On Noah's side, inside the nightmare, he rushed toward the toilet, while Lou Yan followed him in worry and tension. Noah entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him, and rushed to the sink, and the feeling of disgust rushed through his body and reached his throat. Then the vomit exploded everywhere, scattered and falling from Noah's mouth. Noah's eyes teared up as the memories of being eaten by insects rushed into his mind—the feeling of them in his mouth, inside his ears, inside his body. The memories of the assault were intense and hard to forget.
Lou Yan knocked on the bathroom door as soon as she heard the sound of Noah's groaning and moaning and the sound of vomit falling.
"O actor, are you okay?" asked Lou Yan in worry and tension about Noah's health, waiting for his answer.
Noah held onto the sides of the sink tightly while his body sweated more. He wanted to stop, but the disgust and fear were unbearable.
"Please stop... stop... stop... please... please..." Noah thought to himself pleadingly while crying, unable to stop.
After a few seconds, he finally stopped and turned on the faucet and drank water to wash his mouth and tongue from the feeling of disgust. But he was unable to drink it, just because the memories reminded him of the feeling of insects in his throat when he accidentally swallowed them.
"Please... please..." Noah whispered pleadingly as he held his stomach and felt the disgusting sensation rising again to his mouth.
"O actor?" said Lou Yan on the other side of the door, tense and still waiting for an answer.
"Go away... I'm fine..." said Noah through his tears as he collapsed to the ground, lying down and holding his stomach.
"Are you sure?" asked Lou Yan, tightening her fist and holding her breath.
"I'll be fine... I'll be fine... I'll be fine..." said Noah between sobs, hugging himself as if he were trying to reassure himself and not Lou Yan.
———————
After the end of ACT II, another day had passed in the real world, and Noah's friends were still waiting for him to wake up, unaware of what he was going through in his nightmare.
In Sector 1, in the hospital, in room 247, everyone was in Noah's room. The cold air was still the same due to the air conditioner working nonstop. Noah, lying on the bed, wrapped in the warm white bed cover, the apple that was on his plate had been eaten by his anxious friends, and the empty medicine bottles had been used and left neglected.
Both Calli and Lou Yan were still near Noah. Calli held his hand, sliding her thumb over his palm, feeling him. Lou Yan watched him in silence as if praying in her heart. Neriah sat on a chair near the door looking at Noah, but his eyes were watching Sirius as if he was monitoring his movements so he wouldn't do anything unnecessary. Sirius, meanwhile, was standing with Livia, both side by side, observing the situation silently.
"What are the voting results?" said Livia in a calm tone that reached everyone's ears.
"I'm in favor," said Neriah, raising his hand and turning to Livia in agreement.
"I'm against," said Lou Yan, flustered and tense, objecting.
"I'm in favor," said Sirius, raising his thumb to Livia.
"I'm against," said Calli, also objecting, supporting Lou Yan.
"I'm in favor... the result is 3:2, I guess we'll accept then," said Livia, moving her eyes right and left between everyone.
"This is truly nonsense," whispered Calli to herself, clutching Noah's hand tightly, seeking comfort.
"Don't be selfish, Noah will benefit from this," said Livia, slightly annoyed by Calli's comment but somewhat understanding the situation.
"Should I go?" said Neriah, raising his hand, suggesting to volunteer.
"Why?" asked Livia in confusion and curiosity, doubting Neriah's ability to handle the task.
"No one's better than a gambler in negotiations. We gamblers are like merchants. Also, I'm sure I have a trump card that may tip the scales in our favor," said Neriah confidently. Then Livia turned to Sirius, who nodded as a sign that what Neriah said was true.
"Alright then... Neriah will go meet the Vice President... with this, we've accepted her offer to join the investigation," said Livia, folding her arms and leaning against the wall, one leg resting on the wall, and one foot touching the ground.
Sirius nodded to Neriah to leave and head now to the student council room to discuss the offer, and immediately Neriah stood up from his comfortable seat and left, closing the door behind him.
"...This is a big mistake," said Calli in a cautious and confused tone, which increased Livia's annoyance.
"What do you mean this is a big mistake? What proof do you have that would make you say that anyway?" asked Livia, annoyed, tightening her fist.
"...Just a hunch," Calli whispered lightly, unsure and doubting her own answer.
"Your hunch is not proof. It's just a mysterious, blurry state. I don't work with vague probabilities," said Livia coldly, but also with some annoyance.
Calli remained silent but was not convinced by Livia's words. That's because her hunch had never been wrong before—and it was all thanks to her skill, "Daemon Oculus", and its passive effect, "observer effect". This negative effect allows her to read the general atmosphere around her: hidden body language, tension and confusion, tangled and unorganized thoughts, and emotions—as long as they're not tightly hidden. That's why it was hard for Calli to trust Aria, because of the hatred she saw in her eyes when she saw Noah.
