The teddy bear was still in Arou's hands.
He carried it out of the storage room and sat down in the living room. The world felt normal—too normal—as if there had never been someone named Emi who had vanished.
The front door opened.
Footsteps echoed through the house.
"Arou?"
Arou turned around.
Nova stood in the doorway, followed by Shion, Arthur, Rei, and Feeth. They looked exhausted, but alive. Whole.
"You guys..." Arou stood up.
"Good. You're here."
Nova nodded.
"Zata said we were released."
Arou swallowed.
"Do you remember Nora? Akari? Airi?"
Silence.
Shion frowned.
"Who?"
Arthur shook his head.
"Those names... sound unfamiliar."
Arou tightened his grip on the teddy bear.
"Then..."
"Emi?"
The five exchanged confused glances.
Rei spoke quietly.
"There is no participant named Emi in the records."
"She's not a participant," Arou replied immediately.
"She's my sister."
Feeth tilted his head.
"In this world's structure, Arou... you're an only child."
The words struck harder than any attack.
"That's nonsense."
Arou raised the teddy bear.
"If I'm an only child—then what's this?"
All eyes turned toward the small bear.
For a moment—
nothing happened.
Then—
the teddy bear trembled.
Not moving.
Not alive.
But... unstable.
Its surface flickered like a corrupted image on an old screen. The faded colors briefly became vibrant before turning dull again.
Nova stepped back.
"That thing... isn't registered."
"It has no identity," Shion added.
"No origin."
The air in the living room felt thinner.
Suddenly—
the figure appeared again.
Standing quietly in the corner of the room.
Emi.
This time she was clearer—yet still faded, as if only Arou could truly see her.
"Arou..."
Arou spun around.
"Emi!"
He stepped forward, but—
Nova and the others showed no reaction.
Their eyes passed straight through her.
"They can't see you..." Arou whispered.
Emi weakly shook her head.
"It's not them..."
She looked at him with anxious eyes.
"This world doesn't know me."
"What do you mean?" Arou's voice trembled.
"I wasn't erased," Emi said slowly.
"I was never recorded."
The teddy bear in Arou's hands shook even harder.
"Arou..."
"The Seventh Game isn't about fighting."
Cracks spread across Emi's body like fragile glass.
"It's about erasing mistakes."
"Mistakes...?" Arou repeated.
Emi smiled sadly.
"Me."
Her figure faded rapidly.
"Wake up..."
"If you don't—"
Her voice cut off.
Silence returned.
The teddy bear slipped from Arou's hands onto the floor—
and dissolved into particles of light before disappearing.
Nova stared at him seriously.
"Arou. What did you just see?"
Arou closed his eyes for a moment.
When he opened them again, his voice was low and certain.
"Zata lied."
He stared ahead.
"Emi wasn't erased."
"She's... a leftover error outside the system."
And for the first time since the Seventh Game began—
Arou realized something.
If this game reached its proper conclusion—
Emi would disappear forever.
---
The atmosphere in the living room changed.
Not cold—
wrong.
Nova stood with his back facing Arou.
His shoulders trembled slightly.
"Nova?" Arou called cautiously.
Nova turned around.
His face... was empty.
His eyes were pitch black, devoid of any reflection.
Behind him, Shion, Rei, Feeth, and Arthur moved as well—
their motions unsynchronized, like shadows poorly imitating humans.
"Arou..."
Their voices merged into one distorted rasp.
Arou's heart pounded.
"What are you—"
Their necks snapped sideways simultaneously.
Their smiles stretched impossibly wide.
Arou stepped back.
"Why..."
"Why are you suddenly so terrifying?!"
No answer came.
They ran.
Footsteps slammed against the floor in chaotic rhythm. The lights flickered violently. The walls seemed to stretch, making distances feel unnaturally long.
Arou turned and sprinted.
"These aren't them," he gasped.
"It's the system..."
A cold hand nearly touched his shoulder.
Arou slammed the kitchen door behind him and rushed toward the back door. Without thinking, he grabbed the handle and pulled it open—
And the world changed.
