Inside Noah's nightmare, the meeting ended with Livia announcing the chosen representatives and giving a few brief details. As soon as she finished, she dismissed everyone.
Noah rose from his seat and noticed how Lou Yan was glancing at him out of the corners of her eyes, flustered, just before Livia wrapped an arm around Lou Yan's neck and pulled her close for a secret conversation.
Noah stood there confused and curious, but decided to ignore it for the time being.
"Y-You vile woman, what do you think you're doing?" Lou Yan whispered, her voice barely louder than a breath. She tried to sound tough, but her voice was shaky and uncertain.
"I'm giving you the opportunity of a lifetime, that's what I'm doing. There are lots of scenes between the hero and his lover—make the most of them," Livia said teasingly, trying to fluster Lou Yan.
"S-Shut up. He must know something's wrong if you made such a sudden announcement like that. H-He might figure ou—," Lou Yan stammered, covering her face in embarrassment, her rising heat reaching her head. She couldn't bring herself to say 'my feelings.'
"But doesn't he already know about your feelings… champion? Don't worry, everything will be sweet between you two after this play. I promise, the actor will hug you the moment it ends," Livia said excitedly, eager to see the blooming romance.
Lou Yan stood there frozen as Livia's words echoed in her head. Pink-tinted images played in her mind—like Noah holding Lou Yan by the waist with one hand and her hand in his with the other, her body arched backward and one leg slightly off the ground. He held her firmly, as if she were suspended between falling and staying. Another scene: Noah standing close, one hand on the wall beside her head, his knee slightly raised between her legs, keeping her from moving. Her body trapped between the wall and his chest, no space left.
The heat rushed to Lou Yan's head so strongly it seemed like steam would pour from it. Embarrassed and flustered, she squirmed in place trying to erase the images from her mind. She peeked through her fingers at Livia.
"...Do you promise?" Lou Yan asked in a near whisper, her heart racing and blood boiling, but eager for Livia's answer.
"Of course, I promise~," Livia replied playfully, stepping closer and pulling Lou Yan's hands away from her face to see her blushing cheeks.
Lou Yan's eyes widened at Livia's action, but she turned her head away to avoid eye contact.
"the actor's going to love seeing this version of you," Livia said, giggling softly.
Meanwhile, Noah was near Sirius and Neriah, listening to them talk about the play. But his mind was elsewhere, scanning the room and noticing Enel wasn't there.
"I can't even ask about him. He must have a codename… But there are other ways," Noah thought anxiously, then turned to Sirius and Neriah.
"By the way, where's the shy kid?" Noah asked, clearly referring to Enel.
"You mean 'The Scholar'? He's in that room," Neriah replied, pointing to a brown door in the back Noah hadn't noticed before.
"So that's his codename…" Noah thought, then walked over, opened the door, and stepped inside.
The space was small but open. Soft green grass covered the floor, and a bright sun hung in a clear blue sky. In the background were houses and airplanes, but they looked like they were drawn with crayons on the walls. In the center of the room stood a green tree with a single trunk, from which hung a thick rope—around Enel's neck, as if he had hanged himself.
"…Huh…?" Noah froze, his eyes wide in shock, unable to move.
"Oh, the actor. You're here," Enel said, opening his eyes—shocking Noah even more.
"Y-You're alive?!" Noah shouted, like he'd just been electrocuted.
"Yes, I'm alive… Ah, you're talking about this," Enel said, laughing nervously. He pulled a knife from his lab coat and cut the rope, landing safely on the ground.
"See? I'm fine," Enel said with a friendly smile, as if he hadn't just been hanging.
"W-What the hell happened? What were you trying to do?" Noah asked, confused and disturbed.
"Oh, it was an experiment. There'll be a similar scene in the next play, so I was just testing if it would work," Enel replied confidently.
"W-What an effective way to test… but what if you got hurt?" Noah asked, worried.
"Science doesn't fail, dear actor. As you can see, science just fooled someone as great as you," Enel said, pulling a remote from his pocket and pressing a button.
The "sun," which Noah had assumed was real, turned off, plunging the room into darkness—until Enel opened a window and light slipped through. Looking up, Noah realized the sun had been just a lamp.
