Part 85: My/His Resolve

BGM: Alan


06/29 (FRI), Midnight
Alan Scorpion finds himself recalling the visit he received from Scale Jones, who sought to exchange information, one day ago. He is alone and in the same warehouse as usual. This gutted, abandoned place has become something akin to a home for him. Quite the contrast to what he was used to living in, due to the fortune he had built up with his business.

A vessel for the goddess...

What he heard from Scale was rather hard to believe. The last remaining participant will become the means that allow Parca to remain in the real world. He was ready to chalk it up as nonsense at first, but he reconsidered once he learned that the claim came from Hebinata Miharu. He had his doubts about both the idea of Divine Selection occuring before this and Miharu being its survivor, but after some consideration, he decided to believe it. It wouldn't make sense to believe in the dream world but deny other abstract concepts surrounding the goddess.

Scale had a suggestion to go along with the information he provided, too. It involved getting information out of Shishimai Rinka by proposing the idea that everyone could survive. Alan had thought of this once before, himself. It is possible to create a situation where no one can elect another person. Starting with Numeral I, all they would have to do is elect the following numeral, who would then protect themselves, until the clock's rotation was complete. In the proposed situation, Scale would pretend to have formed an alliance with Alan and Federico, and they would get the required information from her.



The information would then be used to elect Rinka. A simple con, really.

Hmph...

Scale's suggestion was one Alan might have gone along with if he had made it sooner. Or perhaps he would have gone along with it now, had the target not been Rinka. In other words, he turned down Scale's proposal.

It's almost time.

Alan produces a card as he speaks to himself. Federico Carminati's regret was what he revealed to Scale in exchange for the information. Alan was able to discern it when he learned that Federico's ring was an old wedding band. However, he also came to learn that Federico had no history of being married. What's more, the ring was made before he was even born. In that case, it had to be his mother's.

Upon further research, he discovered that Federico was taken from his mother at a young age. There's no record of her death, though. Alan came to the conclusion that his regret involved meeting his mother once more. Lo and behold, he was correct. He shared that information with Scale. However...



His eyes are set on the future, not the past.

Alan knows that, based on his experience with Yu, a person's card will change to reflect their new regret. At first he thought it was only due to Yu being a child, but even adults are subject to this should something cause a significant impact and alter the values they hold. Not only is the concept of regret dictated by one's own personal perception, but they also serve as a sort of emotion.

That's fine with me. If it disappears, then all I need to do is find it again.

Soon after he says this, the card in his hand dissipates into little droplets of light.

Well now, someone won't be happy about this.

Alan knows that Scale will be furious when the information he gained from their exchange disappears like this. He's likely to figure out that Alan offered it to him knowing this would happen, too.



Of course, I doubt he has the luxury of worrying about that.

Alan has a decent grasp of Scale's current situation. He doesn't have Scale's cards himself, but it's easy to assume that Miharu does, having survived her election by him. Alan knows for a fact that this applies to Rinka as well. As such, it is likely that Scale will try to target her.

I already know where I stand.

He sounds content with his decision, thinking back to the fire he saw in Rinka's eyes.

…...

BGM: Silence


06/30 (SAT), Noon
I find myself peering down on the city alone. Tokyo Tower's famous enough that even I know about it. You can see the entirety of Tokyo from its observatories. Almost two months have passed since I first came to this country with Odette. Assuming everything goes smoothly, there will only be four more rounds of Divine Selection.

...I guess enough's enough.

It would've been all over for me yesterday if I were the same guy as before. I've done nothing but mull things over since eliminating Odette. I even cut out Scale. I'm genuinely on my own now. That's allowed me to notice something, though. Feelings inside me I hadn't realized were there. It was exciting to know that I'd finally reached the answer I'd been searching for, but with it came a sense of loneliness.

It all came to a head last night. My regret card disappeared. In its place arrived a new card with new content.



Success.

Kind of ironic, really. It's the one thing I'd always wanted.

