"...You're done…?" Aira asks, slightly trembling. "You can't be done. I refuse for you to just give up like this!"
Aion didn't say anything. He only stared at his hands as they trembled.
"Aion! You can't do this! You can't, you can't, you can't!"
"..."
Aion thought about apologizing, but that made him feel sicker than he already did.
"Aira, please calm down," Alphonse requested.
"What do you mean calm down? What are we supposed to do if he just gives up like that!?"
"I suppose I'll be on my own in solving it," Alphonse said matter of factly.
"Aira, if he can't do it anymore, forcing him won't result in solving this case, no matter what," Aria spoke up this time, her expression nervous. "And I don't think he can handle much more…"
"Seriously? The young master can't solve this. It's against his very nature! He is just a fool that dances to the script ingrained upon him by his father. There's no way he can save any of us! Why can't any of you see this!?"
"You think I don't see that!?" Alphonse started yelling. "I said I couldn't solve this! I said that, and you think that just meant I don't know my own incapabilities!?"
"Just calm down, everyone!" Aria pleaded.
"Just shut up! All you've been doing all night is crying over and over and over! You've offered nothing!" Aira glared at Aria.
Aria's eyes shot wide open, and tears welled up once more.
"And there you go again, crying and crying. Can you offer anything like the rest of us!? You're useless! You have done more harm than Sam ever did!"
"Aira…why…why are you saying this!?" Aria wailed.
"Because we don't need this right now! And yet you continue, you continue, you continue, and you just continue!" Aira dragged her nails against her arms, clenching her teeth while doing so.
It probably hurt and maybe made some marks, but her sleeves covered any possible way of knowing how badly it could hurt.
"Aira, you don't need to berate Aria like that! If anything, you're making things worse right now," Alphonse said.
"If Aion won't—no, if Mr. Belial won't pursue this case, none of it matters."
Aion felt like a knife stabbed his heart again because Aira had reverted to calling him something distant again.
"You're just being cruel," Alphonse said.
"And you're being complacent," Aira countered.
"This is going nowhere…" Aion mumbled.
He stood up, finally letting go of Sam's hand. And started heading to exit the room.
"Hey, where are you going?" Aira asked.
"Away from here…"
Aira, who had grabbed Aion's arm, loosened her grip.
"It probably is best if we didn't stay here, huh?" Alphonse mused.
"Yeah…" Aira agreed.
"Let's return to the others then," Alphonse suggested.
Aion wasn't looking at them, so when he didn't hear any response, it was likely due to them only giving a bodily answer.
Soon, Alphonse and Aira had moved past Aion, exiting the room while holding the door open.
Aria grabbed Aion's wrist and whispered, "It's okay…you can just follow me."
Aion in his dazed state met Aria's eyes, which were still wet from the tears she'd been pouring out.
But beyond that, he didn't say anything or give any more reaction.
Instead Aria guided him along, following Alphonse and Aira as they passed through multiple parts of the Manor until they reached the garden.
As soon as Aion stepped into the garden, he was struck with how red it was. The roses, of course, were one factor, but the lunar eclipse was shining extremely brightly.
It was probably only half an hour or a quarter hour until midnight, the peak of this eclipse.
Just like last time, the remaining survivors all sat at the gazebo, staring emptily into space. The only ones left were Sam's family and Agarus. Apparently everyone missing was dead.
Aion looked at the rest of the garden and spotted something: a body lay in the rose field.
"Ah, you don't have to see that." Aria pulled on Aion's arm a bit to break him away from staring at the body.
"Who…died…?" Aion asked, his voice hollow.
"...Noah…I think he died rather peacefully, though. He seemed to be the only offered a dignified death by the killer…"
"...I…see…"
Soon, they reached the center of the garden house, and Sam's family rushed over to Alphonse and Aira, asking where Sam was.
Aion thinks he heard them wailing, but the sound was low. The only things he was really recognizing at that moment were his breathing, his heart rate, and the hand around his wrist.
