Wouldn't that return them to the worldline where the IBN-5100 was still safe at the Yanagibayashi Shrine?
As soon as this possibility was raised, an electric jolt ran down the audience's spines.
Their skin crawled.
"So that's it THAT'S IT!!"
"This is genius! Pure genius!!"
"If this is really where the story is headed, then this anime is on a whole other level!!"
Brimming with excitement, they continued watching.
The next D-mail to undo was Faris'.
After a series of events, Faris regained her memories of the previous worldline.
But when Okabe asked her to reverse her message, she hesitated.
"What happens if I don't cancel it?"
Mayuri's life would remain in danger.
Even after learning the truth, she still couldn't bring herself to do it.
"I I can't do it."
"Are you saying Mayuri's life doesn't matter?!"
Faris, as one of Mayuri's close friends, immediately denied it.
After struggling with her emotions, she finally revealed what her message had been about.
"I I brought my father back to life."
"I changed the past where he died so that he survived."
The audience, who had just been furious with her, suddenly fell silent.
Their clenched fists slowly relaxed.
On one hand, she had her friend's life.
On the other, her father's.
If she canceled the D-mail, her father would die.
If she didn't, her friend would die.
For the first time, the audience found themselves at a loss.
They asked themselvesif they were in Faris' shoes, what choice would they make?
No one had an answer.
With heavy hearts, they watched as the story continued.
In the end, Faris chose to let go of her false reality.
She sent the D-mail.
The world shifted.
She reappeared in the lab, wearing her maid outfit.
Akihabara returned to normal.
But the IBN-5100 was still missing.
Even though it had been there last year.
"Where did it go?"
With that lingering mystery, the episode came to an end.
Even though Steins;Gate wasn't outwardly a sad story, the weight of its narrative was undeniable.
Mayuri's repeated deaths shouldn't have been devastatingafter all, Okabe could always rewind time to save her.
But ever since the last episode, the true emotional weight of the story was starting to sink in.
Going back in time didn't erase the pain of these events.
Suzuha had crumbled into despair when she failed her mission.
And even when she succeeded in the altered timeline, she lost the chance to ever meet her father.
Now, Faris had to make an impossible choicebetween her father and her friend.
It was a gut punch the audience couldn't ignore.
Time travel might be science fiction.
But the pain of losing a loved one?
That was real.
And at that moment, the audience felt every bit of Faris' sorrow.
The story wasn't just powerful.
It was unstoppable.
"Ahhh! The writer's plot twists always come out of nowhere, yet they feel so inevitable!"
"After watching this episode, I can't help but feel heartbroken for Feyris! And even more for Suzuha!"
"As an orphan, if I had the chance to bring my parents back to life, I'd do it no matter the cost."
"And after experiencing that warmth again, I don't think I could bear to lose them a second time!"
"Exactly! I could never make the kind of decision Feyris did if I had to choose between my best friend and my family."
"Same here! My heart aches for Feyris!"
"Even if it's an illusion, as long as everyone believes it's real, then isn't it real? The fact that Feyris could make such a decision shows how noble she truly is!"
"At first, I only liked Feyris for her looks, but now I love everything about her!"
"I'm totally shipping Kurisu and Okabe!"
"She's always there to support Okabe in his darkest moments. Without her, who knows how many more loops he'd have to go through before realizing what needed to change?"
"Nah, I'm all about Okabe and Mayuri!"
"If he didn't truly love her, how could he endure so much pain, going back in time again and again, willing to sacrifice everything to save Mayuri!?"
"Okabe and Feyris all the way!"
"Forget shipping wars, the depth of this story is what's really incredible!"
"With this episode, the meaning of the past twelve episodes finally makes sense!"
"All that buildup, only to have everything unravel piece by piecethis storytelling is absolutely insane!"
"And the logic behind it is brilliant! Because of the D-Mail Feyris sent about her father's kidnapping, he never diedbut as a result, the IBN-5100 was lost."
"The cause-and-effect connections are flawless!"
"Just thinking about the layers of logic in this story gives me chills!"
"No doubt about it, the writer is a genius!"
