Life had to go on. Tomorrow was already on the horizon.
Having remained frozen and stagnant all night, Shu gripped the coin tightly. The shape of the metal felt exceptionally distinct against his palm, its presence undeniable.
He clenched his fist so hard that the hard edge of the coin dug painfully into his skin.
Rice Cake sat perfectly still in front of him, staring into his eyes with its mismatched blue and orange gaze.
...
A delusion, huh...
Shu's grip slowly loosened.
He gently closed his eyes, his breathing faint.
But he was still breathing.
"I'm sorry."
Finally, Shu opened his exhausted eyes and squeezed out an apologetic smile for the kitten.
"I made you worry." He wasn't sure if he was talking to Rice Cake, or to the "delusion" that had kept him company for the past month.
His withered body began to move. Slow and stiff, he pushed himself off the cold floor and stood up.
His entire body ached. The hand not holding the coin throbbed with a sharp, stinging pain. He had punched the floor incredibly hard—so hard that the skin on his knuckles was split open, a ragged, bloody gash marking the impact point.
The blood had already dried around the edges, leaving only the throbbing ache behind.
Dragging his exhausted body, Shu's first stop was the bathroom. He briefly rinsed the wound with cold water, splashed some on his face, and then grabbed a mop to clean up the mess he had made in the living room.
Rice Cake trailed right beside him the entire time, never getting in his way but never leaving his side. It looked exactly like a creature bursting with worry but entirely incapable of expressing it in words... like a cat.
All it could do was offer its presence.
After numbly scrubbing away every trace of the mess, Shu leaned heavily on the table and sank into a chair.
The cake still sat on the table. Only a single spoonful was missing. The masterpiece crafted by the baker remained beautiful, but Shu couldn't stop staring at that one missing chunk. It felt glaringly, agonizingly obvious.
With a lithe leap, Rice Cake hopped onto a chair and then up onto the table. It sat down right next to the cake, resuming its intense staring contest with Shu.
Shu offered the cat a bitter smile. He raised his hand, looking down at the coin Rice Cake had somehow pulled from his chest.
By now, the coin had warmed to his body temperature. It shone silver-white, like a sliver of moonlight plucked directly from a full moon.
"Hoo..." Shu exhaled slowly. He raised both hands and solemnly placed the coin on his thumb, internally assigning meaning to its heads and tails.
In this moment, he was entrusting the entirety of his future to this little piece of metal.
DING—
The sound of the coin flipping into the air was sharp and clear. Shu watched it become a silver blur, then reached out, catching the spinning coin and lightly slapping it onto the back of his hand.
Smack.
As he stared at his covered hand, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Many people say that flipping a coin is just a formality. Because the moment the coin goes into the air, your heart already knows which side you secretly want it to land on.
That theory holds true for the vast majority of people. Often, people don't lack an opinion on their future; they simply lack the courage to face it.
Whether it's flipping a coin or rolling a die, the act itself is essentially just a way to give people a reason to openly embrace their future.
It grants people the single greatest human trait in history:
Courage.
But Shu didn't lack courage.
He genuinely needed something to dictate a clear direction for his future. He couldn't accept the future he himself had created.
So he chose to trust.
He lifted his hand. The number "1" gleamed brightly under the overhead lights.
Shu understood. Without a single stray thought, he pocketed the coin, reached out, and gently patted Rice Cake on the head.
"Don't worry," Shu said, a faint, placid smile touching his lips. "I'll be fine."
"Purr~" Rice Cake rumbled, pressing its head against Shu's palm.
The coin told him to live on.
Or rather... Kiana... the girl his "delusions" had fabricated, told him to live on.
By now, Shu had almost completely accepted "reality."
It made sense, right...? How could Kiana Kaslana actually, suddenly appear in this world? How could she appear right by his side and drag him through all those incredible experiences?
Looking back, it was obvious. His brain had simply hallucinated an entity that "loved" him. He had hallucinated someone to eat meals with him, to play games with him, to sleep beside him.
To go to the amusement park, the aquarium, the karaoke bar, the beach, the mountain peak, the grasslands, the snowy mountains...
He had fantasized about no longer going to those places alone. He had fantasized about having someone he could genuinely rely on.
He had fantasized... and so, Kiana had appeared.
And in the end?
Kiana wanted him to be "healthy."
Delusional disorder... was a sickness, after all. And when you're sick, you're supposed to take medicine. Only by taking the medicine could he be healthy again.
Even if the price for his health was her disappearance from his side, she would gladly pay it.
So, was his health truly just his own anymore?
It was something "Kiana" valued more than her own existence. It was a state of being she had actively bought back by temporarily sacrificing herself.
If he went back off his meds, even if Kiana reappeared, she would definitely be disappointed in him, right?
Shu recalled that bright, forever-sunny smile, and lowered his eyes.
He never wanted to see that face turn sad.
Kiana wanted him to live well. So he would live a healthy life, and he would keep taking care of Rice Cake in her stead.
Rice Cake had finally found a home. It had a stable, healthy food source and a warm nest. If he selfishly collapsed and died now, what would happen to the cat?
What would it eat? Where would it live?
Would it be forced to become a stray again, sleeping on the streets, homeless and starving?
Shu looked down at Rice Cake, who was purring steadily beneath his hand. That warmth against his palm was the absolute last sliver of starlight in this cold, empty world.
Rice Cake still needed him... so he couldn't afford to fall.
Kiana had already left this lucky coin behind for him. This coin would help him navigate his future, and all he had to do was blindly, completely believe in its luck.
Shu wasn't afraid that the coin would lead him to a bad ending. He would accept whatever it gave him with unwavering faith.
Exhausted in both body and soul, Shu let out a long sigh. He gave Rice Cake one final pet, then scooped the kitten up and gently placed it in its bed.
He turned off the lights and walked back to his bedroom.
He gathered the perfectly folded second blanket from the bed and tucked it away in the closet. Standing in the dark, he stared at his hidden collection of figurines for a very long time.
Finally, he closed the closet door with a heavy thud.