Chapter 17 – The End of This World
🎵 And kids that's how Cinderella Snapped 🎵
Rule #8:
System's Rule: Every world must follow its predestined fate.
Eleanor's Rule: Predestination is a lie. The strong dictate reality.
---
The System's Verdict
A glitch rippled through the air.
The system was back.
> [SYSTEM NOTICE]: WORLD DESTABILIZATION PREVENTED.
[STATUS]: WORLDLINE STABILIZED.
[REWARDS]: SUFFICIENT REFORMATION POINTS ACCRUED.
Eleanor folded her arms as the mechanical voice continued.
> "Host, while your methods were… unconventional, you have successfully prevented the world from descending into chaos. Lucas Carter never seized the Carter Empire, thus preventing the world's destruction."
She smirked. "So you're saying I did well?"
> "...I am saying you completed the mission. However, your disregard for moral reconstruction remains a concern."
Eleanor rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. That world destruction plot was never about morality—it was about control. I simply played by the real rules."
The system sighed.
> "Regardless. You have enough points to leave. Do you wish to depart?"
She didn't hesitate.
"Absolutely. Being without my abilities in this world is exhausting."
Power. She had spent three years maneuvering through this world, playing their game while being shackled. She had conquered industries, dismantled her enemies, and turned Lucas into her willing weapon.
But without her true strength—her divine essence—it had been far too tedious.
Now, she had what she needed.
She had found the fairy in charge of this world.
And she had destroyed its influence.
One down.
Six more to go.
---
The Goodbye
Lucas was in his office when she entered.
Even now, even after everything, he still stopped everything the moment she walked in.
The shadows in the room deepened as he leaned back, eyes locked on hers.
She could feel his power. It had grown immense over the years.
And yet—it was never turned against her.
Not once.
Not ever.
She sighed, tilting her head. "I'm leaving."
Lucas didn't react. Not at first.
Then, slowly, he closed his crimson ledger—the one filled with names, debts, and blood.
"Leaving?" His voice was soft. "You mean… moving?"
"No." Eleanor met his gaze evenly. "I mean leaving this world."
The silence was absolute.
Lucas wasn't stupid. He had always known there was something different about her—something otherworldly, untouchable.
But to hear it spoken so plainly?
She watched as something inside him cracked.
And yet, he only exhaled through his nose, lips curving in a bitter smirk.
"So that's it?" he murmured. "After everything?"
Eleanor shrugged. "I have what I need. This world has served its purpose."
Lucas laughed.
It was soft. Dangerous.
And heartbreakingly empty.
"You really are cruel." His voice was quiet, but the emotion behind it was a raging storm. "Not once. Not once did you ever think of me."
Eleanor stilled.
Lucas rose from his chair, walking toward her with the slow, deliberate grace of a predator.
And yet, when he reached her, he didn't touch her.
Didn't demand. Didn't beg.
His hands clenched at his sides, his entire body tense with restrained emotion.
"I followed you." His voice was raw. "I let you take everything from me. My name. My purpose. My soul. And you never looked back."
His breath was shallow.
"But I knew." His eyes darkened. "I knew this would happen. That one day, you'd leave, and I'd be nothing to you."
Eleanor tilted her head. "And yet you still followed me."
Lucas let out a harsh breath. "Because I didn't care. Because you were the only thing that mattered."
She smiled faintly. "And now?"
He swallowed.
And for the first time in years, she saw it—
The raw, aching vulnerability buried beneath his obsession.
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"…And now I hate you for it."
Eleanor reached out, brushing a hand against his cheek.
And Lucas let her.
Let her touch him one last time.
Before she turned away.
Before she disappeared.
---
[SYSTEM NOTICE]: WORLD COMPLETE. INITIATING DEPARTURE.
A rift opened.
Eleanor stepped through without a second glance.
And Lucas Carter was left in the ruins of a world she had long abandoned.
Theatre Exclusive: The Devil's Bargain
The stage is bathed in a dim, eerie glow—dark reds and blues swirling together like shadows and smoke. At the center, a single high-backed chair sits facing the audience. Lucas Carter lounges in it, legs crossed, fingers idly tapping against the armrest. Across from him, a figure cloaked in deep indigo sits shrouded in mystery. The audience murmurs as the tension thickens.
The Figure:
"You look different, Lucas. Less… composed."
Lucas:
(Smirks)
"And you look exactly the same. Cloaked in riddles and false kindness. Tell me, are you here to gloat?"
The Figure:
"Gloat? No. I came to see the aftermath. You were never meant to lose her, you know."
Lucas:
(Chuckles, but it's hollow)
"Wasn't I? Funny, because I think she was never meant to stay."
The Figure:
"You think she abandoned you."
Lucas:
(Scoffs)
"Didn't she?"
The Figure:
"You tell me, Lucas. Of all the people in this world, you were the only one who saw her—not just as Eleanor, but as something more. Something… beyond this world."
Lucas:
(Quietly)
"And what good did that do me?"
The Figure:
(Smiles beneath the hood)
"It means she was real with you. No masks. No pretense. That alone makes you dangerous."
The air shifts, crackling with something unsaid. Lucas tilts his head, his usual confidence laced with something darker—resentment, longing, understanding.
Lucas:
(Dryly)
"So what now? I play the jilted lover? Swear vengeance? Or maybe, just maybe… I let her go?"
The Figure:
(Smirks)
"Let her go? Lucas, you and I both know—men like you never let go."
Lucas goes still. The audience leans in. He exhales sharply, lips curling into something between amusement and something far more dangerous.
Lucas:
"…I suppose you're right."
The lights flicker. The figure leans back, satisfied.
The Figure:
"Good. Because this isn't the end, Lucas. Not for you."
Lucas laughs softly, but it holds no warmth.
Lucas:
"Then let's see what happens when she realizes that, shall we?"
The stage fades to black.