[The System Has Restarted]
"…The system?…" Noah stood still, staring at the screen that appeared. He looked like a corpse—confused and terrified. He had completely forgotten about the system ever since he entered this place.
[System scanning the environment…]
[Environment identified]
[System has detected that the host is in a realm different from the real world. Traces indicate the host is under the effect of a nightmare-related skill.]
"N-Nightmare?" Noah said, his voice trembling. He pulled his hands away from his neck and looked at his shaking fingers.
"W-Was that really just a nightmare? But it felt so real... I-It… it felt like I actually died." Noah thought to himself, dazed and frightened.
Both Lou Yan and Calli noticed Noah's sudden silence and glanced at each other in confusion before turning to look at him.
"Hey, actor, are you alright?" Lou Yan asked, concerned and a little confused, wondering if something had happened to Noah.
"I-I'm fine… P-Please continue your training. I'll head to the bathroom," Noah said with a tense, forced smile before turning and walking away, leaving Lou Yan and Calli behind, clearly worried.
"We shouldn't have laughed," Calli said, her tone regretful. Lou Yan nodded in agreement.
Behind the red curtains, Noah stood out of sight from Lou Yan and Calli. He turned to the system screen.
"W-What the hell is going on in this place?!" Noah whispered to himself, filled with tension and panic. He took a deep breath to calm himself down.
[The system has detected the presence of a test within this nightmare.]
"A test…?" Noah asked, confused and lost.
[Skills that manipulate consciousness are rarely absolute. To overcome their effects, certain conditions must be met.]
"Conditions? C-Can you identify them?" Noah asked, desperate.
[Running a second scan…]
Noah stood in place, anxiously waiting for the scan to finish. His foot tapped the ground repeatedly in panic.
[Scan complete]
"W-What did you find?" Noah asked, eyes filled with a flicker of hope, though anxiety still dominated his thoughts and fear gripped his heart.
[To escape the unknown influence, the host must go through eight distinctActs.]
"Acts…?" Noah whispered in disbelief.
[Act I: The Magician
Act II: (Locked)
Act III: (Locked)
Act IV: (Locked)
Act V: (Locked)
Act VI: (Locked)
Act VII: (Locked)
Act VIII: (Locked)]
Noah stood there, overwhelmed. It was too much. He clenched his fists in distress.
"Eight Acts… and only one is unlocked… Are you kidding me?! What is this nonsense?! There's no way I can complete all of that! What if that strange distortion happens again? What if I actually die next time?!" he shouted, panicking, despair starting to sink in.
"Right, my friends are outside. They'll help me, right? There must be a way for them to save me, right? Yeah, Sirius, and Neriah—they'll help me… right? Please… tell me I'm right…!" Noah's voice shook with fear.
[No available method allows other characters to assist you.]
With those words from the system, Noah's hope completely collapsed. His pupils trembled, the light faded from his eyes, and darkness filled his vision. He dropped to the ground, curling up in fear and trembling.
"Please… there must be a way… I… I'm scared… please…" Noah whispered, voice shaking, on the verge of tears again—until he remembered the words of his mirror reflection.
"You may call upon me whenever you wish…"
Noah lifted his head slightly, tears clinging to his eyes as he recalled the creature's words. It seemed like his only hope. Because of it, he regained a faint glimmer of resolve.
"…Are you there?" Noah whispered, calling the being. But there was no answer.
"Please… You said you'd help me whenever I needed. I'll do what you want… just… help me get out of this place…" he whispered again, ready to do anything as long as he could escape.
It wasn't visible, but the entity—Noah's reflection, like a soul split from his body, made of light—appeared behind him, silently embracing him and whispering into his ear. Though Noah couldn't see it, he could hear its soft murmur.
"I will help you."
Noah's ears twitched at the whisper, and his body shuddered—realizing the entity was truly there, listening.
"Really?" he asked, wiping his tears, uncertain but wanting to believe.
