Jul 11, 2020
The faint scent of sweet olives lingered in the air.
seen from Latvia
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from China
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Switzerland
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Malaysia
The faint scent of sweet olives lingered in the air.
Screenshot taken from @edogawatranslations of 999: Alterna light novel.
I just thought it was interesting that, in the novel, they decided to put Akane as Santa.
999: Alterna (2) - Part 9, Chapters 4-6
Table of Contents | Previous: Part 9, Chapters 1-3
Chapter 4
There had to be an item inside the coffin that would aid our escape. My heart danced with anticipation.
However, my expectations were shattered in an instant, for what actually lay within the coffin was a single shiny, black handgun.
“What... is that?”
My brother kept me back with one arm as he scooped up the weapon with the other.
“It’s gotta be a toy... right?”
“No, I bet it’s the real deal.”
A commotion arose around me.
“...Why is something like that here?” Nona whimpered.
—Suicide.
That ominous word crossed the back of my mind. If the fear of imminent death was too much to handle, the gun offered a way to obtain eternal peace. The others probably came to the same conclusion. The pervading sense of despair in the air was palpable.
That was when it happened.
A shattering sound came from up above. We looked up to see glittering shards of reflective glass falling down like snow.
“...What?”
A man poked his head out of the broken skylight. He was a large, bear-like man who looked like a thug.
“Don’t worry, I’m not your enemy. I’m a detective, and I’m here to save you.”
He was the man who would be known as Seven in nine years’ time.
“Got anything that can work as a rope? Hang on, I remember seeing some sheets in the hospital room.”
The detective disappeared from view, but returned within a few minutes. He tossed down a rope fashioned out of numerous sheets, and descended to where we were standing.
“Hurry. We don’t got much time.”
He suddenly grabbed onto me with his left arm and began climbing the rope with his right. Once we reached the space above the ceiling, he told me, “There’s a big spiral staircase just ahead. Run up and you should be outside. Hurry!”
He pushed me forward. Following his instructions, I broke into a run. Before long, I found myself before a spiral staircase, which I sprinted up at full speed. I heard more footsteps behind me, so that detective must have succeeded in saving the others too.
Pretty soon, I saw faint beams of light shining from overhead. They were too gentle and warm to have come from a bulb. My heart grew still.
It was the sun—the exit was close.
Unable to control my excitement, I accelerated up the steps. When, all of a sudden—
“We’re missing someone.” Light’s voice echoed out from below. “I only hear four sets of footsteps. Was someone left behind?”
I stopped in my tracks and turned around. Behind me were my brother, Light, and the detective. Nona was nowhere to be seen.
“Huh? But there were only three of you in that room,” the detective replied with a fierce look.
“Don’t tell me...” I paused and thought for a second. After the detective came down to rescue us, I didn’t see Nona at all. “...No way.”
Nona had a habit of scurrying to a hiding place whenever she was scared, like a small animal. She must hidden herself in the shadow of the coffin, having been frightened when the large man popped out of the ceiling. I blamed myself for focusing solely on running away, not even stopping to think once about her.
I was the only one she trusted and would listen to. It was my fault. If only I had paid more attention to her.
I had to go save her.
My body moved before I had even finished processing my thoughts. I pushed past my brother, swerved around Light and the detective, and hopped down the staircase three steps at a time.
“Don’t! Akane, stop!”
My brother shouted at me from above. I knew full well how dangerous it was, but I couldn’t just abandon Nona.
After completing my descent, I pushed open a door and found myself in a familiar hallway. The door to the chapel stood to my right, but for some reason, it was no longer shut—it was wide open.
Now that I thought about it, the door I had just gone through that led to the spiral staircase should have been locked. What was going on?
Even though something was clearly wrong, I couldn’t hesitate. I continued running and leapt into the chapel.
“Nona!” I yelled.
“...Akane?” Nona poked her head out from behind the coffin.
“I’m so glad you’re safe!” I rushed over and flung my arms around her. “Now, we need to go.”
“I can’t. I can’t walk anymore,” Nona whined, pressing her right leg. There was a reddish bruise around her ankle. Was it sprained?
“Hang in there a little longer. You can do it.”
“But...”
“Remember what Light said earlier?” I asked, pulling out the clover pendant from my chest pocket. “We can’t give up. We have to keep believing until the bitter end.”
I offered my hand to her. She gave a firm nod and grabbed it. I propped her up and we managed to exit the chapel, as she dragged her right leg along. At that exact moment, my brother and the others showed up.
“Geez... don’t run off on your own.”
“She hurt her leg. Please, help her.”
The detective could surely carry Nona with ease, so I left Nona in his care. Setting our sights on the spiral staircase, we—
“Not so fast.”
Suddenly, someone grabbed my right arm and dragged me back into the chapel. I turned around to find Hongou standing there with a devilish smile.
“I can’t let you run off in the middle of the experiment.”
“Akane!” My brother jumped at Hongou in an attempt to rescue me.
A gunshot ran out, and I instinctively shut my eyes. As I coughed due to the gunpowder smoke, I opened my eyes to see my brother crouching with his hand gripping his right shoulder.
“Aoi!”
“...I’m fine, it only grazed me. Don’t worry,” he responded, clenching his teeth.
“You bastard—” As the detective trembled with anger, a second shot was fired inches before his feet.
“All of you, back to the staircase, now. Otherwise, I’ll blow some holes into this girl’s head,” Hongou threatened in a rough, grotesque voice. He pressed the muzzle to my temple.
“No, stop! Let me go! Let me go!”
I frantically swung my arms around to resist, but a weak middle schooler like me had no chance of overpowering such a large man.
“Stop struggling! I don’t care if I have to shoot everyone here.”
I had no choice but to stop and stay quiet.
“Okay, fine. Just calm down,” the detective said. He passed Nona over to Light and instructed them to head back to the spiral staircase. He then lifted my brother, who was slipping out of consciousness, before making his retreat.
“Perfect.”
Once Hongou confirmed that everyone had passed through the door frame, he reached into his jacket pocket. He must have had a remote control key. With a beep, the door slammed shut, and my four companions disappeared from view.
“Aoi—”
I was promptly thrown into the chapel. I hit the floor and fell face down.
“Now, let the final experiment begin.” Hongou’s lips curled into a cruel smile, and the chapel door shut.
“Nooooo!”
I ran over to the door and twisted the doorknob in every direction, but it wouldn’t budge. I looked up. The line of sheets the detective had tossed down had been cut into pieces and scattered all over the altar. That must’ve been Hongou’s doing. It was no longer possible to escape through the ceiling.
The way things were, my only way out would be through the [9] door.
I approached the small door hidden from view by the curtain. Thankfully, there were still three asterisks lit up above the <RED>—three bracelet numbers were still scanned into the system.
“Hey, you good?” The detective’s voice came from above. I saw him peeking down from the broken skylight with furrowed brows. “Damn. I wonder if it’s too high to jump from here.”
