The labyrinth was silent after the core exploded. Only fragments of neon floated in the air, flickering like dying stars.
In Orbis's hands glowed a blue-violet crystal of data.
"This… isn't just a map," he said softly. "It's… a recording."
He placed the crystal on the floor. Light flared, forming a hologram before them.
One by one, faces appeared.
Human avatars—but fractured. Glitch-torn bodies, hollow eyes, their voices echoing like static.
["I… I want to live again… anything… as long as I return…"]
["Reboot… it's a lie… don't go in… you'll vanish…"]
["You think you're still human? No. We're nothing but data now…"]
The hologram cycled through dozens of them. Some screaming. Some silent. Some vanishing into glitch mid-sentence.
Yuto'o trembled, his whole body shaking. "They… they're all Circuit Ghosts?"
Orbis nodded grimly. "Yes. All of them. Ghosts who failed."
Yuuki stood firm, crimson eyes fixed on the holograms without flinching.
"I knew some of them," she said coldly. "Friends. Enemies. Rivals. All ended the same—erased, or twisted into monsters."
Yuto'o turned toward her, his voice breaking. "But… you didn't. Why? What makes you different?"
Yuuki was silent for a moment, then a faint smile curved across her lips.
"That's a question I've never fully answered. Maybe I was lucky. Maybe I was strong enough. Or maybe… I stopped being human a long time ago."
She stepped forward, letting the ghostly holograms pass through her body.
"Do you hear them scream? That's the common fate of Circuit Ghosts. The more you use the glitch, the more you lose. Not just your body… but yourself. Memory. Feeling. Soul."
She turned back to Yuto'o, her red eyes burning.
"That is the true price of the Reboot path."
Yuto'o clenched his teeth, data-blood dripping from his cracks. He thought of his stolen life, his stolen body.
He tightened his grip on the glitch blade.
"I want my life back. If I have to become a monster to do it… I'll bear it."
Yuuki chuckled softly. "Brave… or foolish. We'll see."
She turned, summoning a new portal of swirling violet-pink.
"The next map awaits. But remember this, Circuit Ghost—every step you take only makes the world hungrier for your blood."
Outside, in the black forums of the Dark Server, whispers spread like fire.
The face of the Circuit Ghost circulated in recordings, shared across hunters and gangs alike.
And all who looked at him knew—
he was just another of the Other Ghosts…
a flame that could be extinguished at any moment.
The truth of the Ghosts is revealed—and the world sharpens its teeth.