I've been a loser my entire life. Nothing changed when I grew up. Nothing changed when I joined and then tried to leave the mafia. Sure as hell didn't change after becoming a participant in Divine Selection. Part of me figured it'd be all right, though. Even if I was a loser, I'd come out on top in the end. I was sure I'd have the last laugh. I had myself chalked up as the protagonist of the world.

I realized that was far from the truth thanks to Odette's elimination, though. I never once thought about succeeding or winning. All I've ever done is run away. Well, I was wrong. This entire time, deep down, I knew just how pathetic and worthless I was. I'd been averting my eyes from the truth until now.

I'll win, no matter what.

I don't have time to dwell on the past. It doesn't matter if I'm not the main character. I just want to say that I've made it. Ugh, I knew it. I'd been looking up to her the entire time...



Federico makes his way from the observatory toward the emergency staircase. He casts his eyes up at the blue sky, inhales deeply, then exhales.

Doubt we'll see each other again.

He takes out the ring he's kept close to him all this time and throws it at the horizon. Federico notices something important.

This is the moment when his life can truly begin.

…...

BGM: Impatience


Did he trick me...?!

While shuffling through the cards in his possession, Scale witnesses Federico's regret card vanishing before his eyes. He obtained that card in exchange for invaluable information regarding Divine Selection. Its disappearance leaves him more agitated than he was already.

His agitation stems from his failure to form an alliance with Shishimai Rinka. He never once doubted that everything would go according to plan. After all, he had heard about her interactions with and attachments to previous participants. Numerals VIII and X came first, but it extended even to Numerals IV and V, the former of which killed her classmate at one point. He had her pinned down as someone whose empathy prevented her from prioritizing herself at other people's expense. He even made up the story about his friend's death to take advantage of it. Rinka had lost a friend before and is faced with the reality that another close friend is a participant in Divine Selection. Thus, why Scale thought using a story about his friend would influence her the most. He was convinced she would be easy to manipulate. He knows for a fact that she believed his story. She believed it so much that she felt bad for his supposed loss.



And with Rinka on his side, Miharu would be sure to follow. He knows that Miharu's regret is Shishimai Rinka herself. That's why he plotted to drag her in through Rinka. The risk of both his own election and his information becoming privy to others would decrease through their alliance. Once that was sorted, he would get in contact with Federico again. He would provide him with Miharu's information and have him elect her. If everything went according to plan, the next round would see him elect Rinka, Federico elect Miharu, and Alan elect Federico.

Leaving only Alan and himself.

Scale knows Alan has the means to gather information on others. Even if Alan has all of Scale's cards, all Scale would have to do is gather Alan's. He had already prepared himself to deal with whatever Parca had in store for when elections were no longer possible. That was his plan to survive Divine Selection.



Since when did Rinka get so resolute?! Why did things turn out like this?!

She made it crystal clear that she would elect him despite her newfound sympathy. Scale remains incredulous. Even so, he isn't one to let others decide his fate. Being at a standstill is his worst fear. A cameraman can't afford to give up so fast. He is the living definition of never giving up.

I know what I'm doing is right. There's nothing more just than wanting to live.

The biggest issue right now is his impending election by Rinka. Her desperation when it came to saving her classmate was a sign that she's prone to being reckless for the sake of those close to her. Scale did his homework on who those people would be to her.

This includes her sole surviving family member, of course.

-----

Cardbook has updated.




II – Name – Hebinata Miharu
II – Cause of Death – Suicide
III – Name – Federico Carminati
III – Cause of Death – Death from Structural Collapse
III – Regret – Success
IV – Name – Yu
IV – Cause of Death – Fire
V – Name – Ushizuka Shigetsugu
V – Cause of Death – Death from Starvation
VII – Name – Ro Chanho
VII – Cause of Death – Stroke
IX – Name – Scale Jones
X – Name – Sofiya Priessnitz Alexeievna
XI – Name – Odette Malencon
XI – Cause of Death – Death from Blood Loss
XI – Regret – Birth
XII – Name – Alan Scorpion