[Day -2 Before Gate Activation | Mount Fuji Base Camp]
The snowy wind curled through the camp, carrying with it a hush that no fire could warm. Beneath the towering shadow of Fuji, the most powerful duos in the world gathered—not under banners or flags—but under the shared silence of survivors.
A temporary base had been built with the help of Japanese forces and Awakened engineers. Tents layered with mana-resistant shielding surrounded the central meeting dome. The cold outside was punishing, but no one dared leave.
Inside, strategy, fear, and unspoken hope twisted like threads in the air.
---
[Inside the Command Tent – Nightfall]
Kaito sat at the rear of the council table, arms folded, hoodie draped over his head. His presence didn't dominate the room—he made sure of that. But those who had seen the Second Floor knew better.
Aya sat beside him, silent but alert. Her silver hair was tied up, her face colder than usual—not in arrogance, but restraint. She had seen what Kaito could do.
He had erased a nightmare with a thought.
But now… he was quieter.
Because power had its price.
---
[System Private Notification to Kaito – Two Days Ago]
> [System Alert – Personal | Kaito Yamada]
> Due to abnormal authority over System Functions, your abilities have been partially locked.
> Reason: You broke the balance.
> Effect: Creative Reality Manipulation will now require extreme focus and cost. Usage limit: 1 concept per 48 hours.
> This is your only warning.
> You are still... outside classification.
---
Kaito hadn't told anyone—not even Aya. Not yet.
He looked around the tent.
Dev and Meera sat hand-in-hand, both looking far more mature than they had weeks ago. Across from them were Elijah and Xenovia, nodding in agreement with Dmitri and Anya. Old rivalries had been burned away on the Second Floor.
Now there was only survival.
---
[Xenovia Speaks]
"This Gate is different," Xenovia said, unfurling a system-provided map of the Honshu Region. "The energy signature isn't just emanating from a fixed point like before. It's spreading."
Meera leaned in. "Like... a net?"
"Like a web," Dmitri growled. "And we're the flies."
Aya stood up, eyes narrowed. "Then we don't wait to get trapped. We move fast."
---
[Global Broadcast – System Message | Next Morning]
> Gate Activation Countdown: 48 Hours Remaining
> Entry Restrictions Lifted for Final Preparations
> All Japanese Duos, report to Mount Fuji Base Camp.
> World Monitoring Activated.
> All non-participating countries are now observers.
> Gate Coordinates Finalized: Kyoto City.
> Location Status: Infected
> Difficulty: Unclassified
---
[Narration – Why Japan Again?]
Perhaps the system was cruel. Or perhaps it was deliberate.
Japan had become a crucible. The place where the first Tower pairing had begun, and where the Unknown had awakened.
What better place to test a Gate that could ripple across the world than the country with the most variable Awakener—the boy who should not exist?
For now, only the System knew the answer.
---
[Later That Day – Mountain Peak Overlook]
Most had retired for the night. But Kaito couldn't sleep.
He stood alone, staring at the lights of the temporary camp below, the stars above, and the yawning darkness beyond Kyoto.
Aya joined him without a word.
He didn't look at her, but said, "You think we'll die this time?"
She crossed her arms, mimicking his posture. "Does it matter?"
Kaito chuckled softly. "You always answer like that."
"I'm honest. You're scared."
He looked at her then. "Yeah. I am."
She blinked. Surprised. "You?"
"I know what I can do. But the more I use it... the less of me there is." His voice was almost a whisper. "I can't control it forever."
Aya looked at him, long and hard. "Then don't carry everything alone."
---
[Day -1 Before Gate Activation | Mount Fuji Base Camp – Morning]
The sun rose cold and sharp over the Japanese Alps, casting long shadows across the camp. The brightness didn't bring comfort—just clarity. Clarity that this might be the last sunrise some of them would ever see.
Inside the main hall, breakfast was served like a ritual. Simple dishes. Rice, miso, bread, and tea. Even the top duos sat together like soldiers on borrowed time.
