"Four days from now, you'll be dead in this rental apartment."
Okabe Rintarou, his lips bleeding from biting them, spoke to the woman beneath him.
"You'll wait for an answer from FB that will never come, and die here, alone."
Moeka: "You're lying."
Okabe: "No, it's true."
"FB will never reply to you again."
"You've already... been abandoned!"
Moeka: "Liar!"
Okabe: "When was the last time you received a message from FB, huh?"
"You've been waiting for a reply all this time, don't you think it's strange?"
Moeka's eyes widened, her gaze filled with confusion and doubt.
"You'll die here, die in this cold, empty room."
"No!"
"In this desolate place, you'll die."
"No..."
"After killing Mayuri, you'll die here."
"Alone, betrayed, and abandoned, you'll die like an insect."
"Your life will be for nothing. No one will come to save you, not even FB!"
"No!!!"
With his harsh words, Okabe successfully broke through Moeka's last mental defense.
Now with some space, he began to sift through her messages with FB.
Soon, he found a crucial record.
But, the timeline didn't change.
Could it be that only FB could control Moeka?
"Your life will rot in this apartment!"
"But I will go against the world! I will save Mayuri!!"
At last, Okabe's words struck a chord with Moeka.
She quietly whispered: "Coin-operated locker, the one by PUX, the IBN-5100 is there."
That night, Okabe rushed to retrieve the IBN-5100, only to be stopped by his calm assistant.
Kurisu: "Think about it. After all the times you've time-traveled, you've never been able to get the IBN-5100. If you didn't return to the original timeline, you're never going to get it."
Her words made Okabe pause.
The timeline hadn't shifted, and the numbers hadn't even hit 1%. So the outcome was set. It couldn't be changed.
But at least now, there was a direction.
All the clues pointed to SERN's bottom-tier organization in Japan, the "Wanderers," and the mysterious figure—FB.
This meant that by focusing on the locker, they could track down FB!
After some discussion, Moeka, who also sought FB, teamed up with Okabe.
After several failed attempts and time-traveling, they finally locked onto their target.
The IBN-5100, after changing hands multiple times, had somehow ended up back with their landlord!
The two were dumbfounded.
After waiting overnight, the landlord sent the IBN-5100 to France—the headquarters of SERN.
Confused, they decided to confront the landlord.
Once the landlord spoke, they learned his true identity: he was FB, the one they had been desperately searching for.
"Let's talk somewhere else."
Led by the landlord, they made their way to a construction site.
At this point, the man had no intention of hiding anything anymore. He confessed everything.
Not just to Moeka, but to all of them, he had played the role they longed for in their hearts, gaining their trust and making them do his bidding.
Of course, once they were no longer useful, disposing of them was easy.
Okabe, filled with anger, shouted at the indifferent landlord: "Suzuha Amane didn't take care of you for this!"
"What do you know?" The landlord coldly glanced at them before recounting his tragic past.
Then, he shot Moeka, the traitor, before turning the gun on himself and pulling the trigger.
Traitors had to be dealt with.
And those who completed their tasks would also be killed.
He had thought about escaping, but now, with the precious item in his hands, he could no longer run.
Not wanting to involve his daughter, he chose to end his life.
Seeing the two corpses, Okabe was stunned.
But, with the assistant's reminder, he remembered he could use the D-mail to change everything.
After sending the termination message using the landlord's phone, the timeline shifted once again.
Okabe found himself back in the timeline where the IBN-5100 was still at the Yanagihara Shrine!
———————————————————————
The audience watching this couldn't help but feel excited.
With the IBN-5100 in hand, this meant that with one final message change, they could finally reach the timeline they had been aiming for!
"After all this, are we finally going to succeed?"
Under the eager gazes of the crowd, the progress bar reached its final stretch.
The story on screen was still unfolding.
———————————————————————
"I see now."
The assistant sat beside Okabe, setting her drink down:
"If you want to save Mayuri from dying, you need to jump out of this current timeline and return to the one before you sent the first D-mail."
