There was a voice calling in his head. A ringing voice telling him that if he did not wake, he was never going to get to see the person he loved ever again!

His eyes fluttered, trying to awake from its drowsiness. However, the moment he woke up from his slumber, what greeted him was a horrific scene. Iris, lying on the ground with black blood dripping out of her pale lips with her eyes closed, impaled. He immediately knew what had happened. Tears formed in his eyes, falling endlessly as he struggled to move his numb body. Tezu moved to assist him, but as he spoke to Rius, he noticed that Rius’ attention was focused solely on the dead woman before him, thus Tezu pulled himself back.

Even if his legs were still numb, he would use his arms, and if his arms did not permit, he’d use his chin to get to where she was. His voice was hoarse and trembling, “don’t leave me. Don’t leave me. Don’t leave me!”

Many bystanders had no clue what was happening, however, that did not stop many from being infected by Rius’ heart broken voice as he struggled to get to where Iris laid. When Rius’ strength began returning, he used his arms to reach for her.The moment his hands touched her cold body, his heart dropped.

“Ngh-! Ah-! AAAAHHHHH-!!!!!!” Rius cried out.

Although he couldn’t see her, Iris’ soul was standing before him, watching him with tears in her eyes. Floating beside Iris was a little, glowing orb that flickered each time it spoke.

[Don’t tell me you’ve become attached to this Target.]

“No.”

[Then what’s with those tears in your eyes.]

Unaware, Iris lifted her hands to wipe away the tears that lingered in her eyes.

“I’m still in acting mode, that’s all.”

[I sure hope so, because once you leave this world, it will cease to exist.]

“What do you mean?”

[This world will no longer be part of our system. Transmigrators will no longer be able to enter or re-enter the worlds that have been detached from the system. It’ll become a world of its own in this universe outside the system. ]

Iris watched Rius grieve over her dead body.

[Wasn’t there one more spot you wanted to make before exiting this world?]

Iris nodded her head.

[Then let’s leave. Host cannot linger after Host's physical body has died or else this world will collapse.]

Although Iris nodded her head, she still remained locked in place.

C-2 was not heartless to tell her to just ignore him, so it praised, [C-2 is certain Host will get a good score for this world. Host’s acting skills were so amazing that even C-2 almost believed that they were sincere.]

Iris’ ears perked up at that remarked. A slight smile appeared on her lips, under her breath, she said, “What are you are saying? Even if I was just acting, every bit of it was sincere…” She said it so quiet that C-2 did not hear what she mumbled but it knew she said something. 

“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. I’ve been doing this my whole life,” Iris remarked.

Just as Iris turned around to walk away, Rius sensed something and looked up. Without much thought, he blurted, “IRIS!!”

Iris and C-2 were caught by surprise. Iris turned her head and saw Rius staring straight at her with his red-rimmed right eye filled with fragile hope and desperation.

“… There’s no way that he can actually see me… right?”

[No… Host has already died in this world. So, no one should be able to see Host. It might just be the Target’s delusion of you going away... But let us hurry. The faster you clear these worlds, the sooner you can return.]

Iris looked at Rius’ grief-stricken expression, lowered her eyelids and turned away. As she walked away, she could still hear Rius calling after her.

“Wait! Iris! Don’t leave me behind! I haven’t done anything for you yet! Wait!!”

Iris steeled her heart and continued walking forward, leaving Rius behind. This was always the hardest part of her previous occupation - separating what was true and what wasn’t it. Iris always knew when to draw the line; this was what she was taught... but somewhere deep down inside of her, even if it was just a small speck, she knew. She wanted to erase that boundary line.

In her heart, she prayed to him, If we ever get the chance to meet again, I hope you are living your life to the fullest with nothing but happiness and love. I wish you the best, Rius Solece.

***

The sun was just starting to rise, but her little bear was still deep asleep. In her spirit form, Iris leaned down and gave her daughter, Joy, a kiss on the forehead as she stroked her head. When Iris pulled back, the lips on Joy’s face curled with content as she snuggled in deeper into her blankets.

“I love you, Joy,” Iris whispered lovingly.

A family was all Iris ever wanted, but she knew it was too much of a luxury for her. In this world, she could’ve gotten the chance for that family, but she knew that she couldn’t accomplish that in this world - not this time. And even if it was just going to be an act, it was going to be an act that even she believed was true. .

“I’m ready. Let us return.”

Iris closed her eyes and everything around her became black as she faded into what she felt like was falling under water. When she regained her senses and opened her eyes, she was back underneath the blue sky on top of the endless ocean with the giant mirror behind her. 

When she turned around to look at her reflection in the mirror, her appearance had changed back to her actual self. Yuna sighed a breath in relief.

Suddenly, she heard C-2.

[Report from higher authorities has been given:

Acting in character: ⭑⭑⭑⭑

Impression from other characters: ⭑⭑⭑

Execution of plans: ⭑⭑⭑⭑

Achieved endgame: ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

Overall Performance: B

Merit Bar: 11% ]

Listening to how much she filled for the merit bar, she thought that it was quite low.

“How are these categories assessed?” Yuna asked.

[There are many aspects that the higher-ups look at under each group. For example, for the first group, the higher-ups will look at different situations in which you either acted accordingly to the OG character or not and determine whether or not your choice of action passed their satisfactory line.]

“Hm, fair enough,” Yuna sighed then looked at her Merit Bar. It looked like it was going to take some time to fill up…

[Is Host ready to move on to the next world?]

“Yes. Are there any training courses needed?”

[If there are, C-2 will address them.]

Yuna just nodded her head in response. Suddenly, the mirror before Yuna flashed a bright light before returning back to its reflective surface. Taking a step forward, Yuna submerged herself into the mirror.