MonoWither looked like every holiday in the world had come early for them as they spun around excitedly. "Well then, we guess it's finally time for the ending of the fourth Show Trial! Wow, we're just pumping through these, huh? Anyway, please use the lever in front of you and cast your vote! Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?!"

Steven bowed his head. "You know what to do... After everything you've uncovered... I think the answer is clear..."

"N-No!" Bonks cried out. "No! I- I refuse to believe you're the spy! You- You must have seen my Forbidden Action somehow- That's the reason, there's no way you're... you're..." Bonks' voice trailed off to a hoarse whisper, tears welling up in her eyes as they trickled down her face.

Steven gazed at her sadly, not saying a word.

Everyone looked around, hoping that somehow something would happen and they wouldn't have to vote.

Steven forced a smile. "H-Hey, this isn't like the other times, right? This time... This time the killer's actually asking you to trust him and vote for him... So you don't have to feel so bad..."

Dave hugged him even tighter and Bart looked... heartbroken.

"Steven..." Tyler whispered, too stunned to say another word.

"You know that's not why we feel so bad," Jason muttered.

"Why- Why did this have to happen?!" Bodil wailed.

Annie looked away, staying silent.

"I'm sorry..." Steven murmured softly. "I know you probably have so many questions, but... what's most important right now is that you vote for the right person. In fact, I'll be the first one to do that..." Without hesitation, Steven moved the lever and cast his vote. "S-See? S-Simple... Easy as pie... Now you try it..."

Seto stared down at the screen on the podium stand, biting his wobbling lip. The names, so many grayed-out at this point, blurred together. He swallowed through the pain in his throat and forced himself to grip the lever. Somehow, he managed to find Steven's name...

For the fourth time, the golden slot machine rose up in the center. The three slots spun wildly, and Seto noticed that now Ashley and Jordan's pixelated faces were black and white. Finally, the slots came to a halt and stopped on Steven's image. Confetti burst from the machine as the words "GUILTY" flashed on top of the machine.

"Ding ding ding! Once again, our lucky participants have voted for the correct killer! But that's to be expected at this point, now is it? They have so much experience! Anyway, congratulations everyone! Yes, Steven was the spy who killed Jordan! What a shocker! At least the good thing is that you caught him!" MonoWither exclaimed.

"That's not a good thing!" Bodil shrieked.

"I still can't believe it..." Tyler whispered. "So Steven really is a spy?"

"I- I want an explanation!" Annie demanded. "You can't lead us to that conclusion without ever providing a reason why!"

Steven shook his head. "Trust me, you don't want to know the truth. I still can't confirm anything."

"You- You weren't doing this willingly, right?" Jason pleaded. "MonoWither must have forced you-"

MonoWither cackled. "That's where you're wrong, we've been over this already! We never forced Steven to be a spy, he and his meddling monster friends took that job upon themselves! And that's a truth, we swear it on our dead family's corpses!"

"I can't believe that!" Bodil shouted.

"Yeah, if Steven was working for you willingly, he wouldn't have- he wouldn't have sacrificed himself like this!" Tyler said.

"What kind of spy working for MonoWither would do so much just to help us get through this trial, even if it meant sending him to... to his execution...?" Seto asked.

"Yes, that's why MonoWither must be lying!" Annie argued. Seto couldn't help but find himself agreeing.

"N-No... No, they aren't..." Steven stammered.

"What?!" Bonks exclaimed.

Steven's eyes widened. "I- I mean- um- I can't tell you anything! I can't confirm or deny anything because you can't know for sure if I'm a spy or not!"

Bonks stared down at the bangle on her wrist, appearing as though she wanted nothing more than to tear it from her body, punishment be damned, as long as she was able to get a proper explanation for everything...

Steven composed himself. "That doesn't matter now. You've voted correctly, and I'm glad you trusted me enough to do that... So thank you, everyone..." He stepped forward and reached for Bonks' hands, cupping them gently. He and Bonks stared at each other for a few moments before he smiled at her and let go.

"MonoWither... It's time for the execution now, isn't it?" Steven asked. "You and I both know that's what you want, so you might as well just get it over with. I'm ready for whatever you have planned..."

"Hmm, you're right but... Isn't it so boring that so far all of our executions have only involved one individual?"

Steven's eyes widened in horror. "What are you-?!"

"Oh, but there's no way we can let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity pass! Yes, this is the perfect chance for a three-for-one special!!! So don't worry Steven, your two monster friends will be joining you!"

