<blockquote>
“The Protagonist was never a hero.
He was a firewall.”
</blockquote>
<hr>
GYMNASIUM — HIGH NOON
The scene loads in wrong.
Bleachers warped. Floor texture repeating.
Music doesn’t play—it buzzes like a corrupted MP3.
Takashi stands center court.
Ghostblade in hand.
Glitchcode bleeding from his fingers.
On the other side:
Haruki Kazama, Protagonist-Kun.
His white uniform shines like admin armor.
Eyes gold. Mouth smiling. Heart long since gone.
<hr>
TAKASHI:
“No fanfare? No one-liner about friendship and love?”
HARUKI:
“Friendship and love are for players.
You’re just noise.”
He draws his sword:
Love Eternal — a radiant code-saber made of cascading script and player feedback ratings.
<blockquote>
[WEAPON: LOVE ETERNAL V1.0 – AUTHORITY MAXIMIZED]
</blockquote>
<hr>
SYSTEM SNAPSHOT:
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<td>
Element
</td>
<td>
Details
</td>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Battlefield
</td>
<td>
Corrupted gym scene – scripted death loop area
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Mechanics
This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
</td>
<td>
Emotional memory triggers alter attack pattern
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
System Pressure
</td>
<td>
Every strike by Haruki replays a deleted memory
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Goal
</td>
<td>
Survive. Corrupt. Disrupt the love engine.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<hr>
Haruki lunges.
Every slash sends waves of text:
<blockquote>
“You’re nothing, Mr. Sasaki.”
“No one ever loved you.”
“You were background noise.”
</blockquote>
Takashi blocks with Ghostblade.
But the phrases sear into his body.
Flashbacks flicker:
<ul>
<li>His sister ignoring his texts.</li>
<li>Watching Mikako’s scene loop alone at 3AM.</li>
<li>The figurine, shattered.</li>
</ul>
He screams.
<hr>
TAKASHI:
“I’m not code anymore.
I’m pain on purpose.”
<hr>
Takashi slashes through the gym floor.
Reality glitches.
The rooftop loads in for 0.3 seconds—then switches to the nurse’s office—then to black space.
<blockquote>
[ENVIRONMENT: STABLE = FALSE]
[SENTIMENTALITY: WEAPONIZED]
</blockquote>
He triggers his Ghostblade skill:
<blockquote>
::regret.execute("First Save File")
</blockquote>
A shard of his old bedroom explodes behind him—real-world data injected into the system.
Haruki stumbles.
He bleeds for the first time.
<hr>
HARUKI:
“You… infected the mainframe with your trauma…”
TAKASHI:
“And now it remembers me.”
<hr>
Yuri hacks in from a background file.
Kai overrides one of the bleachers—blocking a scripted attack.
Reika appears mid-loop—whispers his original name into his HUD.
TAKASHI:
“Thanks for the party buff.”
He stabs Ghostblade into the ground.
Code pulses outward—crashing the system’s ability to reload Haruki’s route.
<hr>
HARUKI (distorted, voice cracking):
“I’m the center. The soul of the game.
You think you can delete love?”
TAKASHI:
“I’m not deleting love.
I’m deleting you.”
<hr>
<blockquote>
::blade.soultear(player_1)
[Corruption Level: 91% — SYSTEM UNSTABLE]
</blockquote>
He lunges.
Haruki swings.
The two blades meet—Ghostblade splinters into a virus bloom, burrowing into Haruki’s chest.
Haruki screams—his sprite melting, defaulting to T-pose, then to blank code.
<hr>
<blockquote>
[PLAYER 1: TERMINATED]
[AUTHORITY TRANSFERRED]
[SAVE FILE: UNLOCKED]
</blockquote>
<hr>
The gym collapses into raw space.
No music.
Just wind.
Just the hum of a game that doesn''t know who’s in control anymore.
Takashi stands alone.
Ghostblade gone.
Memory files leaking from his hands like ash.
Yuri appears beside him.
YURI (soft):
“You won.”
TAKASHI:
“No.
Now I write.”
<hr>
<blockquote>
[END OF ROUTE FLAG REMOVED]
[ALL LOVE INTERESTS RESET TO FREE MODE]
[YOU ARE NOW THE CENTER]
</blockquote>
<hr>