The next scene brought a sense of pressure to the viewers.
After Suzuha left, the world line fluctuation meter didn't change.
After a brief wait, the sound of knocking came from the door.
Rather than the 50-something Suzuha, the person who appeared before them was Yugo Tennouji, the owner of the cathode ray tube workshop.
He handed over a letter to the group, and the letter was signed by Suzuha Amane.
When they asked where Suzuha was, the answer they received was that she had passed away.
———————————————————————
"Mr. Okabe Rintaro, long time no see. I am Suzuha Amane."
"It may have been just a few hours ago for you, but now it is June 13, 2000. I will get straight to the point — failure, failure, failure, failure..."
———————————————————————
The black ink was filled with the word "failure," and it was clear from the tone of the letter that Suzuha had written it in a state of immense anguish.
The group was left wide-eyed in disbelief.
Originally, they had been filled with hope, but now their hearts sank as they stared at the letter in stunned silence.
After countless failures, perhaps after a struggle, Suzuha had finally decided to explain the reasons.
———————————————————————
"I only remembered who I am a year ago, I lost my memory during these 24 years."
"Time travel didn't go smoothly, the repairs weren't complete. But this isn't my father's fault, it's mine."
"Because the time machine wasn't fully repaired, Suzuha injured her head when she arrived and lost her memory."
"It would've been fine to jump directly to 1975, I shouldn't have taken the detour to 2010. That wasn't the time to be reckless, if I had done that, the future wouldn't have changed!"
"I didn't get the IBN5100, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"What did I live for until this age?"
"I forgot my mission and just shamelessly kept on living."
"Please forgive me, forgive me, forgive me..."
"Mr. Okabe Rintaro, after that time machine meeting, you stopped me from jumping to 1975, because there was a thunderstorm that night, and the time machine broke."
"If I could go back, I wish you hadn't stopped me that day."
"This life is meaningless..."
———————————————————————
The black lines filled with gloom and despair, the girl's vacant gaze, the twisted lines at the end of the letter, all of this, combined with the voice acting's intense delivery, stirred up a strange, dark feeling in the hearts of the viewers.
Regret, pain, sorrow...
Then, when the fans learned that Suzuha had hanged herself ten years ago in her house, and that her mental state had become extremely unstable the year before her suicide, the dark emotions completely exploded in the viewers' hearts.
The story didn't end here.
After learning all of this, Okabe was heartbroken and decided to use D-Mail again, ensuring that he wouldn't stop Suzuha from leaving that day.
This way, she would be able to jump to 1975 before the storm hit.
The price of this would be that she would never know who her father was.
Unlike the time machine, D-Mail was a system that could send emails to the past.
Once D-Mail was sent, the world would reconstruct itself based on the recipient's actions.
Since the recipient's response couldn't be predicted, the results of this world reconstruction were unknown.
Only Okabe could observe the changes in the world after D-Mail was sent.
As the world line was reconstructed, there was no doubt that the future had changed.
In this new world line, Suzuha didn't commit suicide but instead passed away naturally from illness.
Before her death, she repeatedly muttered, "Is this value from before the change, or after? Did I change it?"
The world line fluctuation meter indeed showed a change, but it didn't exceed the 1% mark that Suzuha had mentioned.
Before long, it was time for Mayuri's death again, but this time the train didn't stop.
Okabe rushed back to 1AB and found Mayuri peacefully sleeping on the couch.
Okabe breathed a deep sigh of relief.
———————————————————————
"Suzuha... has the world changed now?"
"Is Mayuri... saved?"
———————————————————————
With this lingering question, Episode 16 came to an end.
It was only then that the viewers finally snapped out of their shock.
However, many of them chose to rewatch Episode 1.
They were shocked to realize that they couldn't remember some of the settings or the earlier events of the story!
By the time they reached the D-Mail segment, they were completely confused!
Meanwhile, viewers who had paid close attention to the story were enthusiastically commenting on various websites.
———————————————————————
"That was amazing! This episode of Steins;Gate was just incredible!!"
"I honestly thought they would succeed, but I never expected the failure at the end!"
"I had a feeling it was going to fail from the start, especially since there are still a lot of episodes left. If they succeeded so easily, what would the rest of the story be about? But I didn't expect it to end this way."
"Suzuha's twist was so hard to watch."
"Me too, it was so uncomfortable, my chest felt heavy."
