The maze spits them out—one by one.
Matthew, Sora, Rin.
Each dazed. Each carrying more than they did going in.
The Memory Forge. The Crown Trial. The Reconstruction Path.
All behind them.
But when their eyes adjust, they realize—
They've returned.
To the very first chamber.
The room where it all began.
The Dead or Alive Game.
But something's changed.
The glowing screen no longer asks a question.
It's already answered:
"YES."
And below it, flickering faintly:
"Message Missed."
"Replay Option Expired."
"Access Locked."
Rin runs to the console.
"This wasn't here before."
Sora stares at the ceiling.
The blinking light above is pulsing in a pattern she now recognizes—
Morse code.
She deciphers it aloud.
"THE FIRST CHOICE WAS NEVER YOURS."
"YOU WERE CHOSEN TO ENTER."
"THE RESET HAS BEGUN."
Matthew's face darkens.
"We weren't players. We were bait."
On the floor near the console lies a charred fragment of paper.
Sora picks it up, reads aloud:
"The game was corrupted before you even arrived."
"Your survival wasn't the plan."
"You missed her warning."
She looks up at the others.
"This room didn't let us in… it trapped us the moment we said yes."
"And someone—who tried to warn us—was erased before we could listen."
Then the power flickers.
For a second, the screen shows an image from the past:
A glimpse of the girl in the white coat—the same one Matthew saw in the Forge.
She's reaching out, voice muted.
Behind her, the maze is collapsing.
Something drags her away.
Then: Static.
Then: Darkness.
In the silence, a new door opens behind them.
Above it, not a card.
Not a suit.
Not even a title.
Just a phrase:
"CONTINUE THE CORRUPTION."
And a timer counting down from:
00:05:00
Sora exhales.
"We're not surviving the game anymore."
"We're unraveling it."