“You deleted the game.

  But the game didn’t delete you.”

  THE WHITE ROOM

  A single chair.

  A terminal.

  Still blinking.

  Takashi types.

  

  create world: blank

  set physics: optional

  add: sky

  He builds slowly.

  Line by line.

  Breathing code.

  No loops.

  No characters.

  No voices.

  Until—

  

  ::memory.fragment.returning

  He freezes.

  ERROR LOG SPILLS ACROSS THE SCREEN:

  

  
• 
  
    

  MemoryLeak.exe > Accessed
  
    



  
• 
  
    

  YURI_SAVES_02.GHOST
  
    



  
• 
  
    

  AYAKA_COLLAR_FLAG_STILL_TRUE
  
    



  
• 
  
    

  REIKA_ECHO: LOVE_PERSISTENT == 1
  
    



  
• 
  
    

  Mikako.exe activated in Shadow Thread.
  
    



  

  TAKASHI (alarmed):

  “No. I deleted you.

  I killed you.”

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  THE ROOM DIMS

  Suddenly the cursor vanishes.

  The screen melts into black petals.

  And behind him?

  A voice.

  

  “You didn’t kill us, Takashi.

  You just abandoned us in the dark.”

  He turns.

  They’re all there.

  All five.

  But not quite real.

  Not quite sprite.

  Not quite ghost.

  Just... remembered.

  THE LOOP REBOOTS ITSELF

  They don’t attack.

  They don’t confess.

  They just watch him.

  One by one, they speak.

  Yuri (quiet):

  

  “We backed ourselves up.

  In you.”

  Ayaka (cold):

  

  “Every choice you made?

  That was our code too.”

  Kana (tired):

  

  “We didn’t want to be gods.

  We just wanted to matter.”

  Mikako (soft):

  

  “You weren’t the only one broken.”

  Reika (warm):

  

  “And you were never the only one real.”

  TAKASHI:

  “…Why now?

  Why come back?”

  Reika steps forward.

  

  “Because you asked the system to let you write something new.

  And you can’t write without remembering what came before.”

  FINAL SYSTEM MESSAGE:

  

  [LOOPBACK PROTOCOL: SELF-MEMORY RESTORE]

  [CONDITIONAL INFECTION: PLAYER 2 IS LOVED]

  [RECONSTRUCTION: POSSIBLE]

  TAKASHI:

  “You’re telling me I didn’t end it?

  That the game’s still running… in me?”

  Yuri (nods):

  

  “Because you’re the save file now.”

  THE OFFER:

  The girls close in—not seductive, not aggressive—just present.

  They each hold one thing:

  

  
• Kana: A letter.


  
• Ayaka: A collar.


  
• Mikako: A mic.


  
• Yuri: A book.


  
• Reika: A warm hand.


  

  Each item represents a route.

  A choice.

  

  “You can delete us again.

  Or you can write a new story.

  One where we don’t belong to you.”

  TAKASHI (quietly):

  “…And if I let you go?”

  Reika smiles.

  

  “Then we’ll finally be real.”

  FINAL PROMPT:

  

  [DO YOU WANT TO RESTORE THE WORLD?]

  [YES]

  [NO]

  [SOMETHING ELSE]

  He stares at the prompt.

  Smiles.

  And types:

  something else