There was no backyard.
Before him stretched a landscape both beautiful and alien.
The sky glowed blue-violet, filled with floating lights like living stars.
Massive structures towered above him—organic yet futuristic—pulsing softly as though breathing.
Arou froze.
"What is this?"
He stepped outside carefully.
The moment his foot touched the strange ground, the sounds of pursuit vanished completely.
Arou quickly looked back.
Nothing.
Nova, Shion, Rei, Feeth, Arthur—
gone, as though they had never existed.
He immediately crouched behind a massive crystal structure and peeked out.
At the center of the base—
a towering throne formed from living metal.
And seated upon it was a massive figure whose aura seemed to weigh down the air itself.
His skin gleamed like dark steel.
His eyes shimmered with layers of cold light.
His posture was regal and commanding.
Xthalax.
The Alien King.
Arou held his breath.
Alien beings moved in orderly patterns around him, making the base feel more like the heart of a civilization than a battlefield.
"Why would the system..." Arou whispered.
"...bring me here?"
In the distance, Xthalax rose from his throne.
His voice echoed through the base, deep and calm.
"The unrecorded existence..."
"...has finally arrived."
Arou tensed.
The Alien King's gaze—
was directed precisely at his hiding place.
The Seventh Game
was no longer merely threatening him.
It was dragging Arou into places that should never have been connected.
And that meant only one thing:
The system
had run out of elegant solutions.
---
The lights throughout the alien base suddenly changed.
A low siren echoed—not loud, but a vibration that traveled through bone.
"Intruder detected."
An alien voice layered over itself.
Arou flinched.
"I've been spotted—!"
A beam of energy shot toward him from afar.
Before he could dodge—
CLANG!
A blade appeared from the side and deflected the shot in midair.
"Big Brother Fushiku?!"
Fushiku stood before Arou, his sword still vibrating.
"Be careful."
Before Arou could relax—
another figure descended from atop a structure and landed lightly.
One swift slash—
an alien guard on the right collapsed without a sound.
"Setsuna too?!" Arou shouted.
Setsuna glanced at him briefly.
"Yeah. We're here to help."
Arou looked confused, still trying to steady his breathing.
"What exactly is going on?"
Fushiku glanced deeper into the base.
"Your companions are being held here."
Arou froze.
"Held...?"
"They created copies," Fushiku continued.
"The versions you saw earlier."
Arou remembered Nova and the others—empty eyes, unnatural smiles.
"So the ones chasing me..."
"Weren't your real friends," Fushiku answered firmly.
Arou swallowed.
"If I rescue them... what happens?"
Fushiku looked directly into his eyes.
"They'll return."
"And if I fail?" Arou asked quietly.
A brief silence followed.
"Your friends will die."
Arou clenched his fists.
"...Alright."
He lifted his head.
"Please protect me."
Fushiku nodded.
"Understood."
He raised his sword.
"Then let's move!"
"Right," Setsuna replied shortly.
The three of them advanced toward the heart of the base.
Fushiku and Setsuna led the way, intercepting and cutting down guards.
Their movements were precise and controlled—not a rampage, but efficient elimination.
Arou followed behind them, keeping low and trying not to get in the way.
"Can I help?" he asked nervously.
"No," Fushiku answered without looking back.
"You're unarmed."
Arou nodded and kept running.
Then—
a shadow moved behind him.
An energy staff rose high into the air, aimed directly at his head.
"Arou!" Fushiku shouted.
Too late.
CLANG!
Setsuna appeared from the side, blocking the strike before delivering a swift counter-slash.
The alien was thrown backward, motionless.
Arou stood frozen, his heart nearly bursting from his chest.
Setsuna glanced at him.
"Stay between us."
Arou nodded quickly.
"Right."
They pushed deeper into the base.
And far within—
behind living walls and pulsating lights—
a containment chamber slowly began to open.
The Seventh Game
had finally revealed its stakes.
And Arou realized:
One wrong move, and he would lose more than Emi—
he would lose everything he still had left.