"It's still too early to say for sure. Let's see where the story goes next!"
"I know we should stay rational, but after this episode, how do you expect me to be logical!?"
"Damn it, why are the episodes so short? I need more!"
"Another week until the next episode? This is torture!"
If Episode 16 was the spark that ignited fans' emotions, then with Episode 17, Steins;Gate finally reached its true peak.
Leaving countless viewers on the edge of their seats in anticipation for what comes next!
And from this point onward, the fan-driven "Praise Cult" was officially formed!
"Steins;Gate is an absolute masterpiece!"
"Anime of the year, guaranteed!"
"None of the Spring season anime even come close to Steins;Gate!"
"I strongly recommend this to anyone who hasn't watched it yet! There are already 17 episodes outnow's the perfect time to binge!"
"If you're not a fan of slow pacing, start from Episode 12. After that, if anything doesn't make sense, go back and watch the earlier episodes!"
"Don't watch Steins;Gate the way you watch other anime. If you do, you'll never fully grasp its brilliance!"
Of course, alongside the praise came skepticism:
"Steins;Gate? The anime that dropped twelve episodes all at once at the start?"
"I tried watching it before, but honestly, it felt boring."
"Same here. It didn't do anything for me. Are the hype and bots really this out of control?"
"Anime of the year? Steins;Gate? Does it even deserve that title?"
But instead of getting upset, the "Praise Cult" remained patient, determined to convert more people into Steins;Gate believers!
"Yeah, the setup is slow, but once you hit Episode 12, you'll be screaming 'WTF!!' just like the rest of us!"
"I'm caught up to Episode 17, and all I can say isthis writer is an absolute madman! I can't even begin to imagine what kind of mindset they were in when they created this!"
"Sure, the early episodes feel slow, but that's just the necessary buildup for its god-tier climax!"
"Trust me, this anime will blow your mind!"
"I can only say one thingWarrior of Love and Hope. This name is worth believing in!"
Thanks to the relentless efforts of these fans, many viewers who had originally dropped the anime due to its slow start decided to give it another chance.
And after watching up to Episode 12, they found themselves hooked. The next few episodes left them completely stunned.
By the time they reached Episode 17, their minds were blown, and they were left desperately craving more.
"Damn it, why did it have to end here?!"
Before they even realized it, they had joined the ranks of Steins;Gate evangelists, passionately recommending the anime to others.
Even people who had never heard of Steins;Gate before found themselves drawn in by the sheer enthusiasm of the fanbase.
And once they started watching, there was no turning back.
As a result, Steins;Gate, which already had a dedicated audience, exploded in popularity after Episode 17!
Previously, 90% of the viewers were already fans of Akifumi. But after Episode 17, at least 30% of the total audience were brand-new viewers!
While only a small percentage of these new fans followed the writer on social media, it was still a significant boost.
After all, gaining new fans meant a high likelihood of them checking out the writer's previous works, boosting sales of his past projects.
No wonder manga and light novel authors are so eager for their works to get anime adaptations!
Sure, some adaptations butcher the source material, leading to bad reviews and poor sales.
But if you're lucky enough to get a god-tier adaptation, the boost to the original work is enough to make any author cry tears of joy!
Even if it's just an average adaptation, it still serves as great promotion for the original material.
Not to mention, there's extra money involved!
Anime adaptations are a dream come true!
And Steins;Gate only kept getting better from there.
The date with Ruka left countless viewers questioning their own preferencesbecause when a character is that good-looking, does gender even matter?
And after experiencing Ruka's burning passion firsthand, fans were left in stunned silence.
Sending the D-Mail to return to the original worldline left an emptiness in their hearts.
A love that was doomed from the start, isn't that just another kind of heartbreak?
And after resolving Ruka's message, only two D-Mails remained.
As for Moeka, the one responsible for Mayuri's countless deaths, fans had no sympathy for her.
But as the story reached her arc, things became unexpectedly complex.
First, she inexplicably committed suicide. Yet even after her death, Mayuri's fate remained unchanged.
This made it clear, Mayuri's death wasn't solely because of Moeka.
Even if she had never existed, Mayuri's death was an unavoidable outcome in this worldline.
