Chapter 476
He guided Aldraya.
Not by lecturing her or showing that what she asked was wrong or inappropriate.
But with patience that never ran dry.
And precision that could only belong to a being who had spent billions of times understanding how even the most complex emotions worked.
He guided her to be more dedicated if she truly wished to express her love for Theo.
Guided her to understand that love did not need to be conveyed through questions that might lead others to misunderstand.
That love could be expressed in simpler ways, yet no less profound.
That what she needed was not answers to the strange questions she asked.
But the certainty that she was not alone in that distant place.
That even though distance separated their bodies, there was something that remained connected between them with a strength that would never waver.
"Three choices, and each carries its own consequences."
Theo's face, which had been fixed on Ilux's door that never opened.
On the curtain that never moved despite the gentle afternoon breeze.
On every small detail that stood as silent witness to a day that passed without change.
Slowly turned elsewhere.
His eyes, which never lost focus despite standing in the same place for hours without moving, were now directed at the wall clock hanging in the corner of the room.
An inanimate object that did not care who looked at it or what happened beneath its watch.
Its hands continued to move with an unchanging rhythm.
Never rushing, even as time kept passing.
Never slowing, even if someone might need more time to prepare for what was to come.
And Theo, who had stood frozen for dozens of seconds with a motionless body and nearly imperceptible breath, finally let that murmur escape from the deepest place where he stored all his calculations and plans.
That today, at this exact moment when the clock's hands pointed to a time that would never repeat in the same way, the main scenario of Arc One, Episode Eleven Finale, would take place.
A scenario he had crafted with a precision achievable only by a being who had spent hundreds of iterations understanding how narratives worked.
A scenario that stood as the culmination of all the bullying he had witnessed over the past days.
Of all the food stains clinging to Ilux's clothes.
Of all the firecrackers exploding around his body.
Of all the mocking laughter that never stopped chasing him.
Ilux's transformation into the Nothingness—that was what should happen tonight.
That was the purpose of all the pressure he had continuously imposed.
That was the key to all the episodes that would follow.
But that murmur did not stop there.
It did not end with the certainty that the scenario would proceed as intended.
Because everything had been perfectly arranged.
Because nothing had escaped his calculations.
Because he was the Great Author who never failed in designing the storyline he wished to build—especially for a narrative game directly inspired by his work.
There was more that emerged from his consciousness.
With a weight he could not conceal.
There was an acknowledgment he did not wish to speak.
Yet was forced to accept, because denying it would only lead to greater destruction later.
That if Ilux's condition continued like this.
If the young man kept rolling on the bed with eyes opening and closing in turns.
If he still refused to eat.
Refused to drink.
Refused to bathe while wearing the same clothes since morning.
If he was indeed sinking deeper into depression, frustration taking stronger root, and the desire to give up growing with each passing hour—
Yet still possessed one thing preventing him from completely falling.
One tether still binding him to a world that had been so cruel to him.
Then everything would change in a way Theo had never calculated.
Ilux's belief in his parents.
His belief that he was at the Star Academy to make them proud.
His belief that all the suffering he endured was something he must go through to become a devoted child.
A belief that should have long faded after all the relentless bullying he received.
Yet somehow still remained.
Still served as the anchor holding him at the edge of the abyss that had already opened wide before him.
And as long as that anchor existed.
As long as Ilux remained tied to one of the most fundamental worldly emotions.
As long as there was still something that made him believe life had a purpose greater than the suffering he experienced every day.
Then the transformation Theo awaited would never occur.
It could never be forced, no matter how much pressure he applied with everything he had.
And if that transformation did not happen.
If Ilux failed to become the Nothingness on the night that had been determined.
Then it was certain that the scenario of Arc One, Episode Eleven Finale would fall into complete disarray.
It would deviate from the path he had designed with millimeter precision.
It would become chaos that could not be corrected simply by rewriting a few lines in his small yellow notebook.
It would not be only this episode that collapsed.
Not only one night wasted after days of preparation.
But the entire structure he had built for the following episodes would crumble like a line of falling dominoes.
Episode Twelve Beginning, which should have continued from tonight's transformation.
Which should have carried Ilux into the next stage of his journey into something more than just a student constantly targeted by bullying.
Would lose its foundation.
Would become a structure standing on unstable ground.
Would become a story without a clear beginning, because the beginning it relied upon never occurred.
And from that Episode Twelve Beginning, chaos would spread into the episodes beyond.
Growing larger.
More uncontrollable with each passing moment.
Becoming something he could no longer command, even with all the power of a Great Author.
A narrative that would move on its own will.
Uncaring toward the scenario he had guarded.
Uncaring toward every calculation he had made.
Uncaring toward every sacrifice he had made to reach this point.
Therefore, amid the darkness beginning to seep through the gaps of the curtains.
Amid the silence that now felt like a pressure crushing his chest from all directions.
Amid the certainty that he had to make a decision before the clock's hands moved too far past a moment that would never return—
Theo began to formulate questions he had never imagined asking himself.
Three propositions.
Three paths laid before him.
Three choices, each carrying consequences he could not ignore.
To be continued…