But after a while, Aria let go of Aion's wrist, snapping him back to reality.
"Aira, can we talk privately?" Aria asked this with an expression Aion's never seen on her face before.
It was so full of resolve, unlike anything he's even seen.
Aira glanced at Alphonse, who gave a nod of assent. He probably realized that Aira and Aria going off on their own at this point didn't mean anything. Everyone else was here, and if Aira or Aria was the culprit, he probably assumed it was actually both of them, considering the Esme body disappearance. And even beyond that, Alphonse probably didn't consider them possibilities.
"Okay," Aira finally said.
And then the two left the garden for a conversation.
Perhaps it was going to be a final one just in case either of them died, or maybe Aria wanted to clear everything up after their fight.
It's not like Aion knew. It's not like anyone but those two could possibly know.
No, perhaps if there were a God to this world, they would know.
* * *
It felt like a while had passed while Aion had decided to stand near the center of the garden. He didn't want to sit at the gazebo with all those people there. Of course he didn't.
And then, the garden door opened again, and Aria returned alone.
Aion turned toward Aria, who simply walked toward the center of the garden.
When she was about to pass by Aion, he grabbed her arm and asked in a quiet voice, "Where's Aira?"
"...She died…" Aria said, her eyes completely void of any remaining emotion.
Aion's arm immediately let go and fell to his side, losing all its strength. He felt tears well up, his heart breaking even more, if that were even possible at this point, but he didn't let out a cry of agony.
For some reason he just couldn't anymore.
Soon Aria reached the center of the garden, bathing under the blood-red light, and Alphonse made his way over.
Before Alphonse could reach Aria, she pulled out a small vial, unscrewed the cap, and downed it all.
For a moment nothing happened, only Alphonse asking, "What's wrong?"
And then, Aria then collapsed, breathing heavily and coughing.
"Aria, Aria!" Alphonse tried to get her to move, but it was no use.
His actions were probably merely out of desperation. And because of that desperation, he didn't notice Aion had knelt down next to the weak Aria, who looked into Aion's eyes.
"...Ai…on…" Aria managed to squeak out.
Aion continued staring down at her before asking, "Why?"
"Huh? …Oh…"
"Aion?" Alphonse asked, concerned.
"I'll…no…I'm atoning…" Aria managed to say. A single tear formed in both of her eyes, and then they went lifeless before the tears could fall.
"Atoning, huh?" Aion whispered.
"Aria…" Alphonse looked sad.
"I guess that means Aria was the killer, huh?" Aion whispered.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Aion grabbed the vial from Aria's corpse and said, "Poison, right here."
"Woah, that doesn't mean she's the one who did it all! I mean, you were so adamant it was none of us!"
"Right…silly me…"
"Aion?"
"But still, I wonder why she had this?"
"I…don't know…"
"Perhaps the doctor gave it to her?" Aion mused.
Agarus, overhearing, shot up and said, "I absolutely did not! Don't you dare slander me!"
Aion's face lifted up toward Agarus, causing him to flinch because of his eyes.
"Hey, Alphonse, you can solve this, right?"
"Hey, are you ignoring me!?" Agarus looked enraged, but it didn't bother Aion.
"No, I already said so. I can't make any sense of it."
"I see…"
Aion stood up and stared up into the crimson light from above.
"Aion?"
"You know, I really don't get it."
"Don't get what?" Alphonse also stood up to match Aion.
Agarus grumbled and only stared at them.
"For someone as smart as you, it doesn't make sense that this time you couldn't do it."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Everything within this case was at the level of or easier than the original loop."
"Huh?"
"Esme's death is just as difficult as the last loop. Frankly, the disappearance is the least concerning part. Rather, it's how the room was able to be locked without the killer inside. Even going by the fake body theory, the room was still locked, meaning whoever set it up should've been in there, but they weren't."
"What?"
"And yet, when you compare it to the first loop, the time frames are impossible to achieve, and more than that, it was far more ambitious with how the murders were set up. This time around, the only actual notable mystery is Esme's body and the situation surrounding it."
