The World Is Beautiful

Sora was walking through a gloomy hotel. To be precise, it was the character Sora was controlling who was strolling through the hotel. Since it was in first-person view, she couldn't really tell which character it was.

She briefly glanced away from the monitor and looked to the side. There sat Lora, legs crossed, leisurely sipping black tea.

…Isn't she drinking way too much black tea?

Sora seemed to recall hearing that black tea contained just as much caffeine as coffee. She was starting to feel genuinely worried. What good could come from consuming that much caffeine? But was it too nosy to worry about Lora's health? It felt a bit too personal. No, wait. Come to think of it, weren't they basically colleagues? If neither of them retired, they'd be seeing each other's faces for the rest of their lives. Worrying about a friend's health as a friend was perfectly reasonable.

……But do I really have any room to be worrying about someone else?

Sora snapped back to reality. Right now, she was playing a game at Lora's house. The game was called Darkness Deception.

"First, how about you learn how to stay calm? That's why I prepared these kinds of games. Pick one."

"Then maybe Party Play Time or Teddy's Pizza Shop…"

"The game for today has been decided. It's Darkness Deception."

"Wait… didn't you just tell me to choose one?"

"Of course I heard your choice. It was very helpful."

She had been given the right to choose, but not the right to decide. …What kind of nonsense was this?

It was ridiculous, but the world apparently wanted Sora to play horror games. The viewers wanted it, and Lora wanted it. There was no escaping it. At its core, being a streamer meant being a clown—you had to know when to set your pride aside.

And so, Sora was playing Darkness Deception.

"…This is seriously scary."

The actual game hadn't even started yet, but Sora was already terrified. The inside of the hotel was deathly silent. Not a single person could be seen. That very fact was amplifying her fear. A situation with nothing in it should have been the most peaceful one possible, yet precisely because of that, the anxiety of not knowing what might jump out was overwhelming.

It was only natural that Sora's footsteps grew cautious. She moved so carefully that the viewers might even find it a little frustrating. Then, in front of the elevator, she spotted a monkey.

"A monkey?"

The monkey looked at Sora and let out a creepy cackle. Its teeth were sharp and pointed. Its mouth was smeared with a great deal of blood. And in its hand, it held something like a sharp kitchen knife. It was very clear this was no ordinary monkey.

…It seemed this monkey was the game's "pursuer."

Sora hadn't played many horror games, but she knew a bit. Usually, the player was in the position of running away, and ghosts or monsters would "chase" the player to create fear. That was the common format.

Soon, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the monkey that had been mocking her retreated somewhere, and the elevator doors opened.

"Don't tell me I have to get in this…?"

"Were you planning not to?"

Lora spoke from beside her in a teasing tone. Sora let out a sigh. There didn't seem to be any other options. Like most horror games, despite the map design that looked like it had high freedom, it was actually linear. There was nowhere else to go, so Sora ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stepped into the elevator.

The elevator descended underground. A wide space unfolded before her.

"I'll give you a simple explanation of what kind of game this is. If you look to the left, you'll see a building map."

Just as she said, a map that appeared to be the hotel's floor plan showed up in the bottom-left corner. Countless purple dots were scattered across it.

"The purple dots are 'gems imbued with the souls of the dead.' The protagonist's mission is to collect all of them."

"…And that monkey from earlier is going to chase me or something?"

"You're asking something so obvious."

"Isn't this just Pac-Man?"

Exactly as the name suggested, Darkness Deception was a game also known as 3D Pac-Man.

"That's why it's a simple game. It doesn't require much explanation."

All she had to do was avoid the monkeys, collect every gem on the map. The controls were just WASD and a dash key. Even Sora could tell it was a simple game.

Did she deliberately make it easy because she knows I'm bad at games…?

Now that she thought about it, despite that arrogant impression, Lora seemed to show subtle consideration. When making the signal device, she hadn't turned on the stream to avoid splitting the audience. She had also personally taken down the Three-Headed Specter for her…

Well, there’s no such thing as a real villainess in this world. It's all just a concept and VTuber RP.

Having come to that conclusion, Sora dashed forward. Beneath flickering lights that barely functioned. She advanced through the strangely dark hotel corridors.

The hallways were incredibly narrow. Maybe just wide enough for one person to pass. Unidentifiable framed pictures hung on the walls, and rows of guest room doors lined the sides. She tried opening one of the rooms experimentally, but it was locked. It seemed she couldn't enter the rooms and would have to wander the corridors collecting the scattered gems.

