[Scene 1: Ambush by Probability]
The opening of the Second Zodiac Gate—the Gate of Judgment—was immediately overshadowed by the chilling precision of betrayal. Dice Morelli, the probability specialist, materialized at the portal, his voice cold and devoid of humor, holding the stolen Temporal Clock Hand.
"Inefficiency," Dice stated, his eyes calculating. "The Sloth King is too slow. The Compliance Faction collects the Lumina Seed now."
Dice immediately activated the Temporal Clock Hand. The atmosphere of the Zodiac Arena Gate—a massive archway inscribed with balanced scales—immediately warped. Dice wasn't attacking with force; he was manipulating probability. Every step Leo took, every swing Tank made, had a precisely calculated chance of freezing or accelerating out of control.
"Data log: Threat is Probability Manipulation!" Astrid yelled, fighting the sickening awareness that her movements were now statistically governed. "Facts first, feelings later! We are fighting mathematics! Leo, you must use your Dark Inertia to introduce Zero Probability into the field!"
Leo Vance felt the terrifying control. His philosophical anchor was being used against him. "He's weaponizing the logic of time, Laura! I counter with absolute illogical stillness!"
Tank, driven by his self-accepted courage and loyalty, charged Dice. "Let's smash AND grab! I don't care about the odds! I hit what I see!"
[Scene 2: The Duel of Fate and Free Will]
Tank's predictable charge was Dice's primary target. Dice merely spun the Temporal Clock Hand. Tank's movement instantly froze into a localized time bubble—the same fate as Lulu and him in the Metro (Chapter 49).
"One variable neutralized," Dice stated, looking at his digital dice keychain. "The probability of failure for the rest of you is now 99.9%."
Leo and Astrid engaged Dice, their Pure Consciousness Love tested against the absolute certainty of defeat.
Astrid, however, possessed the ultimate counter to probability: her Gear of Paradox. She activated the artifact, not to rewind, but to create a shield of temporal contradiction.
"Your probability is an absolute, Dice! But I introduce contradiction!" Astrid screamed, her logic fighting its own nature. "The odds are now fractured!"
The shield of contradiction slammed into Dice's probability field, forcing a temporary, unpredictable chaos.
Leo capitalized instantly. He pushed a massive, sustained Dark Inertia Pulse outward, focusing the cold, heavy Zeroness directly onto the Temporal Clock Hand. He wasn't trying to break the asset; he was using his Existential Dread to overwhelm the asset's function.
"Your certainty is an illusion, Dice! My Zeroness is the ultimate refusal of fate!" Leo roared, the black-gold light of his power enveloping the temporal weapon.
[Scene 3: The Traitor's Collapse]
Dice's cold composure shattered. He was battling a raw philosophical force that defied his mathematical control. He lost his grip on the Temporal Clock Hand.
The weapon clattered to the ground. The temporal bubble around Tank and Lulu dissolved.
Dice knew he was defeated. He didn't run. He screamed, his facade breaking, revealing the deep-seated fear of failure that led to his betrayal. "I just wanted the certainty, Vance! I wanted to stop relying on luck!"
He activated his Spiral Keychain, the key to the next two missions. He performed a desperate, chaotic temporal jump, fleeing the arena.
Leo retrieved the Temporal Clock Hand—a volatile, but now contained, asset. The Spiral Keychain was lost, but the immediate threat was neutralized.
"We won the battle, but lost the Spiral Key again," Astrid stated, her voice heavy with the recurring strategic loss.
"We won the Spiral Key's location, Laura," Leo corrected, pointing to the Clock Hand. "Dice's betrayal ensures the Gate of Judgment is the next step."
[Scene 4: The Gate of Judgment]
The conflict ended, and the Second Zodiac Gate immediately reacted. The massive archway's scales tilted, acknowledging the trial's completion.
The Gate of Judgment demanded entry. But it required a final, high-stakes moral sacrifice to proceed.
A booming, synthesized voice—the core Protocol's voice—echoed across the Arena, bypassing Leo's compromised consciousness.
"Trial complete. The Gate of Judgment demands the payment of the Moral Debt. The team must choose one of the following assets to sacrifice to the Protocol's core data to gain entry to the Star Forger trial."
The choice materialized in a shimmering field before them:
The Featherblade: Sacrificing Tank's newly earned Courage (his only source of pride).
The Jester's Mask: Sacrificing the ability to manipulate reality (the Chaos Variable).
The Memory of Lulu's Betrayal: Sacrificing the memory of Sanaa's ultimate treachery (thus compromising their strategic knowledge).
The Spiral Keychain's Location: Sacrificing the chance to reclaim the Spiral Key (thus delaying the entire mission by months).
[Scene 5: The Cruel Choice]
The choice was agonizing. Tank immediately knelt. "Let's smash AND grab! Take the Featherblade! My courage is yours, Boss. We need the location more than my pride!"
Astrid shook her head violently, her logic shattered by the cruelty. "Facts first, feelings later! Tank, sacrificing the Featherblade would eliminate your psychological defense! That is statistically a death sentence in the next trial! We sacrifice the Chaos Variable!"
Leo stared at the final choice: The Memory of Lulu's Betrayal. That memory was essential for understanding the enemy's network, but its sacrifice would protect all other assets.
The scales of the Gate of Judgment tilted, waiting for the team's collective decision—a decision that would compromise either their future safety or their moral core.
CLIFFHANGER:
The final, decisive voice belonged to Lys Delmar, the Seer, who had silently watched the entire ordeal unfold from the edge of the Arena. She raised her Dream Weaver Scepter, aiming it directly at the symbol for Sacrifice.
"The moral choice is irrelevant," Lys whispered, her eyes glowing with absolute certainty. "The Gate of Judgment has already chosen its price for entry."
Lys did not choose an asset. She aimed the Scepter at the Zodiac Prism in Tank's hand.
CLICK.
A beam of light shot out, not from the Scepter, but from the Zodiac Prism itself, targeting the most potent symbol of their shared weakness.
The team watched in horror as the Zodiac Prism's energy was drained, but the Lumina Seed remained. The energy was redirected into the core of the Gate.
The Gate of Judgment roared open, accepting the payment. The choice had been made for them, ensuring that the trial was not about their assets, but about the personal trauma they were forced to carry inside.