“Please don’t attempt the impossible,” I said to him. Even if he did jump down, it wouldn’t make a difference. “How’s my brother?”
“Nothing to worry about. I found some medicine in the operating room, so his wound is healing. I’ll take him to a hospital later.”
“Please... take care of him.”
I steeled my resolve.
I glanced at the display by the pipe organ.
[1002]... [1001]...
It would soon reach 999 seconds remaining—the pod would open.
I stood in front of the altar and waited.
[1000]... [999]...
Exactly as Zero had announced, the second the countdown hit [999], the pod opened.
I had no choice but to solve it.
I took the Rubik’s Cube into my trembling hands.
>>>
“Don’t worry. I’m a Rubik’s Cube whiz.”
As my hands rotated the cube around, I peeked at the countdown.
[782].. [781]...
Thirteen minutes left. Could I solve it in time?
My heart pounded restlessly against my chest.
Chapter 5
My heart pounded restlessly against my chest.
Some time had passed since I lost my connection with Jumpy. I could no longer access the information in his mind.
At a complete loss, I could only stare at the cube in front of me. Time continued to mercilessly tick on by.
Tears wouldn’t stop flowing from my eyes, no matter how much I tried to wipe them away.
“I can’t... I just can’t solve it by myself...”
I couldn’t unscramble one face of the cube. There was no way I could face the challenge of unscrambling all six. I didn’t even know where to start. The more impatient I grew, the deeper I sank into disarray.
“Akane... Don’t give up.”
A scratchy voice reached my ears. I looked up to see my brother staring down at me, propped up by the detective.
“Aoi! You okay?”
“Akane... You mentioned something, right? About being able to see the future version of you... and me...” he said while holding back groans.
“Yes, but... That’s...”
“I’ll figure out a way to help you... So focus... Focus your efforts on saving yourself...”
“...Huh?”
He’ll figure out a way to help me? What could he do?
I checked the amount of time remaining.
[654]... [653]...
Less than 11 minutes before this ship would explode.
Sweat covered my palms. Blood surged through every vein in my body. I felt feverish. I couldn’t breathe. I was dizzy. My heart continued to rampage inside my chest, feeling like it would burst at any second.
I held onto the silver clover Light handed me and prayed.
Help me, Jumpy!
>>>
“Help me, Jumpy!”
I heard a scream from somewhere.
“Kanny?” I stopped my hands and looked around.
“What’s going on with you?”
Seven and Lotus stared at me in concern. Snake appeared to have realized something, and listened closely to my every move.
“Kanny! Can you hear me? Give me a sign! Kanny!” I shouted with all my might, fueled by anticipation.
<<<
“Jumpy?” I swung my head around.
I heard his voice come from somewhere. I scanned the room even though I knew he wasn’t here. Still, his voice sounded so clear. Almost as if he was right next to me...
“Jumpy!” I shouted from the heart, filled with hope and emotion.
A response came back immediately.
“—Kanny!”
“Jumpy!”
>>>
To confirm each other’s presence, we called out each other’s names over and over again.
“Kanny... Are you in the chapel right now?”
“Yes.” Akane’s voice echoed directly inside my head. “Wait, how do you know that?”
I figured as much from Santa’s parting words.
—“There’s only one way to save my departed sister... to save Akane.”
Chapter 6
[434]... [433]...
The countdown continued its cruel descent.
Holding the Rubik’s Cube in my hands, I shouted out into the air. “Jumpy! There’s not much time left! Please, help me! The ship will explode if I can’t solve this Rubik’s Cube!”
>>>
“Got it,” I replied bluntly. Those words were less of a response to Akane, and more of a whisper from the heart.
All the pieces came together. I finally realized the truth of everything that had happened. Why this Nonary Game was held. Why we were all gathered here. Everything had been building up to this exact situation—this moment. In that case, there was only one thing left for me to do.
I had to save the Akane from nine years ago.
I stared at the object in my grasp. The Rubik’s Cube was almost fully solved. However, that wasn’t enough. After all, the cube in my hands and the one in hers had different configurations. I wouldn’t be able to send her the solution like this.
I closed my eyes and focused my senses. My consciousness was linked to Akane’s from nine years ago. Across time, I replayed everything Akane saw in my mind.
“Kanny, don’t move.”
I reconfigured my cube to match the one in her hands. It took much more effort than it would to unscramble the cube, but now was no time to be discouraged.
“I can’t really see the bottom of the cube. Can you turn it around?”
“Sure... Like this?”
“No, not that face. Yeah—that’s it! Hold it right there.”
“Junpei...? Who are you even talking to?” Lotus peeked her head over my shoulder, looking disturbed. “Hey, aren’t you scrambling it even more?”
“Don’t worry about it. Could you stop talking for a sec?” I couldn’t concentrate on resonating with Akane.
“But...”
“Lotus, trust Junpei,” Snake said quietly. “All we can do is watch. Just like nine years ago...”
Next: Part 9, Chapters 7-9
999: Alterna (2) - Part 9, Chapters 7-9
Table of Contents | Previous: Part 9, Chapters 4-6
Chapter 7
I finally understood why, nine years in the future, my brother kidnapped Jumpy and the others and recreated this terrifying game.
It was all for the sake of saving me.
Watching me in the present, my brother realized that my consciousness and Jumpy’s from nine years in the future were connected through the field.
However, in order for this miracle to be possible, multiple conditions had to be met.
First, Jumpy had to be infected with the Angel Fever virus, and eventually reach Stage 3. I guess my brother was somehow able to transmit the virus into Jumpy’s body. The incubation period of the virus was five to ten years, so at least that much time was needed for the plan to work.
Next, Jumpy had to be placed in the exact same situation I currently found myself in. For that, my brother had no choice but to prepare this large stage and kidnap Snake, the detective, and the rest. Lotus must have been chosen to take the place of her late daughter.
Furthermore, there was one more condition. Unless my emotions reached a fever pitch, I wouldn’t be able to connect with Jumpy through the field. That was largely out of my brother’s control.
But still, right now, I was connected with Jumpy. That meant...
Even the darkest corners of my heart were lit up with passion. Flickering between this world and the next, my heart fluttered with joy.
I want to live!
That was my desire.
I wanted to live so that I could see Jumpy one more time.
>>>
At last, I succeeded in reconfiguring my Rubik’s Cube to match Akane’s.
[121]... [120]...
Two minutes left.
I stopped twisting the cube and took a deep breath.
Please, reach Kanny!
I focused on the cube in my hands and began unscrambling it.
<<<
All of Jumpy’s thoughts were conveyed to me. My hands started moving on their own volition. As I watched on, the faces of the cube were getting unscrambled. Almost like magic.
And finally...
“Yes! Done!” I had solved the puzzle with 60 seconds to spare.
“Kanny, how’d it go? Did you unscramble the cube?”
“Yeah, I fully solved it! Or rather, you were the one who did it for me. All I did was copy your moves... Now I just have to scan my bracelet on the <RED>.”
“Then go!”
“Yes!” I left the altar and leapt at the numbered door. “Please open, please open, please open...”
