See you in the game

After a few hours of darkness, a new, bright day arrives. Out of the twilight and darkness, rays begin to come in. The outlines of streets and houses became clearer, and the rooms were filled with light. The night silence was gradually replaced by the chirping of birds. The bright spot on the horizon became bigger and bigger. Allowing the morning dawn to be enjoyed, starting to warm up, getting rid of the goosebumps that the breeze was causing. The sun peeking out more from behind the horizon, half of the disk already shining over the land, nature was waking up as well as those around it, preparing for a new day of work. It illuminated the rooms, thus giving them more saturation. Another game, another beta test again. The place of emergence was different from the others. The house was located in a small forest, but after a short walk along the available path, you could go into the city, namely on the pier, the path was covered with smooth small stones, on which it was pleasant to walk in shoes and they did not dig into the soles. On the right hand was the sea, but it and the so-called square itself was separated by a beautiful, patterned fence, so that children could not fall into the water. Misty, that was the name of the new player, walked leisurely along this pier, looking around. Towards him, a girl was walking swiftly. Having overcome the distance in a fairly short time the girl scrutinized the guy. - Well, hello there. You’re new to our town, right? I’m Love, I can show you around the city. - Why do I have to go with you? We’ve only known each other a few seconds. - Huh, you’re right. But I’m the only one offering to help you, a visiting stranger, right now. So you have a reason to accept it. Love smiled slyly. Her black and white hair that created a beautiful gradient developed in the wind. Her brown eyes, which could be compared to dark chocolate, sparkled victoriously and looked at her interlocutor. I didn’t want to argue with her, and there was no reason to, because she was absolutely right. But there was still no trust in her. After a bit of thinking over Love’s words, the Player still agreed to go with her. The girl turned around and waved her hand, indicating that the guy should follow her.

