Endless Eight
Let's talk a bit about the game Endless, that recurring dream.
The character 'Garnet' in the game is a Doomsday Button, but... her doom wasn't all that important. If you just left her alone, nothing would happen. In fact, she was so harmless that calling her a Doomsday Button felt like a joke.
Plus, even if she approached the Imperial Palace, it wouldn't lead straight to doom. Garnet wasn't as aggressive as the other Doomsday Buttons. Due to the nature of her ability, doom was inevitable eventually, but she'd live comfortably right up until the game's final chapter.
So, Garnet wasn't a big deal in the game.
What you really had to watch out for when dealing with her wasn't doom—it was something else.
The possibility that players considered worse than doom.
That was... never reaching doom at all.
'If you raise Garnet's affection too high, a loop occurs.'
Loop.
If Garnet's affection went beyond a certain level, she'd keep rewinding the player's time back to the past. The Endless community called it 'Endless Eight', borrowing from some anime episode and the game name. It was a repeating event that made further progress impossible. The only fix was force-quitting and restarting.
This was the worst failure.
The absolute worst failure... but not doom.
The game didn't end, and no "[You failed to protect this world.]" message appeared. The player just never reached the conclusion—forever.
'The world didn't end. So in the end, this path is the right one.'
This was the kind of event where the player was guaranteed to lose. Game characters couldn't sense the loop; only the player had to endure the boredom infinitely.
For a player trying to enjoy the game, nothing was more torturous than tedium. Repetition and waiting—that's what truly tormented them. Like that famous indie game's skeleton's ultimate move: doing absolutely nothing.
Boredom gnawed at the player. That's why it was the worst.
That is, if this world were just a game.
'In this situation where I've transmigrated into the game, this route might actually be the best.'
I'm no longer the player.
Not an observer.
Not Sisyphus, doomed to repeat eternal trials.
I get only one shot at this chance.
So in this event, I'm definitely winning.
"You only get one chance, Canaria."
"Pardon?"
"Ah, she's not taking it."
"...What is it?"
My failure happens once.
But Garnet's? Countless times!
- "Get up already, Gatchadpi. A miraculous day awaits."
- "Just a bit longer... Mommy...."
- "The world won't wait. Get up and at least wash your face, You Idiot."
- "Huh...? Not Mommy...."
Garnet rubbed her eyes and sat up.
"Yawwwn...."
She stretched with a big yawn, her sleepy face still half-awake. Her messy hair made her look a bit like a stray cat. Mouth slightly open, drool trickling—looked like she'd had some rough dreams.
- "Gatchadpi. Quit drooling with your mouth hanging open like a Fucking Pussy. Close it properly and get out of bed."
- "Nice weather today.... Birds chirping, flowers blooming...."
- "Perfect day for a stroll."
- "Perfect day for a looong nap...."
She mumbled something that, at a glance, seemed like a response to the Gigachad hallucination.
But really, it was just talking to herself. Or maybe sleep-talking, since the princess wasn't fully awake yet.
- "Having a hobby is great. To enjoy that refreshing nap, first get up and do Hard Training until you're exhausted—"
- "Gotta sleep till noon... and night too...."
- "You Fucking Asshole-!"
- "Shut up...."
The princess frowned slightly and rang the bell by her bed. A maid entered, helped her change clothes. Now in a robe instead of pajamas, she shuffled through the Imperial Palace.
"Gotta go eat... but it's so faaar...."
- "Good job. The best days start with the tiniest effort. Breathe easy and walk, My Daughter."
The Empire's Imperial Palace consisted of six palaces connected by massive gallery corridors. Each palace for one imperial family member. An outrageous waste of space, but with hundreds of servants per palace, it wasn't exactly spacious.
Still, the palace felt eerily quiet.
"Should just have them bring breakfast to my room...."
- "What the—."
The princess stopped, turned around, and froze upon realizing how far she'd walked.
Her bedroom was farther than she thought.
"Ugh, walked so much...."