Determined to uncover the truth, Okabe traveled back in time to the night before her suicide. There, he found a broken Moeka on the verge of collapse.
For the woman who had killed Mayuri countless times in previous timelines, Okabe had no sympathy.
He seized her phone from her hands, only to discover she had never changed her number.
Moeka, a failure in life with crippling social anxiety, had once placed all her faith in FB.
To her, FB was a kind, motherly figure. Attacking the lab, killing Mayuri, every order had come from FB.
But recently, FB had stopped responding. And Moeka was left completely alone.
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[178] Choose Your Happiness, Feel the Pain! The New Work Arrives!!
"Four days from now, you'll be dead in this rental apartment."
Okabe Rintarou, his lips bleeding from biting them, spoke to the woman beneath him.
"You'll wait for an answer from FB that will never come, and die here, alone."
Moeka: "You're lying."
Okabe: "No, it's true."
"FB will never reply to you again."
"You've already... been abandoned!"
Moeka: "Liar!"
Okabe: "When was the last time you received a message from FB, huh?"
"You've been waiting for a reply all this time, don't you think it's strange?"
Moeka's eyes widened, her gaze filled with confusion and doubt.
"You'll die here, die in this cold, empty room."
"No!"
"In this desolate place, you'll die."
"No..."
"After killing Mayuri, you'll die here."
"Alone, betrayed, and abandoned, you'll die like an insect."
"Your life will be for nothing. No one will come to save you, not even FB!"
"No!!!"
With his harsh words, Okabe successfully broke through Moeka's last mental defense.
Now with some space, he began to sift through her messages with FB.
Soon, he found a crucial record.
But, the timeline didn't change.
Could it be that only FB could control Moeka?
"Your life will rot in this apartment!"
"But I will go against the world! I will save Mayuri!!"
At last, Okabe's words struck a chord with Moeka.
She quietly whispered: "Coin-operated locker, the one by PUX, the IBN-5100 is there."
That night, Okabe rushed to retrieve the IBN-5100, only to be stopped by his calm assistant.
Kurisu: "Think about it. After all the times you've time-traveled, you've never been able to get the IBN-5100. If you didn't return to the original timeline, you're never going to get it."
Her words made Okabe pause.
The timeline hadn't shifted, and the numbers hadn't even hit 1%. So the outcome was set. It couldn't be changed.
But at least now, there was a direction.
All the clues pointed to SERN's bottom-tier organization in Japan, the "Wanderers," and the mysterious figureFB.
This meant that by focusing on the locker, they could track down FB!
After some discussion, Moeka, who also sought FB, teamed up with Okabe.
After several failed attempts and time-traveling, they finally locked onto their target.
The IBN-5100, after changing hands multiple times, had somehow ended up back with their landlord!
The two were dumbfounded.
After waiting overnight, the landlord sent the IBN-5100 to Francethe headquarters of SERN.
Confused, they decided to confront the landlord.
Once the landlord spoke, they learned his true identity: he was FB, the one they had been desperately searching for.
"Let's talk somewhere else."
Led by the landlord, they made their way to a construction site.
At this point, the man had no intention of hiding anything anymore. He confessed everything.
Not just to Moeka, but to all of them, he had played the role they longed for in their hearts, gaining their trust and making them do his bidding.
Of course, once they were no longer useful, disposing of them was easy.
Okabe, filled with anger, shouted at the indifferent landlord: "Suzuha Amane didn't take care of you for this!"
"What do you know?" The landlord coldly glanced at them before recounting his tragic past.
Then, he shot Moeka, the traitor, before turning the gun on himself and pulling the trigger.
Traitors had to be dealt with.
And those who completed their tasks would also be killed.
He had thought about escaping, but now, with the precious item in his hands, he could no longer run.
Not wanting to involve his daughter, he chose to end his life.
Seeing the two corpses, Okabe was stunned.
But, with the assistant's reminder, he remembered he could use the D-mail to change everything.
After sending the termination message using the landlord's phone, the timeline shifted once again.
Okabe found himself back in the timeline where the IBN-5100 was still at the Yanagihara Shrine!