***

A short while later, the tour of the city was over. The sun was already at its zenith, which meant it was lunchtime. They returned to the starting point of their itinerary. - Well, that’s the end of our city. Any questions? - Why didn’t we go anywhere? And where are all the people? - Don’t play dumb, you know we’re in a game. You’re just another beta tester that’s trying to get a good ending and will just quit and reset everything. The rest of the guys will forget about you, but I’ll remember…. - How?! How is that possible? - Kind of not, but I know something is wrong with me, sometimes I have something like visions or memories from my past life pop up in front of my eyes. I look the same, but I hear a completely different name. Maybe I was like you. Then why am I here and I don’t remember any of this? It’s all very strange… Okay, let’s go, we have to follow the script…. - Can’t you do something and get out? This is crazy! Misty and Love were walking calmly towards another location that they had avoided while walking through the city. The girl looked quite sad, either because of the realization of her uselessness in this game, or because of the imminent restart. The player in his own time was thinking over everything said by his new acquaintance. He had a feeling that they had seen each other somewhere, but he couldn’t remember where. - You know, you remind me of someone from the real world, but I can’t remember who. Like a streamer. - A streamer? I wonder who? - I think her name was Silver. She disappeared about two years ago before a beta test for a new game. She was developing them herself, but they offered her a good-paying job. No one saw her after the news broke. Some of her fans found this company but also disappeared and nothing is known about them. - Are you a fan too? - I’m just a regular player that I’ve stumbled across her streams from time to time. I’m supposed to be one too, I admired her and still do. But how and why did she disappear? Silver was pretty popular… - You can find out, I’m sure… - Thank you. What’s this location? We haven’t been here. - It’s my house, and there are others living here, so don’t be surprised. Maybe they’re not here yet. Love and the player went inside the house, the room was spacious, after a little look around the space, they went into the kitchen. It was made in brown colors, but it smelled of family coziness. - You still had questions you were afraid to ask. - Who are the others? Are there any other players here? - No, they’re not players, but they’re not ordinary characters. They have separate souls, and I’m sure they can be taken out of the game. But I wish I knew how to get out of it myself. - What about the endings? Is there one that leads to your release? - I don’t know, I haven’t let any of the players get to the happy ending, so maybe it’ll help us. They spent the rest of the time in silence until the door to the house opened. Two guys walked inside and immediately took in the people present. - Love? You’re early today…you usually get back around late afternoon. And who’s this? The two guys looked at Misty. One of them had long brown hair braided and blue eyes like the sky. He wears black glasses, making his eyes almost invisible. The second one had blond hair, but shorter, tied in a low ponytail, his eyes were green, somewhat similar to the forest. - Come on, Moon, he’s just my new acquaintance. Am I no longer allowed to bring guests into my house? The girl looked at the brown-haired man, who, judging by his address, was Moon, with slight mockery and an emphasis on the word “our own.” He, in turn, did not argue with her. The blonde did not take his eyes off the player. He walked closer to Misty and extended his hand. - My name is San. Who are you? - I’m Misty, your friend’s new friend? - Well, you could call Lav our friend. We’re more used to calling her big sister. - But I’m the oldest. - Moon, be quiet. San was very friendly and calm, which was not the case with the brown-haired man who was ready to start another argument with Lav. - It’s best not to make your sister angry, but Moon doesn’t want to let you come in like that. We really weren’t expecting visitors today. And Marie and May might be happy about that. - You must realise you can’t bring strangers here. - Temper your ardour, Mooney, each of us was a stranger to our sister and the others when Love took us in, and this is so her house. So let her let her do what she wants. Another girl came into the kitchen, and she and Love were dressed similarly: they both wore black dresses and black shoes and gloves, except that the girl who had recently come in had a pretty hat with fake burgundy flowers. The girl herself had dark burgundy hair and the same eyes, only they had a ruby tint to them. Walking into the room, she crossed her arms over her chest with a questioning look at both Mun and Love. - Now can someone explain to me what’s going on here? The only thing I understand is that we have company. - My sister brought a new acquaintance that Moon didn’t know about, so here we go. - Thanks, Sun. - Mei, you stay out of our conversation! - I’ve been here longer than you, and when you came here, Marie and I were happy to have new friends. I understand you want to protect everyone, but we’re not little kids. Besides, I know Love is on the high council of our town. She can protect us if we need it. - Don’t, I’ll take care of it. You two go out together. Marie should be here by now. Love’s tone was calm and no one objected. San, Mei and the player walked out of the house and right outside the house they saw another girl. She had soft blue hair and the same color eyes, only brighter in hue. She walked towards them smiling brightly. - Hey, guys. Who’s this? - Oh, this is Misty, my big sister’s new friend. - Nice to meet you. I’m Marie. - Well, you already know me. Abruptly, screams started coming from the house, and the last girl’s smile faded. Everyone looked at the building from which it was coming from. - What’s going on? Sister never yelled at any of us. - Apparently Moon had overreacted…. The guys headed through the streets of the city to the main square, Misty was not left with a visceral feeling of guilt for this situation. - I’m sorry, it’s my fault, if I had come, this wouldn’t have happened… - No, it was Moon who got a little pissed off. Everything will be fine, we just have to wait out the storm. Speaking of thunderstorms… looks like it’s coming soon. Mei looked up at the sky, and the others followed suit. The sky was covered with gray clouds and there was a strong wind, if you looked towards the pier you could see the water raging and hitting the walls of the pier. - I know where we can go now, Love and Moon have hardly stopped fighting. So let’s go to my place, shall we? - Okay, I don’t want to get wet. Misty clouds densely filled the sky, covering it from edge to edge. Muffled thunder rumbled in the distance, shaking the air with its force. Lightning bolts suddenly pierced the darkness of the night, illuminating it with a bright glow and enlivening the surroundings. The first sign of a thunderstorm was that the wind became stronger and cracked the branches of the trees unpredictably. The leaves rustled as if squat voices were warning of the coming storm. Rain began to pour down on the ground from the heavens, a copious and relentless stream. The drops struck the dipping surface, creating a monotonous clattering sound that filled the surrounding expanse. They penetrated every niche and crevice, filling the ground with their refreshing energy. The scent of rain wafted into the nostrils, fresh notes of earth and summer flowers permeating the air. Each drop touching the ground dissolved into a grinding symphony that filled the expanse of thunderous misery. Loud peals of thunder rumbled overhead, deafening. Dividing the sky with their sound. Each new clap of thunder made one’s heart freeze for a moment. The path to the player was relatively short, clearly shorter than going into a house with two people fighting.

