Outside the archives of the Nightmare Investigation Bureau, Ethan felt freedom for the first time.But the price of freedom was that every gust of wind carried the scent of pursuit.
He hadn't expected the first to catch up would be Ronan.
Ronan stood at the end of the corridor, his figure silhouetted against the sickly white lights—thin, calm, as if he'd been waiting all along.
Ethan froze."You… how are you here?"
Ronan smiled faintly, a smile like a glitching black-and-white TV screen: half bright, half static."I've always been here."
A short sentence, but it ignited every vague hint from the past.
Ethan suddenly recalled—Chapter 69, when they first infiltrated the Fracture Lab. Ronan was supposed to be on "cleanup," yet he always arrived at critical moments. He knew which door to destroy, which file to leave behind, and always acted one step ahead of orders.
At the time, Ethan chalked it up to "talent."Now he understood—it wasn't talent at all, it was the script, delivered in advance.
"You knew all along…" Ethan's voice tightened.
Ronan nodded with the casualness of someone admitting he'd eaten two buns for breakfast."Yes. I was always the backup. Bureau? Void? Doesn't matter. I was the hidden piece on the board."
He said it with such self-assurance it almost sounded proud."You thought the Bureau were players? Wrong. They're pieces too. Me? I'm the loaned-out 'spare hand' of the real player."
Ethan's mind buzzed. He let out a sharp laugh, jagged with irony."Spare hand? Do you hear yourself? That's like replacing dice in a board game with a shoe."
"Exactly." Ronan shrugged. "But even a shoe can kill if you throw it hard enough."
That was the black humor—one man awakened as a rebel, the other proud of being a substitute.Comedy sketch dialogue staged against the backdrop of apocalypse.
Ronan's eyes darkened."Ethan, you're the Rebel. That means you're doomed to oppose the Void. But me—I'm different. I choose to be the Proxy. The Void doesn't want passive tools, it wants active pawns. Do you get it? I can choose who to erase."
"Then are you still human?" Ethan shot back.
Ronan was silent a moment, then spoke slowly:"Human? Too expensive a word. I can't afford it.The first time I saw the Void's 'theater,' I knew—humans were never the audience. We were prewritten roles. So why not work as the playwright's assistant? At least then, I get to sneak in a few lines."
His logic was cold, absurd, and yet coherent in its own grotesque way.
Ethan's throat burned. At last, he understood why Ronan always seemed to "know too much." Because he had. He'd always been reporting to the Void, serving its script.
而现在,他不再躲藏,彻底黑化,公开接受虚空代理人的角色.
空气凝固了.走廊里的灯碎裂开来,碎片如雨点般落下,化作无数张纸,铺满地板.每张纸上都写着同样的字:
"代理人罗南."
罗南举起手.纸张如同受过训练的野兽般翻腾起来,在他周围形成漩涡.他的身影模糊,化作了档案条目的化身.
"看到了吗,伊森?这是代理人的特权.工具只能服从.但我——我选择处决谁."
伊森嘶哑地笑了笑:"罗南,你知道你听起来像什么吗?一个送餐员,不仅接单,还给顾客加菜.你以为这是促销,其实,这只会让你饿得更快."
罗南没笑."你不明白.叛军的命运是删除.我的命运是删除你. "
于是,他们之间的裂痕便裂开了——一个拒绝被抹去,一个欣然接受成为抹去者.一场比任何审判都残酷的悲喜剧.
阴影中,虚空低沉的笑声隆隆传来:"太好了...叛军和代理人,终于到位了."
他们周围的舞台崩塌,只剩下两个身影在纸风暴中对峙.
那一刻标志着罗南彻底堕落,他重生为虚空代理人.伊森清醒地意识到,他们的斗争并非只是个人恩怨——而是所有故事中最冷酷的转折:无论是反抗者还是代理人,都只是虚空预设结局中的角色.