Date: Third Week – Isolation Chamber Trial
Location: Academy's Deep Silence Hall
They called it a test of fear. But fear wasn't what waited in the dark.
No monsters. No tricks. Just you, your breath, and the pieces of yourself you never dared to face.
Time flowed differently. Seconds felt like hours. Dreams bled into thoughts. Reality blurred.
For me, there were no screams.
Instead… there was a shogi board.
A spectral one, laid gently before me. The pieces clicked with each move I made — and each time, I lost.
Over and over, I lost.
Each loss brought a voice — cold, steady, familiar:
> "Too greedy. You rushed. Learn to wait."
"That move? Did you protect… or did you sacrifice without thought?"
"You know nothing yet. Sit. Think. Again."
It wasn't my voice. Not the one I speak with. But it was mine.
The other half — the quiet tactician. The one who watched while I lived foolishly. Arrogant. Loud. Blind.
He taught me piece by piece.
And then — I moved.
And for once… I won.
Not the game. The understanding.
And with that final play, the voice said:
> "You are me. And I am you. Let's stop fighting, and begin walking."
I don't remember much after that. Only warmth.
Like something finally aligned.
When I awoke, I was the third to emerge.
Leander — our Sunny Swordsman — was first. Of course he was. That smile? It wasn't a mask. It never was. He walked out with that same light in his eyes. The same easy laugh.
Alice followed. Silent, cold-eyed. But when she saw me, her nod held something almost like respect.
She never screamed, either.
I didn't ask what she saw. She didn't ask me.
Riya emerged later, shaken. Singing that old childhood tune.
Anna cursed and kicked the door when they pulled her out, only to cry into her blanket afterward.
Sixteen made it through. Twenty broke.
But we — we came out new.
Especially me.
For the first time… I feel whole.
Not two voices.
Just one.
Mine.
— Nitsuo
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