***

- It’s cozy here. Mei smiled weakly, and judging by her reaction, this was the first time they’d had this argument. They were a little wet, but Misty had brought towels for the boys anyway. - Thank you, and I’m sorry it had to be like this. Moon is usually calm, and here was such a reaction…. San’s condition showed that this was really the first time the situation had happened. Mei tried to concentrate and calm Mari she could barely hold back her tears. The atmosphere was heating up and everyone was tense. The silence in the room was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. Misty went to open the door to the person who came, who turned out to be Love, holding a black umbrella. - Hello, Misty. The girl’s voice was quiet and seemingly disrupted by the screaming, and her tone was depressed. - Lav? What’s wrong? Why don’t you come in? - No, call everyone and we’ll go home, sorry for the inconvenience, we didn’t mean to. - Did that go unscripted? - Yeah, this timeline is broken, it shouldn’t be. - Love, are you here? - Yeah May, come on, we should all go home now, it’s okay, nobody hurt anybody. - All right, bye Misty. Come on guys. Love and the others left, leaving Misty to spend the rest of the day alone. He watched them go until they disappeared behind a shroud of rain and fog. Today had been a hard day for everyone, and maybe the next ones would be just as hard. The rain stayed down for a long time, calming the heroes and giving them hope for a clear day.

***

It’s a new morning and a beautiful bright dawn. There are two people sitting in the kitchen and one of them is cooking. - So where were we, Misty? - On questions, I didn’t have any until Moon and San came in. What happened with the script? Was that your first fight? - Yeah, it was the first time, but it’s fine now. So our big question is how to leave the game. - Yeah, I contacted a friend of mine, she said that to get you out, a happy go lucky ending won’t help you, it can only make things worse. She can freeze the timeline on this one and get you out. Or she could hack this game and pull the key character out of it, you. - What kind of friend do you know? That she can hack into the game. - No more than a regular player, never gave her name, pretty good at programming and has been known to get out of her own game and start saving others. Hardly anyone knows anything about her, she’s a strange enough girl, but she’s fun to be around. - How did you two meet? - Pretty trivial, she works on the Voyage team as the main programmer and was kind of the closest to Silver. So I went over there to help them out. Then Silver disappeared, the Player, that’s what she always calls herself, couldn’t accept her disappearance and possible death for a long time. So she started looking for missing players associated with the company where the girl was last seen. - It’s pretty sad, but what happens if I’m taken away from my game? - That’s something I didn’t specify, and it would be kind of a first for her. - Now it’s even scarier, I’ve always wanted freedom from this game, but when the goal is so close, it doesn’t seem so tempting and attractive, there are doubts about whether it’s what we want, whether it’s worth all our efforts. Misty, what do I do? I’m already completely confused. - It’s up to you, Love. You have until tonight, she’ll be waiting for your exact answer. - I know, but I’m scared, what if the real world is worse? - It’s your life and your choice. Think carefully. With those words, Misty got up from the table and walked out of the house, leaving the girl alone with her thoughts. She walked around the kitchen, muttering something to herself and obviously thinking about some important decision. May and Marie were watching. - What’s wrong with her? - I’m tired of wondering what’s wrong with her. - Huh? Are you girls back yet? - About ten minutes ago. - Oh, I’m sorry, May, I didn’t see you. - What are you thinking? May calmly came over and hugged the girl, Marie looked surprised because she always thought Love didn’t like hugging. No one ever hugged her. - It’s a difficult choice to make, and I’m thinking about what to decide. It’s kind of hard and unusual. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but now I’m questioning my goal. - Whatever you choose, we’ll always be on your side. - Even if I have to leave? - Yes, then we’ll wait for you as long as you need. - Thank you. The girl hugged Mei back and pulled Marie to her as well. They stood like that for a few minutes before separating. - So, we’ll have to give Misty an answer. - But not until morning. - Huh? Moon, what are you talking about? The girl looked out the window in incomprehension, the dark sky, studded with stars, was already visible. - I didn’t even realize the time had passed so quickly. - We should all be in bed by now. - Yeah, tomorrow is going to be a pretty tough day.

