That morning, Royce bid them farewell. He was no longer the dark, brooding man Wyatt had seen during the night, but the little boy who smiled innocently and waved goodbye as he walked out of the mansion.

As soon as Royce disappeared from sight, Dagger slammed the door shut, his back pressed against the expensive wood.

Dagger's body sagged in relief, like someone had just let all the air escape from him. He shut his eyes in relief. "Finally."

"What was so nerve wracking about that kid?" Griffin asked. "He was up to your chest and looked like you could punt him over a fence."

"It's...complicated," Dagger said, straightening his posture. "Now," he stated loudly, "get out of my face. I'd rather not vomit at your hopeful eyes today."

Wyatt left with the group. Since the clock mounted on the wall said ten o'clock in the morning, he decided to go to the library as soon as the crowd dispersed. 

Inside, Kiara and Erik were at work. Kiara was translating books as her pen flew across countless pages of paper. Erik was squinting at the screen of the laptop. His fingers moved with agility across the keyboard, eyebrows pointed slightly downward in a frown. Erik turned to the sound of Wyatt's shoes taking against the floor and waved to him. 

"Perfect timing," Erik said, pushing himself out of his chair. "I need you to do me a favor."

Wyatt watched Erik carefully as he walked over and handed him a note discretely. "What the hell?"

"Locations," Erik murmured. "You'll know what it is when the time is right."

Wyatt stepped back slightly. Erik smiled, his gaze softening. "I'm the next victim."

"W...what the hell are you talking about?" Wyatt stammered.

Erik looked down at his feet. "It's not just a premonition, either. Someone has been following me for quite some time now. I've calculated the possibilities and I'm going to die no matter what happens."

"Then...you should be figuring out ways to live!"

Erik shook his head again. He looked at Wyatt once more. "Fate is what I believe in. I cannot stop fate. I have no choice but to embrace it with kindness and warmth...and with hope. By the way...I know that someone has been following you around too. I'd prepare to embrace death too, if I were you."

Wyatt stepped back. "W...what are you saying, Erik? What happened to you? You were alright yesterday! Who the hell is following me!?"

Erik smiled up at him. "I realized something, while trying to run from my stalker. You can't hide from fate or death. It will happen someday...like they say, if you can't beat them, join them. This place is a living being of despair at every corner, Wyatt. Why not...just accept the hope fate gives you...and die? I truly envy the people who are gone. They were brave enough to accept their fate...and now they are free. They are free...from despair!"

Wyatt shook his head and threw the paper onto the ground. "You need help. I'm getting Harmony. If what you're saying is true, then we're going to save you no matter what."

Erik stood there quietly before bending down and picking up the paper. "Don't say I didn't warn you!"

Wyatt pushed past Kiara, who looked up from her book she was reading. He slammed the door open and headed off into the hallways, before opening the door to his bedroom and throwing himself on the bed. He put his numb, cold, and sweaty fingers to his forehead in an attempt to stop them from shaking. Erik...something was definitely wrong.

As Wyatt pondered the words Erik had told him, the intercom suddenly crackled.

"Ah, attention please! The third floor is now open! You have access to it now if any of you want to check it out! Actually...yes! Go check it out before those nice guns in the building blow your brains out! Now!"

Wyatt groaned as he shot up and headed for the door. He threw it open, going into the hallways. He climbed up the stairs, running into Kiara and Erik. Remembering Erik's words, Wyatt avoided them as joined Griffin and the rest of the group at the gate to the third floor.

The iron bars slowly creaked open, revealing the staircase. Wyatt clung his stiff, numb hand to the railing and slowly climbed up.

He was taken aback at the only door at the end of the hall.

"Where's the next floor?" Harmony asked timidly.

"Hahaha! I'll tell you!" Dagger came up the stairs, walking down the hall. This time, nobody flinched at the sight of him. 

Dagger tilted his head to the side. "Huh? You're not avoiding me anymore?"

"This is like a daily ritual for us," Thane, Griffin, and Chase grumbled at the same time.

"Hm...I should probably change it...alright!" Dagger suddenly exclaimed, going downstairs. Wyatt frowned slightly as a long time passed by, finally walking over and peering around the corner...only to find the barrel of a gun pointed at his face. 

He backed up into the wall, paling. "Woah!"

Dagger grinned. "How's that for fear? Now, you all better give me a genuine scream, or else our lucky friend over here will get a rather...unfortunate death. Now...scream! I want to hear the bloodcurdling shrieks of despair emitting from you!"

Everyone looked taken back, rubbing the back of their necks uncomfortably. Dagger narrowed his eyebrows and pressed the gun into Wyatt's chest harder. "One...two..."

"Such great friends these are," Wyatt grumbled. He took a deep breath...and screamed at the top of his lungs.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Everyone jumped back against the wall.

