responded to the voice.
Each time he jolted awake, his heart trembled with fear. No matter how hard he resisted, he soon found himself on the brink of losing control again.
His mind was a muddled mess. He couldn't see that his pupils had dilated, but he knew his situation was perilous. Since entering the mission, Eric had been wearing a digital watch. Checking the time, he saw that it had been dark for twenty-three hours—longer than the previous night. The time system in this instance clearly wasn't based on a twenty-four-hour cycle.
Things were not looking good. He was on the verge of collapse.
To stay awake, he had to cut his hand with a kitchen knife.
Using this method, Eric managed to survive the second long night.
"We need to look for clues," Eric said to John.
John could barely keep his eyes open. "But I'm out of energy. My head is about to explode. I don't want to waste a healing pack. I'd rather just sleep."
"Then I'll go out and take a look."
Eric couldn't venture far. The NPCs were bustling with energy, heading out to pick the fruit. He had considered joining them, as the giant tree was clearly suspicious, and the clue to the light circle might be there. But he was utterly exhausted. After walking for an hour, he was completely drained, unable to stand, his vision flickering with white light.
He had to use his first healing pack since arriving in this instance, but it only alleviated some of the negative effects.
As the cunning player and Big Eyes passed by, the cunning player remarked, "Hmph, the fruit is a good thing. If you give me ten healing packs, I'll pick a few for you later. How about it?"
Too tired to even roll his eyes, Eric simply ignored him.
After a brief respite, Eric returned to find John. It had not been long since they reached their quarters when darkness once again descended.
John offered a bitter smile. "I fear tonight is lost to us. Why is this instance so damned cruel?" Hesitating, he asked, "Are you going to eat one of the fruits tonight?"
They had reserved some of the fruit, just in case.
Recalling the peculiar fruit, Eric shook his head. "The NPCs in this instance eat nothing but those fruits. I dare not partake."
"I'm nearly starving myself into fainting, yet the healing packs seem hardly effective; this mental contamination is truly terrifying," John confessed, having already consumed some, for he could not withstand the ordeal without sustenance.
Night deepened anew.
The NPC aunt, bereft of fruit, soon succumbed to the seductive whispers of the malevolent voice and answered its call.
Bound tightly and confined, she could not escape the room.
Amid the agonized screams of NPCs beyond and the sharp pounding on the door, Eric staggered, sensing profound danger. Instinctively, he inflicted another cut upon his thigh.
At first, this method proved effective, but as the night dragged on without end—unceasing in its assault upon his mind—Eric's endurance neared its limits.
Before him danced grotesque and bewildering visions; for a long time, he was unable to reclaim his awareness.
Demonic whispers tempted him relentlessly: one word from his lips would instantaneously claim him.
"...Do you long to see your parents again?"
"Do you know why you bear this name?"
"Do you wish to be resurrected?"
"Do you desire to depart?"
"...Yes..."
His clenched jaw faltered, and Eric uttered a single word. The moment it escaped his mouth, the fog within his mind thickened, as if some overwhelming force had stormed in to shatter his already fractured thoughts completely.
Eric howled in torment and defiance; soon after, his cries fell silent, his body collapsing motionless onto the floor. Suddenly, he trembled violently and rose unsteadily, adopting a grotesque posture. Like creeping seaweed, he writhed and lashed against the door.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the stillness of the night, the pounding echoed far and wide, rousing many from their sleep.
In the neighboring room, John, almost overcome by the hypnotic voice, was jolted awake by the noise. Clenching his thigh fiercely, he pierced the pain to break the trance.
Hearing the door battering, dread welled inside him: Had Eric already been overcome? Would the NPCs break through the main door, and then Eric follow them, leaving with the entities?
A pang of doubt gripped him. Had they misjudged? The nights before, the NPCs had safely endured thanks to the fruits—were they truly a boon?
Struggling with hesitation, John listened as the door pounding abruptly ceased. A chill gripped his heart. Fighting desperately for clarity amid the mental onslaught, he cautiously cracked the door ajar.
The main entrance stood open—yet the NPCs were nowhere to be seen.
Through the narrow gap, he glimpsed a shadow flicker out from the adjacent room. In a bizarre, contorted gait, it drifted toward the doorway and vanished from John's sight.
It was Eric...
No time for grief, for more sounds poured in from outside, and John's expression darkened. No wonder the NPCs had insisted on locking doors and windows—the night was haunted by whispering presences that could slip inside!
That thought, once conceived, was swiftly annihilated by the multiplied voices hammering at his mind. His spirit shattered piece by piece, consciousness slipping away.
Soon, a new figure emerged, swaying through the doorway.
Within the neighboring house, an NPC, roused from slumber by the cacophony, was utterly alarmed. His first impulse was to ingest more fruit; this time, he devoured over a dozen before peace finally returned to his rest.
Not far away, the schemer and Big Eyes players swallowed yet another fruit.
The schemer noticed a few figures descending from upstairs, drifting past the storefront. Recognizing two as players, he smirked with triumph. "Ha! Those two, who slandered me as the villain, are now out of the game for lack of fruit!"
Relishing this thought, his earlier frustration at succumbing to temptation vanished completely. What fault lay with the fruit? It was perfect! He swallowed the sweet fruit and drifted into a drowsy haze.
Big Eyes, tormented to vacant-eyed exhaustion by the voices, yearned desperately for sleep.
"Do you wish to sleep?"
Yes, oh yes, yet a single fruit was insufficient to grant rest. Torn between the induced drowsiness and the mysterious voices, he was plunged into agony.
"Do you wish to sleep?" The voice probed again, sensing his desire. His pupils dilated beyond focus; his mouth opened, a morsel slipping out unstolen. His numb tongue labored to utter a slurred "yes."
The schemer snapped awake, turning sharply, glaring incredulously at him, cursing inwardly at such foolishness. With the fruit in hand, how could one fall to the trance?
Yet, amid his disdain, a secret relaxation seeped in.
This fool's capture was fortuitous; all the fruit would be his to consume.
Sure enough, Big Eyes soon appeared as if controlled—he followed the other two, vanishing from sight. The schemer had already consolidated their fruits, claiming provision for himself alone, to indulge as he pleased.
After consuming three more, drowsiness surged anew; all voices faded away, the world serene and tranquil. He closed his eyes, like other NPCs in their abodes, a gentle smile curling his lips in a blissful dream.
Within his dream, he returned to the great tree of daytime. As majestic as it appeared by light, by night it transformed into a terrifying spectacle: every fruit had turned into skull-shaped orbs, densely clustered on the vines, grinning savagely with chattering jaws, beckoning him to join them.
A sudden gust scattered the skull-fruits to the ground, rolling en masse toward him. Panicked, he fled blindly until a door burst open.
"Quick! Come inside and hide!"
"Thank you, thank you!" the player cried, darting within.
The door shut behind them, and the horde of skull-fruits failed to detect him, departing silently into the distance.
"Thank you, little sister."
The NPC girl tilted her head, smiling sweetly. "No need to thank me, big brother. We're all on the same side now."
Though the player did not grasp her meaning, he felt her warmth as one might a beloved sister, and his lips curved into a genuine smile in return.