***

When night falls, the blue haze of the day rises to reveal the stars. At this time, it’s as if the human world comes to a standstill, becoming quiet, as if silent. There are fewer and fewer passersby on the streets, the roads empty of hundreds of cars, more and more windows light up in the houses. Shadow descends on the streets, where only lonely streetlights illuminate the small islands around them. When night falls altogether, the stars begin to shine like sugar spilled on black marble glistening in the sun. The night sky becomes such a welcome sight, one that seemed magical at every sunset and promised to return, extinguished in the first light of dawn. But that spectacle doesn’t last long. Like everything beautiful in the world, the pitch-black, nighttime darkness must be captured. The performance is terminated by the appearance of a pale dawn, which with every minute flares up more and more. Thus, the sky is divided into two parts — very dark and very light. The first part of the sky lights up its lantern, the moon, which shines as brightly as if the sun were breaking through the clouds on a cloudy day. The moon covers everything with its silvery color and the night takes on a completely different atmosphere. Nothing is heard, there is no one in the streets, and so it goes on until the light side of the sky increases and swallows up the whole sky. Then the birds wake up and begin to wake up all living things with their singing. Night is the most mysterious time. It hides under its cover all the beauty of nature, shrouding the whole world in darkness with the moon, giving bizarre forms to every living creature. As evening sets in, nature begins to prepare for sleep. Even the sky hides its colors under the cover of night darkness. The evening coolness wraps the earth more and more tightly, and with it the old sleep opens its wide and tender embrace. Nature, tired with slumber, is slowly quieting down in peace and quiet. In the meantime, the night itself begins to stride confidently across the land, following the footsteps of the evening. Silence reigns everywhere — only the night owls are awake and chattering in the groves, disturbing the tranquility that the riders of the night have sown. The sky, too, has long been asleep, and the lights of distant stars glow here and there against its dark background. Then, too, the moon itself emerges from behind the horizon and, shedding its shimmering radiance as far as its silver eye reaches, confounds the depths of the night. Against the background of the black sky, the silvered shadows of the trees rise powerfully; the wide steppe expanses barely sway the lush grasses, which have also long been in the embrace of sleep. As if on the waves of the sea, a month silhouetted in the high sky and like the crests of those waves crashing against his boat when the clouds pass by. And when they completely swallow up the silver of the moon, nothing else breaks the darkness of the night — until dawn begins to smolder. Thus everything stands as if in deep reverie, and nothing disturbs this common natural sleep. The night time is strange and mysterious. Its beauty is invisible to the human eye, because it is hidden behind the impenetrable blackness. Night is a sorceress who lets the most fabulous and mysterious creatures out into the darkness. Misty, walking through the forest and clearly irritated by something, diluted the calm night atmosphere. - I know we don’t have a lot of time, but like she trusts me, it’s useless. - There’s nothing useless about what we’re doing, Misty. I analyzed all the codes and found out that Love isn’t alone, May’s here with her. - So we get two? - No, that’s not possible in our situation. So far, Silver’s the only target. We can barely get one player’s memory back, but with two-- Simply put, we can’t do it. - Hey, what’s your real name? - Once again, I will never tell you that. - Come on, Gambler, like it’s such a big deal. - All right, that’s enough. You got one more day to get a positive answer from Love. The call was dropped, followed by a short, frequent ringing tone. Misty irritably put the phone in his pocket and looked up into the star-studded night sky. - What am I supposed to do? The player doesn’t listen to anyone. Giving only two days to take out a person that has been sealed here since the beginning of this damn thing is just cool… Love, I hope I can still get you and myself out of this game tomorrow.

