The Ceremony

The timer read *00:30:00*.

It was 2:00 AM on the day of the wedding. The Helix Apartments were silent, save for the hum of the vending machine in the lobby.

Elias stood outside Unit 403. He was dressed in dark clothing—stealth gear. He checked his inventory.

* Slot 1: Key to the Heart.*
* Slot 2: Duct Tape (Silence Tool).*
* Slot 3: Kitchen Knife (Quest Ender).*

He didn't want to use Slot 3, but the System warned that the "Mark" NPC might have defensive protocols.

He slid the key into the lock. It turned with a satisfying, lubricated click.

**[ACCESS GRANTED]**

He pushed the door open and stepped inside. The apartment was dark, illuminated only by the streetlights filtering through the blinds. The wedding dress hung on the closet door like a ghost, encased in plastic.

Elias crept toward the bedroom. The floorboards groaned, but he moved with the precision of a player who had memorized the patrol patterns.

He pushed the bedroom door open.

Clara was asleep alone in the bed. Mark was staying at his parents' house—tradition. Perfect RNG.

Elias approached the bed. He looked down at her sleeping form. She looked peaceful, but the System showed a debuff icon near her head: **[Status: DECEIVED]**.

Suddenly, Clara stirred. Her eyes fluttered open.

She saw the silhouette standing over her.

She gasped, sitting up, clutching the duvet to her chest. "Elias? What... how did you get in?"

The fear in her voice didn't register as fear to Elias. It registered as a cutscene trigger. The System paused the world, presenting him with two floating boxes.

**[OPTION A: Let Her Go (Proceed to Bad End / Marriage)]**

**[OPTION B: Save Her (Unlock True Route)]**

"Elias, get out!" Clara screamed. Her voice was high and distorted, audio clipping in his ears. She reached for the phone on the nightstand.

She was going off-script. The NPC programming was fighting the new route. If she called for help, the "Mark" entity would win. The Game Over screen would descend.

"I can't let you make a mistake, Clara," Elias whispered.

He selected **Option B**.

He lunged.

Clara screamed again, a piercing sound that vibrated in his skull. He tackled her onto the mattress. She fought, thrashing and clawing, but her **[STRENGTH]** stat was significantly lower than his.

"It's just a glitch," Elias grunted, pressing the pillow down. "Shh. It’s just a glitch."

The struggle was messy. Physics engines were always buggy during close-quarters combat. A lamp crashed to the floor. The "Silence Tool" (duct tape) was too hard to equip in the heat of the moment, so he had to rely on manual suppression.

He squeezed. He waited for the struggle bar to deplete.

Eventually, the thrashing stopped. The room went still.

**[ENEMY DEFEATED]**