"What are you going on about? Look, I get you've been stressed, but we still have a while before we're free. So you must just be trying to cope with Aira's death. Yeah, it must be that, and Aria's death too! So please, just take a seat at the gazebo, and I'll make sure no external killer could interfere."
At that, Aion's head shifted from staring up to having one eye look directly at Alphonse.
"Hey, Alphonse, you just said an external killer, right?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, I mean, it's none of us, so we can be assured of our safety."
Aion brought his head to look directly at Alphonse and said, "You're wrong on that."
"Huh?"
"The killer is definitely among the living in this room, or they already killed themselves to obscure the truth."
"What are you talking about? There's no way that's possible because of the Esme body situation. I mean, you would basically be accusing one of us, right?"
"Heh…" Aion stretched out the small laugh.
Even then, he didn't sound amused in the slightest; his voice was still hollow.
"Aion?"
"Alphonse, you've really surprised me in this loop. I really thought you were an asshole, someone who cared little for most and played and toyed with others to entertain yourself."
"That's quite the negative opinion."
"Yeah, it was, so I know what you're doing."
"What I'm doing? Breathing?"
"Technically, you are. But what I mean is, you're hiding who the killer is, aren't you?"
"Huh? No, I'm not!" Alphonse denied it vehemently.
But Aion ignored that. "I mean, you're the protagonist. Of course you know by now. Who knows when you figured it out? I don't know if you're hiding it to protect everyone here because they are present, or if you are hiding it because you're afraid it'll hurt someone like me. But Alphonse, it's okay. I can handle whatever the truth is, and if the killer is here, we can handle them easily. After all, no one can beat you in a fight, right?"
"You're evaluating me too highly. And what's this 'protagonist' you're referring to?"
"You can. I know you can."
"Stop it. You're getting nowhere with this. You're only going to suffer by continuing to do this."
Alphonse was probably right.
During this loop, Aion saw something in Alphonse. Something that he didn't want to see. Something that only made him feel more miserable than he already was.
After all, someone like Alphonse is something he could never personally be.
"Alphonse…!" Aion grabbed onto Alphonse's suit, tightening his grip and clumping it up under his grip. "Please, solve this! I need to know the truth! I need to know! And I know you can, especially with all of the knowledge I've given you! I know you can. You're the only one capable! Is it because of Aira? Her analyzing the situation and making it seem like you'd be suspected? It doesn't matter. Even if it's just for my ears and my ears only, I'm fine with that. I just want to know who did this to all of these people and who did this to Aira and Sam!"
Aion screamed the last part, hot tears falling from his face.
He was afraid to look up. Of course he was. If he saw a face filled with guilt, filled with agony that he couldn't help Aion in this moment, Aion was sure his heart would completely give in.
The twenty-year-old college student would completely crumble.
So many times he fell, and every time he fell deeper. And every time it became harder to crawl back up.
And this was his final crawl back up, his final crawl toward anything that he could muster.
Aion, finally pushing his fear away enough to look up, slowly raised his head to look at Alphonse's expression.
Alphonse stood there, frozen in shock, biting his lips, and some emotion that Aion couldn't read swam in Alphonse's eyes.
He seemed to be trying to hold back on something.
"Alphonse, you do know something! I can tell! So just—"
Alphonse had stopped Aion by grabbing his shoulders and shoving him off of Alphonse, causing Aion to almost fall.
"..." Alphonse tightened his lips more, but they had started quivering.
And then, a small noise started leaking from them. It was a strange noise, one that Aion felt like he recognized.
It was like he'd seen a scene similar to this one before…
"Hehehe…" Alphonse started letting the noise get louder.
"Alphonse?"
"Hehehehahahahaha…" Alphonse was laughing.
"Huh?"
And then, like a dam bursting forth, Alphonse laughed boldly, loudly, and maniacally. What stood out more than anything was the laugh was like something he'd been holding in for so long.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Alphonse just continued laughing to the point he started clutching his stomach like he was in pain.
