Beyond the Darkness

"I'm a second-year small-time streamer. Well, second year on paper — if you count it properly, it's only been one year and ten days since I started. I never really got a chance to shine on Rabbit TV. It's a platform with barely any traffic to begin with, and I didn't have any connections either. So when the 720p crisis hit, I finally made the jump. And at that point, I made a few resolutions."

"What kind of resolutions?"

"Nothing dramatic, honestly. Just… being more proactive, for one. On Rabbit TV I was still a complete beginner, so I was always reading the room, holding back. And the result of that was ending up on a deserted island of my own making…"

"From what I've seen today, you don't seem like someone who reads the room at all."

"Hmph! I'll have you know I'm a soft-hearted woman. Please be gentle with me."

"…Save that kind of act for the guys. Ugh, already getting loopy. You two, pull yourselves together."

The conversation was running long. With audition time limited, Jerry cut in and asked them to get to the point.

"Right. One of those resolutions was building connections — getting off that deserted island. And if I was going to do that, I wanted to get close to people who were actually good at streaming."

"So… you're saying Seo-a is that person?"

At Jessie's question, Miho nodded with a serious expression. The facial tracking wasn't quite good enough to sell every nuance, but the sincerity in her eyes was impossible to hide.

"After I switched platforms, every free moment outside of my own streams was spent watching other virtual streamers. Seo-a was one of them — and she was genuinely incredible at it. Even though her career is way shorter than mine."

Miho said she'd become certain during the immigration-screening collab content. Talent like that, she decided, was someone you had to follow no matter what.

"They say if you listen well to your elders, rice cakes fall into your lap while you sleep, right? That's exactly how I feel. So I applied. The moment I saw Seo-a had signed up, I figured this audition was going to be huge."

"…"

The conviction in Miho's voice plunged the audition ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hall into silence once more. Meanwhile, the chat on my stream was going absolutely feral — spamming ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠worship messages about me on purpose, roasting me with mock devotion. I should have given those bastards a taste of their own medicine, but my face was burning so hot with embarrassment that I couldn't do a thing except try to hide it.

"Ahem. You know, we have an equally impressive streamer right here in Ssa-yo. How about switching the person you put your faith in…?"

"Come on! Ssa-yo is a human streamer, and I'm virtual. The vibe's just different. I'm sticking with Seo-a. Oh! This is basically a public proposal, isn't it? I'm planning to stick to her like glue from now on~"

"Oof. Ssa-yo just got dumped. Hang in there."

"Greatmoon, you only made it a zero-confession one-difference by dragging my name into it."

Ssa-yo and Greatmoon launched into an active comedy bit, cheerfully dissolving the heavy atmosphere that had settled over the audition hall. Meanwhile, I was deep in thought.

Is she serious? And that last line was deliberate, wasn't it?

Declaring in front of over ten thousand people that she was going to approach me first. Once she did that, it became hard to reject her coldly — not when so many eyes were watching. You risked looking heartless and cold. Miho had played that card brilliantly.

Which left me with a lingering question.

A streamer this sharp-minded was completely under Blueby's thumb? That doesn't add up. Was there some special relationship like with Lucy? Or did Blueby have something on her?

Still, there was nothing bad about any of this. Even if it felt like she was using me, I hadn't lost anything — if anything, being name-dropped in front of so many viewers, becoming part of a memorable story, was a free boost to my recognition.

And on a personal level, one pure, soft-headed, bear-brained idiot like Lucy is already more than enough. Better to have someone cunning.

That didn't mean I was accepting Miho right away. It meant I'd be watching her carefully from here on. The door of opportunity was open to everyone.

Everyone except Blueby.

"Next up — Cherry Flavor!"

Miho sailed through with an all-Pass. There were some shortcomings on the vocal side, but the judges praised her seductive tone as a real strength. How would Miho's performance here ripple into the future I knew?

Whatever I was fretting over, the audition pressed on without pause. Before long, it was number eighteen. Miho had been number eight, so a lot of ground had been covered.

"Qqurings, please come in."