"Only then can we go back."
Okabe spoke, his face visibly more relaxed than before:
"For that, we'll have to delete those data from SERN's database..."
"Your time-travel machine is perfect."
"Eh... is it?"
The girl blushed slightly, then turned her head away, speaking arrogantly:
"Of course it is!"
"The first D-mail?"
The assistant suddenly asked: "It's the one, right? The one where I was killed?"
Okabe, who had just relaxed, turned to her, his face filled with disbelief.
The assistant, seemingly unaware of his shock, laughed and added:
"Then you still wanted to touch my body."
Okabe's expression froze at that moment, the colors of the scene fading to gray.
"Cancel all the D-mails up to this point, and restore the timeline."
"That's a dystopian world where SERN rules. A world that can never exist."
"A world where Mayuri doesn't die."
"And in that timeline... Kurisu..."
"Will die!!"
.................
The scene froze.
The audience, who had long since forgotten the earlier events, was also stunned.
The joy of saving Mayuri vanished in an instant.
What once seemed like a multiple-choice question had now become a single choice.
If they choose to save Mayuri, Kurisu will die!
If they choose to save Kurisu, Mayuri will inevitably die!
As the realization hit, the audience felt something inside them crack.
Oh, that's the sound of their hearts breaking.
At that moment, Akifumi's long-dormant SNS exploded!
"Ahhhhh! Bastard!! I watched 20 episodes, and this is what you give me!?"
"I should've known! I should've known!! How could there not be a knife in that bastard's work!!"
"Before, it was a clean and quick stab, but now when we're about to get a happy ending, you stab us! Are you even human!!"
"Where's the address! Give me the mangaka's home address! I can't take it anymore!!"
"You're not human! Okabe worked so hard, and this is what it all meant?!"
"Without the assistant's help, Okabe probably wouldn't have found a way to save Mayuri before breaking down mentally, and now the person who's so crucial has to be given up?! Are you a devil!!"
"There was no hope in the past! Was there only hell?!"
"You made us think the main heroine was the assistant, and now you're going to kill her off?! I can't do it! I just can't!!"
"I've never been in so much pain!"
"Why did it come so suddenly!? I can't accept it!!"
It's not hard to see how much they're suffering right now.
Akifumi's previous works, compared to the pain, often left audiences feeling an overwhelming sense of bittersweet sadness.
In Madoka Magica, people were heartbroken by the tragic fates of the girls and the final decision made by Madoka.
However, it still carried a sense of hope, with Homura's presence.
In Anohana, people felt sorrowful that Menma, who had already passed, lived in a world far removed from the living.
Yet, the summer they shared was so moving, it still held its own kind of beauty.
In WorldEnd, there was sadness over the doomed world, where William and Chtholly's feelings for each other would never have a happy ending.
But at least there were people who remembered her, and at least her time with William was the most beautiful part of her life.
In Your Lie In April, the sadness of Kaori's tragic fate was palpable, but the mutual salvation between Arima Kousei and Kaori also brought warmth.
But in Steins Gate, the amount of sadness didn't dominate the story as much.
Knowing that everything could be reset, even when beloved characters died, there was still a chance to save them.
With this in mind, the emotional weight was different.
Instead of sadness, pain was the dominant emotion.
The pain of death, the agony of watching important people die over and over in front of you, the pain of knowing the countdown to death is inevitable, and the pain of being powerless to stop it...
The deeper they delved into the story, the clearer the wounds became.
The audience's suffering came naturally from the moral dilemma and the complexity of human nature.
In a world where things could reset again and again, every choice made by Okabe felt like a choice the audience had to make as well.
The consequences of those choices struck a deep chord, tugging at their nerves.
So when the story seemed on the verge of success after addressing all the prior conflicts, and suddenly, it hit them with a cruel choice between two outcomes, the pain was unbearable.
What was once a story that could be easily digested suddenly turned heavy, layering even more emotional weight on top of what was already there.
Normally, even when a character is written off, fans would complain briefly, expressing their sadness.
