Orpheus DeRoss

A rising star in the literary world, his specialty lies in the horror genre. Many rumors surround him—some say he has a happy family life, while others speculate that he's a recluse. No matter what the truth is, plentiful royalties and a large fan base have brought him considerable wealth and fame, making "Orpheus" a prodigal talent in the eyes of society. However, only he knows the nightmares of his past—nightmares that have never left him. So when he received that invitation with the flute, he knew that he had no reason to refuse.

As a child, "Orphy" had a female childhood friend, Alice DeRoss, who he frequently played with at Oletus Manor. After a tragedy, his parents died and the manor was sold. He was sent to an orphanage at a young age, where he learned he "couldn't trust anyone" and began to throw himself into writing as an escape. Finding he was good at writing horror novels, "Orpheus" soon became famous and wealthy from his books. He wrote many novels, the first which was "Whistling from the Death" (also known as "Flute from The Death") which was a "reproduction of the bloody murder case of cursed manor" and gave him critical acclaim. After that he wrote "Nameless Remains", but it was not received well.

He received an invitation to the manor that was accompanied by a flute that held a special meaning, making it an invitation he couldn't refuse.

The events at the manor are very closely tied to the "Nightmare"'s backstory.

Upon arrival at Oletus Manor, "Orpheus" was soon exposed to various chemicals that enhanced paranoia, caused hallucinations, and erased certain memories. As he investigated the manor to try and figure out its secrets, he suddenly remembered that the "Little Girl" who was to play in the game that day was someone precious to him and he rushed to the game grounds to protect her. Upon reaching the game location, he found the little girl and did everything he can to protect her. When Norton Campbell attacked the other participants, Orpheus snapped, and the "Nightmare" took full control. The "Nightmare" attacked Norton and beat him up. Due to the hallucinogens all of the participants were under, and their heightened fear (other participants, notably hostile players) were seen as monstrous.

The forest began to catch fire at some point towards the end of the game. Later investigations revealed that the fire was not caused by arson, but instead from the incinerator exploding.

Dissociated from his identity as the "Nightmare", Orpheus fled from the Hunter into the forest until he found a valve to a pipe. He attempted to open the valve to stop the fire and distract the Nightmare. However, based on Orpheus having amnesia afterwards, along with the symbol on the pipe, it may have actually contained the Dionysus drug that triggers amnesia rather than water. Opening the valve caused the pressure to increase, causing the pipe to soon explode. Orpheus sees a ghostly figure of "Little Girl" and attempted to run toward her, but passes out before he can.

After the game, police investigated the fire, and found that very few people survived, and those who did had no recollection of what happened or why the came to the manor. All of the manor workers were found dead and investigations revealed that their causes of death were unrelated to the fire. the bodies of the survivors were supposedly arranged in a way that made it seem like some sort of ritual was taking place.

After the manor fire, Orpheus lost his memory and ability to write novels, but retained his skills as a detective. Many years later, the amnesiac Detective Orpheus returned to the manor in his search of the missing daughter of James Reichenbach that he had been commissioned to find. In his search his lost memories begin to awaken and he not only remembers his time as the Novelist, but as the "Nightmare". He continues to seek the "Little Girl" from his memories.