Chapter 181: Light and Darkness 2
If I recalled correctly…..
…
By the time the student council presidential speech concluded, I had hoped that the passing days would diverge from the game’s events.
After all, Dorothy’s motivations for turning evil had been nullified—she wasn’t being pinned down by the same forces.
There was no longer a need for her to rely on the darkness to win the election, especially since it seemed she wasn’t even trying to win anymore.
The entire premise of her fall into darkness felt like it should’ve been avoided.
Yet, judging by the look in her eyes, I knew that the darkness was inevitable.
It didn’t matter what changes I had made to the flow of events—Dorothy was destined to be swallowed by the shadows.
Fate had loomed over her, and the academy would soon be blanketed in darkness. I could see it in her eyes, the same eyes that would eventually give way to the malevolent force.
In the grand scheme of things, it was as if Dorothy’s descent into darkness was necessary for the light to shine brighter.
A cruel twist of fate, forcing one person’s downfall for the sake of another’s rise.
But what truly puzzled me was her connection to Rose.
What exactly tied them together?
That question lingered in my mind, yet I knew it would only be answered later as the story progressed.
The time for revelation wasn’t now.
For now, I had to focus on what lay ahead. Dorothy’s transformation was imminent, and with it, the darkness would take root.
The bigger question I now faced was this: who would be the heroine of the final chapter in this act?
[Act 2 Chapter 5: Heroine]
This was the final stage of the entire arc for the semester.
In the original game, this was the critical moment where one of the main heroines would be captured and mind-controlled by Dorothy’s familiar, Oz, forcing a climactic showdown between her and the protagonist, Lucas.
It was one of the most pivotal decisions in the game, as the heroine’s fate hung in the balance.
If the wrong choice was made, the heroine could be permanently crippled, rendering her unable to play a major role in future arcs.
The stakes were high.
Each route presented the player with the heart-wrenching dilemma of which heroine would fall under Dorothy’s control.
The impact was profound, not only on that particular arc but throughout the rest of the game.
Some heroines, once captured, would suffer irreversible damage, losing their strength, abilities, or emotional balance, never to fully recover.
Their bond with Lucas would weaken, and in some cases, they would even cease to be viable heroines in the later parts of the story.
It was a brutal, unforgiving mechanic that left players dissapointed by their choices.
As Lucas, the protagonist, the task was clear: avoid this fate.
Knowing ahead of time which heroine Dorothy would target was crucial to navigating the scenario successfully.
But this wasn’t just about winning fights.
Dorothy’s plan hinged on using the heroine’s capture to bait Lucas into an emotional conflict, a trap designed to break his will as well as prevent him to engage in an all out a fight.
Even if Dorothy lost the student council election, capturing a heroine could guarantee her victory in a much darker way—by undermining Lucas’ resolve and ensuring his future defeat.
However, things were different now.
From what I had gathered, Dorothy and Lucas barely even interacted in this world.
The narrative, as it had played out before, no longer applied.
Dorothy had no vendetta against Lucas, no deep-seated grudge with Snow, no emotional tension with Rose, no rivalry with Janica, and no clear opposition to Clara.
Her motivations, which were once driven by bitterness and manipulation, seemed entirely absent in this version of events.
The original storyline, which involved Dorothy manipulating the heroines to force Lucas into submission, was nullified.
There was no catalyst for Dorothy to kidnap or mind-control any of the heroines—she had no reason to do so anymore.
The connections that once tied her to these pivotal actions were severed.
Without her rivalry with Lucas, Dorothy had no motivation to stir conflict in the same way she had in the game.
She wasn’t pinned into a corner, desperate to cling to power.
She wasn’t struggling for victory in the elections, and most importantly, she wasn’t aiming to destroy Lucas or the heroines by any underhanded means.
This was both a relief and a concern.
If Dorothy had no plans to target the heroines, then the events that were supposed to unfold would change dramatically.
But this also meant I couldn’t predict what she would do next.
The game’s narrative had already diverged in significant ways.
Dorothy was still moving toward her dark transformation, but without the same pressures and conflicts, her path was unpredictable.
Of course, there was always the possibility that Dorothy wouldn’t target anyone at all, or that another form of darkness—one entirely different from the game—would emerge and overshadow the academy.
But that would undermine whatever reasoning Dorothy had in mind for her transformation.
If one thing was clear from the game, it was that Dorothy’s role was never truly her own.
She was a character created to make others shine.
Throughout all the different routes, this much was evident: after her defeat, Lucas rose to prominence as the academy’s savior and hero, earning recognition and admiration from everyone.
He became a symbol of light, the shining star who brought peace to a world on the brink of darkness.
Dorothy’s fall was the catalyst for Lucas’s ascent, and the player was rewarded accordingly.
The reputation points, the love points from the heroines, the way your standing within the school skyrocketed just by completing her arc—it was all incredibly satisfying from a gameplay perspective.
But that’s exactly why I had a love-hate relationship with her character.
On one hand, Dorothy’s arc gave the player a massive boost in recognition.
It was a pivotal moment that rewarded the player heavily.
But on the other hand, I hated the fact that such a well-written, complex character was reduced to nothing more than a stepping stone.
Dorothy was wasted in the grand scheme of things—her entire purpose boiled down to being a single spark in the storyline, a flash of conflict that was snuffed out as soon as Lucas emerged victorious.
The devs didn’t even bother to delve deeply into the reasoning behind her actions.
Why did she turn to darkness in the first place?
What was the real motivation behind her fall? None of that was explored, and it left her character feeling hollow, unfinished.
Sure, there were theories.
The forums were always buzzing with players debating and dissecting her motivations, trying to piece together a more coherent explanation for why she chose the path she did.