But now, the angry reactions were unlike anything seen before.
And when Akifumi saw those comments the next morning, he couldn't help but exclaim, "That's so scary!"
He said it lightly, but there was a hint of regret in his expression.
The regret wasn't about the game, or that a particular path couldn't reach its ultimate conclusion.
If it didn't reach the end, it meant that no one would really die in the end.
After briefly enjoying the fans' over-the-top anger, Akifumi didn't give it much thought.
As for explanations? He didn't need to give any.
These fans were, after all, true masochists.
Even knowing that the final outcome would bring pain, they would still complain, but their bodies would be honest and continue watching.
Besides, the final story would still be a happy ending.
It would be a waste to not use this rare opportunity to make them feel some anguish.
Why spoil it for them with the truth when they're just about to enjoy it?
What about the feelings they had when they first started watching this drama?
People's sorrows and joys are never truly in sync, and their happiness is never truly shared.
But Akifumi's happiness, on the other hand, was built on the foundation of his fans' sadness and frustration.
Lost in these thoughts, the phone suddenly rang.
"Akifumi-sensei." He picked up the phone and heard Mihari's voice on the other end.
"The preparations for Akame ga Kill are complete. After discussions, we've decided to release it on May 19th. I'm calling today just to inform you."
"May 19th? That's next Sunday, isn't it?" Akifumi nodded. "Got it."
Mihari hesitated before speaking again.
"By the way, the latest episode of Steins;Gate caused quite an uproar. Should we maybe... prepare for some backlash?"
Before Mihari could finish, Akifumi interrupted.
"Don't worry about it. It's fine."
He understood her concerns.
She was worried that the reactions to Steins;Gate would affect the sales of the new release.
After all, it wasn't being serialized; it would be released directly as a single volume.
Such a release method was already risky, and adding more instability could make things even harder.
"Let's not forget, Steins;Gate has a happy ending. Even if it's a bad ending, it won't stop people from watching my other works. They might curse a little, but that's all."
Mihari chuckled and nodded. "If you're confident, then I won't say any more about it."
After the call ended, Akifumi tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"Come to think of it, I haven't posted an update in a while."
His last update was after Your Lie In April finished airing.
"Also, another work is nearing its completion. Since I'm already promoting my new project, why not promote the other one too?"
With that thought, he quickly typed out a post to announce it!
Akifumi quickly typed out the update, checking it over for any errors before hitting send:
"Hey everyone, how's your Golden Week going?"
"Have you been out and about or just staying home studying? Or maybe reading novels, manga, or watching anime?"
"It's been a while since Your Lie In April finished, and I haven't been able to chat with you all for some time. I really missed it!"
"And guess what? Steins;Gate is already coming to an end!"
"Can you believe it? Did you all watch yesterday's episode on time? I think it was pretty good, but I'm not sure if it met your expectations."
"I saw a lot of suggestions, but no spoilers, okay? You'll just have to wait a bit longer."
"The story is so close to wrapping up, and if I spoil it now, you won't get the same thrill or surprises, right?"
"Ahem, let's stop the chit-chat here. Now, onto the exciting news!"
"On May 19th, my new work Akame ga Kill! Volume 1 will be released! I hope you'll keep an eye out and support it!"
"What, you haven't heard anything about it?"
"Well, that's because I'm releasing it directly as a single volume, and it won't be serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, so it hasn't been publicized much."
"It's totally fine if you didn't know, right?"
"This work is a brand-new attempt for me, and honestly, I'm a little nervous about whether or not you'll like it."
"Oh, and one more thing! At the end of this month, on May 31st, I'll be releasing another new work!"
"I can't give away too much just yet, but keep an eye on my post that evening at 8 PM. I promise you'll be satisfied with the reveal!"
"So, how do you feel about today's teaser? Don't let my casual tone fool you—I've been working really hard on these!"
"Finally, as always, thank you so much for your continued support. I truly appreciate it! Stay tuned, everyone!"
———————————————————————