Praying, I touched the <RED> and pulled the lever. It slid all the way down.
The door slowly opened, emitting a harsh metallic sound that now brought me a strange sense of comfort.
I didn’t know when they had come down from the ceiling, but my brother, Light, Nona, and the detective were there to greet me on the other side of the door.
>>>
Only 60 seconds remained.
The warning siren blared, and all the lights in the room began to flicker chaotically.
“What are you waiting for? Get moving,” Lotus said, sitting before the altar. “With that puzzle out of the way, you guys can open the [9] door with the [6] bracelet.”
“But...” Seven had a look of pity in his eyes.
“Hurry! Or are you going to let everything go to waste?”
“Lotus, it’s okay! We can escape with you too!” I grabbed her arm and pulled her over to the numbered door.
“Hey... What are you doing?”
“Trust me, I know,” I said, as I brought Lotus’s wrist over to the scanner.
“What do you know?”
“This door won’t be opened by a digital root of [9]. Remember how Hongou couldn’t open it with the [2] and [6] bracelets?”
“Ain’t that just because he didn’t solve the puzzle first?” Seven asked as he placed his left wrist on the <RED>.
“No, I don’t believe so,” Snake said as he scanned the [6] bracelet in his right hand. “It’s programmed so that after either one of the two doors is opened, the lock connected to the Rubik’s Cube activates. That’s how Hongou explained it nine years ago.”
“Then why didn’t it open?”
“The settings were reprogrammed this time. After all, Santa has no reason to kill us.”
Why did Santa take Clover with him when he left this room? I found that decision odd. Santa had the [3] and [6] bracelets in his possession. He could have easily used them to open the numbered door, and yet, he didn’t. He left the [6] bracelet in the room, because he knew we’d need it later.
I thought back to Zero’s words.
“The exit is hidden somewhere on this ship. Seek a door. Seek a door that carries a [9].”
It wasn’t a [9].
I looked back at the character written on the door.
It was a [q]..[11]
I turned around and checked the countdown.
[10]... [9]... [8]...
I brought my left wrist to the scanner and slammed the lever down with all my might. The door opened with a clang. The <DEAD> was set up right behind it.
We rushed out of the chapel and scanned our bracelets on the <DEAD>, but it was still too early to relax.
“This way, hurry!” Seven led us up the spiral staircase.
The time limit should have already passed, but for some reason, nothing exploded.
[11] (TN: The letter “q” and the number “9” in Japanese are both pronounced “kyuu,” so Zero’s announcement is more ambiguous when heard in Japanese.)
Chapter 8
The <DEAD> was right outside the door. I rushed to press my bracelet against it.
“Everyone, hurry—”
I turned around to yell, but immediately noticed that their eyes were still glued to the other side of the door.
“Akane? Where are you, Akane?!” Aoi wailed, staring into the chapel.
“Back away! Door’s closin’!”
Restrained by the detective, Aoi desperately struggled to get back into the room.
“Akane... Why...” Aoi wept as the door shut.
“What are you saying? Aoi, I’m right here,” I shouted out, but my voice couldn’t seem to reach him. “Why...?”
“Hey, there’s a skull on your bracelets,” the detective pointed out.
“Crap! Light, Nona, let’s move!”
The three of them sprinted to the <DEAD> and scanned their bracelets.
“What happened? The door opened, but Akane wasn’t in there!”
“It’s my fault...” Nona started sobbing. “It’s my fault she’s...”
“Don’t cry! I’m right here, I’m still alive!”
As if he sensed my presence, Light turned in my direction. “...Akane?”
“Yes! Can’t you see, I’m right here!”
And yet, my voice still couldn’t reach them. Light tilted his head for a moment, before turning his back to me once more.
At the sound of an explosion, the floor violently shook. Black smoke drifted through the gaps around the door.
“Let’s go. The ship won’t stay afloat for much longer.”
Everyone started to make their way up the staircase. I frantically chased after them.
My entire body felt hot, almost feverish. But that heat was all I felt. The exhaustion and pain that once afflicted me had disappeared. Even though I was running for dear life, I had no trouble breathing—as if this body wasn’t mine. It felt like I was watching myself in a dream. That strange feeling clouded my head.
I looked down, having realized that something was wrong. Much to my surprise, my legs had largely faded from view, so the floor was clearly visible through my feet.
“What’s going on...?”
The confusion inside of me peaked. I was on the edge of losing my mind.
—“Don’t go spouting that crap about fate. We can change the future with our own hands, however much we want.”
Jumpy’s words from the future suddenly replayed in my mind.
“Wait... Don’t tell me...”
I stopped in my tracks and looked up.
Schrödinger's Cat. As long as the box remained closed, whether the cat is alive or dead would stay an unresolvable mystery. That paradox represented the overlapping states of life and death. Perhaps my existence had yet to be confirmed.
The future wasn’t set in stone. The timeline where Jumpy never got infected with Angel Fever, the timeline where he didn’t participate in the Nonary Game, the timeline where he gave up on escaping halfway through... All of those futures surely existed. He wouldn’t necessarily be able to save me in nine years. Until that moment actually occurred, nobody could determine my fate.
That was why right now, I was neither alive nor dead—like a ghost. Most likely, that would remain true until the day Jumpy saved me in nine years.
“Hey!”
The detective’s voice from overhead snapped me out of my trance. I looked up to see Nona climbing over the handrail, motioning to jump off.
I looked down. The seawater that had penetrated the ship from the explosion was swirling into a vicious vortex. Nona couldn’t swim. If she fell, she’d be met with certain death.
“Stop! Stay calm!”
“It’s my fault... It’s my fault... I’m so sorry, Akane...”
As Nona sniffled, she jumped off the handrail and into the air. The detective reached out to grab her but didn’t make it in time. Just like that, she was sucked into the raging whirlpool below.
“Nona!” I screamed out her name while clinging to the handrail.
>>>
We rushed up the spiral staircase with only one goal in mind. My legs flew, my arms swung wildly, and my eyes stuck solely to the path in front of me.
As I ran, Seven’s voice reached my ears.
“Hey Junpei, mind if I ask you somethin’?”
“What’s up?”
“That [9] door from earlier. Why’d it open?”
“That’s right,” Lotus added. “We used four bracelets to activate the <RED>. [5], [6], [7], and [8] make 26, so the digital root should’ve been [8].”
“It wasn’t the number [9] that was scribbled on the door. It was the letter [q].”
“The letter [q]?”
“Computer programming uses hexadecimal sometimes, right?”
Under the hexadecimal system, after the number [9] came [a]. Then came [b], [c], [d], and so on. In base-10, [a] would represent [10], [b] would be [11], and [c] would be [12].
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Instead of the base-16 hexadecimal system, think about it in terms of base-30.”
“Base-30?”
“After [16], or [f], continue using letters instead of adding a digit. For example, [h] would be [17], [i] would be [18], and so on. Continuing that pattern, [q] would be—”
“[26]!” Seven yelled, counting with his large fingers.
