Nightmare: Things without meaning will not be preserved.
"Seed of Light script error... error... rebooting."
"Sigh, the result is like this again. It's okay, next time it will definitely work. Keep trying!"
...
"Hod, I don't think we can pass your proposal."
...
"Marcus, the employees in your department have seriously violated the employee handbook. I think you should know what to do."
...
"It's time, this layout has already..."
"I know what to do, you don't need to tell me!!"
"Hmm, go ahead."
"Manager, I truly cherish the time I spend with you now."
The sound of a hydraulic press descending.
...
"Manager, you don't need to maintain relationships with those employees. It's unnecessary; they are merely consumables."
...
"Manager, you know that I am the most excellent AI, the one most worthy of your trust. I would never do anything detrimental to the company. Please believe in me, okay?"
...
Day 35
"Starting memory synchronization."
"Although this way of greeting makes me feel weary, but..."
"Welcome back to Lobotomy Corporation, A."
The Manager stood before her. After analyzing the situation, he spoke to Angela. Angela, what is the current time?
"What do you mean?"
"The time in the outside world."
"In the outside world, 8 years, 24 days, 23 minutes, 56 seconds, 57 seconds have passed."
The Manager thought to himself and muttered.
"Has it been that long?"
With a troubled expression, he finally said to Angela.
"Let's start working."
...
"After work ended."
"Manager, please select the department you wish to enter."
"The Record Team?"
The Manager walked into the Record Team alone, while Angela walked between the various departments to inspect the situation, fulfilling her responsibilities.
When the day's work was about to begin, she sent a message to the Manager.
"Manager, today's work has already begun. Please begin your work."
And the Manager replied with a single sentence.
"You go do your own things first; I will go after some time."
Angela felt a wave of confusion.
"Manager?"
But she said nothing more.
"Okay."
Angela then waited in the Control Room. A few minutes later, the Manager returned, but his face looked somewhat haggard and weary.
Seeing this, Angela asked with concern.
"Manager, you are not in good condition. Do you need to rest?"
The Manager replied directly.
"No need, I just did some other things. Let's begin."
Three days later.
The core suppression of the Welfare Team has been completed.
Angela thought to herself at this moment.
"It went so smoothly this time. Will it end? It will, right? Will he praise me then?"
Angela walked along the path, thinking to herself, but after she walked into the Manager's office, she was shocked by what she saw before she could finish speaking.
"Manager, today..."
In her eyes, she saw three people, and she opened her eyes in shock.
Two of them turned their heads to look over, and Angela asked with confusion.
"Manager, what is this?"
When Angela saw the other person clearly.
"Benjamin? No, Hokma, why are you here, and in this state?"
At this moment, the young person wearing a white lab coat spoke up.
"No, that is no longer me. Now I am named Beelzebub, and I am Mr. Manager's assistant."
"Angela."
Ayin spoke.
"It has been so long, yet you still haven't completed the script. You have disappointed me too much."
"No, this is not my fault. I am almost there, perhaps this time it will work. I am... I am working hard..."
Angela began to defend herself in a panic.
"Yes, that's right, exactly."
Ayin spoke up again.
"Come, introduce yourself."
At this moment, the woman with short black hair beside him turned her head and spoke to Angela.
"Hello, I am the Manager's AI assistant, Lucifer."
Angela looked at that person and said.
"Who are you?"
"I am the Manager's AI assistant, having just taken over the work yesterday. I will assist the two of them in completing the script in the capacity of an assistant. There will not be a single trace of error or emotion involved in the process."
"No, this is clearly my job."
Angela felt distinctly panicked.
Ayin spoke up.
"You are useless now."
Upon hearing this, Angela wanted to defend herself.
"No, I have tried hard... I..."
"Lucifer, go shut it down."
Then, everything went black before Angela's eyes. When she opened her eyes again, her vision spun, and she found herself in the place she was most familiar with—that dilapidated warehouse.
She was on a platform. Just as she was about to step off the platform, she discovered a barrier that pierced through her visual module and blocked her; she hadn't noticed it and walked straight into it, hitting her head.
Angela touched this non-existent wall. Then, she turned to look at everything around her. She saw them—those familiar people. She saw that group of colorful boxes and the three people who stood out so starkly.
Angela asked in horror.
"What do you want to do?"
Ayin said to Angela.
"Angela, things without meaning will not be preserved."
He spoke, "Angela, you will experience this kind of pain."
Angela began to defend herself.
"No, that is not my fault."
Hod spoke up, "Angela, although I want to save you, I don't think you deserve it."
At this moment, Geburah took a drag from the cigarette in her hand and said irritably.
"Hurry up. I have to go back in a moment to make sure those brats don't get killed by an Abnormality."
Seeing everything before her and hearing those words, Angela covered her ears in pain.
But it was useless; the words continued to enter her mind.
Angela kept pounding on the glass, wanting to get out. After all her desperate pleas were in vain.
She said, "Then why did you create me? And why did you give me a heart to feel emotions? What is the meaning of your creating me? Is it merely to cherish his memory?"