During that time, Neriah had reached the student council hall. He stood in front of the wide brown wooden door firmly and adjusted his clothes.
"Heheheh, I have to look good in front of Miss Aria," thought Neriah to himself playfully. Then he knocked on the door, but it opened slightly on its own.
Neriah pushed the door and entered the student council room. The scent of vanilla and lavender lightly blended and spread in the room, as if it were purifying rather than perfuming. The room was organized, files carefully placed in cabinets, a green sofa that looked comfortable on Neriah's right, as if made from the finest leather, and four wide desks, each bearing a nameplate.
Kieran Rhydan was sitting at his desk reading a book while glancing at Neriah from behind. On his desk was the wooden nameplate: "Treasurer: Kieran Rhydan," his name written in golden color. As for the other two desks, they were empty. Neriah walked forward to where Aria was sitting, her fingers interlocked and her head resting on them, looking at Neriah—her eyes didn't move away from him. Her nameplate: "Vice President: Aria Valeblanc."
Neriah walked to the chair in front of Aria's desk. As if he were a prisoner walking toward his execution chair, he dragged the chair slightly, making a soft whispering sound before sitting comfortably, indifferent to the world or the intense atmosphere around him.
"So they sent you. I expected someone more important, like Lou Yan," said Aria, loosening her hands and lifting her head high, trying to press his buttons.
"I didn't expect Miss Aria to be a brat. I'm not interested in her anymore," thought Neriah in disappointment after his hopes had been high for Aria.
"So, what is your decision?" said Aria in a serious and cold tone without showing emotion—a demeanor Neriah had seen before, so he wasn't tense.
"Your offer is reassuringly excellent—cooperation between the two groups, full sharing of evidence and information. Such an offer is generous, but so generous that I can't believe it," said Neriah, suspiciously leaning back in his chair, swinging confidently.
"We are not generous. This is fairness. You want to protect him, we want results. We're not here to play," said Aria in a serious and cold tone, her gaze growing sharper toward Neriah.
"But isn't life a game? You just prefer the flavor of chess, while I adore the sound of dice rolling," said Neriah as if stating an obvious truth with ambiguous expressions, then paused for a moment.
"Tell me, Vice President, when you offered us a seat at the table, did you expect we'd fold so quickly?" added Neriah, smiling lightly. It seemed like a friendly smile but was full of cunning.
"If you accept the offer, we work together, find evidence, share it. He wakes up, speaks, and everyone wins," said Aria calmly, though she was starting to be slightly annoyed by Neriah, maybe because she hadn't taken her anger pills today.
"No, no, no—not exactly. You benefit faster: the killer's face, maybe even their name. I'm not here to sell Noah at that cheap a price," said Neriah, shaking his head in refusal while clicking his tongue.
"What do you want then?" asked Aria in a tone cold as ice—but her ice was gradually cracking.
"Three things: complete sharing of evidence, and I'm not talking about the evidence you want to give us—I mean everything. The group has the right to search the student council records from the start of the murder chain until it ends. Second, neither you nor the treasurer nor any future council member has the right to interrogate Noah without supervision from one of his companions. Third, full right to withdraw from the investigation at any time. If we feel we're being used as mere chess pieces by the student council, we'll withdraw completely, and you can forget about meeting Noah," said Neriah, raising three fingers, in a relaxed and arrogant tone.
"You're overstepping," said Aria in a cold tone, while under the table, she clenched her fist tightly in anger.
"This is what merchants do—we aim high, you cut low, and we find a price in the middle that both of us hate just enough to accept it," said Neriah arrogantly, then stood from his seat.
"This isn't a market. These are murders," said Aria, standing from her seat in tension, even causing her chair to make a noise.
"Let's treat it like one then. You would've taken Noah if we didn't push back. You wanted control—fine. But I want guarantees. Not just because I care about him—but because I'm not ready to lose this game now that it's piqued my interest," said Neriah in a low voice, but one filled with confidence, experience, and unwavering strength.
Silence fell between them. Aria's gaze grew sharper, and tension filled the room. She didn't expect someone like this beside Noah, especially since he had been silent when she met them yesterday. But behind her eyes, something flickered—a calculation, an analysis.
"Alright then. You'll get the files. We won't approach him without your supervision. As for the third... don't expect protection when you withdraw," said Aria in a firm tone, her nerves relaxing a bit.
"Of course. We expect nothing," said Neriah with a wicked smile.
"Damn, I'll need to prepare for this," Neriah thought to himself in annoyance—but he couldn't show that part to Aria.
"I'll be leaving now. Talking to you was fun, Vice President," said Neriah before turning and leaving the room. Before he exited, his eyes met the annoyed eyes of Kieran Rhydan, then he closed the door and left.
"...I forgot he was in the same room."