In Noah's nightmare, Noah opened his eyes to find himself on a stage, the audience clapping and whistling in excitement and thrill. To his right was Livia, to his left Neriah, and beside each of them the rest of the members. The lights were blinding, as though the sun itself were staring directly at Noah. Noah covered his eyes, then turned around, only to find a massive screen behind him, displaying Altair's last moments on the beach, with words covering the screen: "ACT IV: THE END."
Noah turned again to the audience, then to the members beside him who were smiling at him. Noah turned to the audience one last time before bowing toward them, followed by the others doing the same.
"How wonderful it is to be Noah once again," Noah thought to himself in sarcasm. Half of the play, his existence as Noah Grace inside Altair had disappeared, as though he had sunk too deeply into the character until he forgot himself. So, the moment the play ended, Noah returned to being Noah, and not Altair, which made him feel relieved.
The curtains fell, covering the actors, and the sound of the cheering audience faded into the background. Immediately, Livia jumped onto Noah's back, slamming into him violently, startling him and catching him off guard.
"You bastard! Your acting never ceases to amaze me!" said Livia, rubbing Noah's head roughly and enthusiastically.
"Even my acting was good, wasn't it?" said Neriah, pointing to himself and waiting for praise—but everyone ignored him.
"Well done, actor!" Livia said again.
"Your acting is always the best, you truly deserve your title!" Sirius said with a friendly smile.
"...Would anyone outside even compliment me for this? This place... at least it has its positives… No, what the hell am I thinking?" Noah thought to himself in confusion and disbelief, then looked forward—only to be shocked to see a hazy shadow standing before him. A shadow of his past, the shadow of Noah before he entered Nova University, the pitiful person he had been in high school, standing in front of him with blurred, disgusted expressions.
"Even if I was pitiful, I knew myself, and I never doubted my origin. Unlike you, just a bit of power changed you this much, making you think you deserve comfort… You're more pitiful than I ever was," said Noah's shadow before vanishing like mist in the wind, leaving Noah staring into emptiness, his mind replaying his shadow's words.
At that moment, Livia jumped off his back and began walking away toward a room behind the stage where they usually gathered, before turning back and waving for everyone to follow her, saying with an innocent smile:
"Let's go, we'll celebrate today—we've finished almost half the work."
Everyone felt overjoyed and cheerful at this announcement and followed Livia toward the meeting room, while Noah remained standing in place, staring at the red curtains. Then, he felt a tickle at his hand, so he looked down and opened his palm, finding a gray moth resting in his hand, its wings scattered like dancing shadows, trembling as though anything could crush it. Noah stared at it silently, feeling a bitter heaviness in his chest.
"Maybe I never changed… maybe I'm still the same, pitiful as I always was."
———————
Outside Noah's nightmare, in the real world, it was a new morning. The sun had just risen with dawn. In Sector 1, Lou Yan was strolling through the corridor, heading toward Noah's room to check on his condition one last time before the investigations resumed. That's when she noticed Erza standing in front of the room, holding her notebook and jotting down a few notes. Lou Yan noticed a newspaper dangling from her bag, so she approached curiously. Erza quickly noticed her, a friendly smile spreading across her face as she waved.
"Hello, Miss Lou Yan."
"Hello… what are you doing here?" asked Lou Yan in curiosity and surprise.
"Hm, I'm just waiting for Sheikhah Valyn to leave the room, I have some work with her."
"Sheikhah?" Lou Yan said in shock, then glanced toward the room. Unfortunately, the door was closed, so she couldn't see what was happening inside.
"Did something happen to Noah?" asked Lou Yan nervously.
"No, no need to worry about him. He's fine," said Erza, reassuring Lou Yan.
"Good to hear that… wait, did you see him?" Lou Yan asked, now suspicious.
"Oh, I think I slipped up in my words… yes, I did see the boy, how else could I have taken the photos after all?"
"P-Photos?" Lou Yan's eyes widened in confusion, then she glanced at the newspaper dangling from Erza's bag and quickly snatched it, opening it—only to be shocked by the content.
A picture of Noah as the front-page headline, lying unconscious, with a headline no better than the photo itself:
"The only living victim of the notorious killer lies in hospital while the university refuses to take any action."
"W-What the hell is this?" Lou Yan said in shock, flipping through the newspaper—only to notice one of the pages had her picture with the title:
"University representative complains about the lack of attention given to students."
Lou Yan's eyes widened in shock and confusion. She realized this was because of her interview with Erza yesterday, but she didn't remember ever complaining about the university or stating that the university wasn't taking action. With every page Lou Yan flipped, her shock only grew.
