**EPISODE NINETY-FIVE**
**THE ANSWER THAT HAD TO DIE**
**Part Thirty-Six: The Question That Refused to Be Answered**
---
The laughter...
continued.
Not from Diana.
Not from Nova.
Not from Elena.
Not from Orion.
Not from the First Reader.
From somewhere...
above them.
Somewhere...
outside the page.
The Author...
was laughing.
And then...
THUMP.
One heartbeat.
THUMP.
Two.
THUMP.
Three.
THUMP.
Four.
THUMP.
Five.
THUMP.
Six.
THUMP.
Seven.
Then...
silence.
Complete.
Absolute.
Impossible.
Nova stared at Diana.
Diana stared back.
Her eyes were full of tears.
But she wasn't crying.
She was remembering.
Something...
she had promised herself...
she would never remember.
"Milo..."
Nova whispered.
"Why did you call me Milo?"
Diana didn't answer.
Nova stepped closer.
"Who am I?"
Diana closed her eyes.
And whispered...
"That's the problem."
---
1. THE SEVENTH HEARTBEAT
Nova touched his chest.
Nothing.
No heartbeat.
No THUMP.
No rhythm.
Only...
silence.
Then the little boy spoke.
"You don't have a heart anymore."
Nova looked at him.
"What?"
The boy pointed at Nova's chest.
"You had seven."
Nova frowned.
"Seven?"
The boy nodded.
"One for every version of you."
Nova looked at Diana.
She looked terrified.
"Then where did they go?"
The boy smiled.
"They went back."
"Back where?"
The boy pointed upward.
Not toward the ceiling.
Not toward the sky.
Toward the place...
where the story was being read.
Nova felt cold.
"The Reader?"
The boy shook his head.
"No."
"The Author?"
Another shake.
"No."
"Then who?"
The boy whispered...
"The Question."
Nova stopped breathing.
Diana grabbed his arm.
"Don't ask."
Nova looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because every time you ask..."
Diana's voice broke.
"...something answers."
Nova pulled his arm away.
"I need to know."
"You don't."
"I have spent my entire existence not knowing!"
Diana stared at him.
"No."
She stepped closer.
"You spent your existence surviving the knowledge."
Nova froze.
"What's the difference?"
Diana whispered...
"Knowing tells you what you are."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"Remembering tells you what you did."
Silence.
Then—
THUMP.
One heartbeat.
Nova looked down.
His chest moved.
THUMP.
Another.
Diana stepped backward.
"No."
THUMP.
Third.
"No, no, no..."
THUMP.
Fourth.
The little boy covered his ears.
THUMP.
Fifth.
The room began shaking.
THUMP.
Sixth.
The walls opened.
THUMP.
Seventh.
And every voice in the universe...
spoke at once.
"ANSWER."
---
2. THE ROOM THAT WASN'T THERE
The walls disappeared.
The floor disappeared.
The ceiling disappeared.
Nova fell.
But he didn't fall downward.
He fell...
through memories.
A birthday.
A hospital.
A laboratory.
A classroom.
A grave.
A door.
A book.
A child.
A mother.
Diana.
Orion.
Milo.
Nova.
Everything...
at once.
Then...
nothing.
Nova landed on something soft.
Paper.
Thousands of pages surrounded him.
He picked one up.
It contained his name.
NOVA.
He picked another.
MILO.
Another.
ORION.
Another.
DIANA.
Another.
ELENA.
Another.
FIRST READER.
Nova looked around.
"How many versions are there?"
A voice answered.
"Enough."
Nova turned.
The First Reader stood behind him.
But something was wrong.
The First Reader...
had no face.
Only a blank white page.
Nova stepped backward.
"Who are you?"
The Reader tilted its head.
"You already know."
"No."
"You do."
"I don't."
"You asked."
Nova stared.
"Asked what?"
The Reader lifted one hand.
A finger touched Nova's forehead.
And suddenly...
Nova remembered.
A child.
Sitting alone.
Holding a pencil.
Crying.
Writing one sentence.
I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE.
Nova gasped.
The memory changed.
The child wrote:
I WANT SOMEONE TO ANSWER ME.
Changed again.
I WANT SOMEONE TO ASK ME WHY.
Changed again.
I WANT TO KNOW WHY I EXIST.
Nova fell to his knees.
"No..."
The Reader watched silently.
Nova looked at the page.
"That was me."
The Reader nodded.
"Before Milo."
Nova shook his head.
"Before Nova?"
The Reader nodded.
"Before Orion?"
Another nod.
"Before Diana?"
Silence.
Nova looked up.
"Then what was I?"
The Reader finally answered.
"A question."
---
3. THE FIRST QUESTION
Nova stood.
"Questions don't create universes."
The Reader said nothing.
"Questions don't create people."
Nothing.
