章節 374: The Cruel Choice
Daniel's admiration for the Porter was now overflowing, like a river that couldn't be contained. His respect for the author was rising continuously, similar to an unstoppable flood.
When Okabe had previously sought Kurisu's help, Suzuha revealed her identity and explained the concept of world lines, telling him that to save Mayuri, they must change the world line. This was when the plot of the story began to accelerate, and everything started to come together.
Daniel realized that all the slow-paced buildup in the first twelve episodes was full of intricate foreshadowing.
The metal Upa, the time machine's landing, the memory discrepancies between Okabe and the others, Kurisu's death, John Titor's disappearance, Suzuha not seeing fireworks, the 42-inch TV, the whereabouts of the IBN5100, Faris' identity—all of these events.
At first, many readers had found these plot points confusing and random.
If the Porter hadn't mentioned something about the story ahead of time on social media, many readers might have believed that the author had lost his way and was creating a nonsensical plot.
But now, with every new revelation, the mysteries began to unravel, and readers finally started to understand.
At the same time, people were beginning to realize just how tragic Okabe's journey was. As the story neared its conclusion, readers discovered that Okabe was even more unfortunate than they had initially thought—even more so than Suzuha, the battle-hardened "working soldier."
Think about it.
After Okabe corrected one D-Mail after another, he was finally about to return to the original world line. But just as he thought he had achieved victory, an unexpected and devastating truth hit him—in the original world line, Kurisu was stabbed to death in the radio building.
In other words, to save Mayuri, he would have to return to a world where Kurisu had already died.
How could Okabe accept that?
Kurisu had been by Okabe's side the whole time, supporting him, trusting him, and helping him no matter the situation.
Even though they didn't have a close relationship at the beginning, by this point, Okabe and Kurisu had become soulmates and inseparable allies.
This was a brutal two-choice dilemma.
For Okabe, it was the harshest test he had faced yet.
When Daniel first read this part of the manga, he had thought about what he would do in Okabe's situation. In truth, he didn't know if he could choose at all. He would probably rather sacrifice himself than face such a heart-wrenching decision.
This question was akin to the classic dilemma of being asked to choose between saving your girlfriend or your mother if both were drowning.
But in the manga, after much persuasion from Kurisu, Okabe finally made up his mind to return to the original world line, ultimately choosing to save Mayuri.
This decision caused quite an uproar among fans, and many started to criticize the Porter.
After all, in the eyes of many fans, Kurisu and Okabe were the perfect couple. Kurisu, though highly intelligent, wasn't portrayed as omnipotent. She had her own vulnerabilities, especially when it came to her strained relationship with her father, which made her character more relatable.
Throughout the story, Kurisu had been Okabe's loyal and dependable partner, and their relationship felt like the model of a perfect couple in the anime world.
And now, the Porter was going to kill Kurisu?
This chapter caused a wave of outrage among readers.
For Daniel, however, it was within the realm of possibility. Okabe had to restore the original world line, after all. At that point, Daniel assumed that this would be the end of the story.
Okabe had endured countless tragedies, including giving up his closest ally. Surely, this was the manga's climax.
But Daniel was in for another surprise, as the Porter pulled off yet another plot twist.
When Daniel opened the latest issue of Steins;Gate, he was shocked to see Suzuha return and tell Okabe that the world was still doomed. A third world war was on the horizon, and humanity faced annihilation.
If they wanted to avoid the catastrophe, Okabe and the others had to save Kurisu.
Upon reading this, Daniel breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed like Kurisu might be saved after all!
Even though Daniel had understood why Kurisu had to die, he still hoped that Okabe and Kurisu could end up together. They made such a perfect couple.
However...
A chilling thought crossed Daniel's mind. He remembered the Porter's infamous habit of raising his readers' hopes, only to crush them with a brutal twist.
Daniel couldn't help but grow wary.
What if Okabe died in the process of saving Kurisu?
After all, knowing the Porter's style, it wouldn't be out of the question for him to kill off Okabe in the final act. And if the story followed the logic of saving every character one by one, this manga could drag on for hundreds of chapters.
Despite the predictable formula, the idea was still strangely exciting.
As Okabe resolved to travel back with Suzuha to the day of Kurisu's death, Daniel's eyes widened in shock.
What had he just seen?
It turned out that Okabe himself had accidentally caused Kurisu's death!
"What the heck?!"
"What kind of twist is this?!"
"That dog of an author! I thought he was finally going to do something good for once!"
"I knew it! That guy can't be trusted!"
"I was right not to trust him!"
Upon seeing this shocking revelation, many readers couldn't help but voice their frustration out loud.
If there was anything more painful than watching your loved one die repeatedly in front of you, it would be realizing that you were the one responsible for their death.
Readers were devastated, and so was Okabe, who completely broke down upon learning the truth.
Just as readers were cursing the Porter for his cruelty, the story took another surprising turn.
Mayuri delivered a decisive blow, Suzuha urged Okabe to open a video message from his future self in 2025, and his future self instructed Okabe to deceive the world.
In an epic moment, Okabe's signature maniacal laughter and middle-school level rambling returned, pushing the story to its ultimate climax.
It turned out that all those failures were merely setting the stage for a final success. Thanks to the guidance from his future self, Okabe finally figured out how to save Kurisu—by deceiving himself and deceiving the world without altering the past.
This is what they call a masterful plot twist—an explosion of information, a shocking reversal, all while staying coherent and logical.
When Daniel reached this part of the story, he couldn't help but slap his leg in excitement.
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