No matter where she went, large gems were placed throughout. Every time she approached one, a beeping sound effect rang out, and the gem counter in the bottom-left updated in real time. By her guess, there were a total of 300 gems.

…That's a ridiculous amount.

Did she really have to collect all 300 gems to finish this game? And the map was way too big. What kind of hotel even was this?

Still, as she moved forward while collecting gems, she heard a sound from far away.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Kihik. Kick, kihihihikick.

Kigigik, kick, kihigik, kikigik.

Footsteps. And the beastly laughter of mockery.

"W-what the…"

At the spine-chilling sound, Sora let out a frightened voice. Where was it coming from? Where was that sound?

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

The footsteps continued without pause. It sounded like they were coming from right behind her.

"Hup—"

The moment she realized it, Sora held her breath. The urge to look back ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠surged up, but of course she didn't. To shake off the monster chasing her, Sora ran while only looking forward.

Then the footsteps behind her gradually grew distant. Soon, the sound started coming from her left.

Kikik, kihihigik, kick.

Kigigigik, hihik, kihihihik.

"What the hell is this…"

Even though she thought she'd shaken it off, the mocking laughter wouldn't stop. Was it still behind her? Or had it gone around to the left? Or was it on both sides?

"W-wait a second…! Weren't there only supposed to be one of them!?"

The sudden realization made Sora shout. She didn't have time to read the viewer chat. But she barely had enough composure to glance at her colleague sitting right beside her.

And the colleague who received the question elegantly set down her teacup and said,

"I never said anything like that?"

Lora smiled sweetly.

This… this little—

"Oh, and just so you know, there are three monkeys."

What…?

And at that exact moment, a monkey appeared right in front of her. One with blood around its mouth. A monkey charging at her with a kitchen knife in hand.

Kihihit, kihahahahak kigigigigikihihihigigigihitkihahahahakkihihihitkihihihihihihihikikigigigigihihikihihikihahahahahakigigikihahahahahahahakihihik

"I-I cleared it!"

Sora screamed without realizing it. Yelling in someone else's house might have been rude, but Sora didn't care. Fortunately, Lora didn't seem to mind either and simply continued drinking what must have been her umpteenth cup of black tea.

"It cleared, right? This means it cleared, right?!"

"Thank you everyone…. Even though this is technically Lora's channel, thank you for the donation anyway!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Sora felt gratitude toward all things. The breeze (from the air conditioner) caressing her cheeks. The sunlight (from the window) pouring down from the sky. Even though she was inside the house, it felt like every part of nature existed solely for this moment. Sora realized that birth itself was such a sacred thing.

Her heart was pounding. It was proof that she was alive. When she looked around, her lifelong (future) friend was greeting her warmly, and Sora learned the truth that she was not alone. Humans were creatures who lived together. From the universe's perspective they were tiny specks, but precisely because of that, if they joined forces they could bring revolution to this solar system.

So this was how beautiful the world was. No, it had always been beautiful—she had simply been too insignificant to realize it.

Feeling as if she had been reborn, Sora shared her thoughts.

"I thought it was just a simple game, but when I actually played it, it was really scary. At first I resented Lora for making me play something like this, but now that it's over, it really was a good game. It was fun! It's my first time playing a horror game, but now I get why people play them."

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Yes!"

To Lora's question, Sora nodded vigorously.

Throughout the entire game, Lora had prevented her from pressing the "Continue" button.

"Press the start button from the checkpoint. If you use Continue, you won't be able to get S-rank."

So every time she lost all her lives, she was sent back to the very beginning of the game. When she had to collect all 300 gems from scratch over and over, she thought life itself was suffering.

But if she had used Continue, she wouldn't have been able to feel this current joy. From what she heard, using Continue meant you didn't have to recollect the gems. It was a consideration for beginners, and Sora was clearly a beginner, but she now understood the sadness of not being able to enjoy that welfare.

Still, after countless attempts, she had finally conquered the game. What did it matter if it was this way or that? It was summer.

"Then shall we start the next stage?"

…Excuse me?

"…Wait, wasn't that the end?"

"What are you talking about? In the current version, Darkness Deception has a total of eight stages unlocked."

With those words, Lora casually reached out and pressed the W key without permission, advancing the game. Before her eyes was the entrance to the second stage.

"Go on."

Lora said.

The world was cold.