I stared at the words in front of me, I'm at a loss for words. I wanted to give everyone the happy ending they deserved, but I failed them. I drop to my knees and laugh in defeat. While the little Akami-sama doll clanged together its cymbals, I collapsed on the floor and cried my eyes out. I could feel my heart get crushed into little pieces as I thought about everything I just lost. The time I have spent trying to save them, poof! In an instant, all my efforts were wasted as that cold piece of metal dug deep into my chest. As I recall this bitter and sad memories, the mechanical doll paced around me, singing a line tht drove a stake through my heart.
" Bad End! Bad End! You achieved the Bad End!" The doll sang in an annoying manner, mocking me as I lay on the floor crying.
" Now, now, let's not cry over spilt milk." I heard that familiar voice from behind the floating words.
I looked up and wiped my tears away. The space around me seemed to crack open, the letters falling to the ground as the dark space around me shakes violently. Then, blinding light flooded my vision as the cracks grew larger, forcing me to shut my eyes. In an instant, the darkness around me faded- no, it was blown away by it. With brightness that probably rivaled the Big Bang, I was engulfed by a searing light that could have probably melted my face off if it wasn't for the fact that I'm dead. Then, I felt a hand firmly grab me by the shoulder.
" Yo! How'd you like the ending scene? I made it myself." I open my eyes to see a white space that stretched as far as the eye can see. I looked to my side to see Akami-sama smiling at me.
" Ahaha! Wow, I didn't expect you to come see me so soon!" Akami-sama said with sarcastically.
" You..." I clench my fists in anger. His smile infuriated me even more.
" Hmm? You want to punch me? Do it later once I explain what just happened." Akami-sama steps aside to reveal an area littered with wrappers and a small TV and a door leading to nowhere.
" Here, take a sit... If you want to eat, there may be some chips here and there." Akami-sama manifested a recliner in front of him and sat down.
I took a sit on the floor across from him, glaring at him as I did so. I felt so angry at him for no apparent reason, yet I tried my best not to charge at him. Even when I kept glaring at him, his only expression is a warm and forgiving smile. He pulled out a bag of chips from the air and tossed them at me. I caught it midair and took a good look at the bag, a nacho cheese Doritos bag. I place it beside me and let out a low grumble which caught the attention of Akami-sama. He raised an intrigued eyebrow as he opened a bag of Cheetos.
" Man, you're taking this too seriously. Relax Yoku! It's not like you're in a rush or anything, because you know... Omae wa mou shindeiru." Akami-sama let out an amused chuckle as he popped a few Cheetos into his mouth.
" What?" I said as I clamp down on the bag of Doritos. The force was enough to cause it to explode which sent bits and pieces of Doritos flying everywhere.
" You... You think this is some joke?! Do you seriously think that I could just walk this whole thing off?!" I shouted as I threw what remained of the bag of chips to the floor. I felt angry, annoyed and frustrated at my situation, yet Akami-sama kept smiling calmly.
" I lost my life trying to save them! I lost Monika! I lost everyone! And you..." I walked over to him, stomping my feet as I did so. He sat there in silence, his smile still hasn't faded. This made me mad, so mad that I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
" You still have the audacity to laugh at all of this like some sick joke? How... how could you?" My grip faltered as I begin to break into tears once more.
I let go of the god and fell to the floor. I felt utterly defeated, my soul crushed into tiny pieces. While I fought long and hard to protect those girls, I was being treated as a source of entertainment. This being was willing to put me into such torment just to get a sick laugh out of it. My failure, my success and my journey served as nothing more but mere entertainment. It's infuriating yet at the sme time heartbreaking to know that all you have gone through just to save someone ended in vain. My eyes and cheeks are now puffy and red due to my prolonged crying. I wailed in defeat, my helpless and pitiful cries echoing throughout the empty space. I sank into depression, my heart now at its lowest point in years. I could feel Akami-sama staring at me with a sad look on his face.
" You have failed in your task." Akami-sama said as he stood before me.
" I know that..." I murmured out in a low voice.
" Ironic, you could save others but not yourself." He said while letting out a chuckle.
" I... I have not accomplished my goal..." I said in a defeated tone.
" Yes, you have failed miserably... But I'm not dissapointed or mad at you." Akami-sama said in a comforting tone. I look up in surprise to see that he was smiling warmly at me.
" Look, Yoku... I've considered this scenario as a possibility a long time ago. When Yuri went full yandere, your fate was set in stone." Akami-sama turned around to look at a floating TV.
" Man, Monika has lost it..." I took a look at the TV. On it, I saw Monika locked away in my room and bawling her eyes out. Her hair is unkempt and she sat in a secluded corner while she rocked back and fort.