Steven's face paled. "No! You can't! You can't do that! They're innocent, they didn't murder anyone!"

"Well they aren't participants anyway, so we can do whatever we want with them without breaking the rules! Besides, you didn't really have a Forbidden Action, but you knew from what your bangle said that if you killed yourself, your monster friends would die! How is this any different from killing yourself, huh?"

"No no no- It said directly killing yourself- MonoWither, you can't do this, please-!"

Bart and Dave took hold of his arms, each tapping on his skin.

Steven shook his head. "No, I can't let this happen, you did nothing wrong!"

Bart tapped something.

"Wh-What do you mean you don't mind?"

Next it was Dave who said something.

Steven stared at him in shock. "The promise?"

Bart nodded as he said something as well.

"I- I don't care if we all swore to it, that was a long, long time ago and things were different, I don't want you two to d-!"

"Well it's not your choice, now, is it?" MonoWither asked, grinning. "Oh poor Steven, your mistake led to the deaths of your dearest friends, isn't that just tragic?"

Steven shut his eyes tightly and breathed deeply as Bart and Dave drew closer. Finally, he looked up and smiled shakily, wiping away his tears. "Huh... I guess... I guess that means we all get to keep that promise we made... all those years ago..."

The two mobs nodded in assent.

MonoWither frowned. "Heeey, what's this 'promise' you guys keep talking about?! Don't leave us in suspense!"

"That's none of your business," Steven murmured.

"Hmmph! Well if you're not gonna spill, we guess we're just gonna have to start the punishment!"

Steven gazed defiantly at MonoWither as he linked arms with Bart and Dave.

"Fine, play the silent treatment, we see how it is! Anyway, it's finally time for the fourth execution! We've prepared a very special punishment for the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Mob Observer and his two monster friends!"

A door swung open, revealing a hallway entrance that was still blocked by a gate.

Sudden chills filled the room, as though the temperature had suddenly plummeted. Cold reality struck. Hard. Once again, all they could do was watch as not only Steven, but also his loyal friends Bart and Dave, get sent off to their doom. The three of them calmly walked together towards the gate.

"I'm... I'm gonna miss you, Steven..." Bonks whispered, barely keeping it together.

She was far from the only person who was teary-eyed; everyone was outright weeping. Even Seto could feel his eyes prickling as tears streamed down his face. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right, how come Steven seemed so calm about this?! It wasn't like Mitch or Ashley, who had been resigned to their despairing fate. No, Steven, Bart, and Dave seemed determined, hopeful even.

Said three turned around to face them. "I'll miss you too, Bonks..." Steven's eyes widened in realization as he stared at everyone's faces. "Oh no, no no no, please don't cry over someone like me, I mean... you're all certain I'm one of the spies, right?" Steven asked. "I... I betrayed you... in your eyes... I'm on the side of despair... I've been working against you..."

"Still!" Jason retorted in a choked voice.

"You'll always be our friend, no matter what!" Tyler declared.

"You even gave yourself up to help us!!!" Bonks said.

Steven laughed a little, choking up. "Well... I'm so glad we got to meet you all and be friends, even though I wish I could have helped you guys get out of here... I'm sorry all I did in the end was make so much trouble for everyone... I wish... I wish I could have..." He trailed off.

"Stop it..." Annie mumbled, shaking her head tearfully. "Stop apologizing, you're not making any sense... I don't understand why you're doing this... Why are you so focused on how we feel...?"

"No matter what MonoWither says, I still think you're on our side!" Bodil said.

"You'll always be one of us, spy or not..." Seto murmured.

"...Thank you, everyone..." Steven replied, moved to tears as he laughed again. "...You're all too kind... Even after concluding that I was a spy this whole time, you're all still so nice to me... Please keep being this nice to each other after this... You have to work together..."

"Quit it with the sappiness! We're tired of this getting drawn out, let's get the ball rolling already!" With this, MonoWither slammed a wooden gavel on the red button. The gate swung open.

Steven, Bart, and Dave waved. "I hope you all get out of here somehow... I know you will, just trust me..." Steven said, a hopeful smile on his lips. "You've all made it this far, right? Just keep going no matter what, don't give up... Believe in us, believe in your friends, and believe in yourself... You'll make it through, I promise..."

"Let's give it everything we got, it's punishment time!!!" MonoWither shouted.

"...Goodbye everyone... Thank you for everything..."

