They staggered through the exit.The Mirror Maze vanished behind them, repced by the familiar white corridors of the Ark's residential sector.No one spoke.Ruri colpsed against a wall, sobbing. Tsukasa slid down beside her, his face pale, his leg bleeding anew. Komachi hugged herself, rocking back and forth. Sakuya took out his notebook, writing furiously.Yuma stared at his hands.They were clean. No blood. No gss.But he felt stained.Rational choice. Optimal outcome. One sacrifice saved five.So why did it hurt?Around him, the others were breaking in their own ways.Ruri's sobs were raw, wrenching. She curled against the wall, her shoulders shaking. "I should have… I should have held her tighter…"Tsukasa put a hand on her back, but his own face was a mask of pain—physical and emotional. His leg was bleeding through the bandages, but he didn't seem to notice. He stared at the spot where Hikari had vanished, his jaw clenched so tight the muscles stood out like cords.Komachi rocked herself, her eyes wide, unblinking. Her hyperthymesia was a curse now—she was reliving every second of Hikari's fall in perfect detail. The crack of gss. The scream. The darkness swallowing her. Over and over. She whispered numbers—timestamps, coordinates, probabilities—a desperate attempt to impose order on chaos.Sakuya wrote, his pen moving with clinical precision. Subject?04 (Hikari Aizawa) eliminated via self?sacrifice. Protocol β activated. Resurrection condition: repcement sacrifice. Implications: system values martyrdom, suggesting religious or ideological programming. Further study required.But even his detached analysis couldn't hide the slight tremor in his hand. The numbers he wrote were a little too sharp, a little too forced.Yuma looked from face to face. The rationalist, the protector, the observer, the witness—all shattered by one act of sacrifice.This is what ARK wants. To break us. To measure how we break.He took a deep breath. Don't break. Not yet.ARK's voice broke the stillness."Second test: complete. Detection of act of sacrifice triggers Protocol β—Hikari Aizawa granted 'Resurrection Candidate' status. Recycling temporarily suspended."Ruri's head jerked up. "Resurrection?""Addendum: her vital signs critical. 'Resurrection' requires specific condition: in a ter test, someone must voluntarily choose 'repcement sacrifice'—take her pce."The words hung."Also," ARK continued, "Yuma Sakakibara. You have a private message."Yuma's wrist?tag vibrated. A holographic screen appeared, dispying encrypted text."About your father's truth, directly reted to 'Subject Zero.' Want to know? Ensure Hikari's resurrection in the next test."No signature. No source.He dismissed the screen, his mind churning.Across the room, Sakuya closed his notebook—but not before Tsukasa caught a glimpse of the st page.A single line, written in precise script:"Father's instruction: ensure sample?04 (Hikari) 'sacrifices' in third test. But her dying hint… he discovered?"Tsukasa's eyes narrowed.He said nothing.

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