"It's probably Suzuha's backstory... For viewers who didn't remember the previous events, the fact that she repeated her time with her father, only to be forced to part again, while carrying the hope of succeeding, only to end up committing suicide in a daze—it hits hard. The twist and the ending... it's heart-wrenching."
"I didn't see it that way! I just couldn't stop crying."
"I couldn't hold back either, I just burst into tears."
"For Okabe, this must have been so painful, right? After all, he caused all of this, repeatedly going through these tragedies... If it were me, I'd probably break down."
"However, Mayuri should be saved this time, right?"
"Fool, there's no way it worked!"
"That's right, didn't Suzuha say? The world line only changes once it reaches 1%. Right now, it's only at 0.4%. There's no way it worked!"
"Then why is Mayuri still alive at the end?"
"How should I know?!"
"I finally understand the setup from the previous episode. Without the buildup from the last episode, this one wouldn't have had such an explosive payoff!"
"Why is this episode so short?!"
"Now we have to wait until next week!"
"As sensei said, the story just keeps getting better the further it goes! I'm so curious about what will happen next!"
"..."
———————————————————————
From the start, where more than 70% of the feedback was negative, to now, where over 80% are positive, it's been less than a month!
Had the show been airing at a weekly pace since Episode 1, by the time Episode 16 aired, the majority of fans would have probably been unhappy, as the buildup was slow.
After all, when fans develop high expectations for an author's work, they can tolerate a bit of imperfection.
But if their expectations aren't met, the backlash can be intense.
———————————————————————
The next morning...
"Mugiho-kun, wake up~"
At Mahiru's cheerful wake-up service, Akifumi Mugiho rubbed his eyes groggily.
"What time is it?"
"It's already 7 AM."
"..."
After a brief silence, Akifumi sighed as he became slightly more awake.
"If I didn't know better, I'd think I was going to school today."
Not that he even woke up this early for school!
"After all, it's rare we get to go out and have fun, so we should head out early!"
Mahiru's face was serious, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Alright, I'll change now."
"Ah!" Mahiru gasped, covering her eyes with both hands and complaining, "You should wait for me to leave before changing!"
Akifumi rolled his eyes.
'What's the big deal? We've seen each other naked before, no need to be shy.'
———————————————————————
After a short while, the three of them left the house together.
"Are we just having rice balls for breakfast?"
It's supposed to be a fun day out, but why does the food seem even simpler than usual?
Mahiru smiled sheepishly.
"The subway ride to the amusement park is an hour long, Mugiho-kun, so just bear with it for now."
"I'll treat you to a big meal at lunch."
Well, there's nothing else to do but endure for now.
"Mugi, want some sponge cake?"
Mashiro handed over her snack to Akifumi Mugiho.
"Well, I won't hold back."
He took half of it, and her intense gaze on the cake made it clear she wasn't happy about the split.
When she saw the cake being divided, the girl quickly turned her gaze away, as if she couldn't bear to watch.
It was rather amusing.
"By the way, isn't Eriri coming?"
"She said she's swamped with deadlines and doesn't have time to go out."
Akifumi was surprised.
"But didn't Eriri hire an assistant? How is she still too busy?"
"One assistant isn't enough to ease the load as much as she expected."
"Plus, she occasionally slacks off..."
That last part was the key.
"That's tough," Akifumi said, clicking his tongue with a slightly smug tone.
"You're probably the fastest in the industry, Mugiho-kun."
"..." Akifumi's voice took on a more dangerous edge.
"Looks like tonight, I'll have to show you who's faster to past out between the two of us."
Mahiru froze, then recalled the last time they had this conversation.
Her pale cheeks immediately turned a bright pink, looking exceptionally charming.
She shot a playful glare at Akifumi, but didn't deny it.
"Tonight?" Mashiro tilted her head, staring blankly at them.
"Uh, nothing."
Akifumi quickly realized they had an innocent child around and decided to keep things clean.
"By the way, have you met Eriri's assistant, Mashiro?"
Mashiro nodded.
She was also an editor under Otosuna Mihari, and they had met when they both went over to help.
However, for some reason, the girl had refused the assistant.
Eriri eventually chose one.
Balancing her serials with schoolwork was already overwhelming, and despite being a genius, there was still a noticeable gap between her and someone like Mashiro.
Akifumi was curious. "What does she look like?"
"She's a girl."
Mashiro thought for a moment and added, "She's very pretty."
"Pretty?"
"Is she more beautiful than Mashiro?"
Mashiro shook her head. "I don't know."
