Simulated Ending: The Abyss of the Devoted

[Simulation Complete]

[Simulation Ending: The Abyss of the Infatuated]

[Simulation Commentary: You overestimated yourself and overestimated others. Fortunately, even after you descended into madness, he still accepted you, though your relationship became twisted beyond recognition.]

[Simulation Rating: B]

[Talent Points Awarded: 20]

A deathly silence filled the dormitory, broken only by the occasional chirping of insects outside the window. Ichinose Honami lay on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, unable to calm her racing heart for a long time.

Her body felt as if every ounce of strength had been drained away; even moving a finger felt exhausting, leaving her in a state of near-numbness.

In her mind, the memories of the simulation flickered frantically like a revolving lantern, every frame suffocatingly vivid.

At the start of the simulation, everything seemed to be proceeding according to her perfect script.

To achieve the first strategic goal of "toppling Nagumo Miyabi," she moved step by step within the student council, building factions, gathering information, and even going so far as to let Wu Qiao use some gray-area tactics.

The process was exceptionally difficult, and several times she nearly failed, almost allowing Nagumo Miyabi to firmly secure his seat as student council president.

But through her near-limitless micromanagement, she finally managed to achieve her goal. Nagumo Miyabi stepped down in disgrace. Although the position of student council president did not fall to her, but was instead taken by a senior named Kiriyama, this had already bought her enough of a strategic buffer.

As for the second step—confirming Wu Qiao's social circle—she had been very meticulous. She was surprised to find that the girls surrounding Wu Qiao were not few in number, and each one was beautiful, outstanding, and possessed non-negligible influence.

But initially, Ichinose Honami's mindset was very upright: Wu-kun and I are friends. I just want to pave the way for him, not steal a man. As long as we maintain a friendly alliance, that's enough.

However, the gears of fate began to shift fatally during the training camp exam.

Senior Kiriyama was, after all, not a monster on the level of Nagumo Miyabi; his personality was too mild, and he was completely unable to withstand the immense pressure exerted by Director Tsukishiro.

At the same time, because she had been too close to Wu Qiao in the early stages, it alerted the assassins from the White Room. Those enemies hiding in the shadows decided to change their strategy: instead of confronting Wu Qiao head-on, they chose to focus their fire on Class B, Wu Qiao's most solid ally.

Disaster struck.

Ryuen Kakeru of Class C and Sakayanagi Arisu of Class A, joined by the entire first-year cohort, launched a brutal, inhumane siege on Class B.

Facing the overwhelming malice and schemes, Class B fell into an unprecedented crisis.

To protect everyone in her class and ensure no student was expelled, Ichinose Honami had no choice but to turn to Wu Qiao for help more and more frequently.

On that stormy night, when Class B faced the desperate crisis of expulsion, it was Wu Qiao who intervened, spending immense mental energy to shield her from all the overt attacks and hidden arrows.

At that moment, looking at Wu Qiao's slightly weary yet still resolute profile in the corridor light, a tightly wound string deep within the heart of the simulated Ichinose Honami suddenly snapped.

If... if I possessed him, would I never have to lose these things again?

Once this terrifying thought took root, it grew like wild weeds. Their relationship rapidly deteriorated under extreme high pressure and mutual dependence.

To completely bind Wu Qiao to her, and to obtain his unconditional protection, Ichinose Honami took the initiative to knock on Wu Qiao's door late one night, and the two tasted the forbidden fruit. She used this most primitive, most extreme method to bind Wu Qiao and herself together tightly.

From that moment on, the gentle and kind archangel Ichinose Honami, who always had "let's all go to Class A together" on her lips, was truly dead.

In her place was a fallen angel with an intense desire for control.

In the days that followed, she used Wu Qiao's indulgence and guilt toward her to begin frantically draining resources.

She turned the class's strength into her own private army and began to secretly target the women around Wu Qiao. Karuizawa Kei was inexplicably dragged into a disciplinary incident, and Sakura Airi's photos were leaked, leading to her expulsion...

Every time, she would pretend to be innocent, weeping in Wu Qiao's arms, and then logically eliminate those "potential threats" from his side.

The students of Class B noticed her changes. Kanzaki Ryuji and others once asked her with heartbreak: "Honami, what has happened to you? Is this still you?"

But at that time, her eyes held only a pathological obsession with Wu Qiao; even facing the desperate pleas of her former friends, she remained unmoved.

