“They weren’t just code.

  They were players.

  And now I hear them.”

  After the battle with Haruki, the world is… wrong.

  

  
• Hallways repeat infinitely.


  
• NPCs say the same line, no matter where he goes:


  

  

  “I’m happy to be here, Mr. Sasaki!”

  Takashi walks through Sakura High, but it’s just a shell.

  There’s no UI.

  No HUD.

  No girls.

  Only the sound of something breathing behind the walls.

  He receives a notification mid-step.

  

  [PLAYER 2: ADMIN STATUS = TRUE]

  [SYSTEM OPTIONS UNLOCKED: VIEW SAVE DATA]

  TAKASHI:

  “Let’s see what you’ve been hiding.”

  The room loads as a white box with floating windows—each one a corrupted Save File.

  He scans the labels:

  

  
• 
  
    

  save_01_AKIRA
  
    



  
• 
  
    

  save_02_MEI
  
    



  
• 
  
    

  save_03_SATORU
  
    



  
• 
  
    

  save_04_YOU
  
    



  

  Takashi clicks on one.

  Scene opens in a first-person view.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  A user walks through the game, excited. Nervous.

  He meets Kana.

  She confesses.

  Then she stabs him.

  The camera shakes.

  Satoru screams.

  Error screen flashes:

  

  [MENTAL FRAGMENTATION DETECTED]

  [LOOPING THERAPY SEQUENCE: FAILED]

  [TRANSFER TO NPC ROLE: COMPLETE]

  TAKASHI:

  “…Holy shit.”

  He looks again.

  Each save isn’t a game.

  It’s a person.

  Each one was someone who played, broke, and was absorbed.

  

  [FILE ACCESS: save_04_YOU]

  Warning: Feedback Loop Active

  Open? — [Y]

  He hesitates.

  Clicks Yes.

  This time, it’s not the game.

  It’s a live feed. From Earth.

  From his room.

  He sees himself:

  

  
• Sitting at the PC.


  
• Crying.


  
• The cracked Mikako figure beside him.


  

  Then he collapses.

  And a pop-up appears on the monitor:

  

  “Welcome to Cherry Kiss: Love Eternal++

  Would you like to heal your heart?”

  [YES] / [YES]

  

  [SAVE FILE "YOU" = OVERRIDING PLAYER 2’S CURRENT CONSCIOUSNESS]

  [EMOTION STACK: BLEEDING INTO ACTIVE MEMORY]

  [CORRUPTION SPIKE: 92%]

  TAKASHI:

  “No—NO—shut it down—”

  He rips the connection.

  Blood leaks from his nose.

  He stumbles backward as the save files begin screaming.

  

  “I was supposed to be the main character.”

  “Why didn’t she pick me?”

  “I gave everything to the game—why did it take me too?”

  The school reforms around him—fractured.

  Every wall covered in text:

  

  BAD END BAD END BAD END BAD END BAD END

  Girls’ faces flicker.

  Each one crying.

  Each one saying the same thing:

  

  “Please let me go.”

  Yuri appears beside him.

  Not speaking.

  Just... watching.

  TAKASHI (whispers):

  “They weren’t characters.

  They were… people.

  Every deleted save… was someone who never escaped.”

  YURI:

  “And now you’re the one holding the keys.”

  

  [DELETE ALL SAVES?]

  [RESET WORLD TO NULL STATE?]

  [MERGE PLAYERS INTO SINGLE ENTITY?]

  TAKASHI (whispers):

  “...What if I just walked away?”

  YURI:

  “You can’t.

  Not until you choose who dies.”