Kaede stared, frozen in place.
His brother stood just beyond the fading light of the arena—a figure he hadn't seen in over two years. Kaito Tachibana. Older by three years. Once his rival. Once his hero.
Now… a ghost.
"K-Kaito…?"
The figure smiled. "Took you long enough to level up."
Kaede's voice caught in his throat. "This isn't possible. You quit gaming. You vanished."
Kaito stepped forward, his boots making no sound on the digital surface. His armor was unlike anything Kaede had seen—smooth black with glowing red seams. It looked… earned. Heavy. Lethal.
"I didn't quit," Kaito said. "I leveled past the system. Just like you're doing now."
Kaede's heart pounded.
"Wait—are you saying you've been in True Mode this whole time?"
Kaito didn't answer directly. He turned his gaze to the blank digital sky.
"Do you know why this place exists? Why it chooses players like us?"
Kaede shook his head slowly.
"Because the top 0.01%—the ones who break leaderboards, who find exploits, who live through instinct—we were never meant to be contained by code. True Mode is where the system watches to see who can evolve beyond the game."
Kaede clenched his fists. "So what, you got chosen… and never came back?"
"I tried," Kaito said. "But once you're synced past a certain point… there is no going back."
His voice darkened.
"And now, little brother, I have to test you. Just like they tested me."
[Trial Extension Activated: GHOST MATCH – Kaito Tachibana]
Level: 28 | Class: Framewalker | Role: Duelist]
Objective: Survive for 90 Seconds
Kaede instinctively slid into a battle stance. His pulse raced. This wasn't a mirror match. This was something more dangerous.
More real.
Kaito drew his blade—a crimson-edged saber flickering with glitch energy.
"I'll hold back," he said, smirking. "For the first 30 seconds, anyway."
Kaede exhaled slowly. "Great. Big brother's still a showoff."
The timer appeared.
[89:59… 89:58…]
The trial had begun.
And this time, it wasn't just about survival.
It was personal.