When Kanzaki Ryuji angrily stated that he would lead a group of people to stop participating in her plans, she only looked at them coldly, using "You don't want to be expelled, do you?" as a final threat.

This sentence became the straw that broke the camel's back. The students of Class B collapsed, not because they feared expulsion, but because of despair.

They realized that the Ichinose Honami who once gathered hearts and warmed them like the sun was gone for good. The entire school was turned into a foul, besieged mess by her.

The only consolation was that even though she had become such a hideous creature, Wu Qiao was still willing to pull her back.

Due to the complex emotions and responsibilities between them, Wu Qiao did not abandon her, because she had never betrayed or schemed against Wu Qiao himself; though this affection had gone too far, Wu Qiao was not blameless either.

In the end, on the eve of graduation, the two chose to withdraw from school together amidst the pointing fingers of the entire student body.

The memory ended, and Ichinose Honami took a sharp, deep breath, as if a drowning person had finally surfaced. She touched her cheeks, finding them covered in cold tears.

"How terrifying..." she muttered to herself, her voice trembling uncontrollably.

She had to admit that the purple [Blackened] talent was indeed a terrifying existence. Once triggered, her drive became frighteningly strong, and her ability to calculate the human heart reached a chilling level.

In less than a year, she had transformed from an innocent class representative into a mastermind capable of manipulating the entire school's situation.

But at what cost? She lost her friends, her original intentions, and everything beautiful, only to trade it for a twisted, deformed relationship.

She slowly curled her body up, burying her face deep in her arms. Tears silently soaked the pillowcase. She knew clearly that the version of herself in the simulation, who had walked step by step toward the extreme to protect her class and eventually became a monster, was not the real her.

That was a product of despair, birthed by the [Blackened] talent after being driven to the edge by fear and helplessness.

"What exactly... am I afraid of?" she asked herself softly in the darkness.

She was afraid of losing everyone in Class B, afraid of failing the trust of her classmates, and even more afraid that in this cruel, meritocratic school, her own incompetence would cause Wu Qiao to fall into danger.

But the mistake of the "Ichinose Honami" in the simulation was that she bore all the burdens on her own shoulders, attempting to use a near-pathological desire for control to fight against the malice of the entire world.

When she mobilized the power of her class to ostracize the girls around Wu Qiao, and when she threatened her former companions with "not wanting to be expelled," she had already personally destroyed the thing she was most proud of: the bonds built upon mutual understanding and respect.

"As expected... it's better to never redeem this talent, no matter what." Ichinose Honami shook her head vigorously, as if trying to shake that dark memory completely out of her mind.

Early in the morning, Ichinose Honami pushed open her dormitory door, ready for her morning exercise. The moment she habitually pulled the door shut, her gaze swept over the doorknob, where another plastic bag was hanging.

She froze for a moment, reached out to take it down, and saw a bag of chocolate pies inside. Just like last week, though this time it wasn't cake.

Taking out the note from the bag, Wu Qiao's familiar handwriting came into view:

[I don't know why you asked me that yesterday, but it seems you always run into things on Mondays. If you can't handle it, remember to tell me or Ayanokoji Kiyoha. Don't let her idle appearance fool you; she's actually very capable. --Wu Qiao]

Looking at this message, Ichinose Honami couldn't help but curl her lips into a smile, a sweet sensation blooming in her heart.

This guy, despite being such a blockhead, always managed to notice when something was wrong with her at critical moments, even going out of his way to leave her these "supplies."

Of course, she also knew that Ayanokoji Kiyoha was unfathomable. After all, in that simulation, Ayanokoji Kiyoha was a presence even more difficult to deal with than Wu Qiao—calm, rational, and almost never making a single mistake.

However, in a sense, it was quite easy to keep Ayanokoji Kiyoha steady; as long as one didn't disturb her peaceful life, one could even get her to help with unexpected tasks, such as having her prepare measures needed for nighttime activities.

At the thought of this, Ichinose Honami shuddered violently, goosebumps rising all over her body.

"Stop, stop, stop! Don't think about that Blackened version of yourself from before!" she shook her head frantically in her mind. "It's too terrifying, truly too terrifying!"

She took a deep breath, chased all those chaotic thoughts out of her head, and carefully tucked the bag into her school bag.

"Alright, time to hurry to morning exercise!"

Ichinose Honami set off, running toward the track. The morning sun shone upon her, warm and bright; she would not let anyone push her into the abyss. She would walk forward with her head held high, together with everyone else.