In Noah's nightmare, the police car stopped near the corner from which they had heard the scream, and they quickly got out of the car. One of them saw the corpse of his companion, and his face immediately paled with fear and shock, feeling such a weakness in his knees that standing became difficult. His companion noticed his silent stance and trembling body, so he looked toward where he was looking to notice the corpse of one of their partners. If it weren't for his police uniform, no one would have recognized him, as his head was crushed.
"G-God! C-Call the patrol immediately!" said one of them, grabbing his companion's shoulder, trying to wake him from his shock.
Elsewhere, Altair had moved far enough away. He felt an extreme lightness in his body, as if he had become a completely different person. He had placed the gun he had stolen in his belt and had reached the park where the killer was with his family.
"Where did he go?" Altair thought to himself in confusion, worried whether the killer had escaped or not, and not about what had happened just a few minutes ago. At that moment, he began laughing at the iconic absurdity of the situation and crying because his revenge was slipping from his hands.
"I have to find him…????…Where is he?…Where did he go?" Altair said to himself. Then he felt a strange sensation suddenly coursing through his body.
His blood boiled, his skin paled, and his heartbeat accelerated—not from anger, but from a feeling close to excitement and thrill, yet filled with curiosity and confusion—a feeling strange to all of humanity, not just Altair.
Altair grabbed his shirt, clutching it to his chest, feeling his heartbeat racing. Then he lifted his head upward.
"What is this feeling? It's strange and warm…warm?…!!!…Th-this…" Altair thought to himself. Then he began seeing light red smoke in the air ahead, winding with the curves like curtains of a luxurious theater. Of course, no one could see it but him, and Altair understood why—he was experiencing a moment of awakening.
A moment of awakening, when a human passes through the phase of awakening to awaken their skill, after their body has absorbed a sufficient amount of mana and has been through a stimulus that affected them and shook everything they knew. It was time for Altair to awaken his skill. The feeling of arousal and confusion, as if his heart had been veiled in a fog of mystery—a moment in which the world finally acknowledged his existence—a moment of ascension.
Altair ran quickly, following the red smoke ahead of him. He did not know why he was doing this, but his instinct told him to run and chase it. It could be his fate after this thread, or another inevitability, or perhaps a trick from the gods playing with him. But Altair ran, and ran, and continued running, moving further away from the crime scene, completely detached from the existential world. Darkness enveloped his vision, and only the red smoke spiraled around the path of his run, forming a tunnel. At the end, a light appeared—a mere drop of light shining intensely, restoring the color of life to his dead eyes. Altair reached out and held it, feeling warmth spread throughout his body, a warmth like a mother embracing her child, causing Altair to cry silently again, remembering his mother.
Altair embraced the light in his hands amidst the darkness, until it fully consumed his body and became a part of him. A symbol appeared on his forehead, like a star burning with golden light, its lines intricately intertwined geometrically, as if opening a secret gateway to hidden power. It shimmered as if pulsating with life. Altair's tears stopped in the space around him, and he opened his eyes again. Around his right eye, a geometric white square glowed faintly, as if pulsing. The previous feeling of emptiness and a washed-out heart vanished; he felt as if his heart was full, but it was not heavy on his shoulders this time.
The symbol disappeared from Altair's forehead, and he looked ahead, sighing in relief as if his trembling soul had finally calmed. The smoke was gone this time—it had been merely a guide to Altair's path—but its disappearance so quickly made him realize he was alone again. Altair then looked at his hands: his fingers were bloody, his hands dirty with dirt and blood.
"So…this is my power…" Altair said, speaking to himself.
He lifted his gaze again, looking up. The sun had disappeared with the rising moon behind him, the horizon painted red on the clouds and sky, before the darkness of night spread and the stars twinkled in the dark sky. Altair looked at one star that shone brighter than the others, gleaming sharp white. Unknowingly, he was gazing toward Altair's star in the Aquila constellation…How ironic.
Altair began walking again, lost in thoughts about his power, but his goal had not changed despite his newfound stability: to kill the man who had killed his family. It is known that those who awaken a skill change completely, sometimes even losing their memory. For this reason, Altair had forgotten why he wanted to kill this man so intensely, yet his soul whispered to him to act.
Does a person need a reason to do something? Do humans need a reason to feel something? Humanity was created free to act, not to wish. Humans alone placed a scale to determine the consequences of these actions. Why should Altair follow it? Why should he obey laws set to limit his freedom as a human? As long as Altair's soul is alive and his heart beats, even the chains of fate cannot prevent him from doing what he decides.
"…I will kill him tonight…"
Time passed quickly. Police patrols spread everywhere, searching for whoever had committed such a horrifying act against their colleague, while another unit searched for Altair's father's killer. An inspection team continued searching for Altair. With such extensive coverage of the entire city, it became difficult for Altair to move freely. Logically, he would postpone his plan until tomorrow for fear of being caught. But what is fear except a primitive law implanted in the human mind by the Creator—a mere warning of approaching danger? And why should danger prevent Altair from doing what he wants? Even a human like Altair can penetrate the code of fear ingrained in the mind.
By that time, Altair had located the killer's house. A spacious, luxurious home with soft ivory-colored walls and large windows allowing the streetlight to enter gently. The polished wooden floor reflected the light warmly. On the long table, a white cloth draped carefully, with dishes fragrant with herbs spread across. A single candle in the middle of the table glowed softly, around which the family sat quietly, each participating in light conversation and laughter, mingled with the smell of turkey and fresh bread. A gentle silence weaved through the dialogue, giving the room a sense of warmth and gratitude.
