The night was too quiet.
Not peaceful quiet ,the kind that presses on your chest and makes your ears strain for a sound you wish you won't hear.
"Finally peace after playing with death,Huh... "
Aki lay on the overly fancy canopy bed of Riel Arkwood, staring up at silk curtains and thinking, This is what luxury feels like. A bed so soft it feels like guilt.
He turned over and muttered, "If I die in my sleep, at least I won't feel it. That's one win for me."
But just as his eyes began to droop, a faint light pulsed from the desk across the room.
"…Huh?"
He sat up. The diary.
The black leather cover glowed like embers, words etching themselves across the page without anyone touching it.
Aki stumbled over, nearly tripping on the velvet carpet. He flipped it open, hands shaking.
[Assassination attempt. Tonight. Window.]
His blood froze.
"No, no, no, no, no. Not tonight, I just had soup!"
He looked at the window. Curtains fluttered slightly though the air was still. His breath caught. This is it. This is where Villain #129 bites it in the game, isn't it?
The diary glowed again.
[Poisoned blade. Silent footsteps. Pretend illness. Do not fight.]
"Pretend illness? What am I, an actor?!" he whispered hoarsely. "I,I don't even have stage experience!"
The window latch clicked.
Aki dove for the bed, clutching his stomach. "Ughhh… oh nooo… I shouldn't have eaten the… uh… the beef stew… my stomach!"
The curtains swayed open. A shadow slipped inside. Silent. Smooth. Deadly.
Aki peeked between his fingers. A masked figure crept toward the bed, dagger gleaming faintly. Poison shimmered on the edge.
His throat tightened. Every instinct screamed: Run! Scream! Do something heroic!
But the diary's words burned in his mind: Do not fight.
So he did the opposite of heroic , he groaned loudly.
"Urghhh… Butler! …My stomach! I think the soup had… mushrooms… I'm… dying…"
The assassin froze.
"…He's poisoned already?" the figure muttered under their breath.
Aki nearly fainted in relief. The assassin slowly sheathed the dagger, muttering curses.
"Tch. Waste of time." The shadow slipped back out the window and was gone.
The room was silent again.
Aki stayed perfectly still for ten long seconds. Then he leapt up, slammed the window shut, locked it, and dragged over an entire chair to wedge it under the handle.
Only when his heart stopped hammering did he collapse onto the bed. He pressed the diary to his chest, whispering, "Okay. Okay. I survived. I faked food poisoning… and it worked. That's… that's a thing now."
The diary glowed once more.
[Survival confirmed. New path opened.]
Aki laughed weakly. "Great. A new path. Fantastic. I love new paths. As long as none of them end with my actual funeral."
And with that, still shaking, he pulled the blanket over his head and whispered to himself until sleep finally dragged him down:
"…I'm not the hero. I'm not even the villain anymore. I'm just… the guy trying not to die."