"But there is a condition…"
"Of course! I'll do anything you want as long as you help me," Noah said, hope slowly returning.
The entity whispered its condition into Noah's ear. Noah froze for a moment, eyes widening slightly. Whatever the condition was, he had no other choice.
"I don't know why you want that… but fine… once I'm out of here, I'll fulfill your request," Noah said, nodding. The being of light vanished from his side, though Noah didn't notice its presence—or absence.
Then, he stood up and wiped his tears one last time.
"…That was pathetic," he muttered to himself sarcastically, forcing a smile. Then, he returned to the stage where Lou Yan and Calli were waiting for him.
"…We're sorry," Lou Yan said, bowing with Calli, both apologizing.
"H-Huh?" Noah stood there, confused by their behavior.
"W-We shouldn't have laughed. You probably spent a long time writing those lines, and we dismissed your hard work. We're sorry," Lou Yan said, her voice filled with regret.
"They must've misunderstood… but that's the least of my worries right now," Noah thought, waving his hand to dismiss their concern.
"It's alright. Let's just focus on training," he said with a forced, friendly smile on his worn-out face.
"I'll lick your shoes if you want, actor!" Calli declared as she dropped to all fours like a dog.
"Get up, for Fuck sake!"
———————
Elsewhere, in Sector 1, Hospital Room 247—midday
Everyone sat inside while Sirius stood out on the balcony, looking at the cloudy sky.
"I expected the sun to be annoyingly bright, but look at this… It's like the sky itself is mourning Noey-kun," Sirius thought playfully, a faint smile on his lips.
Then, he heard the balcony door slide open and saw Livia stepping outside, leaning against the railing next to him, staring ahead.
"What do you want?" Sirius asked curiously.
"I just needed some fresh air. It's suffocating in there," Livia replied coldly. Sirius nodded.
A quiet pause followed. Livia kept sneaking glances at Sirius from the corner of her eye, like she wanted to say something. Finally, she sighed and turned to him.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked, annoyed, clearly out of patience.
"What do you mean exactly?" Sirius asked, puzzled, turning to face her too.
"Everyone inside is worried sick about that bastard's condition, but you're just out here like it's nothing!" she snapped.
"Is that so?" Sirius said, almost surprised. He hadn't even noticed his lack of concern.
"Do you even care about Noah?! Isn't he your friend?!" Livia demanded.
"I don't even get why you're angry… Aren't you just sitting here waiting for chaos to break out when he wakes up? I wouldn't call that genuine concern," Sirius replied flatly, which caught Livia off guard.
"I… I mean… I still worry about him!" Livia defended herself, though her excuse didn't convince even her.
"You don't care about Noey-kun. You care about the drama around him. You're just afraid that if he dies, you'll lose your favorite source of entertainment. That's not worry. That's exploitation," Sirius said coldly. Livia knew it was true.
"That's… not true… and even if it is, it's not like you care about him either! There must be a reason you're still around!" she fired back, pointing at him like she'd drag him down if she fell.
"…A reason…" Sirius murmured softly, lost in blurred, distorted memories—none clear. Only one word echoed in his mind:
"…Run…"
He stood still, hearing that word over and over again. It reminded him who he was—and why he was still here. A quiet laugh slipped from his lips.
"I guess we both have our secrets then," he said with a playful tone and a soft smile.
"What the hell are you smiling at? Listen, you might be right, but I do care about Noah. I don't want him to get hurt—it'd only make Lou Yan sad," Livia said, crossing her arms, annoyance in her eyes.
"If that's how you feel, then fine," Sirius answered, as if it were all a joke to him.
"…Anyway, how do you even know all this stuff about me?" Livia asked, both annoyed and curious.
"I have my ways," Sirius replied with a light laugh.
"Playing the mysterious guy, huh—?" Livia started, but was interrupted by the sound of the hospital room door opening.