The three of them waved one last time before they turned around. Still holding hands, their shadows loomed backward into the courtroom as they walked down the hallway to their fate.

~~~

https://youtu.be/sj-j69XHxik

SHOW'S OVER: STEVEN HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY. TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!

(YOU TOO, BART AND DAVE!)

The three of them were standing together on a flat, snowy field. Steven was in the middle, with Dave to his right and Bart to his left. For a few seconds, everything was silent. Peaceful, even. It was just the three of them standing together and nothing else...

The ground rumbled as an arena emerged from the dirt, surrounding the three as they instinctively clasped their hands together, grasping them like a desperate lifeline. Their eyes slowly looked upwards as the barrier towered high above them.

Finally, the arena came to a halt and the lights flashed on, making them cringe. They blinked rapidly, adjusting to the light, before looking back. When they did, they saw a large MonoGhast hovering above them.

The Final Level

Steven and Bart prepared to run away when Dave tightened his grip on Steven, shaking his head. They paused as they immediately listened to Dave, staying put even when the MonoGhast cried out and launched a fire blast in their direction. It hit the ground several feet to their right, and Steven gulped when he saw the snow blocks plunge into boiling lava.

Still, they remained standing and refused to move or let go of each other. Dave had a calculating expression as he waited for something to happen.

The MonoGhast continued to launch more fire blasts at them, some getting dangerously close. Steven and Bart shut their eyes tightly with each ground-shaking blow, fighting the instinctive urge to run for their lives.

Suddenly Dave looked behind him, trying to find something. Bart followed his eyes and saw a gate at the top of the arena slide open to reveal a Nether Portal. He braced himself for a moment before teleporting all three of them to the Portal, which they ran through only to find themselves standing in an auditorium overlooking countless rows of seats.

The Final Encore

Bart pulled Steven forward, who in turn pulled Dave forward, as he jumped off the stage and sprinted up the stairs through the aisle. They heard the sound of something powering up right before a huge gush of water flooded the room at top speed from behind them. They could also hear the scuttling of Endermites across the floor as they hungrily chased them. To make matters worse, dozens upon dozens of music sheets blew in their faces, slowing them down.

Bart and Dave used their free arms to shield their eyes while all Steven could do was shut his eyes tightly and blindly keep running forward, both he and Dave trusting in Bart to guide the way.

Struggling to outrun the rapidly approaching flood and onslaught of Endermites while shielding his eyes and dragging Steven and Dave behind him, Bart almost didn't notice the two large creepers blocking the exit. They hissed as they flashed white, preparing to explode. Bart scrambled to teleport the three of them a few feet behind the creepers, but it wasn't far enough.

The creepers exploded, blasting them several yards forward through a long, completely stone hallway. Bart, Steven, and Dave all crashed into a barrier and slid to the floor. Steven propped himself up on one arm, the other raised as he clutched his bleeding nose, gasping for breath as he stared at the transparent barrier in front of him. Mockingly, just behind it was what appeared to be the exit: a flush, green meadow under a bright, blue sky.

Making sure his friends were okay, Steven turned to face Bart to his left and saw that he was barely able to move, depleted of all energy after having teleported all three of them twice and having been forced to run. He turned to the right and saw Dave lying limply on the ground, his back singed from the creeper explosion.

Suddenly the ground shook as rhythmic booming sounds filled the air. Steven looked at the reflection in the barrier and saw the stone walls plummeting down and hitting the ground, one by one, behind them. He could hear the sound of bloodthirsty silverfish scuttling above them.

Slamacow's Final Silverfish Smash

This was the end of the line, that much was certain. There was no escaping this. They were doomed to be brutally crushed under the stone walls that were quickly approaching them.

Yet despite knowing this, Steven shakily wiped the blood from his nose and rose to his feet. He offered his hands to his friends, who both grasped them tightly and stood up.

They stared forward, standing in resolute unison, despite knowing this was the end.

They were clearly afraid but never looked back, despite knowing this was the end.

They would stay together and never let go, despite knowing this was the end.

As the last layer right behind them crashed down, they shut their eyes tightly and drew closer, Bart and Dave reaching across Steven to hold their remaining hands. They shook as they braced themselves, waiting for the end, but for some reason the final blow never came.

Why wasn't anything happening?

Suddenly they heard a low growling sound and opened their eyes to see that the image, which was actually part of a digital screen, had changed so that the meadow was underneath a starry night sky.

The Final Mob Encounter

An Ender Dragon with massive black wings rose in the distance, crying out, before soaring in their direction. Its purple eyes flashed as it opened its fanged mouth, the back of its throat ablaze with readied ender charges, roaring fearsomely as it swooped down at high speed towards the digital screen.

Seto watched as Steven, Bart, and Dave shut their eyes again right before the camera footage cut back to the auditorium, where they all saw and heard the huge, fiery explosion that concluded the three friends' final moments.