"Ah…"

A low sound escaped me before I could stop it. That nickname was burned clearly into my memory — even though at the time I'd been on Rabbit TV following Lucy and hadn't even watched the Wooga-dol audition. What that meant was obvious.

Qqurings was the first finalist to appear among the eighteen so far.

Though that's not the only reason I remember this person's name.

She sang. Both judges were impressed, and for the first time, Jerry — the actual professional — gave a glowing review. She had a remarkably trendy tone and sang beautifully. Qqurings exited with an all-Pass, and a short break was called. Even judges were human; they needed time for basic biological necessities.

"I'm taking a quick break too. Hwah! Everything's stiff."

I banned the chatters who cheekily asked if I was going to the bathroom, then dashed off to take care of business myself. After a cool drink of water, I settled back into my chair and quietly opened Pan-beo-gal. During a content event this big, there was no way I could resist checking the gallery reactions.

"…"

Absolute lunatics, the lot of them. Still, there were some serious posts mixed in — rundowns of the stages so far, info threads on the standout contestants. I skimmed through those quickly, then turned my mic back on. Viewers immediately started teasing me about whether I'd finished taking care of the big business.

"Ahem! Idols don't do that sort of thing. Keep it up and you'll be getting a defamation lawsuit, got it?"

While I bantered back and forth with chat, the audition had already resumed and was past number twenty. Roughly half of Group A was done. And then — the long-awaited number twenty-two. Another contestant I meaningfully remembered appeared.

"Hello. I'm Berry. Nice to meet you."

A sharp, piercing voice that didn't quite match her avatar's tiny frame. Her self-PR was nothing special, but her singing stunned everyone. Chat filled with comments calling her main-vocal material.

"It's still rough around the edges, but the high notes and everything — there's real potential here."

Berry took an all-Pass and disappeared. As you might have guessed, she was also one of the finalists.

"Ugh. Already eight o'clock. Still, we're past the halfway point — let's keep pushing, everyone."

"Everyone, put some snacks on your desks at least. You've got to nibble on something or you won't make it."

The audition had entered prime time. The viewer count had broken a staggering twenty-four thousand. A major corporate streamer was sitting at twenty-eight thousand for a close second overall — but for virtual content, a niche genre on Pangea TV, this was an incredible achievement.

I should start getting ready myself.

My number was twenty-five. Only two people left before me. I asked the viewers for their understanding and turned off the stream. Sweet little things. Normally they filled chat with nothing but snark, but now they were flooding me with every kind of encouragement and Candy donations, trying to pump me up.

Basking in that warmth, I was about to log into VRChat when a Discord message blinked at me. It was a cheer from Lucy.

Haha. Getting something like this from my favorite streamer — yeah, the regression was worth it. Morale charged to one hundred percent.

But there was no time to soak in the emotion. Number twenty-three was already singing; I had to hurry. VRChat was so glitchy that logging in early and getting set up was the only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way to feel even slightly secure.

"You're Seo-a, right? Number twenty-five."

"Yes, that's me."

I used the follow function on a staff member I'd already friended and entered the audition map, then was guided to the waiting room. Number twenty-three's judging was still underway. Seven people were in the waiting room — avatars parked against the wall and left idle, people sitting blankly in chairs, others chatting with whoever was next to them. All sorts.

"Number twenty-four, ArtieArtie. Please get ready to go out soon."

"Okay."

Finally, the person right before me was called. Today I was on PC rather than full-body tracking, so I had a bit more room to breathe. The song I'd prepared wasn't one you danced to, so full tracking wasn't necessary.

Alright. Let's do this well.

I watched the person ahead of me on the monitor and worked on my mindset. This was the audition I'd thought would be the biggest opportunity after my regression. How ridiculous would it be if I actually botched the stage?

Remember every bit of effort you poured into today.

"Number twenty-five, Seo-a — you need to get ready."

"Yes."

At the urging voice, I moved my avatar and stood at the entrance leading to the stage. At the far end of the dark corridor, the faint glow of stage lights shimmered.

"You can go in now."

Leaving the staff member's voice behind, I walked into the darkness — toward the dazzling spotlight waiting beyond.