“The system demanded a sacrifice.

  And I gave it love.”

  The world is paused.

  Literally—everything is frozen.

  The sky is red.

  Students mid-blink.

  Birds halted midair.

  Only Takashi can move.

  In front of him:

  Five frozen girls.

  Their names glow above their heads:

  

  
• Kana


  
• Ayaka


  
• Mikako


  
• Reika


  
• Yuri


  

  And under each name?

  A pulsing, blinking red X.

  TAKASHI (reading prompt aloud):

  “Choose one route to delete.

  If you do not choose, the system will default to ‘All Love Terminated.’”

  He walks slowly.

  Studies each face.

  Kana — childhood. Familiarity. Innocent loops.

  Ayaka — pain, dominance, connection in the dark.

  Mikako — the anti-virus. The threat with warmth.

  Reika — the caretaker. His “safe zone.”

  Yuri — the truth. The glitch. The one who knows.

  TAKASHI:

  “I can’t…”

  The HUD flashes:

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  

  [Decision Timeout: 00:45]

  [Emotion Stack: Bleeding]

  [Delete or Be Deleted]

  

  “It’s not about who you love most.

  It’s about who you can live without.”

  TAKASHI:

  “…Forgive me.”

  He raises his hand.

  The cursor moves over Reika.

  

  “Delete Teacher Route – Reika Shinozuka?”

  He clicks YES.

  The system stutters.

  

  [EXECUTING…]

  Reika blinks.

  She smiles.

  She takes one step forward.

  

  “Takashi, I—”

  Then her sprite glitches.

  She gasps.

  Her eyes bleed pixels.

  

  “Oh.

  You chose…”

  She reaches for him.

  Doesn’t make it.

  She melts into her own textbox.

  Her voice fragments:

  

  “You still need someone to—

  to—

  to—”

  Then gone.

  Just a memory.

  Just a name in gray text:

  

  [REIKA – FILE NOT FOUND]

  

  [ROUTE DELETED SUCCESSFULLY]

  [STABILITY RESTORED – TEMPORARILY]

  [EMOTION FILE: “Guilt_001” CREATED]

  He sleeps.

  And dreams of Reika.

  She smiles.

  Not sad.

  Not angry.

  Just tired.

  

  “I wanted to be real.

  Even if it hurt.”

  He wakes up screaming.

  Only four girls remain.

  

  
• Kana.


  
• Ayaka.


  
• Mikako.


  
• Yuri.


  

  Each one looks at him differently now.

  Like they know.

  But say nothing.

  Just one line, in perfect sync:

  

  “We’re so glad you stayed with us, Takashi-kun~”

  GHOST FILES MENU – LATER THAT DAY

  Takashi stares at her name.

  Grayed out.

  Unclickable.

  No backup.

  YURI (appearing quietly):

  “You understand now, don’t you?”

  TAKASHI:

  “That wasn’t just deleting a file.

  That was a person.”

  YURI:

  “It always was.”

  TAKASHI (cold):

  “I thought killing the Protagonist would give me freedom.

  But now I see it…”

  He grips the Ghostblade again.

  Looks at the remaining names.

  

  “…I’m just another route now.

  Another one someone else will have to choose to delete.”