“Exactly.”
“Look, up ahead!” Lotus shouted, pointing forward.
Waiting at the top of the staircase was a single door. Blinding rays of sunlight poured in through the frame.
“The exit!”
I picked up the pace.
Chapter 9
I spent what felt like an eternity straddling the line between life and death.
My memories of everything after the events of that day remained hazy, most likely a result of my Schrödinger's Cat-like existence.
Time marched on, and as the fateful day approached, my existence became more and more defined. I’d never forget the look of shock and joy on my brother’s face the day he saw me in the bathroom.
However, my ghostlike presence didn’t change. Minor events would affect our future on the fated day—each time that happened, I would contract a high fever and my existence would go back to being hazy.
“I’ll save you, no matter what it takes.”
But I had no idea of the dreadful plot my brother was concocting for that day...
>>>
We stumbled through the door leading outside and were greeted with intense sunlight that pierced our eyes. I squinted and shaded my face with my hand.
Colors began to paint the scene before me. The blurred view slowly but surely took shape.
“This is...”
“What? No way...”
“How?”
We found ourselves on the rooftop of a decrepit building. A nostalgic scene stretched out, and far into the distance, I could make out the recently completed Tokyo Skytree.
“Hmm... I don’t hear any waves, and I don’t smell any saltwater either... That means we’re—”
“Yeah, this is that experimental facility in the city.” Santa walked out from the shadow of the water tower. “I didn’t have the cash to buy and renovate an entire ship, so I borrowed this abandoned building.”
Clover appeared beside Santa.
“Brother!” Upon seeing Snake, Clover rushed over to where we were, about to burst into tears. “I’m so glad you’re alive...”
She flew into Snake’s chest and began to sob. Snake smiled and affectionately tussled her hair.
Santa’s eyes, focused on the siblings’ reunion, appeared to be tinged with loneliness.
“Sorry for dragging you guys into this,” Santa said. “Don’t worry about the bombs. There weren’t any inside you to begin with.”
He took out a device resembling a remote control from his pocket. The moment he pointed it at us, our bracelets detached from our wrists and fell to our feet.
“See ya.” Santa gave a small wave with his right hand turned his back to us, and stepped back into the building.
“Where are you going?”
“Junpei, I leave the rest to you,” Santa replied, ignoring my question. He slowly descended the spiral staircase.
“Hey, Santa—” I head towards the door, hoping to follow after him.
But then, someone else appeared in his place. A girl of about high school age. Although I had never met her, I immediately recognized who she was, since she closely resembled the young girl from nine years ago whom I saw through the field.
“...Nona?” Lotus’s voice was close to a whisper. “Are you... Nona?”
“Mom... You can see me?” The girl seemed surprised as well.
“How...?” Seven appeared to be at a loss. “You died nine years ago falling off that spiral staircase—”
“I saved her back then.” Another person appeared through the door frame. “But since my existence was still hazy, saving her caused her existence to become hazy too.”
Akane smiled happily at the heartfelt embrace between mother and daughter.
“But everything’s okay now. Schrödinger's Cat lives. The box has been opened, and now, everything has become reality.”
“Kanny...”
I inched over to her.
There was something I wanted to tell her once we escaped. But my chest felt tight, and the words stuck in my throat.
Illuminated by the sun, Akane’s blushing face slowly turned to face mine.
Seeing my eyes dart back and forth, she gently moved her lips.
“I’m back, Jumpy.”
Our two elongated shadows intertwined.
The faint scent of sweet olives lingered in the air.
[9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors: Alterna - The End]
Next: Project Wrap-Up
999: Alterna - Afterword
Table of Contents | Previous: Part 9, Chapters 7-9
And thus concludes the Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors: Alterna translation project! A big shoutout to everyone who has been regularly following the project since its inception, and anyone else who discovered us since. It’s been a long 18 months (Volume 1: 9/9/2017 ~ 6/9/2018, Volume 2: 6/23/2018 ~ 3/9/2019), and we’re ready to move on to new and different projects, so stay tuned for what we have planned next!
Additionally, we will be re-releasing the complete translation with slight revisions in some form, so be sure to check back soon.
Thanks for reading!
~Kyu and Edo
999: Alterna (2) - Part 9, Chapters 1-3
Table of Contents | Previous: Part 8, Chapters 7-9
Part Nine - The End
Chapter 1
I was watching. I saw every object that reflected in his eyes.
I was listening. I heard every noise that vibrated in his eardrums.
All the smells, tastes, textures—I felt everything that stimulated his five senses.
I knew. I knew everything about him. The thoughts swimming in his mind, the emotions stirring in his soul. Every single beat of his heart was clearly transmitted to me.
My consciousness was inside him. The two of us resonated through the field. I was him, and at the same time, a helpless bystander.
Everything began with that piercing blast about nine hours ago. There was an explosion on the ship we were confined on. That was when we started to resonate. My consciousness melted into his—into Jumpy’s.
Transcending nine years in the blink of an eye, I gained access to Jumpy’s consciousness.
Yet, I hadn’t completely lost my sense of self. I was simultaneously living in two different realities.
One of them was the present, while the other was the reality of the future. It was almost like two films being projected concurrently onto one screen, clashing chaotically and blending together with no clear boundary between them.
Still, if I concentrated, I could shift my focus to one or the other. That was how I could instantly grasp what was happening before my eyes.
———
“Hurry, this way!” Aoi, my brother, yelled.
I scrambled to chase after him. The seven other kids weren’t far behind. All of them were around the same age as me and my brother.
“Come on, let’s go!”
We hurried down a long passageway and ran straight into the large hospital room.
———
A fierce argument erupted between two of the boys. A little girl watching them burst into tears.
“I wanna go home, I wanna go home!”
Another girl slapped the wailing girl on the cheek. A look of bloodlust appeared in the crying girl’s eyes.
It had been two hours since the start of the Nonary Game, and rifts were forming between us.
“Everyone, gather around,” Light said. Nine years later, he would be the blind man known as Snake. “There’s something I want to talk about.”
He was the oldest among us, and his voice projected wisdom and authority. We formed a circle around him.
“I have a little sister who is dear to me. Her name is Clover. And today’s her ninth birthday,” he said, pulling out a number of small silver accessories in the shape of four-leaf clovers.
“Wow, they’re so pretty!”
The youngest out of us nine, the petite Nona, cracked a smile for the first time in ages.
“I made these accessories over the past two months, intending to make them my sister’s birthday present. As you all know, I cannot see. Making nine of these was quite an endeavor. But I persevered and crafted them, in the hopes that my crybaby of a sister would understand my feelings. Since Clover’s turning nine, I made nine four-leaf clovers.”
Everyone listened closely to his words.
Light continued, “Everyone here has someone dear to them, right? I want you to think of them. We have to survive and escape from this ship for their sake. Understood?”
We all nodded in unison.