"Alphonse, what's so funny?"
Alphonse finally stopped laughing, and he looked at Aion. He was smiling, not a comforting smile; no, it was one full of amusement.
Amusement toward Aion.
"I figured out the mystery? And your confession on that loop would certainly let me figure it out? Hehehaha! Don't make me laugh!" Alphonse glared at Aion.
"Did I offend you?"
"No, of course not. Or, well, I guess in a way you did. I mean, seriously, do you take me for a complete idiot?"
"What…do you mean?"
"This entire time," Alphonse began, bringing out his hands before him like he was going to present a grand point. "This entire time, I've had to listen to your foolishness and your screaming and your crying. It was all so annoying."
"Al…phonse…?"
"You still don't get it, do you? I guess you might really be that stupid."
Aion backed up a step, shaking his head. "What are you talking about? We…we opened up to each other!"
"Fine, I'll tell you Aion Belial—"
No! Don't say it! Aion thought. His thoughts screamed that, but he couldn't voice them.
He didn't want that image he'd seen of Alphonse destroyed.
But he knew the next words out of Alphonse's mouth would destroy more than just that. It would obliterate something within Aion; maybe it wouldn't be the end of him, but it would destroy something he never thought would be.
"—this entire time—"
So Aion prayed it wouldn't be said.
But of course, no God would willingly answer that prayer.
"—I have never once believed in the person you are. You are a liar, a snake, and a complete and utter fool! Why would I ever believe you for a second on anything you say? And that story I told you about my past? Completely made up! My emotions faltering? Also made up! You fell for everything the entire time! You incompetent fool!"
"NOOOOOOOOO!" Aion screamed.
"Ahahahaha! You really can't accept it? So I'll tell you over and over again! Sam's death meant nothing to me! Aira's and Aria's deaths meant nothing to me! You mean nothing to me! You have just been annoying the entire time. I mean, come on! Do you really think I'd stoop to your level? HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Aion screamed, not wanting to believe any of it. Trying to block out that terrible laughter.
But deep down he knew, he knew that Alphonse was being genuine. This was just like the Alphonse of the first loop.
This was what he really was, a completely insane and snobbish scumbag.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Alphonse continued cackling like a maniac.
He kicked Aria's corpse away and grabbed Aion by the collar.
"Gk!" Aion let out a groan of pain.
"Aion Belial, you really are something. I hope you know that. If you weren't so naive, I'm sure you'd more than easily solve this case! But you're an idiot, a complete idiot who doesn't know how to read people at all!"
"Stop it!"
"Stop, why would I do that? Aion Belial, you are pathetic. Crying like a child when confronted with the ugly reality of this world. You see, all this time you lived in a delusion, a delusion brought about by me! Don't you see? You can't trust anything in this world. The world is cruel, ugly, and filled with nothing but suffering. It is because that is the case that people like you cling to the good in people. All someone has to do is show a bit of weakness, a bit of compassion, and the fools like you flock to them."
"Shut up!" Aion scratched at Alphonse's hand, causing blood to be drawn.
Alphonse loosened his grip, and Aion fell down on the ground with a grunt of pain.
"You tell me to shut up because you can't face the truth. The truth of this world. The truth of this lie you've been living. And the truth of existing!"
Aion continued to feel tears falling from his eyes.
He really had started viewing Alphonse as a friend.
One of the few he's had, one of the few he's gotten so close with.
But it was all a lie.
Every bit of it had been Alphonse manipulating his heart, his mind, his everything!
But why?
Why!?
"Why would you do this!?" Aion yelled.
He didn't understand.
He couldn't understand
What was the point in it? What was the point in stringing Aion along for a fool? What was the point in revealing it when Aion was at his lowest? To watch him break? To watch him cry in agony? For him to suffer for Alphonse's entertainment? Was that all it was for?
"Hehehehahaha!" Alphonse laughed some more and said, "It's because of Luna."