" Monika... No..." I felt sad at the sight of Monika. Knowing her, she surely felt alone in her world once again. I clench my fists and took a deep breath. I knew that I can't just accept this fate that easily. I need to snap out of this, I need to help them.
" Send me back... please..." I said in a low voice.
" Yoku, do you wish to save them?" Akami-sama said without looking at me.
" Of course. I'm willing to experience hell once more if it means saving them." I wipe the tears away from my face and strengthening my resolve. Passion filled my heart once more, melting away most of the sadness in me.
" Ahaha! How many times did you play through DDLC now? 36 times? Man, do all people who wants a happy ending this desperate?" Akami-sama laughed to himself.
" Yeah... I've been trying to get the good ending since my first playthrough. This failure makes it my 36th time I failed to save everyone." I said as I finally got off my feet.
" Well, let me tell you something. I knew this was coming but I really wanted to see your reaction when it happened." Akami-sama rubbed the back of his head and chuckled nervously.
" So, you knew I was going to die yet you did nothing?!" I said in an irritated voice.
" Yeah... Well, to be fair, I am stuck in this place." Akami-sama smiled awkwardly.
" What is this place anyway?" I asked as I looked around the vast place.
" It's like a chest where the simulation place items it deems as 'inconsistent' and 'destructive' to it. Like a chest for viruses!" Akami-sama nods his head to his explanation.
" Inconsistent? What do you mean?" I asked him.
" Basically something that could cause irregularities and damage to the overall simulation. Think of it as something that doesn't follow the laws of physics in that world." He answered as he opened his command console.
" But, what about Monika?" I asked him once more.
" Her? Well, the simulation recognizes her as a part of it and I'm pretty sure her powers lies in the manipulation of the simulation's script. I, however, rely on my own power." Akami-sama said as he took a look at me.
" Anyway, we need to focus more on your problem. Thankfully, I have prepared for this." Akami-sama opened a GUI infront of me. My eyes widened as I took a good look at the GUI for the Save Files.
" This... This is... a checkpoint." I mutter in shock.
" Yup! It's a checkpoint! I already made a checkpoint on Monday. Ahaha! But we still need to do something with your character file." Suddenly, he pulls out another window with my character files in it. He begins to type quickly.
" Condition: If state=dead, then go back to last checkpoint. There! All done! I added a condition to your character file. Now, everytime you die, you go back to the morning of Monday." Akami-sama laughed proudly at himself.
" Are you... ripping off Subaru?" I said with a hint of disappointment in my voice.
" That's not the poin-"
" You just want me to experience the shit Rintarou Okabe went through in Stein's;Gate, don't ya?" I said as I folded my arms.
" No! Just... Just shut u-"
" And you're copying the plot of Erase-"
" Do you want me to help you or not?!" He said with a mild irritation in his voice.
" Sorry. Please, continue." I said as I sat on the floor.
" Good, now... Let me explain how this works. Once you die, you go back to the morning of Monday. But! Everytime you die, the difficulty would become higher. Either through Yuri getting more violent or the the chain of events would drastically change. Now, to make this easier for you, I'm going to give you this notebook." Akami-sama said as he handed me a black a notebook.
" This notebook will not be affected by your respawn. You can go ahead and record the events here to help you try and predict the future. Once you respawn, you would always find this beside your bed. Got all that?" Akami-sama said as he typed some commands in his console.
" Yeah... More or less." I said as I place the small notebook in my pocket.
" Good. Now, let's get you back to that reality. Thankfully, it doesn't recognize you as an irregularity so I could send you back with no problems." Akami-sama said as he took a sit on his recliner.
As I stand up, I can't help but feel thankful for him yet at the same time guilty. I blamed him for the horrible things that happened, yet he never really did anything wrong. It was selfish of me to blame someone else over my misfortunes. I probably just wanted an outlet for my frustration, the frustration that I felt towards my weakness. Suddenly, a large hole opened before me.
" Just step in whenever you're ready." Akami-sama said as he turned on the TV and ate some chips.
" Yeah... hey, thank you." I said meeklynas I took a step towards the portal.
" For what?" He said in an intrigued tone.
" Everything... I owe you a lot." I said before taking a step into the portal. I turned around one last time to look at the god. He smiled cheerfully and quietly cheered me on, and then I noticed it. The door behind him is the same door as to that of the club room.
" Hey! Why do you have a door to the clu-"
I was cut off when the portal swallowed me up into a dark abyss. The last thing I saw is Akami-sama waving goodbye with his hands covered in cheese powder.
I felt like I was falling for eternity in the darkness. It was all black, pitch black. I couldn't feel my body as I fell. The tense atmosphere felt suffocating as I fell deeper into the abyss. Then, in an instant, I saw a faint light in the distance.
Then, I woke up in my bed with Monika beside me.