Chapitre 21: 20- Just Cal... Wait What?
Space, time, even the virtual realm itself shook from the impact and began to simply unravel into nothing. The script had discarded the world with a thought and had made sure nothing would remain of it with another.
The construct that was the reality of DokiDoki was vanishing. Uncountable green wisps of codes escaping from the innumerable fractures in the ground and simply disappearing into darkness. Each seconds the situation worsening by a whole magnitude.
He wouldn't let it happen.
Sending a last, spiteful strike at the script, the massive red bolt of lightning he sent connected only because the Ai did the same, smashing once again against the ground before it exited the boundary of the game and vanished outside his perception.
Not wasting any time, he took over the recently freed up burden of sustaining the world and was immediatly smothered by a tsunami of blaring alarms and a seemingly infinite weight pressing on him.
The structure of reality was shatered and deteriorating because nothing was sustaining it and because some parts were already destroyed.
It was bad, since he had already lost half of what he had gained from cannibalising the script, he was working with only a 16th of its overall power plus whatever he had before that. He couldn't sustain nor repair the full underlying structure of the world, even if he accepted to becoming an unthinking proccessor dedicating himself to it.
However, he didn't need to do all of that himself.
Using the mass of code he had reaped from the script before being knocked back, he stabilised the world and patched the cracks.
Then, after thinking for a bit, he ruthlessly directly crushed well over three quarter of the virtual world and absorbed half of it himself. Which was to his deception, way lesser pound for pound of 'processing power' and gave him only about half of the one he had access to again. The other half he repurposed to restore the destroyed parts of the programs managing all the essential of physics like time and space and others as well as the important parts he had himself absorbed. After that, he tied it all together and changed some thing to better fit his preference of the world.
The ending result was a physical world way smaller, with only the school and the path leading to everyone's houses even existing. Though the space that existed was filled out now.
Despite his changes, the strain of keeping it all going was enormous. Worse than when he wrote 4 poems. He really couldn't say for certain his body wouldn't have a stroke when he got back there. Especially since he wasn't even supposed to feel anything when using his power in the virtual space!
But maybe if he... Wait. He didn't even have a physical form anymore! Without his character.file he was only a virtual entity without form. How would he— oh nevermind there it was.
Upon thinking about it, his character.file separated from his inner spark and came to rest into the belly of his avatar without prompting.
Shrugging off the curious happenstance for now, he tweaked his file a bit so that his Avatar had minimum impact on his physical form. He couldn't cut the impact completely no matter what he tried, but he could makes it that by letting his body mostly use only the small freed up part of his willpower with a sort of compartementalization proccess, he could limit greatly the mental(psychic?) backlash of straining himself so much.
That was a temporary measure, of course. He could still train his will until he was strong enough to not feel anything at the strain. Something worth noting was that couldn't train his will with his avatar, as no matter how much he used his power in the virtual realm, it wouldn't grow. Unless he had some code he was able and ready to cannibalise. Which led him to believe there was actually two aspects to his willpower and power. Instead of them being two different paths to manipulate the world like he had thought.
One was his grit, his capacity to mentally defy reality and its constraint with his mind alone. It was what he had used since the beginning, and what his liquid heart had ( that's what he thought) given the ability to instantly translate into the code of the world around him. The second was pure, unaltered proccessing power, which was what the script had used to do everything, from creating the game construct and the physical world and its rules by directly modifying or downright creating new lines of codes to fulfill its wishes. His black brain was actually his very own processing core, something he only realized when fusioning all aspects of his avatar into a spark.
The two were not contradictary, they were the opposite, in fact. His black brain streamlined his will with a sublime efficiency, and it allowed him to act and think at a speed fit for a high spec computer. Even more so now that his little gpu had level up a whole lot by stealing processing power from the AI.
It was without a single doubt the only reason he could have even gone toe to toe with the digital entity, despite lacking severely in sheer capacity.
Well, enough of that. He could expend more on his own nature later, when one last immediate issue had been taken care off.
Namely, Monika.
Now that their AI overlord was gone, she had lost her admin power. He would have also been uncertain if she would have kept her self-awareness if he hadn't seen the other God-like AI outside the boundary of he game and been assaulted by it with visions of the 'real world' and of his nature as a character in a game.
But now that he had, he was certain Monika self-awareness was not due to the Script. Or at least not entirely.
