[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT – EVENT PHASE: STAGE FINAL – INITIATED]
Final Phase: Battle of Ego – Victory Condition: Sever the Demon from the Collective Mind
Time Limit: 3 Hours
Failure Condition: Total Collapse of Consciousness / Death of All Duos Present
Active Duos: 5
Unknown Variables: 1
---
[0:00 – Mind Battlefield Manifestation]
The world within the trap shifts again.
Gone are the dreamlike illusions of past regrets.
Now, the environment becomes jagged—fractured like a broken mirror. Floating chunks of memory swirl in a black void. The "ground" is a sea of pulsing neural light. Above, countless eyes blink open, watching from an artificial "sky" of corrupted data.
This isn't someone's memory anymore.
This is Nurarihyon's domain.
The heart of his power.
And within it…
The self begins to erode.
---
[0:15 – The Demon Attacks the Ego]
Dev screamed.
Meera stumbled.
The memories they'd crafted—used as psychic counter-weapons—began to invert.
Nurarihyon had adapted.
The false pasts twisted into fresh traumas. Meera now saw herself killing Dev. Dev saw Meera leaving him behind—again and again—choosing someone else.
Aya's vision distorted too. She saw Kaito walking away from her, mask shattering, face unknown.
"You're not real," her hallucination whispered.
"You're just a shell he hides behind."
Her knees buckled.
Kaito caught her.
"Focus on my voice," he said calmly, pressing his forehead against hers. "Not the echo. Me."
Aya inhaled. Shaky. But she nodded.
And the illusion shattered.
---
[0:30 – Kaito's Gambit: Layered Consciousness]
The team regroups on a floating island of memory—hovering over a spiraling abyss.
Kaito speaks fast.
"Nurarihyon evolved," he says, "but so did I. I realized something—"
He snaps his fingers.
The space around them freezes. Just a little.
Time distortion.
"He feeds on singular identities—linear minds. But I'm not linear. I can split myself."
"You what?" Meera blinks.
Kaito smiles. "I layered three versions of myself—past, present, and one imagined. It's confusing the hell out of him."
Even as he says it, distant psychic screams ripple across the void.
Nurarihyon's form glitches.
Aya exhales. "You're insane."
"Thank you."
---
[0:50 – Counteroffensive Begins]
The 5 remaining duos form a formation.
Kaito and Aya at center—Kaito generating illusions, Aya slicing through distortions.
Dev and Meera as flank guards—shielding with synced aura pulses.
The last surviving duo—Takeshi and Reina—support with flame and sound-type psychic abilities.
Nurarihyon launches mental claws—each one shaped like a regret, a betrayal, a suppressed truth.
They counter them not with power, but truth.
Aya shouts, "I love you, idiot!" as a massive version of her father's disapproving face shatters before her.
Meera screams, "I'm not ashamed of who I chose!" and a spectral priest's condemnation vanishes.
Dev whispers, "I forgive myself."
And the shadow that once crushed his heart… fades.
---
[1:45 – The Final Core Revealed]
Nurarihyon shrinks.
Now just a twisted knot of thoughts and pain—a child's silhouette sobbing in the center of a black sphere.
"I don't want to be forgotten…"
Kaito approaches.
Aya puts a hand on his chest.
He nods. Steps forward alone.
And kneels.
"I remember you."
The sphere begins to crumble.
"I remember your fear… your need… the way you didn't want to disappear."
The child looks up. No face. Just emptiness.
Kaito touches the silhouette.
And with a gentle voice, whispers—
> "Rest."
---
[2:00 – SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]
> [Event Stage: Psychological Trial 1 – CLEARED]
Rewards will be distributed.
Duos have 48 hours of Recovery Time.
Special System Update Unlocked: [Emotional Sync: Level 1 Activated]
Effect: Duos who surpass psychological bonds unlock new synchronized skills.
Kaito & Aya – Effect Pending Analysis (Anomaly detected…)
---
[Aftermath – Quiet]
No one speaks.
They sit.
Breathe.
Heal.
Aya leans her head on Kaito's shoulder.
Dev and Meera sit hand-in-hand, eyes closed.
Takeshi and Reina simply hold each other, murmuring about home.
For now, no system announcements. No monsters. No pain.
Just peace.
But all of them know…
This was just the first trial.
---