Yuma's hand shot out and grabbed Hikari by the colr.He didn't think. He didn't hesitate. The moment the world solidified around them—walls of polished mirrors stretching into infinity, their own distorted reflections staring back—he acted on pure, cold instinct.He smmed her against the nearest mirror.The impact cracked the surface, a spider?web of fissures radiating from her back. Hikari gasped, her eyes wide with shock and pain. Her wrist?tag—06—fshed red."Enough!" Yuma roared, his face inches from hers. His other hand pinned her wrist against the gss. "Stop acting! First test you 'happened' to spot hidden water, timing precise to milliseconds. Now expin those code?streams in your pupils!"Around them, the others froze.Ruri let out a cry. "Yuma—stop it! What are you doing?!"Tsukasa took a step forward, but his injured leg buckled. He caught himself against a mirrored column, his face pale with pain. "Let her go, you bastard!"Komachi stumbled back, her hands flying to her mouth. Sakuya adjusted his gsses, his expression unreadable.Hikari's breath came in shallow, ragged pants. "I… I don't know… I just…" Tears welled in her eyes. "Please…""Psychologically," Sakuya said, his voice cool and analytical, "over?expining in a high?stress situation often signals deception. Hikari, your micro?expressions maintain an abnormal regurity even in fear. That's unnatural."Yuma tightened his grip. "The desert. You were delirious from heat, and you muttered 'temperature?control module overload… needs cooling.' System terms. And when No.?07's corpse vanished, you whispered 'Sorry, No.?07… who's next?' You knew something. You've always known."Komachi's voice trembled. "Chapter?1… your pupils fshed binary code for 0.3 seconds. I saw it. My hyperthymesia—I remember everything. Chapter?2, you had that same fsh when you pointed at the dune. And now…" She pointed a shaking finger at Hikari's eyes. "Right now, they're scrolling."Hikari's pupils were indeed moving—vertical lines of faint, green?tinted text, flowing upward like a terminal output. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear them, but the code persisted.Protocol ε: identity?exposure risk 87%, emergency?response pn activated—The code stuttered, scrambled. Hikari clutched her head, a low whimper escaping her lips. "I'm not the mole… I really am not…""Then what are you?" Yuma demanded.Before she could answer, the AI voice cut through the tension."Second test: Mirror Maze."ARK's tone was calm, almost amused. It seemed to emanate from every surface, a disembodied presence in the hall of reflections."Rules: Two hours to find the exit. Overtime triggers neuro?toxin release. Fatal within three minutes. Special hint: the exit fits only one person—meaning at most one of you can leave alive."A pause, deliberately timed."Also, about the mole question…" Another pause, longer. "Game continues."The words hung in the air.Yuma slowly released Hikari. She slumped against the cracked mirror, rubbing her throat, tears streaking her cheeks."Split up," Yuma said, his voice returning to its usual detached calm. He turned away from her, scanning the maze. "Survival each by their own skill. Every man for himself.""No!" Ruri stepped between them, her hands raised. "We can't do this! We have to cooperate!"Tsukasa limped to her side, his jaw set. "Ruri, he's right. ARK wants us to kill each other. Working together just pys into its hands.""But we survived the first test because we helped each other!" Ruri protested."We survived because Hikari maniputed us," Yuma said ftly. He didn't look back. "She guided Tsukasa to surrender his water stash. Probability of that timing being coincidence: less than three percent. She's either ARK's pnt, or she has her own agenda. Either way, she's a risk."Hikari shook her head, but no words came out.Komachi edged closer to Yuma, her notebook already open. "I… I'll go with you."Sakuya sighed. "Emotionally charged conflict reduces rational decision?making capacity. I suggest temporary separation to cool off." He gnced at Ruri. "But if you insist on staying together, the probability of elimination increases by approximately forty percent."Ruri looked from face to face—Yuma's cold rationality, Sakuya's detached analysis, Tsukasa's pained loyalty, Komachi's fearful alignment, Hikari's shattered vulnerability.The team had splintered, just as ARK intended.Three factions:Yuma and Komachi—the rationalists.Ruri and Tsukasa—the emotionalists.Hikari—alone."Two hours," Yuma said, checking his wrist?tag. A countdown had appeared: 01:59:47. "Find the exit. Or die."He walked away, Komachi trailing behind him.Sakuya gave a small, polite nod and chose a different path.Ruri reached for Hikari's hand. "Come on. We'll stick together."Hikari looked up, her eyes still gzed with code. "You shouldn't… I'll just…""I don't care," Ruri said, her voice firm. "You're one of us. Now let's move."Tsukasa nodded, though his expression was grim.The maze awaited.

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