"Why… can you speak?"
2D Mita's words were no longer displayed through a dialogue box but came directly from her mouth. Her shock made her words tremble like branches in the wind, her wide, vacant eyes fixed on Alain.
"Do you want to get out?" he said. "It must be boring staying in this version, right? I can take you back to the world of Mita."
"Mm."
"Did I… mishear?" That was her first thought.
"You didn't mishear. I'm talking to you." Alain felt the oppressive force from all over his body and sighed twice.
This state really couldn't last long; he had to resolve this quickly.
He looked at 2D Mita, who didn't seem to have recovered from her shattered perception. Her pupils only refocused after Alain waved a hand in front of her eyes.
Upon hearing his words, the trembling on her face gradually ceased, returning to its previous calmness.
2D Mita opened her mouth in a sighing laugh.
"You… can't do it."
The heavy distrust in her voice made Alain frown. Before he could reply, 2D Mita continued,
"I once hoped for salvation from other Mitas. A few companions did come here. But without exception…"
She raised her head, looking at the flat surface of the ceiling as if seeing the chains of a cage.
"They, too, became me." Realizing she had said a bit too much, 2D Mita turned her eyes and smiled faintly.
"So, you see, I won't hold on to pointless expectations anymore. It's better to cherish the time we have now."
She looked into his eyes. "Don't you think so? Player."
"The hell it is." Just as Alain was about to launch a verbal tirade, the heavy burden on his back, like a collapsing mountain, suddenly intensified, crushing the words he had yet to speak.
Damn it! This feeling sucks, like being on the verge of release only to be cut short…
"D-Darling! We're still watching, you know!"
His thoughts had been seen by Misha. Excellent… Darling's shy reaction was deliciously cute.
"Alright, alright, let's just continue for now. See what she plans to do."
As soon as Short-Haired Mita finished speaking, the plot returned to a period of calm.
2D Mita took him to inspect every part of the cage, showing him her photos and other things that might leave a deep impression.
On the computer desk beside Short-Haired Mita, more and more items appeared, even piling up into a small mountain.
Watching from outside the screen, Misha clicked her tongue in amazement.
"If only we could bring all these back to reality. We could add some free decorations to the house."
[If you like them, we can go take a few pictures and have someone draw a portrait.]
Misha crossed her arms in rejection. "Is the point the decorations? The point is that it's free!!"
After a period of interaction that felt neither long nor short, the final choice quietly arrived.
She stood by the living room window, and Alain stood beside her. She leaned on the windowsill, and he watched her and the faint white particles drifting far away.
[Thank you for your company.]
The pink dialogue box displayed these words, then changed.
[But good times are always fleeting… Farewells are inevitable.]
"Alain! It's here!"
Seeing this line, Short-Haired Mita, who had been about to fall asleep watching the story, was jolted awake.
Alain nodded. Perhaps the path to 1.0F was about to appear.
[I will stay here forever][I will accompany you forever][Reload]
The choice branch appeared, three options standing before Alain and the two girls.
At the same moment, a box popped up in the bottom right corner of the screen.
[Achievement Unlocked: Happy End]
[…What the hell is this.]
Alain had thought the plot would involve 2D Mita reluctantly letting him go, then leading him to 1.0F. Alain would then clear the viruses from the versions, achieving a true HE, to everyone's delight.
However…
Of the three options, two were Bad Ends for Alain. And the last one was to restart the game…
An achievement notification had even popped up. Doesn't that kind of thing usually appear after you make a choice?
"Alain, we can only pick the third one."
Short-Haired Mita's voice was also helpless. It sounded like she was brushing her hair, as a "rustling" sound came from the cube.
Alain was still thinking. The third option was to reload directly, returning to the first choice branch.
Perhaps they had chosen wrong from the very beginning.
The first choice branch had been: [I came here to find you][I want to go to Version 1.0F, can you help me?][To see the poor, forgotten wretch]
They had chosen "I came here to find you," resulting in this dead-end situation.
And the second option… didn't 2D Mita just snatch his ring and run off somewhere when they first met?
"Perhaps the second option was the correct one. When we first entered the 2D version, we didn't understand many things, so it's possible we missed something…"
[That's true… but something feels off.]
Alain stared at the third option. The two large characters for [Reload] were written on it. It looked incredibly simple, yet each stroke seemed to flow downwards like a solidified teardrop.
He recalled the prompt from when he first entered the game:
A choice, once made, must be seen through.
[Choose.]
"Okay."
Short-Haired Mita pressed the mouse, clicking the third option, [Reload]. Subsequently, Alain's vision blurred, and a strange sensation of floating spread throughout his body.
And at the very end of his vision… he vaguely saw a cunning smile on 2D Mita's face, along with eyes full of sorrow.
"Sorry, stay with me a little longer."
When Alain came to his senses, he was back in the initial living room.
[Did you guys see what 2D Mita just said?]
His words left the two girls outside confused.
"No?" Short-Haired Mita looked at the dialogue box and opened the history log.
"The dialogue box didn't show anything just now."
"Me neither. I just saw the screen flash, and then you were back in the living room," Misha said.
[I see…] Alain inwardly grumbled, wondering if he had seen wrong—
He knew very well that whenever he had this thought, it inevitably meant he hadn't.
He silently organized the information he had just gathered:
First, during the period when he broke through the game's constraints and had "free rein," he learned that other Mitas had come to the 2D version before.
But they all ended up in a state similar to 2D Mita's: troubled by the Corrosive Entity. The room had instead become a cage.
This raised the urgency for Alain to eliminate the virus.
Second, there was the last sentence 2D Mita had seemingly spoken.
He didn't understand what that sentence meant. It was like… she was deliberately stalling Alain, as if something had not yet been completed.
All of this… could only be understood after going through the door.
Alain looked at the bedroom, walked over without hesitation, and opened the door. 2D Mita was meditating on the bed as always.
After the routine pleasantries, the choice branch naturally appeared.
He had originally planned to choose the second option. But Alain's eyes narrowed for a moment.
[To see the forgotten, pitiful wretch][To see a true-to-life paper person][I'm just curious. Is there a market for a Mita like you?]
The options… had changed.
They had all become Bad End options.
__
🔥 New stories are available now! 🔥
Genshin Impact: Starting by Stuffing Columbina
✅ Access up to 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories!
✅ Receive exclusive content and updates!
Help us hit our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 80 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan