Clearly, every time before the Host's progress was about to reach 100%, he had felt so happy and joyful for the Host.
Watching them step by step from the depths to the peak of their lives, reaping happiness and moving toward a brighter future.
In those moments, he felt that his existence was meaningful, that he was accompanying the Host to reach a perfect ending.
But why, when it comes to me..
He clearly possessed everything as well.
Finn couldn't understand.
His mission had also reached its end, but looking at the worried face of the person beside him at this moment, he felt that this "ending" seemed somewhat incomplete, a bit too quiet.
It's okay.
Finn repeated to himself countless times—
[As long as I can just get through this period of time.]
When his mission is over, when he finally becomes Finn Osborn, when he truly becomes a part of this world.
Everything will be fine.
—Let the mission end.
The air in the bedroom suddenly froze.
Everyone stared in silence at the young man who had been smiling and mentioning Eden Mental Hospital just a moment ago; his expression seemed to suddenly go blank, the light in his eyes dimmed bit by bit. The young man slowly curled up inside the soft, large duvet; his already haggard face now showed none of its former vitality, leaving only an exquisite yet lifeless pallor, like a puppet that had its soul snatched away.
Wrapping himself completely in the quilt was like.. a way of protecting himself entirely.
Everyone's heart tightened painfully, a dull ache spreading through them.
Finn's heart felt completely empty at this moment, as he allowed himself to drift in the boundless silence, waiting for that final 0.5% to be triggered.
[It's so strange.. Why does it have to be me who has to collect Misery Value?]
Previously, Finn only knew that he needed to carry out missions and had never deeply considered his missions, even at this moment, he still could not understand.
But it doesn't matter anymore.
It's almost over.
Are you sleepy again?" Noah's voice carried an unmistakable sob. With reddened eyes, he reached out a trembling hand to stroke Finn's hair. "Then sleep for a little longer. Don't be afraid, I will be right here.
"System PP, you're going to say goodbye to me." Finn slowly closed his eyes and whispered to the System in his heart.
Peter's heart was also pounding violently at this moment.
It was as if he could reach through that blanket and touch the agony deep within Finn's heart.
Because, he couldn't do anything either, only wait in silence.. for the moment the mission ended.
What exactly will happen.
[Misery Value increase detected, Misery Value +0.5%]
[Misery Value Progress Reached: 100.09%]
The prompt sounded in his mind, so clear it was almost piercing.
As expected, Finn listened calmly to the prompt, then waited and waited, but the next voice he had anticipated did not come.
".. PP?" Finn asked hesitantly in his mind.
System PP: 【I am here.】
Why don't you ask me?" Hearing that System PP's electronic voice was still there, Finn's hanging heart relaxed slightly. "No, that's not right. You should first congratulate me on finally accumulating enough Misery Value to complete the task, then, you should ask me whether I intend to stay in this world or choose to leave.
But at this moment, System PP fell silent.
【PP?】Finn only felt himself becoming increasingly flustered. 【Why aren't you asking me? Didn't you see the guidance?】
Nothing." System PP said hesitantly, "There is nothing.
What do you mean?" Finn could no longer pretend to be calm, his eyes widening suddenly. "What do you mean, nothing happened?
No guidance.. nothing happened," System PP said in confusion. "All I can see is that the Misery Value progress is complete.
Finn bolted upright in bed at that moment, this sudden movement startled everyone.
The young man's mind went blank instantly, his entire body stiffened. His preconceived notions were violently shattered, a sense of helpless panic grew deeper and deeper.
How could there be nothing?" Because he had served as a system for a hundred hosts, Finn knew the post-mission procedures better than anyone. Once a mission ended, the Main Brain would automatically push a completion report, which would include a host selection interface and a points exchange channel for after the system detached. "You'll see the mission completion status, won't you? PP, you have performance points too—those are points. After you detach from me, you can still go and exchange those points. Didn't I teach you that? How could there be nothing? Did you miss something?
Everything happening now completely defied Finn's expectations, even defying all of his knowledge.
No, it shouldn't be missed.." Finn's gaze was unfocused. "This was supposed to trigger automatically. Once the mission is complete and I make my choice, you should have detached by now.
Finn's mind was a mess; it was as if his inherent underlying programming had suffered a fatal blow.
[It's not like this, it's not like this.]
"Finn.. what's wrong?" Harry's voice trembled as he reached out to touch him, but then hesitated, afraid of scaring him.
But Finn seemed as if he couldn't hear any sound at all, merely staring ahead blankly with a look of terror.
[Why is this?]
[Did I fail the mission? Have I not accumulated enough Misery Value yet?]
【Or has the Main Brain—from the very beginning—never intended for me to leave this world?】
No, the Main Brain wouldn't lie to me. It shouldn't be like this.
"Did I do something wrong? Is there something I failed to do?"..