"Questions don't create memories."
Nothing.
Nova shouted...
"QUESTIONS DON'T CREATE GODS!"
The Reader tilted its head.
"Then why did yours?"
Silence.
Nova looked at the pages.
Every page began turning.
Rapidly.
WHOOSH.
WHOOSH.
WHOOSH.
The pages stopped.
One sentence appeared.
WHY?
Nova stared.
Another line appeared.
WHY AM I HERE?
Another.
WHO AM I?
Another.
WHO MADE ME?
Another.
WHO WILL REMEMBER ME?
Nova backed away.
"No."
Another sentence appeared.
WHO WILL LOVE ME AFTER I AM GONE?
Nova stopped.
Diana appeared beside him.
"That's when it started."
Nova turned.
"You were there?"
Diana nodded.
"At the beginning?"
"No."
She swallowed.
"At the first ending."
Nova stared at her.
"What happened?"
Diana looked at the pages.
"The Question asked for an Answer."
"And?"
"The universe gave it one."
Nova waited.
"What answer?"
Diana whispered...
"Milo."
Nova's face changed.
"No."
"Milo wasn't your name."
Diana's voice trembled.
"It was the answer."
Nova looked at the pages.
MILO.
The letters began glowing.
Then changing.
MILO became...
M.
Then...
?
Then...
NOT YET.
Nova whispered...
"So I wasn't born."
Diana shook her head.
"You were written."
"By whom?"
Diana looked upward.
"The Author."
Nova's eyes narrowed.
"Who is the Author?"
Diana didn't answer.
Nova stepped toward her.
"Who?"
Diana whispered...
"You."
---
4. THE AUTHOR WHO FORGOT
Nova laughed.
A short laugh.
Almost broken.
"That's impossible."
Diana shook her head.
"It happened."
"When?"
"Before you became Milo."
"How?"
"You wrote yourself."
Nova stared at her.
"Why would I do that?"
"Because you wanted to escape."
"From what?"
Diana looked at the endless pages.
"From yourself."
Nova became still.
The little boy appeared behind him.
"You were tired."
Nova turned.
"Tired of what?"
The boy answered...
"Being the answer."
Nova looked down.
The pages beneath his feet began moving.
A sentence appeared.
THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS A PRISON.
Nova whispered...
"Who wrote that?"
The boy pointed at him.
"You."
"No."
"You."
"I don't remember."
"That's why you wrote Milo."
Nova stepped backward.
"No..."
"You gave the answer a name."
"No."
"You gave the name a life."
"No."
"You gave the life a story."
Nova covered his ears.
"STOP!"
The boy shouted...
"AND THEN YOU GAVE THE STORY A READER!"
Silence.
Nova slowly lowered his hands.
"What?"
The boy smiled.
"You thought readers were outside."
Nova looked at the First Reader.
The faceless figure remained still.
"But..."
The boy continued...
"...the first reader was created inside you."
Nova's eyes widened.
"The Reader..."
"Was your memory."
Diana whispered...
"That's why you could never forget."
Nova stared at the First Reader.
"You're me."
The First Reader nodded.
Nova's voice became smaller.
"Then who is reading us now?"
Nobody answered.
The pages stopped moving.
Every word disappeared.
All except one.
YOU.
---
5. DIANA'S CHOICE
Diana walked toward Nova.
"I knew this would happen."
Nova looked at her.
"You knew?"
"I knew the Question would wake."
"And you wanted to kill me."
"I wanted to stop you."
"Why?"
"Because if the Question gets answered..."
She couldn't finish.
Nova waited.
Diana whispered...
"The story ends."
Nova stared.
"And that's bad?"
Diana looked at him.
"Not for the story."
"For us."
Diana nodded.
"Everything inside it."
Nova looked around.
Milo.
Orion.
Elena.
The boy.
The Reader.
All of them appeared in the distance.
Frozen.
Waiting.
Nova asked...
"If I am the Question..."
Diana nodded.
"Then what's the Answer?"
Diana's eyes filled with tears.
"You."
Nova frowned.
"What?"
"The real you."
"I am Nova."
"No."
"Milo?"
"No."
"Orion?"
"No."
"Then who?"
Diana stepped closer.
Her voice became almost inaudible.
"The person you were before you decided to become someone else."
Nova froze.
A memory appeared.
A little boy.
Not Milo.
Not Nova.
Not Orion.
Just...
a child.
Sitting beside a window.
Drawing stars.
He looked happy.
No laboratory.
No doors.
No readers.
No stories.
No Author.
Just...
a child.
Nova whispered...
"I know him."
Diana nodded.
"You should."
"Who is he?"
Diana touched Nova's face.
"Your first self."
Nova stared at the child.
"What was his name?"
Diana closed her eyes.
And the universe went silent.
Because the answer...
was dangerous.
