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Chapter 20: The Fifth wall

I expected something to happen. Something like static noise, a pixelated picture of Sayori, a sudden change of the air…. But instead, I am greeting with absolutely nothing. I am still sitting on the sofa with Monika, the various objects are still scattered in the room, an eerie silence is still permeating the world, and there isn't the slightest trace of Sayori.

Monika has a perplexed look on her face.

Ethan: "Did you really restore her just now?"

Monika: "Y-yeah! Her file is once again in the character folder!"

Maybe she needs to restart the simulation, like it was the case in Act 4? But if she restarts it, then…

An incredible realization lights up in my brain.

If time is rewound back to the beginning of the simulation, could it mean I would have the opportunity to once again save the girls and return to my world? Would my death be rewound too in the real world?!

My neuronal activity is quickly increasing at this unexpected solution.

However, Monika interrupts my thoughts before I can plan further.

Monika: "Ah!"

Her face does a 'Eureka'-like expression.

Monika: "My bad...When I restored her file, she appeared in the void and was deleted automatically right away!"

I will think about that possibility later, for now I need to focus on the present.

Ethan: "...Then set her spawn point coordinates to where we are."

Monika: "You don't need to tell me. Okay...Here goes nothing."

I steady myself. The horrible glitches are still vivid in my memories.

And then,

A petite girl with peach colored hair appear in front of us. She is wearing the female school uniform and has a cute red ribbon on her head. That girl is unmistakably Sayori. Her morning-like cuteness isn't tarnished by any glitch.

Yet.

something,

is,

very,

WRONG.

Sayori is completely motionless. Her expression is inhumanly neutral. Her eyes stare at the same spot, her mouth remains closed and if her eyes didn't blink, if her belly didn't rise periodically, we would believe she was a likelike human doll.

A feeling of dread is starting to grip me.

I anxiously call out to her:

Ethan: "Sayori…? Can you hear me? Hello~~~~?..."

No reaction. Just the same automatic blinks and breaths. Just like yesterday morning when I saw her on her bedroom.

Monika is looking at Sayori with a critical and thoughtful expression. There is no hint of fear or worry on her face. Just curiosity, as if Sayori was just an experiment.

I ponder about what to do. Should I touch her? Then maybe she will glitch…

…

I have to try it.

Expecting the worse, I take a deep breath and strengthen my will into steel. I then carefully tap her shoulder. And then,

No reaction.

Nothing at all.

Her cheerful smile and her playful personality are nowhere to be seen. She is still perfectly motionless. Only blinking and breathing with the same exact frequency.