“To do so, there are three principles we must follow. We must have faith in our companions, keep love in our hearts, and continue holding on to hope. As long as we accomplish these three things, luck will definitely be on our side. ‘Hope, Faith, Love, Luck’—each of those is represented in a four-leaf clover.”
Light flashed a grin and held out the nine pieces of silver in his palm. “Now, if we’re all on the same page, I want each of you to take one. Consider it a vow between us.”
After a moment, the clovers slowly began to leave his hand. I held tightly onto one of them.
A single final clover remained on the tip of Light’s finger. He carefully secured it in his grasp. “Please never forget. As long as you have that, we will always be friends. Got it?”
The other eight of us nodded resolutely.
———
Afterwards, we scurried around the ship, passed through several numbered doors, and finally reached the room with the [9] door.
It was a large room that resembled a chapel. Two [9] doors stood before us.
We had thought it was necessary to sacrifice four people to pass through the [9] door, but realizing the truth, we hugged each other with joy.
First, five of the kids left through the large double door.
“Looks like we can get outside by climbing this staircase. You guys hurry too!” A cheerful voice echoed out from the other side of the door.
“Let’s go,” Aoi said, approaching the smaller numbered door hidden behind the curtain. Nona, Light, and I were close behind.
We could finally put an end to this stupid game.
After the other three scanned their bracelets, just as I was bringing my own wrist to the panel, it happened.
A blaring siren filled the air. Nona, frightened by the noise, dove under a desk.
“Hey, look over there.” I pointed to the altar. The floor had opened up, and a transparent object was rising up from below.
The object felt completely out of place with the decor of the room. Almost like something out of a low-budget science fiction film. It was...
“What is it?”
The half-spherical object of about one meter in diameter had fully risen up out of the ground and stopped moving. My brother cautiously stepped towards the altar. I followed him.
The dome was made of some sort of tough, high-grade plastic.
I hesitantly peeked inside.
Inside the pod was a single toy that I had played with long ago.
Chapter 2
“I knew it,” I muttered to myself upon recognizing the toy contained within the pod.
As I suspected, a single, nostalgic Rubik’s Cube lay inside.
“The final experiment must’ve been programmed to activate after some of us opened one of the two [9] doors and escaped,” I said, gazing at the scrambled Rubik’s Cube.
“Wait... Junpei, how do you know that?”
I ignored Lotus and continued. After all, I didn’t have an answer to her question.
“The remaining members wouldn’t be able to escape that easily. They’d need to do something extra to open the door, beyond simply scanning on the <RED>.”
“You mean, the Rubik’s Cube?”
“Yup. Just like nine years ago,” Seven answered. “I came to the ceiling of this room through the air vents. Then, I broke through the skylight and saw four kids, looking all confused.”
<<<
“Now, let the final experiment commence.”
Zero’s voice echoed out from nearby, as we stared blankly at the pod that had suddenly emerged. Some white noise was mixed in, so it must have come through speakers in the walls.
“You’re all too soft,” Zero mocked. “Why didn’t you put yourselves first? How could you be so stupid as to let the other five escape while you stayed behind? Was there any guarantee that the other door, visibly different in shape and size from every other door you’ve encountered, would be a true numbered door?”
Nobody responded.
Naturally, I had considered that possibility. But I didn’t want things to devolve into an ugly fight over the five spots to survive. If I had to trample over others to live, I’d rather sacrifice myself. Thus, I willingly chose to let others go ahead. I bet the rest of us here all felt the exact same way.
“But as foolish as you all are, I must applaud your willingness to put others before yourselves,” Zero said, in a slightly different tone. “In fact, I would even say that the ability to sympathize with others is absolutely essential. Congratulations. You four are the chosen ones.”
“...”
“At this very moment, four children are also trapped inside the chapel in Building Q. In front of them, just like yourselves, is a Rubik’s Cube inside a pod.”
Nona stuck her head out from under the desk like a baby squirrel and glanced around.
“Embedded in the cube are microchips linked to the numbered door. The <RED> has been programmed to resume functioning once every face on the cube has been solved. I want the four of you to work together and solve this puzzle.”
Beads of cold sweat formed on my forehead.
“Then hurry up and let us do it!” My brother yelled, violently shaking the pod.
“Patience. All in due time,” Zero answered immediately. He must have heard our voices. “See the ticking countdown beside the pipe organ?”
I turned to look in that direction. The number changed from [1587] to [1586].
“As you may have realized, that is the time you have remaining. Roughly 1500 seconds... about 25 minutes. The second the countdown reaches [0], the bombs planted in the center of this ship will detonate. You’ll be sent to your watery graves in the blink of an eye.”
Nona, who had crawled out from under the desk, clung to my back and whimpered, “I don’t wanna die.”
“Don’t worry. Your suffering will last but a second. After all, you are currently standing in the center of the ship—once it explodes, your suffering shall end.”
“Quit stalling! Hurry up and open this pod!”
“It is still too early. It would be quite troublesome if I granted you ample time to solve the puzzle with ease. Your time limit will be 16 minutes and 39 seconds—999 seconds. So I ask that you please wait a little longer. Why don’t you take this opportunity to come up with a strategy? Best of luck.”
Leaving behind those words of encouragement, Zero concluded his announcement.
>>>
“...999 seconds?”
Lotus and I spun around to check the display by the pipe organ.
[1297]... [1296]...
If everything was the same as nine years ago, then the pod would open in less than five minutes.
“But things are different now,” Seven said, scowling. “Even if we solve the puzzle, the three of us can’t open the [9] door.”
“That’s why we need to think. I’m sure there’s a way to—”
A loud noise erupted, drowning out my words. We turned towards the source of the sound, and noticed that the coffin in a corner by the altar was quivering.
“Someone open this thing!” A familiar voice shouted.
“...Snake?”
We rushed over to the coffin.
“Snake, is that you?”
“Junpei? And... Seven and Lotus? I recognize your footsteps,” he answered, calm as ever.
Chapter 3
We sat by the pod, waiting, hugging our knees in silence.
Time continued to pass. For a second, the monitor displaying how much remained of our lives flashed [1214]—Jumpy’s birthday—before resuming its countdown.
“Hey, Akane. What’s that over there?” Nona pointed to a corner of the altar.
I hadn’t noticed it since it was hidden by the curtain, but there was a hexagonal black wooden box leaning against the wall. A coffin? It was large enough to fit an adult. I got goosebumps imagining that someone could pop out of it at any moment.
“Why’s there a coffin here?” Aoi said, walking over to the box. He tugged on the lid, but it was firmly shut.
“Let me examine it too,” Light added, approaching the coffin. After meticulously feeling every edge and face, he paused. “Oh? There’s a digital lock here.”
He pointed to a spot on one of the sides. I slowly made my way over, and saw a panel with the numbers 1 through 9 installed, just as Light described.
“I bet if we input the correct code, it’ll open.”
“But we don’t know any stupid code,” Aoi said.
“Wait—wasn’t there something in the x-ray room?” I opened my right hand. I thought back to when we discovered a nine-digit number scribbled on a wall of the x-ray room. Thinking it may be some sort of clue, I had taken a pen Nona found in the first-class cabin and copied the number onto my palm.