One window was open, letting in the cold air, which allowed Altair to see everything from a not-so-distant position. Altair was atop a nearby building near the edge, watching silently, waiting for the right moment, with the gun he had stolen from the policeman he had killed in his belt. He noticed that the police searching the same neighborhood began withdrawing to search elsewhere. Then Altair knew the time was right. Without hesitation, he jumped from the building down.
Inside the house, at the table, the killer was quietly eating. Every few seconds, he would tell a joke to make his daughter laugh while she sat near her mother, who fed her.
"Go to sleep early, you have school tomorrow," said the mother in a tender tone, making her daughter frown slightly, but she obeyed and said:
"…Okay…"
"No need for that frown. After school, I'll take you to the park again," the man said, smiling warmly.
"Thanks, Dad…" said the daughter, her tone still sad, wanting to stay up with her parents, though she was still little.
"I-I need to try something else later," the man thought nervously.
Then, the doorbell rang, sparking everyone's curiosity. The woman rose from her seat, curious.
"I'll see who it is," said the wife. She nodded to her husband and headed to the door.
The man remained in his seat eating, his cheek puffed from food in his mouth, making his daughter giggle lightly at his silly appearance.
"Who could it be?" the man wondered, before grabbing a napkin to wipe his mouth and deciding to follow his wife since she was taking time.
As soon as the man stood, he heard two gunshots, followed by a loud scream of his wife before it vanished. The loud sound terrified his daughter, making her tremble in fear, while the man rushed to the door to see what had happened.
"Veronica!" the man shouted loudly. He arrived to find the shocking scene: his wife lying on the ground, blood gushing from her chest, flooding the doorway red. In front of her stood a familiar-looking boy, holding a smoking gun.
"You…bastard!" the man shouted, rushing toward Altair before he disappeared from view, indeed vanished from the space around him. He then heard the scream coming from the living room—his daughter's voice calling for help.
"Dad!!"
"Lina!" the man hurried to the living room, his eyes widening in shock when he saw Altair holding his daughter by the hair tightly, gun pointed at her head.
"D-Dad…save me…" Lina said, tears streaming like a flood, her body trembling in terror as she tried to escape Altair's grip.
"Let go of my daughter!" the man shouted in anger and fear for his daughter's safety.
"No," Altair replied coldly, his eyes hollow, devoid of any color, only deep darkness like the abyss.
"W-What do you want?" the man asked, terrified, clenching his fist.
"Don't you remember me?" Altair asked, tilting his head curiously.
"I-I…remember you…?" the man stammered, before his eyes widened in horror again as he recalled Altair—the crying, trembling boy who had killed his parents that morning.
"You…that boy…"
"It's good you remember me. Unfortunately, I don't remember what I did. All I know is that I want to kill you…so remember me, for what you did," Altair said.
The man hesitated in shock, looking at his daughter, her eyes full of terror. He was unsure whether he should tell her what he had done, but her life was at stake.
"…I…killed your parents," the man said, looking down, refusing to meet his daughter's eyes.
"Dad!" Lina exclaimed, more terrified now than ever of what her father had done.
"That's right, I remembered now. I killed your parents…" Altair said. His voice did not convey sadness at recalling their deaths. He then turned to Lina.
"Didn't you know your father is a killer? This means it's not your fault, you don't deserve to die," Altair said, moving the gun away from Lina's head and loosening his grip on her hair.
"Y-Yes! She doesn't deserve to die! This is between me and you, L-Lina has nothing to do with it," the man said desperately, begging Altair to let his daughter go.
"That's right…killing the innocent is wrong…" Altair released Lina's hair, and she rushed immediately into her father's arms. The man opened his arms to receive her embrace.
"i lied," Altair said before shooting Lina in the head, leaving a hole in her skull as she fell into her father's arms. It seemed as if she were hugging him, but as soon as he felt the blood spread over his body, he pushed her dead body off him, seeing her lifeless expression, blood flowing from the hole in her head onto him. His eyes filled with tears, unable to believe the horrific scene before him.
"Lina—" Before her father could finish his scream and mournful wailing, Altair fired a second shot into his head, creating a hole as well. His body fell dead, and his daughter landed on top of him. What remained of his life trembled in his legs before his body became still as soon as his soul left.
"And as if I would give you time to wail until the police arrive?" Altair said sarcastically before approaching the bodies of the man and his daughter. Then, with all his strength, he kicked the man's head, breaking and twisting his neck. His neck bones shattered, turning the head in the opposite direction from Altair.
"My family must be proud now, watching me from the sky, maybe from hell…be proud of me. Your son, Altair Elios Aquila, has succeeded in avenging you," Altair said proudly and arrogantly, before hearing the sound of approaching police sirens. The sound was so close it surrounded the house from all sides. Altair closed his eyes, accepting his fate.
"It seems I will be caught…" Altair thought to himself, just before the sound of the police cars disappeared, and indeed, the presence of everything around him vanished. Altair opened his eyes to find himself on a beach.
The sun was at its zenith, reflected in the water. Gentle waves lapped at his feet. Altair raised his head to the sky to see seagulls flying freely. Then he realized what had happened.
"My survival in the end was inevitable…"
"I am the Scale"—the ability Altair had awakened. Being the scale of inevitability, Altair was the measure of everything. He manipulates inevitability; he does not possess authority over it—it activates on its own. Whether the world deems the death of a person inevitable, their death at Altair's hands becomes inevitable. Whether Altair's survival is fated, he is compelled to survive. The world itself changes its laws, granting Altair absolute freedom to do as he wills, as if he were "God's favorite."
"…I think I am the only one who survived among all the endings…" Altair whispered to himself before spreading his arms like wings and falling on his back, splashing water everywhere while barely floating on the surface. He smiled a childlike smile full of innocence and happiness, his eyes tearing from joy.
"Dad…Mom…I'm fine."
ACT VI: THE END