Noah opened his eyes to find himself in a vast white space, a space resembling the void where he had met Selene, but this time he was floating, his body turning in the air. There was no ground; it was as if the concept of ground had no meaning in this place.
Then, he heard a meaningless whispering voice, and finally, a system screen appeared as if it was translating those whispers:
[Did you really have to step out of ☐☐☐☐☐]
[Well, it doesn't matter, a little bit of ☐☐☐☐☐ won't hurt anyone]
Noah's eyes widened, but he felt someone tapping his shoulder. He turned around to find that the space had completely changed, returning him behind the bathroom curtains, and Livia was standing behind him, her hands behind her back, leaning slightly forward with a faint smile on her face, and she said:
"Well done, actor."
"Li...via?" whispered Noah, his body sweating and his eyes trembling. He looked toward where he had been staring, where the white void was supposed to be, but it had disappeared, replaced only by the backstage extension. Then he looked at his trembling hands; the images of what he had done during the play raced through his mind, reality mingled with acting, and he felt disgust.
"Did... I really kill all those people...?" Noah thought to himself, covering his mouth to stop himself from vomiting. His face went pale, and he swallowed with difficulty in pain.
"Are you okay?" Livia asked with curiosity and puzzlement but without any sign of worry at all.
Noah moved his hands away from his mouth and turned to Livia. That smile of hers made him want to vomit even more, as if she knew something but refused to speak, as if she was playing with him like a mere doll. Then he looked away and forced a nervous smile on his face and said with a trembling voice:
"I'm fine... What about the others?"
Livia's eyes widened a little, as she did not expect him to ask about anyone else. They had only put on a play; it wasn't as if they had gone to war after all. But she wanted to tease him, so she put a finger on her chin and pretended to think, murmuring softly, before snapping her fingers and saying:
"Everyone's dead!"
Noah's face drained of all color; his jaw nearly dropped from shock and terror.
"W-what?"
"I'm just kidding," Livia said as a muffled, cheerful laugh slipped from between her lips.
"You're joking?…" Noah repeated, then sighed with relief and relaxed his shoulders a little. Just then, Lou Yan appeared from behind Livia; she had been eavesdropping on their conversation and decided to approach out of curiosity.
"Oh, Champion, what are you doing here?" Livia asked with an annoyed and teasing smile, knowing why Lou Yan was approaching.
"Shut up," Lou Yan said nervously and embarrassed. She didn't even have time to finish her sentence before Noah rushed toward her, hugging her with all his might, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close as he trembled.
"A-actor?" Lou Yan said, shocked and confused, caught off guard.
Noah remained silent, his body shaking like a child stuck in the rain, hugging his mother from the cold, seeking reassurance and calm. Then Lou Yan remembered the promise Livia had made to her before the play started, and her confident words echoed in her ears:
"I promise that after the play ends, he will jump into your arms and hug you."
Lou Yan's cheeks flushed slightly, and she surrendered to Noah's embrace and hugged him back, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder while gently playing with his hair.
"I can't believe this is happening..."
———
Outside Noah's nightmare, in the real world, at 7:23 a.m., Lou Yan was walking through the university corridors, stretching lazily under the influence of sleep. She headed directly to Noah's hospital room. Her steps were quick despite her sluggishness, as she was eager to see if Noah's condition had improved even a little.
"I feel good about today, maybe Noah will wake up," Lou Yan thought to herself with a happy smile on her face. Then she arrived at Noah's room but noticed a girl with one of the Council of Four, the "Ninth Mercy," September Vallen. They had just left the room, talking outside the door with cautious and worried expressions. Lou Yan knew this was not good, so she approached them and interrupted their conversation:
"E-excuse me?" Lou Yan said, confused.
September and the girl with her turned around. The girl looked like a reporter from her clothes: she had brown eyes, a very pale face, long dark eyelashes, and carefully drawn lips. She wore a brown patterned fabric jacket with tight sleeves ending at the wrist with small buttons, topped by a high cream-colored lace collar. Below, she had a long skirt of the same fabric, flowing down to the ankle with straight lines preserving elegance. Around her waist was a thin dark leather belt defining her figure, and under the skirt, shiny brown leather shoes with side buttons were hidden. On her head was a small felt hat decorated with a dark silk ribbon hiding her short brown hair underneath, and in her hand was a black-edged notebook.
"Hmm? Lou Yan?" September said, surprised by Lou Yan's early arrival.
"Is there something wrong?" Lou Yan asked, going straight to the point, nervous and flustered.
"Ah... nothing serious, but when we examined the boy this morning, he was bleeding from his mouth," September said with a worried look but maintained her professional calm.