I went over to the panel and input the nine digits written on my hand.
>>>
“You okay in there?” Seven asked, approaching the coffin.
“Yeah,” Snake answered from inside. He didn’t sound like he was in pain. “But it is awfully cramped in here. Could you let me out soon?”
“We’d like to, but...” Seven had a troubled look on his face.
There was a digital lock on the coffin. Next to it, a number pad. Unless we input the correct passcode, the coffin would likely stay shut.
As I paced back and forth in front of the stumped-looking pair, a nine-digit number escaped my lips. Seven and Lotus stared at me in shock.
“Hey, what was that? That number just now,” Seven asked.
Without responding to him, I rushed over to the coffin. I crouched before the number pad, and started carefully inputting in the number I had mumbled a moment ago.
After pressing the enter key, I heard the sound of the lock disengaging from inside the coffin. The lid opened with a thud. Snake emerged from within. He was dressed in a suspicious black robe, as if he was about to perform a demonic ritual.
“Thanks for saving me.”
Seven helped Snake out of the coffin. Having been trapped in that cramped space for hours, he had some trouble finding his balance, but he didn’t look any worse than before. Rather, he seemed more energetic and upbeat than any of us.
We patted each other on the shoulder, celebrating the safe return of a friend.
“By the way, how did you open the lid?” Snake asked, turning my way.
“Well...” I didn’t have a proper answer. If I replied that someone had whispered the number inside my head, they’d all think I was crazy.
“Hey, it’s almost time,” Seven said, pointing to the display on the wall.
The four digits on the countdown would soon be reduced to three.
Next: Part 9, Chapters 4-6
999: Alterna (2) - Part 8, Chapters 7-9
Table of Contents | Previous: Part 8, Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Santa eloquently explained the details of the Nonary Project.
To sum it all up...
Imagine that the answer to a certain problem is revealed today to one million people. Then, even if I didn’t gain any new information, I would be more likely to solve that problem tomorrow.
Or, imagine that right now, one million people all do a handstand at once. Then, even without any knowledge of what had transpired, I would be more likely to do a handstand tomorrow.
The source of these phenomena is a special field—one that transmits information related to human thought and behavior.
What if there was a single individual with a power equal to that of those one million people combined? What if they possessed the extraordinary ability to make everyone else do a handstand just by doing a handstand themselves?
It works the other way too. What if there was a completely average person who felt compelled to do a handstand after picking up a weak signal from someone else who just did a handstand?
The former would be considered to have the ability to transmit information through this special field; the latter, the ability to receive information through the same field.
Now, what would happen if a transmitter and a receiver were paired together? Most likely, the transmitter would be able to control the receiver as they please.
To test this theory, eighteen kids who were infected with the Angel Fever virus were gathered together. All of them had reached Stage 3 of the disease. Through the Ganzfeld experiment, each of them was determined to be either a transmitter or receiver. The transmitters formed Group Q and were sent to an experiment site in the city, while the receivers formed Group A and were confined to the Britannic.
From prior research, the designers of the project had discovered that the ability to access the field was enhanced by two factors: epiphany and danger.
When agonizing over a difficult problem, there are moments when the answer suddenly comes to mind. That is “epiphany.” Information obtained through epiphanies is more readily transmitted and received via the field. Presenting a source of “danger” further strengthens access to the field.
“...”
Everyone looked puzzled, but Santa droned on.
“And so, Hongou set up various contraptions on this ship and filled everything with puzzles. Solving them was necessary to proceed.”
Of course, the designers didn’t neglect the aspect of danger. More specifically, they blew up part of the Britannic and forced the kids in Group A to play the Nonary Game aboard the sinking ship. They pushed the kids to their limits, all in an effort to draw out their latent abilities.
Meanwhile, the kids in Group Q were confined to a mock experiment site in the city called Building Q. It was designed to resemble the Britannic down to every last detail—the contraptions set up in the building were exactly the same as the ones on the ship.
“Why did they do that?” Clover asked.
“You guys know how Apollo 13 recovered from its accident and safely returned to Earth?” Santa responded.
His question came out of left field.
“NASA employees had a replica that perfectly mimicked the inside of Apollo 13. They used it to recreate the accident and work out how best to control the damage, and then shared their findings with the astronauts aboard the actual spacecraft. Building Q and the Britannic were used in a similar fashion for the experiment.”
Hongou told the kids in Building Q the following.
“Solve the puzzles in each room. Once you do, transmit the solutions to the children in Group A. If you’re successful, they can move forward. Otherwise... the Britannic will sink and send everyone to their watery graves.”
“That’s horrible...” Lotus clutched her chest and struggled to control her breathing. Tears glimmered in her eyes. Her young daughter had been dragged into this dastardly project and lost her life. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain she was feeling. “How stupid... Transmitting thoughts through a special field? That’s impossible...”
“What are you saying? My project was perfect!” Ace shot back. He turned to Seven with a depraved glint in his eyes. “If only you hadn’t interfered, the experiment would’ve been a success.”
“There’s still somethin’ I don’t get,” Seven said, paying no attention to Ace. “Where’d Snake go?”
“Yeah, where’s my brother?” Clover cried out.
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t harm an old comrade,” Santa replied. “Take a closer look around this room later. That it for your questions?”
“I have one more,” Lotus added. “Why did we have to get involved in this? If your goal was revenge, why didn’t you just target the four behind the Nonary Project? I don’t see how we’re related.”
“Actually, I’d say you all are far more important than those assholes. I’ll need you all to cooperate and show some effort in just a bit,” Santa said, smiling. “Oh, looks like it’s almost time. Gotta get going.”
Quietly staring at the countdown ticking beside the pipe organ, Santa reached into his right pants pocket.
[2010]... [2009]...
He pulled out something black and shiny, and began to laugh. The rest of us gulped. It was a gun.
“This ain’t a toy.”
He pointed it at the ceiling and pulled the trigger. A gunshot rang out, and the room flashed.
“I have one last parting gift for you all.” Santa slowly pointed the muzzle at us and tossed over one of the bracelets in his possession. Kubota’s [9] bracelet—no, [6] bracelet.
“Clover, I’ve done something unforgivable to you. Snake’s too clever for his own good. I couldn’t just let him figure out my plan and become a hindrance. So, I decided to use you as a hostage.”
“...What do you mean?”
“As with Hongou, I prepared a message under Snake’s pillow. Remember that card that he showed off? That was it.”
“But, the only things written on it were the rules of the Nonary Game...”
“Nope. It read, ‘Don’t mention anything about nine years ago. If you do, I will kill your sister.’”
“Then why did he lie?”
“Probably to prevent you all from doing anything rash. Going through a numbered door without understanding the game’s rules would be suicide. Still, he couldn’t simply admit the truth. If he confessed to knowing the rules as a past participant, he would’ve put you in danger of being killed. So as a last resort, he did what he did. I gotta hand it to him, he’s pretty sharp.”