"Huh?"
"Sure, I may have pulled you around. But Luna is doing far worse to you."
"No, she's not!"
"She's not? Hahahaha!"
Stop laughing, you bastard!" Aion leapt up and tried to attack Alphonse with a punch, but Alphonse merely side-stepped it and continued to laugh.
"You know how Luna is called a murderer, right?"
"What are you trying to get at? I'm not falling for any more of your vile words!"
"Hm? Is that so?" Alphonse smirked, clearly amused. "But let me tell you something: the only reason she wasn't imprisoned or executed was because of me."
"!?" Aion's expression flashed complete alarm.
"You see, I spared her life, because she most certainly did it."
"She didn't. You're bluffing. You're lying all over again! You're trying to make me a fool once more."
"Then let me ask you, with all of the deaths in Magna and Luna being almost universally pinned as the perpetrator, isn't that just a little suspicious? I mean, why would the person we selected be an eight-year-old girl? It doesn't make much sense, right?"
Aion's face fell. It was a bluff. It had to be.
"I can tell you think I'm lying, or rather, you wish to believe that. But then why does Luna so adamantly believe it too?"
"Urk!" Aion let out a noise, and he clenched his fists.
"Just remember, the only person you have left will one day betray you. And that person, Luna, I'm sure you've already seen the signs that she isn't what she displays herself as."
Aion thought of her breakdowns, her strange behavior at times, and his strange blackout in their most recent argument.
"Yes, you can't help but doubt her. After seeing the truth that makes this world operate, you are inclined to do it!"
"No, you're wrong!"
"Am I wrong? Aion, you say that, but you've witnessed it. Sam, Aira, and Aria—all of them were completely fooled by me. Complete morons who couldn't see the world for what it is. But now you see. You see like I do. And now you will continue to see. It'll fester and eat away at you until you can't help but never trust Luna again."
"Why? Why would you do this!? Why do you think I'll do that!? Why? Just why!?"
That was the only thing Aion could really form as a question. Just a continuous flow of "whys" that never ended.
It didn't make sense, so he wanted to know why.
Alphonse was so cruel, so he wanted to know why.
And worst of all, Aion felt doubt toward Luna because he wanted to know why.
Alphonse walked over and lowered his gaze to match Aion's eye level. Both of them stared at each other with faces mere centimeters apart.
"One day you'll figure it out. I'm sure you will, as much of an idiot as you are. Once you see the full picture, even an idiot can slowly work away at it."
"No! Luna is innocent! Luna is free of everything you're trying to make her."
"Hahahahahahahahaha!" Alphonse laughed and laughed. "So be it then. You can now run off to Luna and see it for yourself. The doubt you harbor, the festering wonder if she too is manipulating you like I did."
Aion didn't bother listening to the rest. He ran out of the garden to the front door, and like last time near the end of the night, it opened.
Outside he saw the orange glow of Magna, much like last time. And of course the surroundings were bathed in blood-red light.
He rushed out and down the stairs, with only one thing in mind: he wanted to see Luna.
Because when he did, he would prove that he wasn't what Alphonse said she was.
From now on, Luna would be all he had, because he couldn't return here. He absolutely couldn't!
So he pleaded, the world to loop back, back to a time when he and Luna hadn't had their fight.
This time he would only focus on her.
Because he never wants to deal with this again.
Even if it pained him so, he couldn't help Sam and Aira. Tonight proved that.
Even with an easier case on the logistical side, he utterly failed.
And emotionally he was even worse off than the first loop.
No, not just emotionally. Mentally Aion was about to break.
Because seeing it all, experiencing all that emotional distress, and worst of all, leaving them to die in a possible third loop, Aion couldn't help but want it all to end. This nightmare with unrelenting misery seemed to only drag Aion deeper and deeper into the pits of despair.
So he could only rush to the last thing he had: Luna.
And so, the clock tower struck midnight as Aion was descending the stairs of the Magnatium Manor.
And then, he awoke in that cold shack for a third time.