"This isn't science. It's just deception," Noah said, turning to Enel, still stunned.
"Everything comes from science and returns to science. Science is the source of logic. Without it, there is no meaning or result. Science is salvation!, so basically, deception is just another form of science" Enel declared, pointing dramatically at Noah.
"So Enel's salvation is science… while mine is adaptation," Noah thought to himself. Then he walked up to Enel and flicked him hard on the forehead, making Enel yelp in pain.
"W-Why'd you do that?" Enel asked, annoyed, rubbing his reddened forehead.
"Don't do things that could hurt you. Others will be sad," Noah said with a warm smile, ruffling Enel's hair.
"…Okay…" Enel replied shyly, flustered and obedient.
"He's still shy even here," Noah thought to himself, amused. He couldn't help ruffling Enel's hair more.
———————
In the outside world, Sirius left the room, leaving Enel and Violet alone. He boarded a train toward Sector 2. Noticing how empty the train was, he relaxed and took the nearest seat.
"I need to prep a few things for the next scene: signal jammer, some painkillers… and a knife. The 'Weeping Hound' scene will be so good, even the killer himself will be stirred," Sirius thought excitedly.
"'The Sinner's Swing' scene was good, but it didn't fully match what happened in reality. Unfortunately, the killer might not have understood the message," he thought with regret, remembering the past.
———
Several years ago, when Sirius was six, in "The Roof of the World: Tibet," where the land was dry and gray, trapped between towering mountains and a sky covered by unmoving thunderclouds. Trees were rare, dead, and rotting. Crops decayed the moment they touched the ground. Water was so scarce that even the rain was toxic.
Sirius was a small, dirt-covered child, innocent eyes still shining. He wore ragged straw clothes patched together, and long worn-out cloth shoes to protect him from the filthy earth.
The neighborhood was poor—collapsed rooftops, slanted walls. Children sat outside their homes, palms cupped, begging passing strangers for coins or scraps. Adults wandered aimlessly. Large groups passed around half-empty bottles of alcohol. In alleys, people—child, elder, or woman—were beaten senseless for stealing a single shoe.
Outside the neighborhood, Sirius arrived at a cracked, dying tree nearly ready to fall. Tied to it was a swing made of rough rope, and hanging from it was a man with bloodstained clothes, clearly dead—yet still swaying from the foul wind.
Sirius turned and saw a group of women glaring at him with disgust, whispering behind their hands.
"He killed his pregnant wife and ate her with the fetus. How could someone do that?" said one thin woman, covering her mouth.
"He must've realized he couldn't feed both, so he chose to satisfy his own hunger. My father did the same to my mom when I was thirteen… but at least she wasn't pregnant… how could someone do that to their unborn child?" said another, tearful. Her friend gently rubbed her shoulder.
"I used to live next to them. Every day he'd scream and beat her. Sometimes she ran to our house for shelter," said another, arms crossed and brows furrowed.
"…Then why is he dead?" Sirius whispered to himself, confused.
"It's guilt," said a voice behind him. Sirius turned to see a man in torn straw pants, barefoot, shirtless with defined muscles. His face was blurred from memory.
"Dad? What do you mean by guilt?" Sirius asked, puzzled by the unfamiliar word.
"It's the feeling of remorse after doing something wrong. He probably felt guilty for what he did to his family, so he punished himself—by swinging until he died," his father said, squatting down and patting Sirius's head.
"How do you know that?" Sirius asked curiously, smiling under the affection.
"Don't forget, little star, your father escaped this place once. I know a lot," his dad said, standing up and holding Sirius's hand, walking him toward another neighborhood.
"Is that strange glowing thing that lights the sky out there?" Sirius asked, eyes bright with wonder.
"Yes… it's a huge star called the sun," his father said, chuckling softly.
"The sun… I want to see the sun someday!" Sirius shouted with determination.
"Yes… you will see the sun one day."
———
On the train, Sirius heard his father's words echoing in his head. He looked out the train's window at the glowing sun beginning to set.
"…Liar… and what exactly did the sun ever change?"