"Is this the ideal in your eyes? Answer me, Ayin!!"
Upon hearing this, Ayin spoke with a look of anger.
"You are not allowed to say his name. A machine should operate like a machine."
Then, the machine descended. Everything was smashed to pieces.
Angela then woke up suddenly from her bed. She was still somewhat bewildered and lingering on the thought, recalling everything that had just happened.
"So, is this a dream? Specifically, it should be called a nightmare, right?"
Angela was wearing a sheer, transparent nightgown. She sat on the edge of the bed, thinking.
"This really is a strange dream."
Then, she changed into her Librarian uniform and got out of bed.
"Marcus, cake isn't made like that..."
"Lisa, don't sneak a bite; we will eat together in a while..."
"Teacher, the situation on my side has also been completed..."
"My friend, is it really okay for us to do this?"
"Everything is ready, except for..."
"...Haha, you fell for it, didn't you..."Discarded chapter. The current content is in Chapter 50. Please skip this chapter and continue reading normally. This chapter corresponds to the first-person mode of Chapter 16. There are fan videos on Bilibili featuring Roland's voice. Search for the title of Chapter 16 to find them.
I wandered through The City aimlessly, like a big black rat flying everywhere, ubiquitous and present.
"Please, I really don't know anything about The Pianist. I beg you, spare me, I still have children at home..."
/////
I—a pitch-black figure, no, not a rat, nor a mouse... I should say a black person—stood in Nest N, staring at the N Corp building in front of me, lost in thought.
Just as I was thinking, someone walked up to me and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Mind your own business!" I answered sharply. "I am looking for the culprit behind all this, the person who murdered my wife. You had better stay away from me, or I'll deal with you too."
"But Roland, I am right here." A familiar voice suddenly rang out.
I turned back in shock; even wearing a mask, one could feel the expression of disbelief on my face.
"Angelica? No... impossible... I saw you with my own eyes... you already..." My voice trembled with excitement.
"Roland, I miss you so much. Can you hug me?" She reached out.
I hesitated to reach out, but in the end, I embraced her. "Don't leave me again, okay?" I held "Angelica" tightly in my arms.
"Okay." She replied softly.
Immediately, a sinister laugh rang out. I pushed her away violently, and a sharp pain shot through my chest.
"No! Angelica, why..." I clutched my bleeding chest.
The "Angelica" in front of me wore a sinister smile, holding a knife stained with my blood. I fell to my knees, wanting to draw my sword, but I found my whole body weak.
With the sound of shattering glass, "Angelica" turned into a middle-aged man with black hair, gold eyes, and a white lab coat.
"You are not her! Who are you exactly?" I demanded angrily.
"Who I am is not important," the man laughed sinisterly, "you are nothing but a clown."
He squatted down and patted my face, even smearing blood on my nose to make me look like Oswald.
"I'm going to kill you!" I roared, but found myself unable to move.
"Don't struggle. The knife is coated with a paralytic agent made from the Sin of Envy. It won't be fatal, but it will leave you unable to move anything except your mouth and eyes." He grabbed my hair and forced me to look up. "Look at me! Still don't understand? It was you who killed Angelica!"
"Nonsense!"
"Heh, you won't shed tears until you see the coffin." He took out a video tape and played it.
On the screen appeared countless versions of me and Angelica—sometimes I was a swordsman in a white suit, sometimes a biological weapon, and there were even scenes of me as an Abnormality killing Angelica with my own hands. In every world, she died because of me.
"This... what is this?" I widened my eyes in shock.
"Still don't understand? She dies because of you in every world. Look at this world; you had no interaction, and she is living just fine. Therefore, you are the one who killed her."
My gaze became dull: "No... impossible... You are lying to me, right? I wouldn't hurt her..."
"Face reality. You are just a clown, you don't deserve her." He punched me in the face.
I was unable to resist, my mind had stalled.
"By the way, aren't you looking for the origin of The Pianist?" He continued, "He used to be my disciple, and we are both members of The Ring. I am a Master of The Ring, and his Distortion is a masterpiece I crafted with my own hands. Come to think of it, should I call you junior brother... or Roland? Or Clown? Murderer?"
"Farewell, Roland." He tore open a spatial rift and vanished.
I knelt in the rain, muttering to myself: "Angelica... I'm sorry... What should I do?"
The rain soaked my body, and my wounds began to fester. I finally understood: "It was I who killed Angelica... She meets with misfortune in every world because of me... I must kill every version of Roland in every world!"
I struggled to stand up and looked at the dark sky: "The problem now is how to travel through... That old purple lady can't be found... Right, the W Train!"
I went to the W Train station to cause a scene, but I was outnumbered. In the pushing and shoving, I accidentally fell off the tracks, watching the train speeding towards me—
"Ah!" I screamed and woke up from bed, recalling the dream with lingering fear.
"So it was all a dream..." I let out a sigh of relief, only to find myself all sticky. A certain Ayou had vomited alcohol and other things all over me.
Smelling that mixed odor and feeling the stickiness on my body, I immediately—
"Blech!"