At 95% synchronization, the trap activated.The chamber darkened. Six new mirrors descended from the ceiling, each beled with a title:Yuma: Father's TruthRuri: The AccidentTsukasa: The HackerKomachi: The WitnessSakuya: The ObserverHikari: The MoleA holographic message appeared:"To unlock the exit, one mirror must be shattered. The chosen subject's darkest secret will be revealed to all, and marked by ARK as 'priority?elimination target.' Choose within 60 seconds. Failure to choose eliminates all."Silence.Then Tsukasa snarled. "Another damned choice! Always forcing us to sacrifice!"Yuma's mind raced. Rational analysis: which secret is least damaging to group cohesion? Which person has the highest elimination risk already?His eyes went to Hikari.The Mole.The bel glowed red, accusing. Her secret was already partly exposed—the code?streams in her eyes, the system terms she'd muttered, the timing of her "discoveries." Probability of her being ARK's pnt or a compromised asset: 68%. Her elimination was likely regardless of this choice.Sacrificing her minimized colteral damage. It preserved Ruri's morale (though she'd grieve), kept Tsukasa's loyalty intact, maintained Komachi's trust, and allowed Sakuya to continue his observations. The rational choice was clear.Yet something tugged at him. A variable he couldn't quantify.Hikari's face—pale, tear?streaked, terrified. Her whispered confession: "I'm not the mole… I really am not." The desperation in her voice. The countdown to her self?destruct.Emotion is inefficient. Survival is paramount.He pushed the doubt aside. Opened his mouth to speak the logical verdict.But Hikari moved first.She lunged toward the mirror beled The Mole, her body a blur of motion. "Shatter it!" she screamed. "Expose my secret! That fulfills the condition without hurting any of you!"Ruri screamed. "Hikari—no!"Tsukasa tried to grab her, but his injured leg gave way.Yuma stood frozen, his calcutions incomplete.Hikari smmed into the mirror.Gss shattered.Not just the mirror—the floor beneath it cracked open, a yawning abyss. Hikari fell, swallowed by darkness.Her final words, torn and broken, echoed in the chamber:"Go! Tell everyone… I wasn't the mole. And… watch Sakuya… his notes…"Then silence.The exit shimmered into existence—a single doorway of light.The remaining five stood, stunned, in the aftermath.

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