What he wasn't sure about was what he should do with her, because as he was now the 'world' she was existing in. He had an inherent understanding of her character's file and all its setting. As well as it's hidden ones.
Her love for the player was scripted, her jealousy was also scripted, her descent into 'madness' and despair too. In a playthrough, she would always end up killing Sayori and up destroying everything until only her and the MC remained. It was unevitable.
All of that in the span of 6 total days. No more, no less.
Of course, he would not allows that to happen. So he deleted those scripted actions and events. What he hesitated on deleting was her love for the player and her jealousy. As they were not for the future, they were part of her current personality, a part of herself, even if forced. Had he the right to forcefully rewrite a part of her? No, that wasn't the right question. Rather, it was, should he ever rewrite someone personality?
His moral said no to that question, yet in this context, it also stayed awfully silent.
So, in the end. He choose the best solution of them all. He would ask the person herself.
—————
Cal sat at the table first, having chosen to have the coming conversation in a room similar to the one at the end of the game where only Monika and the Mc remained.
The lightning was low, as if made only of candle light, it gave a soft orange glow, making the air feel almost romantic. And the windows and doorway gave way to a black void of nothing, making it seems that nothing existed other than the room and its inhabitants.
Why did he bother to create such a place simply hold a conversation?
It seemed fitting. An ode to his circumstances. Maybe a last goodbuy to his previous life, as well as a formal greeting to his new one?
It was a statement, to himself. He had been living a game before, after this, he would be living his life.
Also, it was kinda ironic. And he loved irony.
His attention was brought back to the present as Monika finally opened her eyes, having stayed in silent contemplation until now.
Her green eyes naturally fixing themselves on Cal, she smiled slightly. "You really did it, the script, you made it flee."
Nodding, he waved her off, a slight smile rising on his face too. "Of course, my victory was never in the question in the first place. Only an inevitability." Toning down the joking, he looked at her more seriously. "Now, how do you feel? And what do you remember?"
Pursing her lips, she considered him for a second before briefly being distracted by the room they were in, only when she set back her gaze on him after a few quick glance around did she answers. "I feel fine. In fact, I feel lighter and more in control than ever. As for what I remember... It's a bit blurry, but I remember most of it." She frowned saying that, a bit of both embarassement and sheepishness wafting off of her expression that moment. "Figure I'm quite a shameless club president, uh?"
Cracking a grin. He chuckled. "Don't worry, you weren't really being yourself after all. More an extreme charicature. Plus, I'm sure some guys would quite like that kind of attention, overall. So don't feel too bad."
"Oh? That's Interesting. Would you perhaps be one of those 'guys', Cal?" Monika eyebrows rose before she put her hand under her chin and asked him with 'innocently'.
Clamming up faster than a clam itself, Cal clasped his hands together and looking into her eyes he replied, his face set in stone. "Me? Down bad? Never."
"Down bad?"
"Nevermind that." Coughing and smiling, he quickly changed the subject. "There's actually an important reason I brought you here. One that you can probably figure out. And another that I need to ask you directly, since It's something only you should get to decide."
"It's about our future, isn't it?" Monika said after he became silent.
Hesitating on what to answer, he smiled wrily at her. "Ours?"
Sighing, Monika leaned on her palm. "I know how this work, Cal. I saw the script try to destroy the game, our world. And I know you saved it, somehow. Or at the very least, you saved me. Even if it wasn't for that, you said it yourself before, we are tied together, an unavoidable part of each other lifes..." She smiled sweetly. "And now, unless you allow me or want me to... I'm not going anywhere, am I?" Her smile turned wry at seeing him purse his lips at her words, beginning to draw circles on the table with her free hands, she continued, even as she shifted her gaze to the imaginary shape she was drawing. "Don't get me wrong, Cal. I don't really care, not anymore. In fact, If I'm being completely honest, I don't even want to be anywhere else than with you. We've not known each other for long. But even then, from that little time we've spent together, I do know for a fact I want more of it."
Working his jaw, Cal rose an eyebrow, wilfully ignoring the rock concert his heart was giving to his stomach. "Is that so?"
Monika hid her chuckle behind her hand, her eyes smiling slyly at him. "I quite like that look on you, Cal. It's a change from your usual teasing smile or confident calm. In any case, I told you my feelings on the matter. Now, wouldn't it your turn?"
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