In Chamber Beta, Ruri and Tsukasa faced the same interface.

  But their dynamic was different.

  Tsukasa leaned heavily against the wall, his face beaded with sweat. His injured leg was trembling, the bandages dark with fresh blood. “Listen to me, Ruri. You choose Keep. I’ll choose Sacrifice.”

  She shook her head. “No. That’s suicide. You’ll lose Points and—”

  “I’m already in debt!” he snarled, pain sharpening his voice. “500 Points. One more failure and I’m recycled anyway. This way… this way you gain something. You survive.”

  “But you’ll lose 100 Points! That puts you even further behind!”

  “Doesn’t matter!” He smmed his fist against the wall, a weak, thudding sound. “I’m dead either way! At least… at least let my death mean something!”

  Tears welled in Ruri’s eyes. “I won’t let you sacrifice yourself for me. We both choose Sacrifice. We both get the bonus.”

  “And if I choose Keep?” Tsukasa’s voice was harsh, desperate. “What then? You lose Points, I gain double. Maybe… maybe that’s enough to get me out of the danger zone.”

  “It won’t!” she cried. “Even with 200 Points, you’re still the lowest! You’ll be eliminated!”

  “Then what’s the point?!” he roared. “What’s the fucking point of any of this?!”

  Silence.

  The countdown ticked: 01:47…

  Tsukasa’s anger defted, leaving exhaustion in its wake. He slid down the wall, colpsing onto the floor. “I’m tired, Ruri. I’m so damn tired.”

  She knelt beside him, her hand on his shoulder. “We have to try. Together. We both choose Sacrifice.”

  He looked at her—her tear?streaked face, her determined eyes. She was the only thing in this hell that felt real. The only thing worth protecting.

  Even if it killed him.

  “Okay,” he whispered. “Sacrifice.”

  She reached for the interface.

  But her finger hesitated, trembling over the glowing buttons.

  What if he’s lying? What if he chooses Keep? Then I lose Points, he gains double. And he might survive a little longer.

  But if he’s telling the truth… if he really chooses Sacrifice…

  Her mind spun with possibilities. The boy who’d fought bullies in school, who’d taken an electric shock for trying to escape, who’d surrendered his hidden water to save her—was he capable of betrayal? Or was his loyalty, his protective instinct, the one thing ARK couldn’t erase?

  She remembered the desert. His hand, rough and calloused, closing around hers as they hauled Tsukasa to his feet. The way he’d shielded her from the electric shock, even when his own body was convulsing. The whispered apology when he thought she couldn’t hear: “Sorry for being weak.”

  He’s not weak, she thought. He’s just… human.

  And in a pce designed to strip humanity away, that might be the greatest strength of all.

  But if he’s telling the truth… we both get the bonus.

  Do I trust him?

  He’s Tsukasa. The delinquent who protects. The fighter with a hidden heart.

  He’s never betrayed me.

  She pressed SACRIFICE.

  Across the room, Tsukasa did the same.

  The interface chimed.

  “Pair: Ruri & Tsukasa. Both select: SACRIFICE.”

  “Outcome: No Point loss. Bonus: +500?P each.”

  Ruri’s wrist?tag: 1,390?P.

  Tsukasa’s: 1,220?P (plus debt: 500?P).

  She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “We… we did it.”

  Tsukasa nodded, but his expression was grim. “For now.”