***

After a few hours of darkness, a new, bright day comes again. Out of the twilight and darkness, rays begin to come in. The outlines of streets and houses became clearer, and rooms were filled with light. The night silence was gradually replaced by the chirping of birds. The bright spot on the horizon became bigger and bigger. Allowing the morning dawn to be enjoyed, starting to warm up, getting rid of the goosebumps that the breeze was causing. The sun peeking out more from behind the horizon, half of the disk already shining over the land, nature was waking up as well as those around it, preparing for a new day of work. It illuminated the rooms, thus giving them more fullness. And again this pier, as if deja vu, the situation repeats itself beta-tester leisurely walks to the house Love, examining once again the surroundings. In turn, the girl was walking towards him without noticing anything, as if she was drowned in her own thoughts. And it did not lead to anything good, because they crashed into each other. - Love? You okay? You didn’t hurt yourself, did you? - I’m sorry, I should have watched where I was going. - Okay, I’m sorry, too. What were you in such a hurry for? - To give a beta tester an answer. - What is it? - I’m willing to go outside the game with Rim. - That’s great. My friend will be waiting for us tonight, or I can tell her now. - It’s better not to delay. The sooner the better. Taking out of his pocket phone Misty quickly texted his friend about their readiness, and was told to go to the starting point of the game, which was the player’s house. Upon entering the house, Love looked at the beta tester with bewilderment as a bright light suddenly illuminated the room.

***

- Very clever Player, what do we do with her now? How long is she going to stay like this? - What do you care? I’ll take care of her, you can be free to go. - You’re weird, you used to leave it up to the others to look after them, and now you won’t leave this player’s side yourself. Why? - Love is an old friend of mine, and she’s the reason I started all this. Remember the Silver story? - Sure, but what does that have to do with it? I mean, she’s kind of our main target. - But why would I tell you that? You wouldn’t understand. Just go away, Misty, your work here is done. - You’re weird. Misty left the room, where there were now only two people: a girl with black and white hair, who was unconscious, and a second girl, who had brown hair that turned to red, and green, swampy eyes. The girl was wearing blue jeans and a maroon hoodie. After a while, Love woke up. The room was cozily furnished but rather minimalistic, the bed was near the wall, a closet across the room, a desk next to it, and shelves of books. “Where am I? It’s not my room, but it’s not the player’s house either.” - Who are you and where am I? - Don’t worry. It’s okay that you don’t understand anything. I’m The Player. - So Misty and his girlfriend couldn’t get me out…. - Girlfriend? I don’t remember me and that beta tester being friends. And you didn’t listen to me. My name is Player, and we were able to get you out of the game. Until we get your memory back, this will be your room. - Do you know who I am? - Yeah, I don’t know all the prisoners in the games, but you were a special target in all of this. - Special? - Come on, Player, you gotta choose your words… How can I explain this to you… Did Misty tell you the story about Silver? - He said I looked like her. - Well, here’s the rub…

***

- I’m that Silver? - Why are you so calm? The other players were more, how shall I say, emotional. - Well, Misty said I looked like her, and considering I don’t remember anything, that was an option. And yet my hypothesis turned out to be correct. And I was starting to remember things a little bit at a time. - Uh-huh. Wait, yeah? Do you remember anyone else? - No, just little bits and pieces of my life. But you can help me remember, right? - Of course, that’s why I’m sitting here. Usually it’s the other team members who do the remembering, but it’ll be me and the others with you. - How many are left to save? - Not many, but we lost contact with our programmer. So there’s still some of the team left. - Then we’d better get started.

***

- It’s a little too rosy, don’t you think? - I’m sorry, you know… This is just the first part of the story… If n-needed, I’ll add something. - Don’t worry, I’ll write the rest. You’ve never been useful. - I’m sorry…