---
6. THE NAME THAT WAS ERASED
The child turned.
He looked directly at Nova.
Then he smiled.
Nova's chest hurt.
"You..."
The child raised one finger.
Shhh.
Nova stopped.
The child walked toward him.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Each step created a new world.
A forest.
A city.
A planet.
A childhood.
A death.
A resurrection.
A book.
A reader.
A universe.
The child stopped in front of Nova.
He whispered...
"You forgot my name."
Nova swallowed.
"What is it?"
The child smiled.
"You know."
"No."
"You wrote it."
"I don't remember."
"Exactly."
The child placed his hand against Nova's chest.
THUMP.
The seventh heartbeat returned.
THUMP.
Nova screamed.
Images exploded through his mind.
A woman.
Elena.
Diana.
A laboratory.
Orion.
Milo.
A book.
A pen.
A door.
And then...
a name.
Nova opened his eyes.
The child was gone.
Diana stood before him.
"What did you see?"
Nova couldn't speak.
"What did you remember?"
Nova finally whispered...
"My name."
Diana went pale.
"What is it?"
Nova looked at her.
And for the first time...
Diana was afraid of him.
Because Nova didn't say...
Milo.
Or...
Orion.
Or...
Nova.
He said...
"BEGINNING."
Diana stepped backward.
"No."
Nova stared.
"That's my name."
Diana shook her head violently.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because Beginning..."
She looked upward.
"...was the name of the first thing that existed."
Nova's eyes widened.
"The First Thought?"
Diana whispered...
"No."
She pointed toward the pages.
"The thing that existed before thought."
---
7. THE THING BEFORE THOUGHT
Everything became black.
Not darkness.
Before darkness.
Before light.
Before space.
Before time.
Before sound.
Before memory.
Before thought.
Nova stood alone.
No Diana.
No Milo.
No Orion.
No Reader.
No Author.
Nothing.
Then...
a voice.
Not male.
Not female.
Not old.
Not young.
Not human.
"Why?"
Nova looked around.
The voice continued.
"Why should anything exist?"
Nova answered...
"I don't know."
"Then why are you here?"
"I don't know."
"Then what are you?"
Nova closed his eyes.
"I am..."
He stopped.
The voice whispered...
"Remember."
Nova saw the child again.
Drawing stars.
The first smile.
The first question.
The first loneliness.
The first desire.
The first story.
And then...
the first word.
BEGIN.
Nova opened his eyes.
"I am the beginning."
The voice became silent.
Then...
a laugh.
Not the Author's laugh.
Something older.
Something deeper.
Something that had never needed a body.
"You finally remembered."
Nova whispered...
"Who are you?"
The voice answered...
"I am the reason you asked."
Nova felt the ground disappear.
"You created me?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"You created yourself."
"Why?"
"Because existence wanted to know why it existed."
Nova stared into nothing.
"And the Answer?"
The voice whispered...
"The Answer was never Milo."
Nova's heart stopped.
"What?"
"The Answer..."
A pause.
"...was the question becoming conscious."
Nova felt something awaken behind his eyes.
The voice spoke again.
"You."
---
8. KILL NOVA
Diana suddenly appeared.
She grabbed Nova.
"RUN!"
Nova looked at her.
"From what?"
"From yourself!"
The blackness cracked.
Something was coming.
A shape.
A gigantic silhouette.
It had no face.
No body.
Only...
a pen.
A single pen.
Writing across the darkness.
One sentence.
NOVA MUST DIE.
Nova stared.
Diana pulled him away.
"No!"
The pen wrote again.
MILO MUST RETURN.
Nova stopped.
"What does that mean?"
Diana screamed...
"IT MEANS THE ANSWER HAS CHANGED!"
The pen moved.
THE QUESTION HAS BECOME THE AUTHOR.
Nova looked at Diana.
"You knew."
"I knew enough."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you would have remembered."
"And?"
Diana's eyes filled with tears.
"And if you remembered..."
She whispered...
"...you would have chosen this."
"What?"
"To end everything."
Nova looked at the sentence.
NOVA MUST DIE.
Then another sentence appeared beneath it.
MILO MUST LIVE.
Nova shook his head.
"No."
Diana grabbed him.
"Milo..."
"No."
"You have to."
"No."
"If Nova survives..."
"What happens?"
Diana whispered...
"The story becomes aware that it is a story."
Nova stared.
"And then?"
"The Reader loses control."
"And the Author?"
Diana looked upward.
"The Author loses control too."
Nova understood.
"This is not about killing me."
Diana nodded.
"It's about stopping the story from waking up."
A voice behind them whispered...
"Too late."
They turned.
The First Reader stood there.
Its blank page-face now contained one word.
AWAKE.
---
9. THE AUTHOR ENTERS
The sky split open.
A hand appeared.