Santa fiddled inside his pocket for a few seconds, before pulling out another bracelet. “You know who this belongs to?”
He turned the display to Clover. It had the number [2].
“...My brother.”
“The last time we checked Nijisaki’s corpse, I snuck it out. You can have it.”
Clover stepped forward to accept the bracelet, but in an instant, Santa grabbed tightly onto her outstretched arm.
“Come on, let’s go.”
“...Huh?”
Keeping the gun pointed at us, Santa stepped towards the double doors. “Junpei, toss that [3] bracelet over here.”
With Clover held hostage, my hands were tied. I threw the bracelet with the cracked display over to Santa.
[3]. Clover’s [4]. [2]. And Santa’s [0]. Their digital root was [9].
“No, I’m going to survive!”
Suddenly, Ace leapt to his feet. He had somehow gotten ahold of Clover’s earring and cut through his restraints. We were so preoccupied with listening to Santa’s monologue that we took our eyes off of Ace.
Letting out a beastly roar, he scooped up the [6] bracelet on the floor and slammed his body into Clover.
Santa couldn’t react fast enough to counter, as Ace snatched Clover away from him.
Ace pulled Clover to the other [9] door, before scanning the [6] bracelet and the [2] bracelet in Clover’s hands.
“How unfortunate. It appears that I am the winner of this game,” Ace declared.
Santa pointed the gun at him while Seven brandished Kubota’s knife, but with Clover in the line of fire, Ace was untouchable.
Ace scanned his own bracelet and pulled the lever down.
[6] + [2] + [1] = [9]
He kept Clover in his grasp. He must have planned to pull her across the doorway, using her as a shield between him and us. But if he did that, Clover would explode. I couldn’t just stand by.
Right when I was about to leap over to rescue Clover—
“...It won’t open,” Ace said, frozen in place. The numbered door stood unyielding. “Why won’t it open?!”
Ace released Clover and tugged at the lever with both hands.
“Clover, get back!” I yelled.
The next moment, a gunshot reverberated through the room.
The [6] bracelet in Ace’s possession fell to the ground. His body slumped forward, as he pressed both of his hands against his thigh.
“Aargh!” Ace groaned in pain. A red liquid oozed out from between his fingers. “Why...?”
He opened his eyes wide and stared at Santa with a look of shock. “I only... wanted to see faces... People’s faces...”
He kneeled down, all the energy drained from his body. “If I gained the ability to access the field... I would be able to distinguish between human faces...” Even as his whole body shuddered in pain, he continued talking. “By looking into the minds of others... I would be able to learn... how others recognized human faces... so...”
“You carried out that horrific experiment just for that? Just to satisfy your selfish desires, Akane...”
“You don’t understand my pain... my loneliness... of not being able to distinguish faces... and not being able to read anyone’s emotions...”
Blood flowed across the cold floor. As we fixated on it, Santa used the opportunity to take Clover back into his grasp, pointing the gun at her temple.
“Now, this is farewell.”
With Clover as his hostage, Santa stepped towards the large double doors. Clover made no attempt to resist, exhausted of her willpower by this unexpected and bewildering turn of events.
Once they reached the door, Santa scanned the [3] bracelet in his possession onto the <RED>. Next, he scanned Clover’s left wrist, then the [2] bracelet in her left hand. Finally, he brought his own bracelet to the device, and grabbed the lever.
“There’s no bomb in my stomach, but might as well stick to the rules.”
[3] + [4] + [2] + [0] = [9]
The door slowly opened.
“Junpei.” Santa locked eyes with me, as he backed up into the doorway. “I leave the rest to you.”
“...Huh?” As lost and confused as I was, I was somehow able to cobble together my words. “What do you mean by that?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. There’s only one way to save my departed sister... to save Akane.”
Those were Santa’s last words to us before he dragged Clover through the open doors.
“Wait... Wait for me...” Dragging his right leg, Ace attempted to chase after them. “I don’t want to die here... I don’t want to die... Don’t leave me...”
Ace slipped through the closing doors and disappeared from view.
“Ah—” My warning could no longer reach him. “You idiot, if you go through a numbered door without authenticating...”
The [9] door shut with a heavy thud.
Exactly 81 seconds later, Ace’s final scream of agony filled the air.
Chapter 8
Seven, Lotus, and I were the only three left in the chapel. The display next to the pipe organ ticked down from [1832] to [1831]. We barely had 30 minutes remaining.
Unable to process the events that had so rapidly transpired, we stood there in silence.
But if we didn’t do something soon, we were doomed.
The door leading back to the elevator abruptly closed with a thud.
“Shit!” Despite knowing it was futile, I ran over to the door and tried to pry it open. “Damn, it won’t budge.”
“What? So we’re trapped here?” Lotus shouted.
“Seems like it,” Seven spat.
I turned around and ran to the smaller [9] door hidden behind the curtain. Seven and Lotus followed behind me.
I started to bring my hand up to the <RED>, but I quickly stopped myself. There was no point. The three of us couldn’t open the [9] door.
[5] + [7] + [8] = 20 2 + 0 = [2]
“Wait! If we use that bracelet...” Lotus pointed to a bracelet in the center of the room. It was Kubota’s—Santa left it for us as a parting gift. Its number was [6].
I quickly ran a few calculations in my head. There was only one combination that made a digital root of [9].
[5] + [6] + [7] = 18 1+ 8 = [9]
Seven and I looked at Lotus in unison. She appeared to have realized the same thing.
She flashed us a wry smile and pursed her lips. “Well, that sucks. I almost made it to the end, but I guess it’s game over for me here.”
“Lotus...”
“It’s fine, go ahead. It’s frustrating, but if that’s the only option left, I’ve got no choice.”
“There’s no way we can do that!” Seven said before I could even open my mouth. He looked Lotus straight in the eyes.
“What a surprise. Aren’t you glad to finally be rid of an annoyance like me?”
“You fool!” Seven yelled, causing Lotus to flinch. He averted his gaze and muttered, “If you’re not around... If you’re not around, then... I’ll be in trouble.”
“...‘In trouble’?”
“Yeah. Without bad people like you around, I’d be out of a job.”
“...Huh?”
“Anyways, we can’t leave you behind,” Seven said, scratching below his nose.
I looked up to him and nodded. “Agreed. Let’s find a way for all of us to escape.”
“I’m astounded. There’s no saving you two from your stupidity,” Lotus let out an exaggerated sigh and turned her back to us. “...Seriously. You guys are idiots.”
Her shoulders shook ever-so-slightly. Seven and I looked at each other and exchanged a smile.
When suddenly—
—It’s beginning.
A voice murmured inside my head. The same voice I heard back in the captain’s cabin.
—It’s finally beginning.
A wailing siren blasted through the air around us. Instinctively, I turned my gaze to the altar. The floor opened up, and a dome-shaped pod rose up from beneath.
“What... is that?” Lotus asked in a fearful tone.
“Tch. It’s coming out, huh,” Seven clicked his tongue.