Akifumi smiled.
"Now I'm a little curious too."
"After all, Mugiho-kun likes pretty girls."
Mahiru's voice was laced with sarcasm.
When he looked at her, she shot him a sharp look with her large, expressive eyes.
Akifumi shrugged.
"Let's buy some shampoo on our way back tonight."
Mahiru, who had been irritated earlier, looked confused. "Why buy shampoo?"
"Didn't you knock over a bottle of soap?"
"When did I..."
Mahiru suddenly realized mid-sentence.
Her face flushed bright red, and she pouted, "Hmph, I'm not talking to you!"
Despite her grumbling, she couldn't help but smile at Akifumi's playful jokes.
Laughing and chatting, the three of them arrived at the amusement park.
It was a few minutes past 9 AM, and the park had just opened.
However, since it was the weekend, there was still quite a line outside.
Most of the people were parents with kids.
As for couples or young people, there were hardly any to be seen.
It was probably still too early for them.
Seeing all the parents with their kids, Mahiru couldn't help but cast an envious glance.
Akifumi, who had just returned with the tickets, noticed this and reached out to ruffle Mahiru's hair.
"Hey, snap out of it."
"If you're going to be unhappy while we're out, I'm not going to come with you next time."
Mahiru pouted and muttered softly, "Mugiho-kun, you're being too much."
"It's actually you who's being too much," Akifumi replied with a sigh.
"We came out to have fun, but some people haven't even started yet and are already sulking."
"Then what's the point of coming out to play?"
Mahiru giggled, "I'm not sulking."
"I'm just a little envious of families like that."
"What's so great about it?"
Akifumi rolled his eyes and glanced at Mashiro.
His eyes lit up, and he took Mashiro's hand and placed it in Mahiru's.
Then, he took Mashiro's other hand for himself.
"?"
Mashiro blinked in confusion but silently accepted and held both of their hands.
"This way, we're kind of a family too, right?"
"Right, Mashiro?"
Akifumi, what kind of family are you talking about?
Never mind, not thinking about it.
Mashiro blinked and nodded, "Mm."
"..."
Mahiru shot Akifumi a glare.
After thinking for a moment, she didn't point out that she didn't want to play the "mom" role.
'Otherwise, with Mugiho-kun's mischievous nature, he'd probably say I should be the daughter!'
Once they entered the amusement park and saw the attractions, both Mahiru and Mashiro's eyes sparkled.
'It was easy to tell that neither of them had ever been to a place like this.'
'One was a girl who had been obsessed with painting her whole life, and the other had no parents, so she likely hadn't had the chance to visit such places.'
"Mugi, I want to ride that"
Mashiro tugged on Akifumi sleeve, pulling him out of his thoughts.
Her eyes were fixed on the roller coaster nearby, sparkling with excitement.
Akifumi raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure, Mashiro?"
"Mm!" Mashiro nodded earnestly.
Akifumi turned to Mahiru.
"Are you coming?"
"No way!"
Mahiru immediately shook her head without hesitation.
Just looking at it was enough to make her heart race!
'Mashiro is really brave.'
She thought to herself, gazing at her with some admiration.
Since the park had just opened, there wasn't much of a line for the larger rides.
Soon, it was their turn.
"Shall we go?"
"I'll wait for you here," Mahiru smiled and replied.
Though the roller coaster was a major ride, the whole thing only lasted a little over 2 minutes.
After they came back down, Akifumi helped the pale and dizzy Mashiro as they both exited the ride.
"Why bother if you're not good at it?"
Mashiro couldn't speak, still feeling dizzy.
Mahiru approached, concerned. "Are you okay?"
"Well, it's my first time on a roller coaster. I should be fine after a little rest."
"Let's sit over there for a while."
The three of them walked over to a nearby bench and sat down.
After a short while, with Mashiro feeling better, they started to try out other attractions.
However, this time, no matter how much Akifumi urged, the girl refused to go on the swinging ship, pirate ship, or drop tower.
The day passed by quickly.
As the sun set, Akifumi looked at the tired faces of the two girls and asked, "Shall we head back?"
Mahiru stubbornly shook her head. "Just one more ride!"
"Mashiro, what about you?"
"One more too!"
Neither of them was willing to give in.
And then...
"Is this really the last ride?"
Looking at the giant Ferris wheel in front of them, Akifumi couldn't help but chuckle.
Ending the day like this felt just like something out of an anime.