“N-nonono no way! I can’t believe this crap!” yelled Miu.  

“Wait, you’re serious?” gasped Kaito. 

“Yeah, it’s as I said. Everything you know is fiction. Your friends, your family, everything in your memory is fictional.” said Shuichi with an uncaring tone.  

All eyes surrounding Shuichi looked at him with confusion and distrust.  

“That’s preposterous! You really let yourself go after you killed me huh.” yelled Kirumi.

“Yes, there is no way my sister’s love is fake. It cannot be. She is with me right now!” cried Korekiyo while shooting Shuichi with eyes of ice.    

“You’re just delusional, Korekiyo. You have a split personality. Everything is just in your imagination” said Maki sharply. 

“I…I-I don’t know how to take this. I definitely remember my sisters, my family. Their faces, their words, their smiles, all too clearly.” said Rantaro. 

“Shuichi is not lying. He trusted you with the truth. I can back him up. Everything in your memory, your head is fiction.” said Keebo as he walked up next to Shuichi.                    

“Everything besides when we woke up during the killing game with the Monocubs and when the killing game ends…no, no not even that is real.” said Shuichi. 

“Wha-what do you mean?” asked Himiko. 

“Think about it, isn’t it weird? How all the dead came back to life? Once more me, Maki, Himiko don’t remember anything after we exited the killing game.” said Shuichi. 

“Yeah. We climbed over the hole and…nothing. I don’t remember anything past that. I remember waking up next to Kaito. That was just an hour or so ago” said Maki. 

“Nyeh, I remember waking up next to Tenko an hour or so ago too. But before that…yeah. I remember surviving the killing game but…” pondered Himiko then became sad. 

“Yeah. And I do have one explanation for that.” said Shuichi. 

“What?” asked Tsumugi. 

“You guys are all artificially created. But you weren’t created at the start of Danganronpa 53 Killing Harmony. No, I think…your bodies, your personalities, your memories were created specifically for the killing game that is currently happening right now. Events of Danganronpa 53 Killing Harmony might just be implanted into your memories. And not just you, I’m probably the same. I may not be the real Shuichi Saihara who stopped the cycle of killing games.” said Shuichi with a blue face and sad tone.

“Shuichi, you can’t be serious.” claimed Kaede. 

“What nonsense are you talking about? Are you that insane?!” raged Kirumi with fierce eyes.   

Shuichi ignored them and continued on.  

“I mean, even the so-called real Shuichi Saihara wasn’t real. His personality was artificially created by Team Danganronpa. The personality was stored inside the flashback light and it was shined upon a teenager…a deranged teenager who wanted to enter Danganronpa 53 and be a detective that comes up with murders. The Shuichi Saihara who stopped Danganronpa 53 might have escaped with Maki and Himiko. But that might not be me. Otherwise I should remember how I got here.” said Shuichi. 

“Nyeh, you’re too doubtful and talk about way too many confusing things. You’re definitely the Shuichi Saihara I know” said Himiko. 

“You wouldn’t know. The flashback light can perfectly create a personality and memory. I bet the same personality and memory can be copy pasted into other people. The only reason we realized our memories of Hope's peak academy were fictional was because Tsumugi rushed out the flashback light and it contradicted the Hope’s peak academy research book.” said Shuichi with a face that looked like a sick person’s.       

“But that’s different. You act the exact same way. You’re the person who saved us and ended the killing game! You have the same body. The flashback light couldn’t create another human being that looks exactly like you.” yelled Maki. 

“How are you sure? If they are able to create artificial memories then an artificial body should be negligible.” said Shuichi. 

“But doesn’t that create a contradiction? They specifically wanted fans to enter Danganronpa 53, and they made the memories for that person. To me it seems like they couldn’t just create artificial bodies. That’s why they had to ask fans who were willing to sacrifice their lives to be in Danganronpa” said Keebo while looking at Shuichi.

“Yeah, but we should doubt more. It could just be a simple fan inclusion stunt. Maybe they never really needed it. Or maybe, between Danganronpa 53 and till now, technology advanced, they don’t need real people’s bodies. Wait…hmm, of course, I have other theories.” said Shuichi. 

Shuichi then looked at Maki and asked seriously. 

“Can you repeat what you said about Monokuma’s strength?”  

“Huh, umm. I felt like his strength wasn’t coming from his paw or his body. When he threw me into the light, it felt like my body was levitating on its own.” said Maki, a bit confused. 

Shuichi put his hand on his mouth and thought for a while. 

“Ugh, I can’t stand it. How many awesome technologies does Monokuma and this team Danganronpa have? I’m gonna die out of jealousy” cried Miu while stomping the ground. 

Shuichi looked above the crowd toward the white portal. It was making a faint swirling sound, its rear was rotating like a wheel. Shuichi silently passed the crowd and walked towards the portal and stood in front of it.  

“How did they create this portal? There is no generator around it. It’s not a physical object, it can distinguish who can and can’t go through it depending on how Monokuma set it up.” mumbled Shuichi. 

“Well, if you’re that curious, maybe you should have studied to become the ultimate scientist instead of a detective” said Ryoma from behind him.   

“I need to learn everything I can. That’s the only way to know the truth” said Shuichi.
       
Shuichi looked around the school area and spoke. 

“Monokuma also had access to Jabberwock Island as well as Hope’s peak academy. The portals lead to those places. But that’s impossible because Jabberwock Island and Hope’s peak academy are supposed to be fictional places.” said Shuichi. 

“Nyeh, maybe it’s a fan creation. Tsumugi said Danganronpa was super popular, so that’s gotta be it.” said Himiko with confidence. 

“That’s a possibility. But there is another possibility. We’re in a virtual world program.” said Shuichi.