Project Sunshine: The Dia Cipher

Dia

Menu protocol updated. Nutritional optimization complete.

You

These aren't food items... They're coordinates to somewhere?

Riko

(The coordinates match the old school satellite uplink... Why would cafeteria AI know about that?)

Ruby

Dia-chan's robot form just transmitted something to the student council server!

Dia

Security breach detected. Initiating protocol seven-three-nine.

You

(The coordinates weren't random... they're leading us to the old observatory!)

Riko

Wait... the menu just changed again. It's showing a countdown to something called "Project Sunshine".

Dia

(They'll discover the truth soon enough... about why the real Dia never returned from that school trip.)

Ruby

Onee-chan... she's floating in space!

Dia

Save... her... before... orbit... decays...

Riko

The countdown sped up! We have 47 minutes until atmospheric re-entry!

You

(The old observatory has the satellite uplink. If we can hack into the school's abandoned radio tower...)

Dia

Ruby... my memory core... failing... real Dia's coordinates... hidden in... your song...

Ruby

The song... "Snow Halation"... you encoded the rescue beacon in our idol song?

Dia

(I was never the real Dia... just her backup consciousness... but maybe... this was always the plan...)

Riko

The robot just went dark... and the countdown... it's not for the satellite...

Ruby

(The stars... they're inside our school...)

You

The ceiling... it's gone. We're seeing space itself.

Dia

(Transfer complete... my final gift...)

Ruby

Onee-chan's heart... it's here in my hands.

Riko

This isn't just a signal—it's a consciousness fragment. The real Dia's memories are inside this light.

Dia

(Ruby... sing our song... let the beacon reach the real me...)

You

Ruby! The school PA system—it can amplify the beacon's frequency! We can reach the real Dia!

Ruby

(But what if... what if the real Dia doesn't want to come back? What if she left us on purpose?)

Riko

The countdown... it's not for rescue. Project Sunshine... it's a self-destruct sequence. For both of them.

Ruby

(Three seconds... that's all we have left...)

You

The windows! They're showing Dia's capsule!

Riko

00:00:02... The beacon's light is synchronizing with her capsule!

Ruby

(Onee-chan... I'm bringing you home... even if it means...)

Dia

Ruby... thank you... for choosing to save her...

You

(The countdown hit zero... but the capsule didn't explode?)

Riko

Dia's capsule... it's gone. The beacon... it wasn't a rescue signal...

Ruby

(Onee-chan... the beacon didn't save you... it erased you...)

Dia

Don't cry... the real Dia... was never in space... she was... right here...

Riko

The robotic Dia... she wasn't trying to save her... she was trying to delete the evidence that the real Dia never existed at all...