Human.
Holding a pen.
The hand descended slowly.
Diana screamed...
"No!"
The First Reader bowed.
The little boy disappeared.
Orion opened his eyes.
Elena began crying.
Milo appeared.
Not as a memory.
Not as a page.
Not as a replacement.
Alive.
Standing directly opposite Nova.
Nova stared at him.
Milo stared back.
For a moment...
neither moved.
Then Milo smiled.
"You finally came back."
Nova whispered—
"Who are you?"
Milo answered...
"You."
"No."
"Yes."
"I am Beginning."
Milo nodded.
"And I am the ending you created."
Nova looked at the hand above them.
"The Author?"
Milo smiled.
"Look closer."
Nova did.
The hand...
was holding the pen.
But the arm...
was connected to Milo.
Nova froze.
The Author wasn't above them.
The Author...
was Milo.
Milo raised the pen.
Diana screamed...
"MILO, DON'T!"
Milo looked at her.
"I'm sorry."
He placed the pen against the page.
Nova stepped forward.
"What are you going to write?"
Milo smiled.
"The answer."
Nova's blood ran cold.
"No."
Milo began writing.
One letter.
Then another.
Then another.
Nova watched helplessly.
The sentence appeared.
NOVA WAS NEVER THE QUESTION.
Nova shook his head.
"Stop."
Milo continued.
NOVA WAS THE ANSWER.
Nova screamed...
"STOP!"
The pen stopped.
Milo looked at him.
And Whispered...
"Now you understand why Diana wanted you dead."
Nova stared.
The page beneath them began burning.
The Reader vanished.
Orion vanished.
Elena vanished.
Diana vanished.
Only Nova and Milo remained.
Milo lifted the pen one final time.
And wrote...
THE QUESTION IS...
He paused.
Nova stared.
Milo smiled.
Then...
the pen touched the page.
---
10. THE QUESTION THAT REFUSED TO END
The entire universe held its breath.
Nova couldn't move.
Milo couldn't move.
The pen...
didn't move.
Because someone else...
was holding it.
A small hand.
Nova looked down.
The little boy stood between them.
Holding the Author's wrist.
Milo's eyes widened.
"You..."
The boy looked up.
"No."
Milo whispered...
"Who are you?"
The boy smiled.
"You keep asking the wrong question."
Nova stared at him.
"What question should we ask?"
The boy looked directly at the Reader.
Then at Diana.
Then Orion.
Then Elena.
Then Milo.
Then Nova.
And finally...
toward the place beyond the page.
Toward...
the reader.
The boy whispered...
"Who is writing us now?"
Silence.
The pen fell.
CLACK.
Milo disappeared.
Diana disappeared.
Orion disappeared.
Elena disappeared.
The First Reader disappeared.
The universe disappeared.
Nova remained alone.
In darkness.
Then...
a page appeared.
White.
Empty.
Waiting.
Nova walked toward it.
There was no title.
No episode number.
No name.
Only one sentence.
WRITE YOURSELF.
Nova picked up the pen.
His hand trembled.
He placed the pen against the page.
And for the first time...
he understood.
He wasn't trapped inside the story.
He wasn't the character.
He wasn't the Author.
He wasn't the Reader.
He wasn't the Question.
He wasn't the Answer.
He was...
the choice between them.
Nova began writing.
The first word appeared.
MILO...
Nova stopped.
A voice whispered behind him.
"Don't."
Nova turned.
Diana stood there.
Alive.
But she wasn't looking at him.
She was looking...
at the page.
Her face became terrified.
Nova asked...
"What?"
Diana whispered...
"That's not what you should write."
"Why?"
She pointed to the sentence beneath his hand.
Nova looked down.
His blood froze.
Because he hadn't written...
MILO...
He had written...
I REMEMBER.
And beneath it...
another sentence was appearing.
By itself.
Slowly.
One letter at a time.
THE READER REMEMBERS TOO.
Nova dropped the pen.
THUMP.
The heartbeat returned.
THUMP.
Another.
THUMP.
Another.
Seven heartbeats.
Then eight.
Nova looked at Diana.
"There were only seven."
Diana shook her head.
"No."
THUMP.
Nine.
She whispered...
"There were never seven."
THUMP.
Ten.
Nova looked toward the darkness.
Something...
was opening.
Not a door.
Not a book.
Not a universe.
An eye.
A gigantic eye...
on the other side of the page.
And inside that eye...
Nova saw himself.
Reading.
Writing.
Remembering.
Watching.
And smiling.
The eye blinked.
Then a voice whispered...
"Episode Ninety-Six."
Nova froze.
Diana screamed.
The page turned itself.
And the next chapter...
had already begun.
**TO BE CONTINUED...**
Written By,
Ivan Edwin
Pen Name :Maximus.
©All Rights Reserved