- "Of course. You only truly feel how far and tough the path was when you look back. You've been complaining the whole way, but look at what you've done. No one lazing in bed half-asleep could walk this far. Gatchadpi. You walked the path properly. Good job."
The bizarrely positive, overly enthusiastic praise from Gigachad. It was truly odd. Just walking a hallway didn't warrant this much hype. It felt long-winded, almost mocking...
But the princess knew. Gigachad was sincerely praising her.
"Puhuhut.... Dreamguy's so weird...."
In the end, even the princess, who'd been mumbling to herself, couldn't help but burst into laughter at Gigachad. She'd opened her heart a tiny bit. Though the weird nickname "Dreamguy" stuck.
- "So, heading back to your room?"
- "Nahhh.... Gonna try for the dining hall.... Food gets cold otherwise...."
- "Good job."
Gigachad smiled, and the corridor fell quiet.
"...."
But the silence wasn't lonely. If anything, it felt more upbeat than their one-sided mutterings.
"...Dreamguy."
- "Yeah, Gatchadpi. What's up?"
- "Don't wanna walk anymore suddenly...."
- "You Fucking Asshole."
"Puhuhut."
After eating, the princess—who'd planned a long nap—was dragged along by a maid's voice, heavy body in tow.
She had imperial duties to maintain the Empire.
"Ughhh, really don't wanna.... Empire can just collapse for all I care...."
"Your Highness. You are the pillar of the Empire."
"The real pillar is what His Majesty erects in Mother's bed every night...."
"Your Highness."
The princess recoiled, but the maid calmly carried her off somewhere. The palace bathhouse.
"Eww, worst.... What flood disaster now...?"
"Ocean City Nimue. Massive waves killed about 20,000 citizens. Evacuation to Umina Tower City."
"Who came up with that retarded plan to bunch up sea islands into a city...?"
"Crown Prince, Your Highness."
"Tell big bro to drop dead...."
"Yes."
"No... tell him to live looong.... That might be better...."
"My head would roll, so I'll decline."
"Puhu...."
The princess slowly dipped her robed feet into the tub. Then knelt, sinking like submerging in water. Legs submerged, waist, shoulders.
"We'll begin."
"Mmph-!"
The maid shoved the princess's head fully underwater.
"...."
Bubbles rose. Seized by drowning terror, the princess flailed, but her frail body couldn't resist the maid's grip.
She was dying. Drowning.
'It hurts.... Can't breathe.... I wanna live....'
Dreams fade quick upon waking. Happy ones vanish fastest, pleasant ones scatter like foam.
This held for the dream-living princess too. She couldn't remember her dreams. Couldn't recall futures she'd dreamed away.
'Just a nightmare. Only a nightmare.... Wake up quick.... Please....'
Absurdly, the dreams that lingered after waking were mostly nightmares. Bad memories were like quicksand—the more you struggled, the deeper you sank. Trying to forget made them sharper; fleeing brought them closer.
'Wake up. Wake up already...!'
Princess Garnet. To her, this world was a horrific nightmare. That's why she obsessed over sleep. To never dream again. Or at least sleep very, very long.
Even if she remembered that ominous dream. To push the save point past any point of no return for disasters.
She filled most days with sleep.
- "Gatchadpi."
'...Ah.'
- "Wake up Strong."
'Right. I remember. I'm still...'
Dreaming.
- "Wake up Strong, Gatchadpi."
The awakened princess pulled a diary and pen from her bedside table.
This was her duty. Prophesying via nightmares. Changing the future. Upholding the great Empire.
"Had a terrible nightmare."
- "Dreams are just dreams, My Daughter. Don't overthink it. Breathe easy."
She jotted down fragments from the dream. Water. Drowning. Death.... Her pen stopped there.
So, what was the dream again?
"...Forgot."
Ocean City Nimue. Massive waves kill 20,000. Evacuation to Umina Tower City.
It was exactly after waking from the 13th dream within a dream that this line appeared in her diary.