The camp didn't recover from the Scenario.
It couldn't.
People moved like ghosts, eyes hollow, voices barely above whispers. No one laughed. No one argued. They just… existed. Survivors of something that should never have been survivable.
Piter Hall stood alone near the perimeter fence, staring at nothing.
No one stood beside him anymore.
Not Lena.
Not Marcus.
Not anyone.
That was the System's real victory.
Isolation.
Footsteps crunched behind him.
He didn't turn.
"I know it's you," he said.
Marcus stopped a few steps away.
"I didn't come to fight," Marcus said quietly.
"Good," Piter replied. "I'm too tired."
Silence stretched.
Finally Marcus spoke.
"They took me."
Piter's jaw tightened.
"When?"
"An hour ago," Marcus said. "Private directive. Same as yours before."
Piter turned slowly.
"What did they offer?"
Marcus exhaled sharply.
"Redemption," he said. "A way to undo what happened. A Scenario where the dead kids… don't die."
Piter froze.
"They showed me projections," Marcus continued. "Alternate resolutions. Worlds where we chose differently."
Lena's sobs echoed faintly somewhere in the camp.
Piter felt cold.
"And you believed them?" he asked.
Marcus shook his head. "No. But they don't need belief."
"What do they need?"
"Consent," Marcus said.
Piter closed his eyes.
Of course.
"They want me," Marcus continued. "They said if I turn you in, they'll trigger a rollback on that Scenario. Save them."
Piter opened his eyes.
Slowly.
"Did they show you proof?"
Marcus nodded.
A projection flared between them.
Children laughing.
Alive.
Families reunited.
The same platforms.
Different outcome.
It hurt to look at.
"They can fake anything," Piter said.
Marcus swallowed. "I know. But what if they can't?"
Silence crushed them.
"If there's even a chance—" Marcus began.
"You'll sacrifice me," Piter finished.
Marcus didn't deny it.
"I don't want to," he whispered. "But how do I walk away from that?"
Piter studied his friend.
Last loop, Marcus died for him.
This time, he lived.
And now he was being used.
"They're not offering redemption," Piter said softly. "They're testing loyalty."
Marcus laughed bitterly. "To you?"
"No," Piter replied. "To the system."
Marcus's shoulders slumped.
"They said it has to be voluntary," he said. "No force. No trick."
Piter nodded.
"Then it's real," he said.
Marcus stared.
"You're going to let me do it?"
Piter took a slow breath.
"If I stop you," he said, "they'll just find someone else."
Marcus's eyes filled.
"You're really going to let me trade you?"
"No," Piter said. "I'm going to choose."
He stepped forward.
"Choose what?" Marcus whispered.
Piter met his gaze.
"Who leaves."
Before Marcus could react—
Piter struck.
Not hard.
Precise.
He slammed his palm into Marcus's neck.
Marcus collapsed instantly.
Unconscious.
Piter caught him before he hit the ground.
"I'm sorry," Piter whispered. "They're not getting you."
He dragged Marcus toward the abandoned transport truck at the edge of camp.
Lena appeared suddenly.
"Piter!" she cried. "What are you doing?"
"Protecting him," Piter replied.
"They're going to kill you!"
"Yes," Piter said. "That's the point."
He laid Marcus in the back of the truck and locked the door.
Then he turned.
Lena was shaking.
"You're going to give yourself up," she whispered.
"Yes."
Her face crumpled.
"They'll torture you."
"They'll try," Piter said.
She grabbed his arm. "You can't leave me."
Piter's voice softened.
"I already did," he said.
Her eyes widened.
"What?"
"I left you the moment I made you stay," he said. "Leadership isn't standing beside people. It's walking away so they don't have to."
She sobbed.
Piter touched her forehead gently.
"You're stronger than me now," he said. "Don't let them tell you otherwise."
The air shimmered.
[Private Scenario Invitation Accepted]
Reality folded.
Lena screamed his name.
Piter disappeared.
White space again.
The same place.
The same figure waited.
Smiling.
"You chose," it said.
Piter nodded.
"Yes."
"Voluntarily?"
"Yes."
"Excellent."
Images flashed.
Marcus unconscious.
The truck.
Lena crying.
"You protected your asset," the figure said. "I approve."
Piter laughed.
"You don't own him."
The figure ignored that.
"Compliance earns reward," it said. "We will now demonstrate rollback."
The platforms reappeared.
The children.
Alive.
Parents reunited.
Laughter.
Piter stared.
"See?" the figure said. "We can undo loss."
Piter stepped closer.
"And you waited," he said quietly. "Until you could use it as leverage."
The figure didn't deny it.
"Release them," Piter said.
"We already did," it replied.
The image glitched.
Faded.
Piter's smile vanished.
"That wasn't real," he said.
"No," the figure admitted. "But it could be."
Piter's hands clenched.
"End it," he said. "Do what you're going to do."
The figure tilted its head.
"Not yet," it said. "First, you will make a choice."
Another platform appeared.
This time—
Marcus.
Lena.
Two projections.
"You can save one," the figure said. "The other will be erased."
Piter didn't hesitate.
"Neither," he said.
The figure blinked.
"Unacceptable."
Piter stepped forward.
"Then erase me," he said.
Silence.
The figure studied him.
"You are inefficient," it said.
"Good."
The space trembled.
"You will be isolated," the figure said. "Cut off. No allies. No community."
Piter smiled faintly.
"That already happened."
The white space collapsed.
Piter slammed onto concrete.
Not the camp.
Somewhere else.
Cold.
Dark.
A single light overhead.
His Interface pulsed.
[Status: Isolated Variable][Support Access: Revoked]
He laughed.
"So this is exile."
Footsteps echoed.
Not System.
Human.
A door opened.
A woman stepped inside.
He didn't recognize her.
She smiled.
"Welcome to the blacklist," she said. "We've been waiting."
Piter stared.
"Who are you?"
She leaned against the wall.
"Another mistake they couldn't erase," she said. "And you just proved you belong here."
Behind her, more figures stepped out of the shadows.
Variables.
Unknown.
Watching him like a test.
Piter's smile returned.
"Looks like I'm not alone after all."