"B-bleeding?" Lou Yan repeated, confused. Her eyes widened, and her face paled with fear.
"Yes, it seems he bit his tongue... I think he regained a little consciousness but bit his tongue by accident..." September said, looking aside before walking away.
"Anyway, he's stable now, no need to worry, he will be monitored by other doctors so nothing bad should happen... probably," September said, whispering the last part so Lou Yan wouldn't hear.
"I can't tell her the boy tried to kill himself by biting his tongue, right? I don't want any more trouble with crying kids," September thought to herself before leaving and disappearing from sight.
"I don't know if I should worry or not... but she said Noah regained part of his consciousness; that must be good news," Lou Yan thought to herself, then turned to the girl still standing near her, looking at her with an innocent and curious smile.
"H-hello...?" Lou Yan said, unsure what to say.
"Nice to meet you, university actress, I'm campus reporter Ezra Quill," Ezra said with a faint smile on her lips.
"I-I'm Lou Yan, nice to meet you," Lou Yan said nervously.
"Can I take just one minute of your time? Please don't be scared, I'm ridiculously cooperative, so the interview will be quick; you won't feel worried or embarrassed at all," Ezra said as she snapped her notebook and pen shut, holding them tightly. Lou Yan noticed many notes written inside, but from Ezra's strange handwriting, she couldn't understand a single word.
"O-okay then."
"Great, let's go somewhere private then!"
Lou Yan and Ezra left the hospital and university building and went outside to the garden, where they found an empty wooden bench and sat there. Ezra crossed one leg over the other and put her notebook on her knee.
"W-what's the reason for this interview again?" Lou Yan asked, puzzled, pulling herself back a bit to keep a comfortable distance from Ezra.
"Ah, I haven't explained yet, excuse me. All I want to know is what happened to the transfer student Noah Grace. There have been rumors recently, specifically yesterday, that a student met the killer, and immediately lost consciousness, and now there is no news about him? I searched for his room and found it. Mrs. September refused to do an interview with me, then suddenly the heavens surprised me—and it's you. So I'll ask you a few questions only. If there's something you don't want to answer, just skip it if you're uncomfortable," Ezra explained kindly and pleasantly with a friendly smile.
"Rumors? How did that happen? Only a few know about what happened to Noah?" Lou Yan thought to herself in confusion, then remembered Aria for a moment.
"That bitch spread the truth just to pressure us..." Lou Yan thought angrily, smiling with annoyance, gripping the edge of the bench tightly.
"Let's start then, shall we?" Ezra said, and Lou Yan nodded anxiously.
"Okay..."
———
In Noah's nightmare, Noah was sitting in the preparation room behind the backstage. Everyone was sitting on sofas in their places, while Noah sat close to Lou Yan. Livia stood before everyone, behind her the board was empty, and on her face was a gentle smile that did not try to hide her happiness.
"This play was a huge success. Although it was long, the audience was satisfied."
Everyone sighed in relief at Livia's joyful reaction, while Noah rolled his eyes at Sirius, who was sitting between Neriah and Enel on a separate sofa. Calli sat on a white wooden chair with one leg over the other, and Noah returned his gaze to Lou Yan, looking at her through the corners of his eyes.
"Alistair's character still affects me to the point that I don't know what my feelings toward Lou Yan are anymore... at least... everyone is alive," Noah thought anxiously, remembering the scene of Agatha's death in his hands and her disappearance, and Ephraim and Arabella stabbed and burning to death in front of the public.
"Who wrote these damn scenarios? What a sick person."
"Anyway, the next play, of course, the main character is the actor, but a new person will act, and that is—" Livia said in an enthusiastic tone but was interrupted by the new character.
"Me!" Neriah said, pointing his finger at himself with a proud smile. Everyone looked at him without reaction before turning to Livia, casting silent looks at her, but she was shouting: "Are you sure?"
"For God's sake!" Neriah said annoyed, almost crying from being excluded by his comrades.
"Don't worry, the role really suits him, he will be the father who dies for the poor child who becomes the avenger," Livia said, and immediately everyone nodded, understanding his screen time would only last a few minutes.
"Damn you all!"
Neriah's angry shouting sounded like background noise in a cheap movie, then Sirius asked curiously:
"What exactly is the play about?"
"Good question. Simply, a poor child lives a good life, comes home after playing with his friends, only to find his parents dead by a thief who tried to rob the house. So the child goes on a revenge journey. Simple, right?" Livia said with a faint smile on her lips.
"Will I be forced to kill again?…" Noah thought to himself, looking at the ground in emptiness.
"The next play is called 'The Patriarch.' Get ready well, actor, because you will shine like a king!"