Chapter 210: The Garden of Sinners Episode 5: Paradox Spiral! (Part 8)
"What's going on?! Why are there two Tomoe Enjou?!"
"Are his parents dead or not? What the hell is even happening?!"
"I'm lost… What the hell is this?!"
"…"
In an instant, chaos swept across the audience.
From the nobles lounging in the ducal manor, to the commoners crowding the taverns with their broadcast crystals, to the mages of the Imperial Mage Academy—all of them stared at their screens in stunned silence, their minds clouded in confusion.
No one had expected this.
No one had imagined that Tomoe Enjou's home would turn out to be that kind of place.
And most of all, no one was prepared to see another Tomoe Enjou walk through that door.
"I knew this movie was garbage! It has no logic whatsoever!"
"Seriously! If his family situation was this messed up, how the hell did he not notice anything before?"
"Yeah, it's full of holes! Total nonsense!"
"What a joke! This crap got shown to the whole empire? Hah! What a laugh!"
The nobles, as usual, wasted no time tearing the film to shreds.
But unlike the aristocrats, who spat venom at the drop of a hat, most of the audience remained calm, trying to piece the situation together. Some of them, sharp-eyed and keen-minded, began to pick up on subtle details.
"So that's it… I didn't expect it to be structured like that."
Arcueid murmured softly to herself. She had been watching closely, carefully noting every oddity. And now, she has begun to see through the mystery.
But—perhaps out of consideration for the others—she didn't say any more.
That silence only deepened everyone else's curiosity.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In the film, the other Tomoe Enjou returned home.
He walked right past the real Tomoe and Ryougi Shiki as if they didn't exist, showing not the slightest flicker of awareness. Quietly, he went into his room, spread out his futon, and laid down to sleep.
Then it began.
The familiar horror.
As if reacting to the real Tomoe's rising dread, his parents in the living room suddenly launched into a fierce argument.
First, the father began hurling insults.
Then came the violence.
Grabbing his wife by the hair, he slammed her to the floor and began stomping her.
Again and again.
After that, he sat back down with a scowl, barking orders like she was a servant.
The mother, silent and obedient, wandered into the kitchen.
She returned with a kitchen knife in her hand.
And without hesitation, she plunged it into the father's chest.
Yet... no blood came out.
None at all.
She didn't even seem to notice.
Expressionless, she slowly turned toward the room where the other Tomoe lay sleeping.
"...No..."
The real Tomoe gasped. He lunged forward—
But Ryougi Shiki raised a hand, blocking him.
Inside the room, the copy of Enjou barely had time to look up before his mother drove the knife into him.
"Tomoe... Please die."
The woman wept as she stabbed him again and again.
Even though not a single drop of blood spilled, the scene was chilling in its cruelty.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The sound of steel rang out three times as the mother calmly sliced her own throat.
And then, just like a machine powering down, the entire apartment fell into eerie silence.
Everything stopped.
Peace. Absolute and unnatural.
"Why...?"
Tomoe Enjou could only stand there, frozen, watching his nightmare unfold before his eyes.
Shiki, however, remained unfazed. Her expression cool and unsurprised, she muttered:
"I get it now. Let's go. There's nothing more to see here."
"What do you mean nothing?! I just— I just died in there!"
"What are you talking about? Look closely. There wasn't a single drop of blood on the body. It doesn't matter. You'll just wake up again tomorrow morning. This is just one 'cycle'—a loop of life by day, death by night."
"Wh-What...?"
Unable to comprehend what she meant, Tomoe could only follow her numbly as she turned away.
And as they walked, Shiki added with her usual detached calm:
"Anyway, we're done here. Let's move on to the next location."
"Next location—? Wait, what do you mean next, Shiki?! Where are we going now?!"
"Isn't it obvious? We're going to your real home, Enjou."
Ryougi Shiki's words rang out clearly.
Tomoe Enjou blinked, confused. The look on his face mirrored that of every viewer watching the film. Total bewilderment.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"What's she talking about? Weren't they just in Enjou's house?"
"Wait— does he have another place he lives?"
"I don't get it. I just want to know what's up with that apartment. Why did his family act like… like dolls? Like machines?"
"Honestly, I've got chills. That place is creeping me out."
"Yeah, what the hell is that building…?"
The murmurs of the crowd spread like wildfire.
Even though the screen showed nothing overtly horrific, a deep unease had taken hold of everyone. The dread didn't come from blood or jump scares—it was something deeper. Something that clawed at the subconscious.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The film continued.
Ryougi Shiki led Tomoe to the center of the apartment complex. This time, however, she didn't head toward the elevator like before.
Instead, she turned… and walked behind it.
That alone was enough to unsettle Tomoe.
He had lived in this building for years—but somehow, he was only now noticing that there was a "behind" to the elevator.
Compared to the well-lit eastern wing, the western wing was completely shrouded in darkness. At night, it was a void. Only the pale moonlight offered the faintest hint of a path forward.
Step by step, they climbed the stairs, deeper into the forgotten side of the building.
Eventually, they arrived at the western corridor's end—Room 410.
Much like how Room 405 had sat at the end of the eastern wing, Room 410 was its mirror.
"I knew something was off from the beginning," Shiki said, stopping in front of the door. "You told me you lived in 405, didn't you? Kokutou read your name last. That guy wouldn't mess up the order unless there was a reason. For someone as by-the-book as him, calling your name last doesn't make sense—unless your family wasn't in 405 at all, but rather in the final room of the fourth floor. Room 410."
"What are you talking about…?"
"To put it simply, Tomoe Enjou—your true home isn't Room 405 in the East Wing. It's Room 410 in the West. This building's management used the central elevator and the apartment layout to hide the truth from the residents. None of you ever realized that your 'homes' had been shifted."
She pointed to the closed door in front of them.
"This is it. The place you haven't returned to in half a year. Your real home. Aren't you excited, Enjou?"
The expression on Tomoe's face was identical to that of every person watching the movie.
Total shock.
A chill ran down the collective spine of the audience.
What kind of building was this?
What kind of reality were they watching?
Whatever the answer was, one thing was clear—nothing about this apartment, or Tomoe Enjou's life, was as it seemed.
<+>
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/162522?view=condensed
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/creating-anime-140083067
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/138667623?collection=162522
[4] https://www.patreon.com/collection/162522?view=condensed