Arata got up from the lecture; he had some exploring to do. He wanted to explore the theater for a little while. What’s the first place on my mind… the backstage.

  “Don’t even think about it… I once sent a mannequin to check it out, back when I first arrived. They attain something similar to sentience when I create them. The thing’s instinct was to kill itself upon witnessing something.” Ravenna explains her horror story to Arata.

  Arata’s eyes widen in shock, “And you’re sure that’s okay, you mean every time they act out a scene, they’re really in pain? Do they really die? To bestow life onto a creature just to subject it to such a horrid fate…”

  Ravenna stops, raising her eyebrow in confusion. “No? At the end of the day, they’re mimicking human behavior, they don’t have nerves and their consciousness is a fickle thing anyway; they’ll lose it whenever their task is complete anyway.”

  I see, they’re disposable… they’re also far too useful to give up. Being able to rewatch past lives is surprisingly helpful a lot of the time. Arata ponders, thinking about where else he could go. “Hey, how do you reach the upper floors?”

  Ravenna stands there in silence, ignoring anything Arata said. She looks on in silence, “No- trust me, you don’t wanna see what’s up there either!” Arata watches a mannequin descend from the staircase dressed as a maid.

  Arata raises an eyebrow in suspicion. She’s trying to hide something, either way I see the staircase—time to head up.

  Ascending the staircase, Arata feared for the worst. Was there a monster? A cognitohazard? Something that he couldn’t even comprehend as a human. However, the answer he witnessed was far more mundane. Ravenna chases up after him.

  “Don’t you dare look! This isn’t for your eyes to see Arata!” Ravenna jumps on him from behind, trying to cover his eyes, almost sending them both tumbling down the stairs, yet she acted far too late. The seats are missing from a patch of the theater, which was turned into a makeshift bedroom, complete with an air mattress, a projector facing the stage and a couch to watch from. Littering the place were bags of chips and bottles of green tea. She had game consoles, a PC, manga and various DVD copies of anime strewn about the floor.

  She said she’s been here for hundreds of years. That’s turned her into a complete shut-in? That’s hilarious. Arata picks up one of the DVDs. “Whoa, is that my favorite anime Kintama? I didn’t expect to see that? What else have you got here?”

  “I can create props out of anything seen in your memories… it also recreates properties.” Ravenna tries to explain to Arata further but is clearly flushed when Arata turns his eyes a little.

  He saw a bookshelf, the library of Alexandria but for yaoi. It was a shocking sight. Ravenna now drops to her knees in solemn acceptance.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Well, I can't say I'm not guilt-free either, considering this is pulled from my memories.

  “Barging into a young girl’s room… how could you be so cruel! Exposing my true colors to the world!” Ravenna exclaims with a certain dramatic flair.

  Isn't she at least over 500 years old? Young? I don't wanna hear that from her. “Hey Ravenna, do I get access to any of the resources in the theater. This could be the break that I need. Time doesn't pass in the theater, it's absolutely perfect!”

  Back on earth, some people would always give you the spiel. No matter what hobby you had. It's a waste of time for them. To hell with it, that's not being lazy, that's me time! Finally, in this theater without time exists the opportunity for guilt-free gaming.

  Arata frolics over to Ravenna’s gaming setup when he sees something strewn across the floor: two scripts, one from the centipede and another from the fairies.

  “Ravenna, aren't these a little important to leave on the floor?” Arata groans, staring at her.

  Ravenna responds likewise, “Important to you, napkins to me- hey, can a mannequin come pick this up?”

  Ravenna watches the animated object march, bending down to pick up the paper however, it lets out an excruciating scream.

  The script it had picked up was “The Tragedy of Two-Faced Judgement”, and the script began to fuse with the Mannequin's form. It stretched out, becoming the scourge of the prison once again.

  The centipede dashes its way up onto the ceiling, maintaining distance from Arata before letting out a deafening wail. Can the scripts do that? I guess that's something else new about the theater… makes sense, if the mannequins are empty canvases that need to be given form and scripts are souls that need bodies…

  Arata doesn't have enough time to think. The bug charges at him, he closes his eyes and braces himself but a golden membrane floats around him.

  Ravenna sighs, “Oh my god, I am so soso sorry that totally wasn't intentional. Please don't be too mad, I'll kill it for you. Mannequin firing squad, mannequin vanguard, you're up.”

  Suddenly, Arata is shoved back by some wooden figures, they're pointing out their spears in a phalanx formation. While they block off the bug from Arata, emerging from between the seats are musket men.

  That's an interesting application of the mannequins I guess? These guys have more training than I? Did Ravenna do this? Arata looks over at Ravenna, it's almost like she's the director of an orchestra. She looks off into something that Arata could never see.

  The bug does have size but surprisingly cannot overpower the vanguard, whether due to numbers or the soldiers having surprising strength.

  “Incendiary ammo has permission to be loaded! Fire!” Ravenna gives the command while Arata worries. What if that thing blew up in the theater? Does she have a plan?

  Sparks fly, illuminating the dim areas of the theater before landing inside of the bug. The creature begins to swell as Ravenna begins to create another golden barrier for protection. Not around Arata but the bug.

  The golden walls ascend into the middle of the air. Encapsulating the creature as it bulges against its confinement. No noise comes from inside it as the creature bursts in silence.

  “Hey Ravenna, what about its second phase-” Arata watches as the barrier tightens, crushing the cocoon like a hydraulic press. Why can't she just be the savior of the world? Why the hell can't I do that?!

  “Behold, Arata, the power of an angel!” Ravenna is clearly pleased to show off to Arata. She's clearly smug over the fact that she wiped the floor with the same creature, which to Arata was an incredibly tough battle.