“What? What’s going on?”
—The final experiment of fate.
“The beginning of the final experiment,” I muttered.
Seven looked at me in shock. “You... How...?”
An intense wave of déjà vu flooded my mind.
I didn’t understand it myself.
But I had seen it somewhere before.
Something was inside the pod—I was certain of that.
Chapter 9
It’s beginning.
It’s finally beginning.
The final experiment of fate.
Next: Part 9, Chapters 1-3
999: Alterna (2) - Part 8, Chapter 6
Table of Contents | Previous: Part 8, Chapter 5
Chapter 6
I felt a tremor in the air around us.
Everyone stared at Santa in shock. Including me.
After a brief silence, Seven opened his mouth to speak. “You... You must be Aoi, then?” Anger, pity, and compassion combined to form the complex expression plastered on his face.
“Oh? You remembered.” Santa, who never seemed to be one to show his emotions, now had a radiant smile across his face, as though he had completely switched personalities.
“Aoi?” Lotus inquired.
“He was part of that experiment nine years ago,” Seven answered. “But he was just a kid back then.”
“We didn’t have stupid nicknames back then, so we called each other by our real names,” Santa added, before turning towards me. “How about I tell you my last name too? It’s Kurashiki. I’m Aoi Kurashiki.”
As I realized the significance of his name, I was hit by a wave of shock. Satisfied with my reaction, Santa gave a little smirk.
“That’s right. I’m Akane’s brother.”
“Then... That little sister of yours who died nine years ago...”
“Yeah. That was Akane.”
A shiver ran through my body. I had goosebumps all over. My knees shook, and I felt that I wouldn’t be able to stay on my feet for much longer.
“But... she never mentioned anything about you being her brother,” I said.
“What’d you expect? The shock from what happened nine years ago caused the Akane we know to lose all of her memories since the time she and I first met.”
Santa wasn’t making any sense. In that same sentence, he mentioned how Akane died nine years ago, in addition to how she now suffered from amnesia.
“So you’re the mastermind behind this game?” Seven asked.
Santa nodded. “Glad you all seem to enjoy it. Looks like all my hard work paid off.”
“Why’d you do this? Revenge for nine years ago?”
“That’s part of it. I could never forgive those four behind the Nonary Project—the ones who killed my sister.” Santa shot a glance at Ace. “Gentarou Hongou. I wanted to you to suffer a fate worse than death, so I had Kubota join you in the game. Had fun?”
“You... I can’t believe you’re Aoi...” Ace—Hongou ground his teeth in frustration.
Santa smirked. “Aww, so you didn’t realize after all. Well, that’s no surprise. You wouldn’t recognize me by my face, and my voice hadn’t dropped nine years ago.
“But I must say, Mr. Hongou, you exceeded my expectations. All I did was leave a simple message under your pillow. ‘If you seek salvation, attain victory in this game.’ And yet, your actions surprised me at every turn. Everything you’ve done fit perfectly into my plan. I was actually scared by how everything was working out almost too well.”
“...”
“Once you realized Kubota, the head of research and development for your company, was in the game, you suspected he was Zero. Even if you didn’t, you worried that he’d start blabbering about stuff from nine years ago. That’s why you fed him false information about the rules of the Nonary Game and sent him to his death.”
“Hmph, so I was playing into your hands this entire time,” Ace scoffed at himself.
Santa continued, “Next, you killing Nijisaki was another part of my plan. I had drugged Nijisaki beforehand and kept him hidden. While everyone was busy looking for the <RED> circuit boards, I put Snake to sleep with anesthetic gas, stripped off his clothes, and removed the bracelet from his prosthetic arm, before waking up Nijisaki and bringing him over to the [3] door.”
“Wait, that can’t be right.” Ace cut in. “Kubota’s actual bracelet number was [6], not [9], correct? Why did the numbered door open?”
Ace’s query made sense. In order to kill his former underling dressed in Snake’s clothes, he had used Kubota’s bracelet.
[1] + [2] + [9] = 12 1 + 2 = [3]
But, in truth, Kubota’s bracelet number was [6]. Their digital root would have been [9], so the door shouldn’t have opened.
[1] + [2] + [6] = [9]
“That’s simple. It wasn’t just Nijisaki. I also drugged up Musashidou and had both of them stand before the [3] door.”
“Why both of them?”
“I needed Musashidou’s bracelet if I was going to have you succeed in your murder plot,” Santa said, pointing at the bracelet with the cracked display in my hand.
A moment ago, Clover and I couldn’t open the [9] door with the [9] bracelet, because Kubota’s bracelet number was actually [6]. But once we brought in the bracelet with the cracked display, the door opened. So that meant—
[5] + [4] + [6] + [3] = 18 1 + 8 = [9]
The captain’s—Musashidou’s bracelet number was [3].
“Oh, I see,” I muttered, realizing Santa’s trick. “After putting the circuit boards back in, you scanned Musashidou’s bracelet on the <RED>, right?”
Before Ace executed his own plan, Musashidou’s [3] bracelet had already been scanned by the <RED>. That would result in a digital root of [3].
[3] + [1] + [2] + [6] = 12 1 + 2 = [3]
“Precisely,” Santa affirmed.
“For some reason, the far left edge of the display by the [3] door wouldn’t light up. That was also your doing, wasn’t it? You cut off that part of the circuit so it would hide the fact there was already an asterisk being shown.”
“I’d expect no less from you, Junpei.” Santa clapped and nodded in satisfaction. “After I finished setting up the hospital room, I took Musashidou back to the captain’s cabin.”
“Huh? But the black door leading to the captain’s cabin was locked, and the elevator wouldn’t work unless you had the yellow key...”
“I’m Zero. Of course I’d prepare a master key for myself,” Santa answered pridefully. “And thus, the stage was set for Hongou to mistake the man in the captain’s cabin as the mastermind and kill him out of self-defense. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if it’d work. But like I said, he exceeded my expectations. The moment I saw Musashidou’s pitiful corpse, I wanted to give Hongou a round of applause for his impeccable performance.”
Behind his words, Santa’s entire body seemed to exude an air of anger.
“Hey, mind explaining something else?” Lotus interrupted. “What’s the deal with this Nonary Project? What exactly where these Cradle Pharmaceuticals employees scheming?”
“Hongou, you wanna take this?” Santa turned to the man who still had his head down.
Ace didn’t respond.
“Guess I have to do all the explaining myself,” Santa sighed. “Researchers at Cradle Pharmaceuticals were developing a vaccine for Angel Fever when they discovered a surprising commonality among patients who had reached Stage 3.”
“...A surprising commonality?”
“Namely, everyone’s perception grew sharper.”
“What?”
Nobody except Lotus was surprised. I might’ve become aware of the strange changes my own mind was undergoing.
“They determined that the presence of the Angel Fever virus catalyzes some sort of change in the cerebrum—and just like that, they had working evidence of Sheldrake’s theory.”
Santa ranted on without hesitation, fired up with rage.
Next: Part 8, Chapters 7-9