It was then that Takumi understood what he needed to do next. The Maze had been a test—yes, but not just of survival. It had been a test of their mental resilience, their self-understanding, and their ability to trust, not just each other, but themselves.
Takumi turned to his friends, a newfound sense of clarity in his eyes. "We're free now. But we've learned that freedom isn't just about escaping. It's about facing our demons, no matter how terrifying. And the real freedom is the one we give ourselves—by accepting who we are."
Ryo smiled bitterly. "Guess it's easy to say that now that we're out of the Maze. But I get what you mean. We can't keep running from the stuff that scares us. We have to stand and face it."
Haruka nodded, her usual cynicism gone, replaced by something more profound. "The Maze didn't just test us physically. It was a mirror. We were staring at our own reflections—our worst fears. And now… we've learned to accept them. We're not perfect, and we don't need to be."
Takumi's voice softened. "Exactly. We don't need to be perfect. We just need to keep going, even when it feels like we're not enough. Because we are enough. We always were."
The three of them sat in silence, the weight of the lesson settling over them like a gentle tide. The light around them didn't feel so blinding now. It wasn't the escape from the Maze that was truly freeing—it was the understanding of who they were, of their strengths and flaws, and the realization that they controlled their fate.