Codex Null: Simulation Through Madness
Chapter 23: Home

Chapter 23: Home

[Selena came.]

[She casually destroyed the door — the one you hadn’t been able to leave a scratch on — then walked straight to you and dove into your arms.]

[Your touching reunion couldn’t last long, though, as Lilith soon arrived.]

[Sparks seemed to fill the air as Selena and Lilith locked eyes. It looked like they were ready to go at each other. But before either of them could make a move, you stepped between them, trying to calm both sides.]

[In the end, though an argument did erupt between them, no fight broke out. And under your suggestion — to return to how things were — both reluctantly agreed. Selena especially looked indignant, but in the end, you really did return home... just like you wanted.]

So, no battle happened? And I wasn’t detained like usual? Really?

Blinking his eyes, Noel couldn’t quite believe what he was reading.

Were things actually this easy?

That was all he could think.

[Alone in your room, the first thing you did was check your hidden notebook and the video records — and you were surprised to find that no one had ever entered your room.]

[Though you were still slightly suspicious if that was really the case, you turned toward your bed, feeling like maybe... you could sleep soundly tonight.]

[But before you could fall asleep, the door opened — and Lilith came in.]

[She didn’t seem to have any intention of giving up her habit of sleeping beside you. And in the end, you simply went along with her wish.]

[The next day arrived, and you finally went out and met Selena.]

[You went straight to a hotel with her, where the two of you confirmed your feelings for each other again.]

[It became a week-long stay. And by the end of it, you walked out haggard — while Selena came out glowing.]

So even if I can endure one week... the result is still the same?

Covering his face with one hand, Noel thought.

[When you returned home, Lilith nearly lost control of herself once again — screaming curses about "that bitch." But luckily, she didn’t actually make a move.]

[Two months passed. Your progress in the Vital Purification stage slowed slightly after returning — just a little more than 3% — but you didn’t mind. Everything else was going smoothly, whether it was your relationship with Selena or with Lilith.]

[But then, one day, Lilith suddenly came to you and said she had something important to take care of — and that she’d be gone for at least a year.]

[Naturally, you were surprised and asked her why. But she didn’t explain, only saying that it was something she’d been putting off for a long time... and she couldn’t delay it anymore.]

[Another two months passed. You had now reached 39% in the Vital Purification stage.]

[Everything was still going smoothly — and yet, you couldn’t truly feel happy. Not without Lilith.]

[Your life felt like it was missing something in her absence. But then, suddenly, Selena came to you and said she’d also be away for a week or two.]

[You naturally asked her why, but she didn’t answer. Instead, she shifted the topic — suddenly mentioning an "inheritance dimension" that had appeared in Italy a year ago, discovered by the Ravelli noble family.]

[She was clearly probing you, trying to see your reaction. But you remained calm, only asking her casually what an inheritance dimension even was.]

[She didn’t say anything more after that — and the two of you just laughed it off in the end.]

[Time passed. Three days later, you suddenly woke in the middle of the night, startled by loud noises coming from downstairs.]

[You stepped out of your room quietly, cautious. Moving down the staircase, you reached the ground floor — and paused.]

[A dozen corpses were piled in the middle of the room, limbs twisted, torsos torn apart — dismembered bodies stacked in a grotesque heap. Blood was splattered across the walls and floor. And in the middle of it all stood Linda and Ryan, both soaked in crimson, as if they had just stepped out of a slaughterhouse.]

[Without patting an eye at this scene, you looked to Ryan and Linda and calmly asked what had happened.]

[They didn’t try to hide anything. Ryan simply explained that some people from the Merrow family had attempted to kidnap you — so they killed them.]

[At the mention of the Merrow family, a forgotten note from your hidden notebook resurfaced in your mind — a name you had nearly overlooked.]

[With that thought, you asked them if one of them could bring Coren Merrow to you.]

[They hesitated, exchanging a brief glance. But in the end, Ryan nodded and said it would be done.]

[Three days later, Ryan returned — with Coren Merrow.]

[Crippled, broken, and half-conscious, Coren was dumped in front of you. You stared at his pitiful state in silence... for over an hour.]

[Then, quietly, you took the dagger Linda had given you... and finished him off.]

Things really seem to be going in a strange direction in this simulation.

Noel thought, without a shred of satisfaction from Coren’s death.

Coren’s easy death didn’t make up for his earlier torture, after all.

And more than that — Noel had no intention of breaking the promise made to his simulated self.

In fact, he planned to honor it — not just in the simulation...

But in reality.

[Time passed. One month later, Selena finally visited you again. She apologized for not keeping her word — saying that more time had passed than she’d planned, and she hadn’t even been able to contact you.]

[Then, with a somewhat distant expression, she told you that going forward, she’d likely have little time for you. She was about to become too busy.]

[That night, you didn’t even sleep together like usual. Selena left after that brief conversation — and you were left alone, staring at the ceiling, wondering if sleeping by yourself was always supposed to be this cold.]

[Two more months passed. With no university, no work, Lilith still away, and Selena rarely seen... your world had grown quiet.]

[You were now nearly halfway through the Vital Purification stage, standing at 45%.]

[But still, you couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.]

[Your strength — though overwhelming when compared to ordinary people — felt like nothing in the grand scale of things. You couldn’t find answers. Couldn’t uncover anything. All you could do... was throw yourself deeper into the Blood Scripture.]