~~~

There was silence, save for Bonks' anguished weeping, before all of their bangles snapped apart and slid off their wrists, clattering to the floor.

Seto glanced at the spot where Steven, Bart, and Dave had been standing just a few minutes ago. Now all that was left was Dave's gaming device, which was lying on the ground for some reason. Without thinking, Seto went over to the device and picked it up, staring at it for a few moments, before placing it in his pocket.

"Upupupu! You did it! You beat the minigame and caught one of the spies!" MonoWither exclaimed ecstatically. "Gosh, how ironic, he died staring at one of his own animations for a certain song's music video... Well, you know what they say! Animating takes over your whole life, literally! Gahaha!!! Finally, they're dead! And it was like a 4-D experience, too!"

"...Why... Why do you sound so happy about it?" Tyler whispered in disbelief.

"Since when were we not happy about your successful trials?"

"But Steven was one of your spies, wasn't he? Do you enjoy killing people so much that you don't even care about your own helpers?" Annie asked, glaring daggers at them.

"Hmm, we don't seem to understand what you mean..." MonoWither murmured after a moment. "Aren't you glad that you managed to escape death? After all, your Forbidden Action was 'Failing to correctly identify a spy with clear evidence before Part 04 ends'..."

Annie looked away. "...It's just not right..."

"I haven't the faintest clue why Steven, Bart, and Dave would even help someone like you. You lied, you really did force them to spy for you, didn't you?!" Bonks shrieked through her tears. "You blackmailed him or something! And that's why you're happy about the fact that he's dead!"

MonoWither burst into peals of laughter. "All right, all right! We'll confess! You're all just too much, we can't believe you all fell for it so easily!"

"Fell for what?" Jason asked, confused.

MonoWither giggled. "It worked so well! So, so well-"

"Just spit it out now!" Seto shouted.

MonoWither cleared their throats before tilting their heads curiously. "When did we ever say that both of the spies worked for us?"

There was a horrified silence.

"...What?" Bodil whispered, his eyes widening.

"You- You did lie to us!!!" Annie cried out.

"How did we?" MonoWither asked. "We didn't say any lies!"

"Yes you did!" Jason insisted. "You must have!"

MonoWither cackled. "Remember what we said? All we said was this..."

"The oh-so-despairing truth that we've been dying to reveal as a shocking plot twist! Okay then, here goes! Two participants among you... are actually dirty spies!"

"What do you mean by that? Spies?" Jordan asked dubiously.

"Yes, two among you are actually filthy, sneaky spies hiding things from everyone else!"

"You- You mean they're working for you?!" Annie exclaimed, her green eyes widening in horror.

"Upupupu! We guess you could say that... They may have even played a role in putting you all in here, you never know!"

"We never ever specifically stated that the spies were for us! You assumed all that yourselves!" MonoWither declared. "Suspicious, paranoid little buggers you are! Can't even give your own friends the benefit of the doubt before going off on a witch hunt! All humans are the same, honestly..."

"Then- Then how was Steven a spy?" Tyler demanded.

"Upupupu... You see, we believe in the philosophy of yin and yang. Where there is darkness, there is always light. Where there is evil, there is always good. And when there is despair..."

"...there is always hope."

"Just get to the damn point and stop beating around the bush!" Annie shouted.

"One spy, who you still haven't caught, is the spy for despair. And the other spy, who has been caught and executed as he deserves, was the spy... for hope!"

"So- So Steven was the spy for hope?" Jason asked. "What does that mean?"

"Well who else do you think managed to contact Hope Organization and alert them to your whereabouts?" MonoWither retorted.

Chills raced up and down everyone's spines.

"You mean... Steven was the one who..." Tyler whispered, trailing off.

"N-No!" Bodil shrieked. "No, this can't be true!"

"Ahahahahaha!!! Yes indeed, it is! You all accused him of working for us, when in reality he was always on your side! You executed the one person who was trying to help you! The one person who was able to contact Hope Organization! How painfully ironic!"

"Hold on a second, why'd you tell me about the 'Three Despairs'?" Seto demanded. "You can't tell me Steven's one of these three if he was the spy for hope."

