I finished the game.
The final notification appeared on the screen—the one only completionists ever see.
[100% COMPLETED – All Routes Cleared]
I leaned back in my chair, waiting for satisfaction to settle in.
It never came.
Instead, there was a quiet weight in my chest.
"…So that's it."
The ending played out one last time.The city was saved.The world was at peace.The protagonist stood smiling, surrounded by people who loved him.
And she—
She was gone again.
She was never the main heroine.Never the "correct" choice.Never the girl the story rewarded.
She was always there, though.
Supporting.Guiding.Smiling softly while standing one step behind everyone else.
In the Fire Route, she died protecting the protagonist.In the Dark Route, she became an enemy—and was killed.In the Peace Route, she quietly disappeared, as if she had never existed.
Not once.
Not a single time—
Did the protagonist choose her.
I clenched my fist.
"That's not fair…"
I knew it was just a game.Just a visual novel with branching paths and scripted endings.
And yet, every time she sacrificed herself, I pressed "Next" while hating the fact that I couldn't stop it.
Because I had no choice.
I shut the laptop and lay back on my bed, staring at the ceiling.
"If I were there…"I muttered with a bitter laugh."At least I'd try."
The thought was ridiculous.
I closed my eyes.
✦ ✦ ✦
Cold.
That was the first thing I felt.
Not imagined cold—real, biting cold.
I opened my eyes.
This wasn't my ceiling.
Above me stretched a vast blue sky.Around me echoed voices—students laughing, footsteps on stone.
I bolted upright.
"…What?"
Towering gates stood before me, painfully familiar.
Silver letters were engraved across them:
Chronocross Academy
My blood ran cold.
"…No way."
I looked down at my hands.My body.My clothes.
A school uniform.
Not the protagonist's.
A secondary character's uniform.
Then a cheerful voice sounded behind me.
"Hey! Morning! Ready for our first year?"
I turned—slowly.
There he was.
The protagonist.
The one whose endings I had memorized.The one who chose everyone—
Except her.
He smiled naturally and clapped a hand on my shoulder.
"Come on, we don't want to be late on the first day."
I swallowed.
So it was real.
I was inside the game.
And I wasn't the hero.
My gaze drifted across the courtyard.
And then—
I saw her.
A white haired girl with a blue eyes Standing quietly apart from the crowd, holding her books, wearing that gentle smile I knew too well.
Just like the beginning.
Before every route.Before every sacrifice.
Before she died—again.
My hand tightened.
"This time…"I whispered to myself.
"I won't let the route play out as written."