In Noah's nightmare, Noah left the meeting room, leaving Lou Yan on her own. Tears welled up in her eyes and began to fall like rain. Not only had she misunderstood Noah's feelings, but she was also embarrassed for thinking there was something between them.
Noah walked away, trying as much as possible to distance himself from the room—or rather, from Lou Yan. Overcoming the awkwardness was important, but he showed no concern for Lou Yan's feelings or whether she was broken now. And why should he care about a mere copy, when the real person outside was the one worried about him?
Noah let out a sigh of relief he hadn't realized he'd been holding, then grabbed the front of his hair tightly until it hurt, biting his teeth hard in annoyance.
"This damned place… distorts my friends' images and changes their truths just to tempt me… As soon as I get out of here, I'll kill the one who put me in such a place," Noah thought to himself. That's when he felt someone tap on his shoulder. He let go of his hair and turned around to find Livia with that smile of hers. She was a living example of what Noah had just been thinking—among everyone, Livia's image had been distorted the most.
Livia smiled in puzzlement, waiting for Noah to say something, while he noticed she was holding a script in her hand—he knew it was the script of the upcoming play.
"What do you want?" Noah asked in confusion. At that, Livia extended the script to hand it to him.
"This is the script for the next play. Read it this time—the character you'll play is completely different from what you might expect," Livia said. Noah then took the script from her hand and opened it, flipping through the pages and noting the lines.
"…Who writes these scripts again?" Noah asked in puzzlement and worry.
"It's you."
"Right… that's true…" Noah murmured, then took another look at the lines.
"I don't remember writing something like this… No, have I even written a play before?… Wait, there are copies of all my friends, so why didn't I assume there's a copy of me as well? But I haven't met anyone who looks like me—" Noah thought to himself, then remembered the 'Entity' that helps him complete The Acts.
"Could it be…? Every time in the play, something takes over my body and makes me follow the script. That would make sense… 'Follow the script'? If the 'Entity' is me from this place—in other words, the one who writes these scripts, the 'Director'—is it possible that he's following the script he wrote himself? Becoming just a character in a story he wrote?…" Noah thought, then recalled the system notifications he saw after the end of the Hero play.
[Did you really have to go off ☐☐☐☐☐]
[Well, it doesn't matter, a little ☐☐☐☐☐ won't hurt anyone]
"There's also that… Could it be that the system is the writer?" Noah thought, and when he realized how complicated and mysterious these ideas were, he decided to give up, letting a muffled chuckle slip from between his lips, surprising Livia.
"Maybe I am also a writer who manifested in his own book—that explains why I got my life story like a novel with it's own title 'Pages of Rebellion', huh?" Noah thought, then closed the script and held it firmly, smiling lightly at Livia.
"I'll read it, thank you," Noah said, then turned his back to Livia and began walking away, waving goodbye to her.
"What's wrong with him?" Livia wondered in surprise.
———————
Outside, in the student council room—in the archive room located at the end of a narrow corridor behind the meeting hall—its wide wooden door was painted in a dark color, with a small brass plaque engraved with "Archive" above it. Upon opening the door, the first row of gray metal cabinets stretched along the left wall, packed with files in thick folders labeled with neat handwriting. On the opposite wall, wooden shelves stood full of dusty cardboard boxes, some bearing faded old labels. In the center of the room, a rectangular table made of heavy wood was scattered with piles of papers and writing tools. The low ceiling had yellow lamps hanging down, casting a soft light that revealed dust suspended in the air, while the floor was covered with cold gray tiles, streaked with fine cracks. The smell of old paper and dry ink filled the space, and silence prevailed, broken only by the rustle of turning pages.
Sirius and Livia were searching among the files, while Kieran was in the same room pretending to search as well, though he was only watching them.
Livia approached Sirius and pretended to look through the same file shelf while whispering softly so Kieran wouldn't hear:
"Why did you do that?"
Sirius glanced at her from the corner of his eye, his gaze full of confusion and puzzlement, and whispered back:
"Do what?"
"Annoying the vice president—it seemed like you did it on purpose… Aria might target you now," Livia said, trying to hide her worry behind a cold mask.
"Isn't that good?"
"And how exactly is that good?" Livia asked in confusion.
"Now Aria's attention is on me. She'll try to figure out how I know about Kieran's ability. Maybe she'll try to find something she can use to threaten me. But… that will give you more freedom. Aria can't monitor two people… And this boy… well, I've dealt with him before, so there's no need to worry about him."
Livia's eyes widened in shock, and she rubbed her chin with a finger as she thought. She had assumed the only reason Sirius annoyed the vice president was because he was a fool who thought he was cool by throwing danger onto himself—but it turned out to be a calculated move to pave the way for her. She lifted her head to look at Sirius, smiling faintly.
"I thought you were selfish, but it turns out you care… Don't worry, I'll take advantage of the opportunity so your sacrifice doesn't go to waste," Livia said, patting Sirius's shoulder before turning to look through another shelf.