"Hey, well, we never agreed with you when you suggested the three included both of the spies... After all, you don't need to be a spy to help contribute to despair! So we guess besides yours truly and the remaining spy, you still have one Despair whose role in this whole thing you haven't figured out! But too bad, you all thought Steven was one of them!"

"Steven couldn't even correct us..." Annie whispered softly.

"He knew that he'd activate Bonks' Forbidden Action if he said anything..." Jason murmured.

Bonks whimpered, looking ready to pass out. "So- So he died knowing we thought he was working for you?"

"Indeed! He died with the painful knowledge that none of you trusted him anymore! That's a betrayal if we've ever heard one, and we've definitely experienced our fair share of betrayals! Honestly, maybe all of you have gotten this far without directly murdering any of your friends, but that doesn't mean you don't have blood on your hands either! In fact, we dare say that the only reason why all of you have survived for so long is because you all mastered the art of backstabbing betrayal! All of you have voted for your friends to get executed! Sure, they're the ones who betrayed you first, and it's your life versus theirs, but we know what you really think. You're secretly glad that you survived while they didn't..."

All of the participants flinched guiltily.

MonoWither giggled as the screens turned on again. This time, they started to show a recording of the weapons room.

~~~

Steven was kneeling on the ground, bruised and battered, and panting heavily. MonoWither hovered before him and raised a spear.

"So? Are you gonna give up?"

"N-No..." Steven gasped for breath. "I'm still... going to try... for everyone..."

"You're not even that good of a spy, you know that, right?"

Steven gritted his teeth. "I know... I guess I really am one of the spies you mentioned..."

"Hah! You know you can't tell them the truth if you die! How does it feel, knowing that if they find out who the spies are, your friends will see you as an enemy after all you've done for them!"

"That doesn't matter... I don't care about that... All I care about is standing up to you!" Steven shakily rose to his feet. "As long as I can... I'll keep fighting!"

Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door. Steven looked behind him. "Wh-What-?"

"Watch out!" MonoWither cackled, launching the spear at Steven, who dived out of the way.

That was when the doors slid open and there were the sounds of metal penetrating flesh, a pained scream, and shattering glass.

Steven pushed himself with great effort and looked up to see the horrific sight.

"...Jordan...?"

Jordan was standing on the edge of the platform, clutching the spear that had impaled him, coughing up crimson blood. He looked down at his left arm and stared at the bangle that was flashing red words on its surface.

WITNESSING VIOLENCE INSTIGATED BY A SPY.

Jordan looked forward, his eyes fixating on Steven with confusion.

"No..." Steven whispered, his face paling with shock and horror.

Jordan continued to cough as his irises went glassy. A bloodied smile formed slowly on his lips as he laughed a little, gazing up with half-lidded eyes at something that no one else could see. His satisfied expression sent chills racing up and down Seto's spine; Seto had never seen Jordan look more blissful than here in his final moments.

"S... Seth..." he whispered happily, raising his arm as though to touch something in the air, before his eyes rolled back in his head and he started to lean backward.

Steven finally mustered the strength to get up and run towards him. "JORDAN, NO!!!" he screamed, reaching out to grab him, but he was too late.

All he could do was watch as Jordan's corpse plummeted down...

~~~

The screens flickered off.

"What was it that Steven said? 'I wish I could have done more to help you'? What an utter tragedy; in the end, he couldn't even rescue a single person... He notified Hope Organization to no avail! All Steven managed to accomplish was kill Jordan and he got killed himself as a result! Plus, you could even argue that all the deaths of the Hope Organization members during the rescue attempt and the Special Episode were because of him... Therefore he, Bart, and Dave completely failed their mission and created even more despair than ever! We guess if you really wanted to, you could say that he really was working for us in the end, now, couldn't you? Wow, they sure died for nothing!"

"No, that's wrong!" Seto shouted.

Everyone turned to stare at him, stunned by his sudden outburst.

"Oooh, what are you going to say now, Seto?" MonoWither taunted.

"Don't you dare say they died for nothing!" Seto snapped back.

"Let us guess, you're gonna say something like 'they wouldn't want us to lose hope like this' or-"

"Steven sacrificed himself for us," Seto began. "He could have just kept silent if he wanted to, he would have lived, but he still tried to tell us the truth without triggering Bonks' Forbidden Action. It was a sacrifice for our sake!"

"You say that, but have you forgotten that he still killed Jordan! Jordan was an innocent character in all of this! While trying to challenge us, Steven ended up killing his friend by accident! That's a despair-filled fact!"

