An Alternate Ending

Our breaths steadied. Every second that passed was agonising.

“He should appear at any moment now,” Ren declared, his eyes glued to the corner of the room.

Our waiting dragged on. Each time we believed that the final boss was about to appear due to even the slightest of noise, it didn’t. It wasn’t exactly our impatience that helped to taunt us; it was the burning desire to see the contents of this mission unfold; to see whether we had been fooled into thinking this really was the end.

“This is winding me up. It’s taking too long,” Ren gritted his teeth, refusing to avert his attention elsewhere. “We have to be extra cautious. Usually the final boss enters with Izumi’s sister, but considering we are here to save Junpei, I’m not exactly sure how the final boss is going to enter, and with whom.”

“What? Do you think Junpei will be with him?”

“I haven’t a clue. But it’s definitely one of the few possibilities. I’m just concerned that all of this waiting is a tactic to bore us out and make us drop our guards, leaving us vulnerable to another sneak attack.”

His words concerned me. Though it could’ve been better that the both of us remain fixated on the corner where the final boss was supposed to enter, I took further precaution, examining every aspect of the room…just in case.

“Oh, Taro. I almost forgot. Take this,” Ren, still looking in the same spot, reached into his pocket and chucked one of the two remaining Pink Strawberries at me. “Don’t forget to eat this when you get the chance.”

“Shouldn’t we eat them now? What if it gets knocked out of my hand again?”

“No, we should be fine. The final boss usually makes some stupid grand entrance. And remember, we need to make sure that it’s actually him before we eat them. We can’t be deceived into using it.”

“Good point,” I would have said more, but talking was making my recovery slower.

I gripped the strawberry, holding it close to my mouth, thinking it would reduce the chances that I’d lose the opportunity to transform again.

“And, Taro, remember what I said before we came in here. I’m on nine-hundred and ninety-nine kills…so that means I need to get this final one, got it?”

“Of course, Ren. Considering how strong the final boss will be, I know that you’ll be the one to have the strength to deliver the final blow, anyway.”

We waited again. And waited some more…and then waited a bit longer. Ren never budged, while I couldn’t help but constantly sweep the entire room with my eyes.

Still, nothing happened.

Until, finally, a booming voice emerged, shaking not the room but our hearts.

I immediately recognised the voice. And by the look of Ren’s face, so did he.

This time, we both staggered backwards, frantically scanning the room, searching for where it was coming from.

Again, this drew out for longer than it needed to.

“That bastard, he’s playing with us,” Ren angrily pronounced.

Yet, suddenly, I could hear the whispering flickering of its blackened robes from behind my ears.

We were faced with it again. From what I knew, Ren for the second time, and me, the third.

The Being had come to greet us again.

We still couldn’t see the Being’s face. It floated in its unmoving pose, remaining frozen as Ren and I glanced at it, full of shock and bewilderment.

Our feelings clearly were not completely aligned. Along with my shock came fright; fright at what his appearance could mean. The endless possibilities exploded in my head, leaving me stunned and unable to speak. Ren, on the other hand, hastily demanded answers.

“What’s going on? Why are you here? Where’s the final boss?” Ren exclaimed, his voice sharp with anger.

The Being didn’t respond. Its blackened robes and mysterious aura fluttered, but nothing more came of the Being.

“We have noticed that things in this world weren’t quite the same as the actual game. I want to know if that's because of your lack of power…or whether you did it purposefully?”

The Being laughed. Its sonorous guffaw reverberated around the room and demonstrated its most human-like quality yet.

The Being responded cunningly, attacking Ren in the process. “You may think what you will. But the answer should be clear. If anything, my presence here should tell you that question was not worth asking.”

Ren scolded, unable to bite back this time. The Being had finally spoken and wasn’t going to waste any more time.

“Do you wish to see your brother?”

“Yes!” Both Ren and I wildly burst to life with an opportunistic excitement despite the Being’s tone eliciting one of trickery.

“Then you must follow me, and when doing so, how should I put it? Behave, and not do anything…stupid. Can you promise me that?”

Ren and I nodded several times, trying to assure the Being we weren’t going to do anything to stop us from seeing Junpei again.

However, the Being didn’t move from his spot…not just yet.

Its voice sharpened, the air around us tightening with each word. Its bony arm extended fully in front of us, its jagged finger trembling as if straining under the weight of its own command.

It aimed at me — not Ren, not the room — just me. It stuck on me, soon easing itself and becoming still.

I froze, every nerve in my body screamed this was no ordinary gesture. It felt invasive, like it was reaching inside me, peeling back thoughts I hadn’t given it permission to touch. Yet there were so many thoughts swirling that I wasn’t sure which one I should be worried about.

Ren shifted beside me, his blade already half-raised out of an anxious anticipation.

“Player…” The Being’s voice rolled with an unnatural resonance, low and chilling, as if whispered directly into the back of my skull. “Do you remember what you once thought…?”

The words clawed at my mind, dragging buried memories towards the surface, memories I wasn’t ready to confront. But again, I wasn’t quite sure which memory it was referring to.

Subconsciously, my grip on the Pink Strawberry tightened, causing some of its juice to leak onto my fingers and drip on the floor. The Being’s voice rose again, squeezing my thoughts into dead ends, refusing to yield an answer.

“Do you remember what you once thought…not so long ago?”