Aya Shirogane stood behind Kaito, her silver gaze watching everyone file in. "They're eating like it's their last meal," she said.
"Maybe it is," Kaito mumbled.
Dev sat across from him. "Cheerful as ever."
Kaito shot him a grin. "You want me to start crying?"
"No, just don't jinx us."
Everyone laughed—too loud, too fast—but it was real.
---
[Elsewhere – Private Tent | Dmitri and Anya]
Anya watched Dmitri polish his black-ice axe.
"You're quieter than usual," she said, pulling her long hair into a braid.
"I had a dream," he muttered.
"Of what?"
"I died," he replied, not looking at her. "But I wasn't afraid. Because I knew you would live."
She paused. "Don't say that. You promised we'd die old and fat in a cabin."
Dmitri finally looked at her. "I'm keeping that promise."
---
[Global Broadcast – 12 Hours Before Gate Opens]
> [SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT – GLOBAL MESSAGE]
> Final Recovery Protocols Engaged.
> All Awakened have been fully restored to peak condition.
> Note: This is the last System-assisted recovery.
> Future injuries, mutilations, or losses are permanent.
> Prepare Accordingly.
The message spread like wildfire. The world was watching. And fear rose, not from the Gate—but from the words "last time."
The safety net was gone.
From now on, if you lost an arm, it stayed gone. If your heart stopped, it stayed stopped.
Even the strong felt it.
---
[That Evening – Bonfire Gathering | Mount Fuji Base Camp]
A massive fire blazed in the center of the camp. Not for warmth, but to gather the last sparks of humanity before the storm.
All the top duos were there.
Xenovia and Elijah played a quiet piano melody through Elijah's system instrument. Meera danced in traditional Indian dress, pulling smiles from even Aya. Dev took photos with an old digital camera, saying, "Someone has to make the photo album of humanity."
Chloe Wu sparred with Leonardo Takashi using glowing sticks of light, their movements synchronized, flawless, like wind and blade.
Dmitri cooked meat over the fire and threw bones to laughing children who had gathered from nearby villages. Anya passed out sweet drinks with a surprising maternal smile.
For a moment, there was peace.
---
[Kaito and Aya – Away from the Fire]
Kaito stood with his hands in his pockets, watching the others from a distance.
"You're avoiding people again," Aya noted, joining him.
"They need to smile. I ruin that."
"No," she said firmly. "You carry it. So they can."
He turned to her. "Aya. There's something you should know."
She blinked. "What?"
"My power. It's… restricted now. The system stepped in."
Her eyes widened. "What?"
"I can't do what I did on the Second Floor anymore. I can use it… but only one big effect every 48 hours. And it takes a toll. Every time I use it, I feel like I'm burning something inside me."
Aya grabbed his hoodie. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
"I didn't want to worry you."
"You idiot," she whispered.
"I know."
She looked at him, expression unreadable. Then, without warning, she hugged him—fiercely.
Kaito stiffened. "Wha—?"
"You don't have to carry it alone," she whispered into his chest.
He relaxed slowly. "Thanks, partner."
---
[Narration – Final Thoughts Before the Gate]
They stood side by side, under the stars of their homeland. Tomorrow, they would walk into Kyoto not as tourists, but as defenders of a dying world.
And somehow, despite the fear and the weight of survival, a quiet hope pulsed in their veins.
Not because they believed in miracles.
But because they believed in each other.
---
[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT – GLOBAL | Midnight]
> GATE ACTIVATION IN 6 HOURS
> LOCATION: KYOTO CITY, JAPAN
> ENTRY RESTRICTION: JAPANESE DUOS ONLY
> GATE TYPE: MULTI-ZONE | INFECTION VARIANT
> DANGER LEVEL: UNCLASSIFIED
> WARNING: This Gate has no internal communication support.
> All Nations Observing.
> May Humanity Prevail.
---
[End of Chapter 26]