"Jordan knew the risk," Seto murmured. "He believed that Steven was trying to commit suicide in the VIP Floor. He must have known that if Steven was the spy, he ran the risk of triggering his Forbidden Action. But he took that risk anyway to save one of his friends!"

"What kind of argument is that?! Jordan failed! He only led to Steven becoming his murderer! If he had just listened to Steven, only Steven would have perished! But nooo, Jordan had to play the hero!"

Seto glared. "But you were the one who tricked him, weren't you? You gave him Steven's suicide note. You made it so that the spear would hit Jordan at the right moment. The despair wasn't caused by Jordan or Steven, no one intended to murder anyone. This time it was all you, only you!"

MonoWither bared their metal fangs. "You-! You stupid little-!"

"Can't argue against that, huh?!" Tyler asked, grinning.

"Shut up-!" MonoWither snapped. "Have you forgotten what we've done?!"

"Of course we haven't!" Annie shouted. "Which is why I'm standing by my promise! I'll stop you even if it's the last thing I do!"

"But Annie, how can you even fight us if there's still one more spy lingering among your friends?"

"I don't care! You're the real enemy! I won't let anything distract me from that!"

Jason glared at the robot. "Yeah, for every life you've ruined and taken away, I'll stand against you and your horrible tricks!"

Bonks wiped away her bittersweet tears. "Steven, Bart, and Dave died fighting against you... I'll do my best to carry on what they left behind... I'll stand with my friends..."

"Yeah! I'll- I'll stand too! Literally!" Bodil exclaimed as he carefully set Jerry on the floor before gripping the wooden podium stand, grunting with exertion as he struggled to push himself up from the wheelchair with shaking arms.

Tyler's eyes widened. "Woah, woah- Don't hurt yourself!"

Bodil clutched the bar harder as he finally managed to straighten his legs vertically. He swayed unsteadily on his feet, but he was giggling. "See! No potions this time! I can stand up by myself!"

"What kind of corny development is this? This isn't a story written by Frances Hodgson Burnett, now is it? Blegh! Sit back down!" MonoWither ordered.

"Someday we'll escape," Seto murmured. "If you asked me... I'd say you're losing your touch."

"L-Losing-?! You idiots! You haven't even scraped the surface that belies our true capabilities! Think you've won?! We're only just getting started! Do you want even more of your hopes to get crushed?!"

Seto opened his mouth to argue, but MonoWither cut him off.

"You know what?! We're not even going to let you answer that! Part 04 is over, hallelujah! Finally we've gotten rid of those pesky spies who were helping that failure of a Hope Organization! Both parties have been taken care of! Now vacation time is over and we can go back to the old place! We missed it very much, so we hope you don't mind if we hurry things up a bit!"

A sweet-smelling gas suddenly filled the room, obscuring everyone's vision as they coughed, shielding their faces to no avail.

As Seto's eyes watered and his vision dimmed, he looked up and stared directly into the red, gleaming, pitiless eyes of MonoWither as all three of their heads grinned.

I... I won't let you win... As long as I live, I'll... fight you... For everyone who's died... Seto thought before everything else faded to black.

~~~

When Steven opened his eyes, the first thing he saw were two people he had never seen before in his life staring down at him.

One was a man with jet-black hair with silvery specks, pale skin, purple eyes, and was wearing a black suit with a purple bowtie. The other was a dirty blond man of shorter stature wearing a torn white shirt and blue jeans.

These two appeared to be strangers. And yet... he felt like somewhere in his soul he knew them well...

Steven blinked in confusion before grinning at them. The two men smiled back and each grabbed one of his arms, helping him sit up. Steven glanced down at his clothes, which were in perfect condition, and then tentatively reached up and touched the bridge of his nose, which wasn't broken or bleeding. He stared up at the two men again as they observed their surroundings. Interestingly, despite the last remnants of flickering flames all around them, none of the three men cast a shadow.

Oh, then that must mean... That must mean they were...

Steven shakily rose to his feet, straightening himself as he turned around to face the wrecked remains of the auditorium. He winced, recent memories he didn't want to recall sparking up in his mind. The two others stood beside him, watching him carefully as they waited for him to process everything.

After a few moments, Steven smiled as he offered his hands to both of them.

Together, right?

The three of them walked down the steps, hand-in-hand, their laughter echoing through the empty room.

PART 04 - WATCH AND WAIT AND WORK / until it all falls down

END

STILL ALIVE: 8 - 2 = 6 PARTICIPANTS

ITEM GET! You acquired the present "Gaming Device"