"The transfer student 'Noah Grace' was subject to exclusion and hatred by everyone, but the professors never lent a hand."
"Does the university have a hand in the killer's case? Was it an inside worker who allowed the killer to enter and breach the university's defenses?"
"The university has become unsafe with a student murdered within two days or less, yet the students' mouths are sealed as if forced."
"Y-You… what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Lou Yan said, slowly raising her head to meet Erza's gaze, who looked amused.
"Me? I'm just doing my job. Don't you think my work is good?" said Erza, smiling kindly.
"Good work?… for god's sake… do you think pressuring the university will lead to anything? And what the hell is this? You're distorting the real news and deceiving the students!" said Lou Yan, annoyed and tense.
"What do you think is distorted?"
"T-This… I-I… the university not acting on the killer's issue," Lou Yan stammered nervously, feeling more and more cornered.
"Hmm, and what steps has the university taken?" Erza asked with a provoking tone and a mocking smile.
*"T-That…" Lou Yan couldn't answer. The truth was, the university had done nothing; it was the student council handling everything.
"That's what I thought. Of course, you have nothing to say because you can't oppose the truth. Just admit the university does nothing," said Erza, smiling as though she had won.
"Ugh… T-That's wrong!"
"Really?"
"Y-Yes… i-in fact, I'm part of an investigation group appointed by the university, with the best investigators—and even the student council is part of it," said Lou Yan nervously, with a tense smile, hoping this was enough to shut Erza down.
"Oooh~ would you tell me more about this group?" Erza asked.
"I-I have nothing to tell you! And now excuse me, I have investigations to carry out!" said Lou Yan before turning and walking away, forgetting her original reason for coming—to see Noah.
Erza sighed, standing in silence before pulling a recording device from her bag. It had been on for a long time, recording her entire conversation with Lou Yan.
"How can the university's actress be this naïve?" Erza thought to herself before letting out a muffled laugh and turning the device off.
"Well then…"
The door to Noah's room opened, and September came out. She noticed Erza and her expression quickly shifted from calm to annoyed.
"No need to record the next conversation…"
"Let's go somewhere private," said September before walking away, while Erza followed behind, watching her. Unlike the others, Erza saw September as she truly was—the 19-year-old girl, not the old woman she pretended to be.
---
On the other side, Lou Yan reached the student council room. She sighed in front of the door, feeling a little disappointed for leaving without seeing Noah, but at least relieved to know he was fine. Then she grabbed the door handle and entered.
Inside, everyone was in their usual places—Aria in her seat, Livia sitting on the table with her legs crossed, Sirius sitting in Kieran's seat while Kieran sat nearby, Neriah alone on one of the spare chairs, while Enel and Violet leaned against the wall by the door. Lou Yan felt like she was inside a loop, as what happened yesterday was happening again, only stronger this time. If only Kali were here, the feeling would be complete. Lou Yan glanced at the bookshelf where Kali had been yesterday, then shut the door behind her, mocking herself for daydreaming.
"Alright, since everyone is here, let's begin," said Livia with an enthusiastic tone.
*"Everyone? Kali hasn't arrived yet…" Lou Yan thought to herself in puzzlement.
"It seems Livia found something and insisted on revealing it once everyone arrived. Can you tell me what you found now?" Aria asked calmly, though Livia could see the irritation beneath her tone.
"Of course," said Livia, leaping from her seat and standing in the middle of the room.
"Ahem, ahem, Nina—please explain."
"O-Okay… u-um… y-yesterday, Miss Livia and I went to Mr. Myriad to ask him about Mr. Jarod, b-but no matter how much we searched, there was no trace, i-it was as if he vanished from existence," Violet said nervously, staring down in embarrassment.
"Was he targeted by the killer as well?" Kieran asked in confusion.
"We haven't reached the important part yet. Continue, Nina," said Livia.
"O-Okay… w-with my ability Mystic Disclosure, I-I can trace the remnants of skills and their usage. S-so, when I used it, my ability led us to the middle of the forest, a-among the trees," Violet added, her nervousness increasing with every second.
"Does that mean the last use of Myriad's skill was in that place?" Neriah asked in confusion and curiosity.
"W-Well, I don't know. Miss Livia said she found something, but she didn't tell me either."
Now all eyes turned to Livia, who stood proudly and confidently in the center of the hall.
"So, what did you find, Livia?" Aria asked, her patience wearing thin.
"Well, my dears, thanks to my great genius and incredible skill, I discovered something astonishing! Of course, I've known this for a long time," said Livia.
"Just tell us already, for god's sake!" Lou Yan shouted in annoyance.
"Alright… ahem, ahem… Mr. Myriad… isn't real!"