Codex Null: Simulation Through Madness

Noel, having done everything he needed to do, finally turned toward the Codex Null and used his free simulation.

[Life Simulation begins.]

[21 years old. Looking at the closed notebook in front of you, you immediately felt something was wrong.]

[Not understanding what exactly, you moved to the wall where a painting hung, and retrieved the hidden camera from behind it. You played the recordings stored within.]

[You felt even more suspicious after that. But instead of dwelling on it, you opened the notebook and began going through it.]

So everything related to Codex Null... its existence, the information I gain from it... gets filtered in the simulation, doesn't it? Noel thought as he read the text.

[Your eyes stopped at a page where you had written: What does Selena expect from me?]

[Slowly, you added a single word beneath it: Possession.]

Seeing the change from the first simulation, Noel raised an eyebrow, wondering what the simulated version of him was thinking that made him write that word.

Because he was certain it couldn't be just possession that Selena wanted.

There had to be something more.

[After writing that single word, you continued flipping through the notebook, before finally arriving at the last page.]

[You stared at the words there for more than an hour, before your eyes rested on the phrase: One Week.]

[Time passed. You made one change to your usual schedule by joining a fitness gym, and you acted normally for a month instead of a week.]

Fitness? Would that change anything?

Noel wondered as he continued reading.

[It was then that you finally felt it was time, and you went to Lilith to speak with her.]

[You used some of the words from the notebook, along with your other findings, as you questioned her, telling her to reveal the truth. Lilith, stunned, quietly asked, Have your memories returned?]

[You lied, telling her that some memories had come back, and that you wanted to know the whole truth of the past, now.]

[But your lie was easily seen through, even after everything you'd pieced together. And Lilith refused to tell you anything, only saying that it was better if you didn't know.]

So, this time… it wasn't that she was too young to remember the incident from back then?

A sharp gleam passed through Noel's gaze as he read the contents of the simulation.

He didn't get answers. But at least he confirmed that the blank nine years were tied to his sister somehow.

[Time passed, and even though you kept pressing Lilith, she still didn't give you any answer.]

[Eventually, you threatened her, saying you would ask Selena instead if she didn't tell you everything. And Lilith, with a gloomy, dangerous aura around her, finally relented.]

Finally!

Noel, with a faintly excited smile, looked at the next lines of text.

[She began by revealing the existence of a hidden society that controlled the entire world, and how, beyond the world ordinary people knew, there were other dimensions, vast and boundless, connected to Earth yet far greater than it.]

[Then, tears streamed down her cheeks as she confessed, choking on her words, that it was because of her that you had lost your memory and your power.]

[Many exact details were left out, and you tried to push further, wanting to know them. If not, at least the method to regain everything, be it your memory or the power she spoke of.]

[But Lilith only fell to her knees, collapsing onto the ground, muttering again and again, "Please forgive me…" refusing to speak further.]

Noel narrowed his eyes, tapping his finger lightly on the desk, lost in thought as he read. While it felt like a step forward, in truth, there was still nothing tangible.

Is it because of my soul injury? He couldn't help but wonder.

[Time passed, and three months later, your relationship with Selena deepened further, until at last you crossed that final line.]

This time… the relationship with Selena developed faster, didn't it? Noel thought, eyes narrowing slightly as he saw the next lines. The dates weren't always clear, but it felt like things had taken less than six months, compared to the previous simulation.

[When you returned home, Lilith, whom you now rarely saw, somehow sensed it instantly. She seemed to lose her mind, screaming crazily while pulling at her hair, before finally locking herself in her room.]

[You tried everything to make up with her. But time passed, and Lilith still refused to see you.]

[Two months after your birthday, Lilith finally appeared at your door, wanting to talk.]

[You, having already prepared the expression you should wear, greeted her with relief and joy. But without meeting your eyes, Lilith began confessing.]

[She told you that she stole your power, and that no matter what she did, she would never be able to atone for that. Then, at last, she began expressing her love… her forbidden love for you.]

[You were not disturbed by her confession, and so, you simply said: That's fine.]

So that precious something in the first simulation is my power? Noel wondered quietly, his gaze distant, as he considered if that was really all there was to it.

[Maybe that was what she'd been waiting for. Lilith's face bloomed with a strange, crazy smile as she finally looked at you, her crimson eyes glowing darkly.]

[Soon after her gaze locked onto yours, your consciousness began to slip away.]

[When you woke up, you were alone in a modestly furnished basement room. A single bed. A desk. A small bathroom tucked to one side. Nothing else.]

[Your phone was gone. Anything that could connect you to the outside world had disappeared.]

[You remembered your notebook, so you didn't lose composure, and calmly looked for a way out.]

[Time passed like that, measured only by meals silently delivered through a small compartment in the door at set hours by your adoptive parents. Nothing else.]

[One week later, Lilith finally visited you. You calmly asked her why she was doing this.]

[Her answer was simple: she couldn't bear to share you with anyone else.]

[You didn't argue. Instead, you tried to draw more information from her, but Lilith only hugged you, murmuring in a crazed, satisfied tone: That bitch's scent is finally gone.]

[Like that, trapped in the room, sleeping every day on the same single bed with Lilith hugging you, whispering "you're mine," time passed.]

[Three months later, after trying every method you could think of to escape, but failing, you finally started losing your mind.]

[Two more months passed. Despite your unstable mental state, you continued training your body, even in that imprisoned life, and tried to force Lilith down, but nothing worked.]

[Three months later, you couldn't hold yourself together anymore.]

[The madness inside you broke loose. You shattered everything in the room. When there was nothing left to break, you turned on yourself.]

[When Lilith appeared and saw your state, guilt and worry filled her face. She begged you to stop, argued with you, but you only stared at her, what you wanted already clear.]

[The next day arrived, and when you woke up, you found your injuries had somehow miraculously healed.]

[But naturally, you weren't surprised. Instead, you let out a hollow laugh before returning to your routine of hurting yourself, only to wake up the next day, finding not a single wound remained.]

[Twenty-three years old. Your once-black hair had turned white. Your gray eyes had lost all their light. Instead, madness now dwelled inside them.]

[It was at this point, while you lay in a pool of your own blood, that finally someone came.]

[Selena came.]

[She was already furious, but when she saw you, something in her seemed to snap entirely.]

[She destroyed everything to reach your side, but you couldn't have a reunion, as Lilith arrived almost immediately.]

[Soon, a battle broke out between the two of them, demolishing everything around you.]

[At first, despite the chaos, you remained unharmed — carrying only the injuries you inflicted upon yourself. But at some point, the battle between Lilith and Selena grew too intense. An attack, by mistake, finally struck your side.]

[You didn't even know what had happened, before everything turned dark.]

[You died.]