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L staggered.
Not the clean collapse Light had imagined.
A step. A breath. Resistance.
This is wrong.
I should be dead.
Light's smile formed automatically—then froze halfway.
Light: "L? What's wrong?"
Say it calmly. Concern. Normality. This is just a delay—nothing more.
L's fingers dug into the desk.
There it is.
The trigger.
The sensation I calculated but never expected to feel.
Pain flared—sharp, unnatural—then stopped.
L blinked.
"I'm alive."
Watari moved. "L—"
L: "Don't."
"If I die, it will be now. If I don't… then the rules are absolute."
L lifted his eyes.
Light's pupils were too focused.
Not fear.
Anticipation.
He's waiting.
Waiting for a body to fall.
L: "…Interesting."
Light's heart skipped.
Why is he talking? Why isn't he dead? Rem didn't hesitate. She wrote it. I saw her.
Light stepped forward. "You need to sit down. This could be a heart attack."
Yes, just accept that explanation. Collapse. Die.
L smiled faintly.
"Heart attacks don't pause."
"They don't hesitate."
"And they don't care who benefits."
L: "Light Yagami… answer me something."
Now.
This is the only window I will ever get.
Light: "This isn't the time for your tests."
Stop asking questions. Just die!
L: "When is it not?"
L's knees buckled. Watari caught him.
Light felt relief surge.
There it is—finally!
But L was still looking at him.
Still thinking.
Still alive.
L: "If I were to die right now… who gains the most?"
No—don't answer. Don't react...
Light laughed. "You're not thinking clearly."
He knows!
No—he suspects. He always suspects...
L watched Light's face with quiet devotion, like a scientist observing a long-running experiment finally reaching its conclusion.
That flicker.
One frame too slow.
"You expected certainty."
L: "You expected instant death."
Light's breath caught.
He can't prove that! He's guessing. He has to be!
L: "Which means you know how this works."
Watari stiffened.
Say it now.
Before my heart decides for me...
Watari: "L, shall I—"
L: "Yes."
Light's mind raced.
No. No no no. This wasn't the plan! Rem wouldn't fail! Shinigami don't fail!
L: "Detain Light Yagami."
The words landed like a verdict.
Light: "You're insane!"
Think. Think. If I stall, if I talk—
L: "I've doubted myself many times."
L's vision dimmed at the edges.
This body is irrelevant.
L: "This is not one of those times."
Hands grabbed Light's arms.
Move. Fight. Kill him—no, I can't. Not here. Not now.
Light screamed L's name as he was dragged away.
I was supposed to be a god.
Gods don't lose to seconds.
The room fell silent.
Watari whispered, "How long?"
L closed his eyes.
"Enough."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"Checkmate, Light Yagami."