Some speculated that Dorothy was manipulated by forces beyond her control, that she was a tragic figure caught up in the machinations of something larger.
Others argued that she always had a twisted sense of justice, believing that the academy needed to be torn down for something better to rise in its place.
But no matter how many fan theories circulated, they couldn’t hide the glaring plot convenience that plagued her storyline. The devs had left too many gaps, too many unanswered questions.
The most frustrating part was the way players ultimately defeated her.
I mean, what kind of final boss just gives up after seeing a sword of light? It was absurd.
Dorothy, this intricate, tragic character, just… stopped. It wasn’t even a proper battle.
There was no deep emotional confrontation, no final clash that reflected the weight of her fall into darkness.
She simply surrendered, died or disappeared leaving players feeling both triumphant and hollow at the same time.
Tomorrow, I’ll have to be more meticulous with my moves.
With Dorothy’s plan soon to unfold, covering the academy in darkness, I need to make sure I’m in sync with Lucas and the heroines to minimize the damage.
The chaos she’s going to bring is inevitable, but I still have Kagami as an asset—one who might just tip the scales in our favor.
That said, I can’t predict what form Dorothy’s finale will take.
The game gave her multiple endings, and each was unpredictable in its own right.
But my mindset remains the same: no matter what happens, no matter how bleak it gets—I will save her.
I know what people think of her, how she’s destined to fall into darkness for the sake of someone else’s victory.
But I can’t accept that.
Not this time.
Dorothy is more than just a villain to push someone else into the spotlight.
She deserves a future, one that isn’t written in the pages of some game script.
And if that means going off course and facing whatever unpredictable twists are in store, then so be it.
Because the moment I chose to give up on her is the moment I chose to give up on my fate as well…. I can change Dorothy’s fate then so can I on my own.
I glance out the window, watching as the sun sets over the academy grounds, casting a warm orange glow through the glass. It feels like a calm before the storm.
Wiping the sweat off my forehead with a towel, I rise from my push-up position, my muscles aching but more resilient than ever.
I’ve been pushing myself harder lately, upping my reps, honing my strength.
I can do more than just the usual hundred reps on my usual sets now, and the progress is showing.
Physically, I’m getting stronger, more capable.
My body feels like it’s being molded into something that can take on anything.
And that’s good—because no matter how unpredictable Dorothy’s attack might be, I know I’m prepared for whatever she throws at me.
Then there’s my new skills. I haven’t even had a chance to fully use them yet, but I can already tell they’re busted—way beyond what I had in the game.
“I should sleep early today…” I muttered to myself, feeling the weight of tomorrow’s preparations already bearing down on me.
It would be better to inform Kagami early in the morning about the potential call.
With that in mind, I headed toward the bathroom, ready to wash up and call it a day.
But just as my hand reached for the doorknob, I felt it—a heavy, oppressive presence locking onto me from behind.
“Who—” I barely managed to get out before instinct kicked in. My mana flared to life, but…
I didn’t have any time to react properly.
Darkness swept over my vision like a suffocating wave, and in an instant, cold, heavy metallic chains wrapped tightly around my body, dragging me down.
The sensation of being bound was immediate and absolute, my movements restricted as if I’d been captured by an invisible force.
What the hell is going on?
Before I could process anything further, a single, loud clapping sound echoed around me, and just like that, my surroundings shifted in the blink of an eye.
One moment, I was standing in my room, and the next, I found myself somewhere entirely different—an unfamiliar space.
And right in front of me stood two young students, their faces twisted in frustration and disbelief as they stared at me like I was some kind of unexpected intruder.
Theo and Susan. The shock in their eyes mirrored my own confusion.
“What the fuck is this bastard doing here?” Theo spat, his voice laced with anger and frustration as he glared at me, clenching his fists like he was ready to punch through a wall.
That’s a damn good question, I thought to myself. I stared back at him, just as bewildered, my mind racing to piece together what had just happened.
“Yeah, why the hell am I here?” I muttered under my breath, but the chains still held me in place, preventing me from making any sudden movements. Whatever was happening, it was clear that I had been pulled into something far beyond my control.
Theo’s frustration was palpable, but I could see that Susan’s gaze wasn’t quite the same.
While Theo seethed with rage, Susan’s eyes carried a mixture of sadness and resignation, like she already knew this situation was beyond her power to change.
“Susan, Theo… what’s going on?” I asked, my voice strained from the pressure of the chains around me, but the only response I got was a bitter silence from both of them.
Theo, still fuming, slammed his fist into the nearest wall. “I don’t have time for this! First, we’re locked in this hellhole, and now this guy shows up out of nowhere? What the actual fuck is going on?”
Susan, sitting in the corner, let out a weary sigh, her hands resting on her knees as she looked away. “Theo, just… stop,” she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. “This isn’t going to change anything.”
For a moment, the room was filled with nothing but the heavy sound of Theo’s ragged breathing as he tried to calm himself down.
He glared at me again, eyes burning with frustration, before turning to Susan.
“What do you mean, stop? We need to figure out what the hell’s happening here, Susan! This wasn’t part of the plan!”
Susan shook her head slowly, her shoulders slumping as if the weight of everything had finally broken her down. “I don’t know, Theo. I don’t know anymore…”
I could feel the tension in the air, thick and suffocating, as I stood there, chained and confused, unsure of what was about to happen next.
But one thing was clear: I had been dragged into a situation far more complicated than I had anticipated.
Susan cried and Theo kept punching the walls in frustration, their actions left me with more questions than answers.
Annoyance continued to grow within me, a few guesses came to mind as to what happened just from seeing the chains of darkness wrapping around me.
Afterall these were the very same chains a certain final boss used to manipulate a heroine of their choice….
If that really was the case then I’m, fucked!!!
Tsk…
‘Damn it…. What now?’