They both turned and saw two unfamiliar figures entering, their footsteps echoing. Displeased looks followed them. It was Aria Valeblanc, vice president of the student council, and Kieran Rhydan, the treasurer.
"The student council?" Livia said, stepping into the room with Sirius following.
Immediately, Kieran's glare locked onto Sirius—memories from Sector 11 still fresh and bitter.
Both stood before the bed. Aria's eyes landed on Noah lying unconscious. Calli couldn't tell why, but she felt an intense disgust in Aria's eyes—and it unsettled her.
"Aria, what are you doing here?" Lou Yan stood up, stunned.
"Lou Yan? Sorry, I didn't see you for a second…" Aria said, lifting her gaze from Noah. She glanced at Sirius too, knowing what happened with Kieran—but her expression was emotionless.
"Why are you here?" Livia asked, grabbing Lou Yan's shoulder and pulling her behind protectively.
"…I just came to check on the condition of… student Noah Grace," Aria said, eyeing Livia like she was being evaluated.
"Noah Grace? That's surprising. Didn't think the student council cared about students," Livia replied, her tone sharp. She noticed hostility the moment Aria said Noah's name.
"Don't get it twisted. I couldn't care less about him. It's just that the likelihood of him having seen the killer's face is high. We need him awake. He's now evidence. And do you know who controls evidence in this academy?" Aria said, still with her cold voice, though her tone carried provocation.
"…The student council…" Livia said bitterly. The words left a bad taste in her mouth. Seeing Noah reduced to "evidence" disgusted her, but she didn't have the authority to stop it.
"I can take him whenever I want. He's now property of the student council," Aria said bluntly, leaving everyone in stunned silence.
"Wait, what?!" Neriah stood up in shock, knocking his chair over.
"You can't do that, right?! How can a person be considered property?!" Calli shouted, her eyes wide.
"I don't think she can," Sirius said from the back, drawing everyone's attention.
"What do you mean? She just said—" Neriah began, surprised at Sirius's intervention.
"Technically, Noey-kun isn't listed as a 'student'. He's a 'transferred student'. So for him to be counted as university property, you'd need the consent of the person who brought him here in the first place—Nova's representative, Lou Yan," Sirius said, pointing to Lou Yan, who now had all eyes on her.
"Is that true?" Neriah asked, shocked. He didn't know how Sirius knew this, but if it helped, he wouldn't question it.
"…Didn't expect a student to be so well-versed in school policy… Impressive," Aria said with a touch of surprise. Sirius responded with indifference.
Aria turned to Lou Yan, who was trying to process everything. One moment, the situation felt hopeless—now all attention was on her.
"Lou Yan, as Nova's representative and the one who brought him, what do you say? If you agree, I'll list him as an official student. In return, he'll be treated as a key witness, get the best medical care, be moved to a safer location, and be monitored constantly for his protection. He'll be in better conditions than this, and we'll use him to catch the killer and save dozens—maybe hundreds—of students… What do you say?" Aria asked coldly, but something in her tone sounded too eager—at least to Calli.
Lou Yan stayed quiet. Aria's offer seemed beneficial for Noah. Even if he became evidence, he wouldn't be harmed. But just as she was about to speak, a memory of Noah's voice echoed in her mind:
"I… □ □ □ □ □"
Noah's dream. His reason to become a hunter. For some reason, those words echoed louder than Aria's. Lou Yan didn't like it. Aria's offer conflicted with Noah's path—his future.
"…I don't like the way you use the word 'use' when talking about Noah," Lou Yan said, her voice a little sharp.
"…That's your answer, then," Aria said in her usual cold tone. She looked down, then up again to meet everyone's gaze.
"In that case… I have a different offer this time," Aria announced, proposing a new deal—but the group didn't seem thrilled.
"Lou Yan told you to dunk your face in dog crap, you bitch!" Livia snapped, vicious and furious.
"…When did she say that?" everyone thought.
"This is a different offer… What do you think about… joining the investigation with the student council?"