"I don't know if I'm selfish or not, but this will help Noey-kun later. Who else will protect him during this time… Don't worry, Noey-kun, all this is for you… I'll make sure to protect you this time," Sirius thought to himself, then pulled out one of the files. He opened it, revealing a photo of the recently murdered girl.
"I found it."
———
Outside the student council room, Aria, Lou Yan, and Violet were walking down the corridor toward the surveillance room. Lou Yan and Aria walked side by side—Aria with her cold expression, Lou Yan the only one appearing natural—while Violet walked behind them with frightened, nervous steps. Every few seconds, Lou Yan would glance back at her, sighing, before Aria interrupted her.
"By the way, that boy—what was his name?" Aria asked. Clearly, she was referring to Sirius.
"He's Sirius Soren. Why do you ask?" Lou Yan asked in surprise.
"Just curious… But do you know anything about him—like his ability?" Aria asked coldly.
"His ability?… Yes, I know it…" Lou Yan said, curious where this conversation might be going.
"Do you want to make a deal? You tell me that boy's ability, and I'll tell you anything you want. Just an exchange of information," Aria asked.
"She must see Sirius as a threat now… That's expected. But the truth is, I don't know his ability—I'm just lying… But… why would Aria ask me about this? She could just check his file where his ability is written once we're back… Maybe she can't… check his information? But why? No—whatever the reason, all I know is this bitch doesn't need to know anything… But… I could do the same," Lou Yan thought in silence, then turned to Aria.
"You'll give me what I want, right?" Lou Yan asked, confirming what she'd heard.
"Yes, of course, if you can give it."
"Good… then tell me—Is there a reason you hold this hostility toward Noah?" Lou Yan asked, waiting for an answer.
Aria fell silent, shocked by Lou Yan's question. Her eyes went hollow as if she had sunk into her thoughts, staring through Lou Yan, before light returned to her eyes as if life had returned to a dead body. She quickened her pace.
"Forget it."
Lou Yan slowed slightly, looking at Aria in puzzlement and confusion as she walked faster, distancing herself.
"So there is a reason behind that hatred… What the hell did Noah do to make someone like Aria so angry?" Lou Yan thought tensely, then continued walking, with Violet following behind her.
Lou Yan and Violet finally caught up to Aria, arriving at the surveillance room. Aria knocked hard on the door, still annoyed and distracted by Lou Yan's question. But after a few seconds of silence without any answer, Aria returned to her usual focus.
"No answer, huh?" Lou Yan whispered softly before Aria pulled a silver key from her pocket, unlocked the door, and pushed it open.
The room was empty—no sign of Jarod anywhere. Everything was still in place, though: a half-filled coffee cup on the table, a few scattered files on the floor, and the monitors still running. But what drew the most attention was the dark red liquid pooling in the middle of the room, streaming from the window like a waterfall, sliding damply to the center until it formed a puddle. The smell of metal filled the room, mixed with a foul stench.
Lou Yan's eyes widened in alarm, while Violet immediately stepped outside in disgust and horror. Aria, however, was the only one whose reaction didn't change. She approached the puddle, knelt beside it, dipped a finger into it, brought it to her nose, and sniffed it before pulling it away.
"…It's blood."
———————
In Noah's nightmare, Noah had been walking in circles since parting with Livia, reading the script, until he ended up backstage where everyone was waiting for him—Sirius and Enel standing together, Calli and Livia talking about something, while Lou Yan was absent.
Neriah was the only one different from the rest. He wore thin metal-framed glasses, his hair falling gently at the sides of his face with clear gray streaks. His face was framed by a short, well-kept beard. He wore a gray wool sweater over a simple white shirt, with comfortable brown fabric trousers and dark brown leather shoes. Around his neck was a soft cotton scarf, and on his wrist, an old-fashioned watch.
Everyone turned toward Noah, and from his perspective, they seemed surprised—their eyes lit up with joy and excitement.
"Here comes the main character," Livia said with a faint smile.
"He's so cute," Calli said, covering her mouth as her cheeks turned red.
"Honestly, even though he's become a child, he's still himself," Neriah said, though inside he was annoyed by the attention Noah was getting from the women.
"Child?" Noah whispered in confusion. That's when he noticed his voice was different—sharp and light, carrying that quick childish tone that still held innocence. He panicked.
Noah turned to his right, where he found a standing mirror—as if it were prepared for this exact moment. That's when Noah saw the disaster. He had suddenly become a boy, the height of an eleven-year-old. His face was small, with rounded cheeks free of any signs of maturity, his skin fair and smooth, his eyes wide and shiny as if seeing the world's wonder anew. His hair was short and black, slightly messy. He wore a white collared shirt with short sleeves, a light black jacket draped neatly over his shoulders, plain black fabric trousers—clean and comfortable—and black sneakers with fine white details.
"What the hell is this?!"