As soon as Dagger took a step back, Wyatt shoved him away. Dagger stumbled back into the wall.

Wyatt growled. "There, happy?"

Dagger quickly recovered his shocked face. "Brilliant! The sound of despair...it's...so beautiful...ah, I could listen to it all day. Just...fabulous. And beautiful. Oh, if I could live in a torture chamber, hearing the despaired cries of the pained!" He hugged himself, his face flushed bright red.

"This guy needs help," Chase groaned.

"He needs Jesus," Thane agreed.

Dagger clapped, a genuine smile on his face. "Now, then...you may pass!" With that, he left, his laughter echoing through the manse.

"Wait! What about the next floor?" Star cried.

There was no answer.

Wyatt sighed and straightened. "Let's just go and pretend Dagger doesn't exist."

"I second that," Sophie said, following Wyatt as he walked into the only door. The others shrugged at each other and walked alongside with him.

When they opened the door, they were taken aback at what they saw, once again.

The room was a giant, circular, plain room, with white tiles. There were various doors leading to different other rooms.

There were name tags on each door. Wyatt noticed his picture with his name written on a plaque in fancy calligraphy. He glanced over at Kiara, who studied the writing on her name plate. She returned the look.

"Clearly, these are personal rooms. Shall we go in our designated places, then?" Kiara suggested.

Wyatt nodded. Together, at the same time, they opened the doors and headed in.

The first thing Wyatt noticed was the dark hallway he had to walk through. Cursing Dagger for the strange ambiance, he put his hand on the wall and guided himself along until he felt his free hand bump into a doorknob. He gave it a twist, opening the door before gasping at the spectacle before him. 

The room was a complete casino. Everything there, from the food to the games were based on some sort of gamble. Wyatt suddenly realized why the room was his.

"Belmont's testing my skills. To see if I'm really living up to my name."

Wyatt spent the next two hours fiddling with the machines, trying out the food, and exploring, until someone came in.

He spun around at the footsteps. "Chase."

Chase looked bored, his eyes lighting once he saw the room Wyatt had. "Aw, come on! How come you got the fun room? Mine was a place with purple lights, black curtains, and cinnamon candles! You should have seen the Ouija boards, they were everywhere!"

Wyatt smiled nervously. "What do you want?"

"Dagger interfered with our peaceful time. He said to meet up with him at the central room for the next motivation."

Wyatt sighed as he got up from the chair he had been sitting in. "Let's go."

The two boys went into the hallway, finally entering the central room.

"Ah! Finally!" Dagger exclaimed, clapping his hands. 

"So, now that we're all here... where's the motivation?" Griffin asked bluntly.

As if on cue, something in the manse exploded. Everyone gasped as the floor shook beneath them.

When the tremor stopped, Dagger laughed. "That's your new motivation! At every hour except for night time, some part of this manse will crumble! When it completely disappears...so will you! Ahahaha! It will stop when one of you murders someone!"

With that, Dagger waved as he ran out of the room. 

Damien slowly stood up. "So...if the entire manse is gone...so are we..." he whispered.

"Oh, no," Harmony sobbed.

They listened to her cries before the long-awaited announcement came on.

The intercom crackled. "Attention! It is now ten o'clock! Please return to your rooms! Remember the motivation!" Dagger taunted. 

They all looked at each other grimly. Wyatt headed off down the stairs and went into his room. A sudden realization came upon him as he was locking his door. If Kiara was the Ultimate Writer...then her room would certainly be filled with useful books.

He decided to go to her room on the third floor early in the morning before everyone was awake. Wyatt undressed and got himself ready for bed, repeating to himself silently about how he needed to wake up early. He dozed off for a few hours before waking up in the dead of the night. 

Wyatt waited until it was almost time for morning announcements, and then slipped out of bed. He got dressed and opened the door to the hallway, before taking off. Wyatt tiptoed through the hallways, running up the stairs and finally reaching the door to Kiara's room in the central room. He opened it and entered in, waking through the same dark halls before finding himself in a vast library. So...this was Kiara's special room.

Wyatt reached a book off a shelf. He skimmed it over, and then put it back. There was nothing useful. 

He continued to look until he found an interesting newspaper article tucked away in one of the books. "Global Epidemic: The Terrible, Most Despairingly Horrific Disease that Spread Throughout the World." he read. Wyatt felt a strong sense of curiosity. As he prepared to open it, however, a shadow darted in. He spun around a moment too late.

The sword drove right through his side, and blood gushed out as Wyatt made a muffled scream and collapsed to the ground.

His eyes shut, but not before witnessing a murder through his foggy eyesight. 

The person who had stabbed him dropped dead at a third person's feet with a dull thump.

That was all Wyatt saw before everything went black, and he felt himself falling into oblivion.