He simply couldn't figure it out, couldn't understand it at all; Finn's thoughts felt as if they were collapsing. Countless thoughts raced through his mind, like a train that had completely lost control and veered off its tracks. Finn's hands uncontrollably clutched his head, yet they could not suppress the panic deep in his heart.
[Host, calm down! Please calm down!] System PP spoke up immediately in an attempt to soothe him, [This isn't a bad thing.]
System PP also had no intention of.. saying goodbye to Finn so early.
Why? Why is it like this? Why am I the only one with Misery Value tasks?" Finn's emotions continued to sink into a deeper abyss. "What am I supposed to do after this? What about you? Did the Main Brain never intend for me to break free from the beginning? Then, who am I, really?
Host, nothing will change." Even within System PP's usually flat electronic voice, there was a hint of obvious anxiety as it spoke in a firm tone, "Everything will remain as it was before; I will still be by your side forever.
"No, this can't be right." Finn shook his head, his fundamental understanding of reality being utterly overturned in this moment. "The Main Brain wouldn't lie to me.. It wouldn't just abandon me in this world. I must have done something wrong, or perhaps there's a mission I forgot to carry out." and
Finn!" Seeing that Finn's emotions were becoming increasingly out of control, System PP could no longer maintain the rules in the system manual and couldn't help but call out Finn's name with urgency. "Wasn't your wish originally to have a very happy family? Even though Norman Osborn has passed away, the Wilsons have always loved you like their own child. You are the Young Master Osborn; you have two brothers, Noah and Harry have always doted on you. You also have the person you love, Peter Parker, you have so many sincere friends by your side. You said the Main Brain promised that your wish would be granted—isn't this exactly what you wished for?
"Then what about my mission? What about my mission progress?" Finn asked, bewildered.
There are no more missions, Finn," the electronic voice continued to respond. At this moment, System PP finally spoke the words he had always wanted to say but didn't know how to express. "You are already human, aren't you? There are no more missions. You don't need to strive for Misery Value anymore, nor do you need to find ways to avoid it.
"Shouldn't it have been this way from the beginning?" System PP said firmly. He had always believed that the Misery Value progress was a special stage set by the Main Brain specifically for Finn, but only to allow the otherwise inhuman Finn.. to better learn human emotions and better integrate into this world. Once Finn truly learns, then there will be no need for this specially designed stage to exist.
You should be free; no one's goal in life should be to accumulate Misery Value.
【No more progress bar.】
You are no longer the System, from now on.. you won't need to be the Host anymore either.
【You are Finn Osborn.】
It's not like that!" Finn, as if severely provoked, trembled violently and shouted at the top of his lungs, "It shouldn't be like this!
Stop talking! Just stop!
After the young man's outburst, the entire bedroom fell into a deathly silence.
Finn slowly came to his senses, his head lifting stiffly as his hollow gaze swept across the crowd.
Everyone in the bedroom stared at him with tense, worried, panicked gazes.
It was as if—he was someone whose illness was driving him toward madness.
Finn, it's okay, it's okay." Seeing him completely out of control, Harry's hands trembled as he patted Finn's back, "It will be alright.
“Yes, yes..” Noah's voice was hoarse, tears fell from his eyes uncontrollably, drop by drop. Noah hurriedly wiped away the tears, then took the medicine and a cup of water from Elias's hands, forcing a smile as he whispered to comfort Finn, “Let's take some medicine, okay?”
Finn watched the tears falling down Noah's face.
This time, there was no sound of Misery Value increasing—and perhaps, there never would be again.
But those tears seemed to have a heavy weight, crashing heavily upon his heart, not scalding, but freezing.
Finn slowly averted his gaze again, staring fixedly at the "medicine" in Noah's hands.
Pills that were blindingly familiar.
The young man's pupils contracted, his body jolted violently, as if struck by an electric shock.
—Exactly, he was a mental patient to begin with.
A mental illness that had always been treated by Finn as a mere debuff and was never taken seriously by him.
Those medications for mental illness, those repeated treatments and consultations, those thick medical records..
But at this moment, as all cognition collapsed and all "mission settings" were shattered, a terrifying thought that made his blood feel as if it had frozen uncontrollably welled up in his mind.
What if all of this—was all a lie?
What if there was never any System, no tasks, no Main Brain, no traveling through a hundred worlds?
Then from beginning to end, was he the only one?
A patient trapped by schizophrenia, piecing together an entire fake world through endless delusions?
If that's the case..
Then he certainly couldn't leave it at all.
Because, all of this was fake.
Finn's fingertips trembled slightly, the doubt in his heart grew wildly like vines, coiling around his nerves and making it almost impossible for him to breathe. The young man huddled under the covers, tears falling silently, gazing blankly at this world that had suddenly become so unfamiliar to him.
So—
What is actually real?
Who exactly is he?
Everything he had experienced so far, the hundred worlds he had traveled, every host he had cherished, the beliefs he had held fast to..
Was it all just long, terrifying hallucinations that he had imagined himself?