The floor was dark.
Not empty — just forgotten.
Kairo stepped forward, boots crunching over glass that hadn't shattered yet. The air buzzed, too silent to be natural. An oppressive weight pressed against his thoughts, like someone else's memories were wrapped around his skull.
A flicker of red light spiraled down from above.
Trial of Consensus – Floor -2: The Forgotten Chamber
Objective: Reach a unanimous vote on who deserves to ascend.
Participants: 12
Time: 45 Minutes
Penalty for Failure: Memory Corruption Event (Severity Unknown)
Hidden Rule: Memory State Unstable
A long table stretched into the shadows. Twelve chairs. Eleven figures already seated.
Each player wore a mask with a number.
Kairo was Number 7.
He took his seat — but as he did, a wave of dizziness struck him. His vision blurred. A voice echoed through his mind — not the System. A memory?
"You voted for me to die last time."
He blinked. Who said that?
The others looked equally uncertain — some twitching, some clutching their heads. One of them, Number 3, stared at Kairo like he was a ghost.
"Back again?" she whispered.
"Again?" he replied.
"Don't play dumb. You betrayed me before."
But Kairo had never seen her before.
Had he?
---
A chime rang out.
First Cycle Begins – 5 Minutes Remaining
The table lit up. Each player saw a small interface only they could see:
Vote: Choose one player to Ascend.
You may speak. You may lie. You may not abstain.
Kairo analyzed the rules.
Unanimous vote.
False memories planted.
Players can speak, deceive, manipulate.
He had seen this type of trial in fragments of horror-drenched visions — memory loops weaponized into doubt.
If you remembered betraying someone, you acted guilty.
If someone remembered you betraying them, they hunted you.
Truth was irrelevant.
Only consensus mattered.
But consensus under false beliefs?
This was a slaughterhouse built from misunderstanding.
---
"Let's get this over with," said Number 1 — a tall man with a sharp jaw and dead eyes. Arin, Kairo's memory would later recall. Cold. Commanding. Cruel.
"I say we vote for Number 5. She hasn't said a word."
Number 5 flinched. A short girl with burnt-orange eyes. Lina, Kairo thought. "I... I remember you killing me before."
"See? Emotional outburst. Instability," said Arin.
"I remember you smiling while you did it!"
"She's glitching," whispered Number 6 —
Ryo, anxious, always fiddling with something invisible in his lap.
Someone screamed.
A sound like static tore through the chamber. A surge of red light engulfed Lina. She vanished — not with violence, but with rewriting.
A system prompt appeared:
Vote Failed – Not Unanimous
Memory Corruption Triggered
Subject 5: Rewritten
A new player took her seat.
Same number.
Different face.
None of them reacted.
Except Kairo.
---
He stood slowly. "They just replaced her."
No one responded.
"Don't you see? This game isn't about votes. It's about erasing resistance."
Number 8 — Neve, cool-toned voice, calculating eyes — leaned forward. "Or maybe you planted that memory to manipulate us."
Whispers.
Doubt.
Fear.
Exactly what the mastermind needed.
Kairo knew someone was steering the room.
Feeding certain memories. Removing others.
Shaping outcomes.
He needed proof.
He needed time.
He needed an ally.
---
A message blinked across his interface:
You're not alone. Observe the patterns. I've hidden a memory in your anchor.
—Unknown Source
His hand brushed over his core.
Memory Anchor 2/4. A pulse. A flash.
Suddenly—
He saw himself arguing with Number 3 in another life.
She hadn't been his enemy.
She had been his sister.
Senna.
But he had forgotten.
Or the system made him forget.
She wasn't lying.
And she wasn't unstable.
She was targeted.
---
Cycle 2 began.
Now only ten players remained.
But Arin — Number 1 — was grinning.
Too calm. Too calculated.
He suggested a new method: "Let's each write down who we trust least. That'll help us find consensus."
It was a trick.
Kairo saw it.
He was creating scapegoats — subtly guiding the distrust. A classic liar's game tactic: isolate, repeat, eliminate.
But Kairo needed more than suspicion.
He needed proof.
He whispered to Senna. "I remembered. You were right."
Her eyes widened. She slid him a piece of paper under the table.
It had one sentence: Check the votes. Some players vote twice.
Looped memories. Looped votes.
Someone was hacking the system.
The mastermind wasn't just playing.
They were rewriting rules.
---
Kairo triggered a system interface manually.
Override Attempt Detected.
Loop Hole Accessed: Vote Echo
Player 1 – Double Vote Confirmed
There it was.
The hidden rule exploited: Echo Votes. Only accessible through a glitch in memory anchors.
Kairo stood.
"Player One has been voting twice."
The room froze.
"Impossible," said Arin. Still calm.
"Then prove it. Let's all access our vote history."
Most failed.
Too corrupted.
But three succeeded.
And they all showed the same thing:
Two votes each from Player One.
---
A system alert blared.
Manual Consensus Override Triggered
False Identity Unveiled – Player One = System Anomaly [Class: Echo Phantom]
Arin stood.
Smiled.
And glitched out of existence.
No scream. No violence.
Only a message:
You've found me once, Kairo.
You won't again.
The lights dimmed.
The floor trembled.
Trial Passed – Partial Consensus Achieved
Player Status Updated
Memory Anchor 3/4 Restored
A quiet voice spoke behind Kairo.
"You're getting better at this."
He turned.
No one there.
Only a silver coin.
The same coin Senna had given him.
He flipped it.
It landed on its edge.
And did not fall.
---