The Galge Chapter (Part 3!)

Alex stared at the screen, completely motionless.

"He's been staring at it for so long, it feels like we've been for a month" whispered Luna to the President.

"He's focusing. He needs to gather all his Ki for this decision"

On the screen were the two characters that would decide Alex's future (in the game) forever. Midori and Akai.

Sweat was dripping from Alex's forehead. All the confidence he had mere moments ago had vanished the moment he grabbed the controller. Nonetheless, he knew the moment had come at last.

"Midori..." he thought, "She's the one that that freed me from my HikkiNEET life. I owe my current life to her. All the friends I've made, all the goals I've acomplished...thanks to her I graduated from school and got a job at Nasa...well none of that has happened in this route tho."

He then looked at Akai. "Akai had...a hard life. Yet, we both fought those bullies together. We were the ones who saved the Major when he was attacked by that terrorist. We are the ones who reunited that little girl with her long lost mother. We, always together, had so so many adventures...well not on this route tho."

The decision was not an easy one. Alex felt like he owe too much at both of them, yet the game was forcing him to just choose one.

"Heh, I'm overthinking this, aren't I? We should just pick one at random and then load a save!" he proposed to his clubmates.

"I'm afraid you cannot do that, Alex. This game is coded so whenever you pick either of them, all your savedata is deleted forever, including the cloud." said the President in a dead serious tone.

"Why would you ever make that, I've spent a whole weekend of my life on this!"

"Oh? So you value a weekend of your life more than you value true love? Such a lowlife man..." commented Luna disappointed.

"It's not like that, I mean...I guess it does make sense, even tho it's a total chore to replay the entire game to get the other route..."

"Oh you can't do that either. The New Game button is deactivated"

"That's a scam! People paid for this game!"

Midori or Akai.

Which one?

Just one.

Choose one.

Only one.

Choose.

Choose.

"ERABE!" yelled a manly voice from the game.

Alex was shaking and sweating. He had to choose. He just had to. Yet the decision wasn't easy. It was his future (in the game). It was his true love (in the game). It was his everything (in the game)!

"Alex..." Luna approached Alex, hugging him softly from behind. "You know? Love is...not supposed to be hard. When you love someone, you immediately know it. No doubts. No pain. From a certain moment, you just know that's the person who you'll love until your death. Tell me, Alex. Who made you feel this way? Who was there for you the most? Who do you want to support?" Luna then whispered. "Who is it that your heart belongs to?"

At that moment, a revelation.

Flashbacks of all the moments he had experienced during the game. All the routes, all the special events, all the minigames, all the extras, every single line of dialogue resounded in his head. He had become one with the game. He had entered an alternate reality where time was not a concept and he could interact with with the game itself.

He knew.

He had always known.

The answer...had been there from the beginning.

"Luna...I understand now. She's the one. She has always been...it was so obvious. Why did I even doubt myself? I am...such a fool." With tears in his eyes, Alex stood up and stared at the screen. "I...am ready".

Luna and the President smiled. They were proud of their young apprentice. For the first time, he had chosen true (2D) love.

Alex looked at the screen once more. He looked at Midori and Akai, and started talking to them.

"You girls...we've been through so much together. And yet, I can only choose one character, you know? I thank you both for being with all this time, but...we must end this now. I choose..."

Alex dropped the controller.

"What is he doing?!" asked Luna.

"He's starting to believe!" replied the President.

Alex walked slowly to the TV.

"I choose..."

And then...

...he turned the console off.

"...I choose Sacchan!"

. . .

. . .

. . . ?!?!?!

Luna and the President were speechless. For a moment, there was nothing but silence. And then, Alex turned around to see them. He was crying. He was shaking.

And yet.

For a moment.

He was the happiest man on Earth.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

*A few minutes later*

"How did you get to this choice, Alex my boi?"

"Yeah yeah, we told you Sacchan has no route! What do you mean you choose her?!"

Alex sat on a corner, like a fallen boxer after his last match, and looked at his clubmates.

"It was pretty simple once I thought about it. In every single route, in every single scene, in every single important moment of my 2D life, there was always one person and one person only who would be right next to me no matter what. In the good endings and the bad endings, no one else but her. Of course I would choose her, you know?"

"But her route..." started Luna, but Aled smiled at her once more.

"I realized something simple. In a game that is rigged to make you play by its rules, the one winning move is not to play. I choose a life with Sacchan not by the game's rules, but by my own rules. She lives inside me now. All these feelings and all these memories; you can't replicate them in a videogame. I forged my own route! Just kidding haha..."

The situation was strange, yet charming.

From the bottom of their hearts, Luna and the President were proud of Alex.

For the first time in his life, Alex had done something good.

Alex got up from the corner, stretched a little and said to his clubmates; "This was a fun game, you guys. I might try some others during the week...but for now, I just wanna have a good night of rest!"

"...rest?"

"...rest?"

They titled their heads, looking at Alex dumbfounded.

"Eh? Yeah, I think we should go home and sleep, you know? Don't tell me you guys wanna keep going..."

Luna looked worried. "No, Alex, I mean...we can't really..."

Suddenly, they heard a bell.

It was the school's bell.

Alex felt like someone had just shot him through the head.

"Eh? EH?! Wait wait wait, why is the bell ringing during the weekend?"

The President suddenly yelled. "CRAZY DIAMOND!". The door of the club room had been completely unlocked. Apparently it opened with certain secret words.

Alex hurried and opened the door. He saw a lot of students, all in their uniforms hurrying to their classrooms. It was bright outside. It was...an early morning.

A Monday morning.

"Ah, you guys are here this early? You must really like this club of yours, getting to school early just to hang out here!". It was Rosaria.

"Ah, Teacher! You are back from your stay at the clinic?" asked Luna cheerfully.

"Ehehe, they say I'll be fine if I don't install any apps or go near a Casino..."

"We are proud of you, Teacher. You'll be back at your normie life in no time." said the President, making the Teacher blush and scold him.

Alex, though...he had been turned to stone and could not reply.

Rosaria then said to them, "Ok guys, your tests start in 5 minutes! Do not be late! You know it was a looot of stuff to study, so I hope you studied and rested enough!"

"Ehehe, I actually caught a nap earlier when Alex was having his mental breakdown." said Luna as she left the room.

"Eh, you too? I actually started sleeping an hour before that. I slept like a newborn baby." The President also left.

Alex was left alone.

His head empty.

No thoughts.

Pain in his heart.

He slowly walked to the table and saw the game's box in there. He opened it and took the manual out. After rapidly skimming through the pages, he found a picture of Sacchan.

"At least...I still have you, Sacchan. Isn't it nice?"

Alex hugged the manual as the room's darkness engulfed his mind, his soul and his very existence.

And eventually...

...Alex stopped thinking.