AoiS
The abandoned school still bore scorch marks from old fires. Sora moved forward with careful steps.
"Huff… huff……" Sora was breathing hard. Even though it was just her game character moving, she somehow felt exhausted as if she had experienced it all herself.
A girl's voice kept echoing from the headset.
『Let's play together.』
『We'll play here forever. It's dangerous outside, isn't it?』
『Where are you going? Why are you running away? Don't you want to play with me?』
『No one else can come here. This playground is just for the two of us.』
『Is there anything you want to eat? Any movies you want to watch? Any games you want to play? Corpse play? Jump rope? Piggyback? House?』
『Want to play house? I'll be the wife, and you'll be the husband. I'd rather have a son. If it's a daughter, she'll definitely fall for you.』
『Why are you running?』
『Why?』
『Where are you?』
『Don't leave me.』
If the first stage had you facing three cannibal monkeys, the second stage pitted you against the vengeful spirit of a little girl—you had to run. You couldn't hear her footsteps, but since she never stopped talking, tracking her position wasn't too difficult.
"This is insane…"
Knowing where she was didn't ease the tension. If anything, the creepy spirit's voice made Sora's heart pound like a drum.
『Like me.』
『Like me like me like me like me like me like me like me like me like me like me like me.』
『Why do you hate me? Why?』
『Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?』
『I like you, I just want to play with you. Why can't you understand? Why? Why??』
『Ah.』
『Found you.』
"Agh…!" Sora bolted forward. From behind came the girl's manic laughter.
『Ahahaha! You like hide-and-seek?』
『You can't escape me. You can't run awayyy!!』
『Kyahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!』
Sora dashed into a classroom and slammed the door shut. She tried to exit through the opposite door, but the room flashed. With the flash, the girl appeared. A torn mouth. Messy, disheveled hair. Bloodshot eyes peeking through the strands. A monstrously huge hand reached out and grabbed Sora.
『How dare you try to leave me.』
『I won't forgive you, I won't forgive you, I won't forgive you, I won't forgive you, I won't forgive you I won't forgive you I won't forgive you I won't forgive you.』
『I won't forgive youuuuuuuu!!!』
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!!!" Sora screamed for the umpteenth time today as the jump scare filled the screen.
Personal skill levels vary, but in Darkness Deception, the second stage is generally easier than the first. In stage one, three cannibal monkeys chase you. Their AI tries to surround the player, making them surprisingly tricky. Stage two only has one opponent—the little girl's spirit. While she can teleport, the player also gains a new skill. Darkness Deception unlocks one skill per stage. Stage one leaves you powerless, but stage two grants Boost, letting you sprint at full speed for a short time. The difference is huge, so many players find stage two easier.
'Though the boss fight might still be tough.'
The boss fight traps you in a cramped space where you must constantly dodge the girl's pursuit. Sora struggled there. After watching for a while, I took over and cleared it for her.
Horror games build experience through repeated deaths, but that repetition dulls the fear. Viewers also get bored watching the same scenes, and Sora would only grow frustrated hitting the same wall. Plus, the audience secretly wanted to see me play. So when things looked hopeless, I stepped in as a last resort. That should keep the stream balanced.
We reached stage three. Sora was stuck.
"…Isn't this way too hard?"
Staring at the "You are Dead" message, Sora sighed.
"Yeah. Some people actually say stage three is the hardest."
"…Really?"
I nodded. From the VTuber playthroughs I'd watched, stage three usually took the longest. Stages two and four went by much faster. I agreed—two and four felt easier.
'Stage three just requires a different sense.'
Stages one and two were pure running. But stage three introduces the Golden Statues. They only move when you're not looking—like the "Red Light, Green Light" game. The moment they're out of sight, they charge at terrifying speed. On top of that, the map is full of traps. Trying to manage both line-of-sight gameplay and trap avoidance makes the difficulty spike.
"I need a break…"
Sora sank into her gaming chair. While watching her, I casually reached for my phone.
"What? Did something come in?"
"Just a few messages. But if you want to talk, go ahead. I'm a multitasking archduchess, after all."
"…What does multitasking have to do with being an archduchess?"
She tilted her head in disbelief, then let out a long sigh.
"My brain's fried… Lora, bring up a topic."
"A topic, huh."
Might as well do some light talk while we rest.
"About our sixth-gen group name. We should probably decide on one soon, right?"
"Oh, the group name… Now that you mention it, we still haven't picked one."
"Exactly."
I continued, "Leon said we need one because the MV is coming out."
The MV production topic had come up during the offline meeting. After more online discussion, we'd settled on Sora's suggestion: the Celestial Body Observation MV. We'd finished recording before the end of August, and I heard they were now looking for an illustrator.
"Wait, hold on… Aren't we not supposed to announce the MV yet?"
"Oh my, were we?"
"…Well, the cat's out of the bag now. The sixth-gen MV is in production and will be released once it's done."
Sora spoke with a resigned tone. We'd decided to upload the MV to her channel. As the leader of our sixth generation and a song-focused VTuber, it made sense. Plus, she was the one who'd suggested Celestial Body Observation in the first place. No one objected.
It might look like Sora was getting all the benefit, but that's how collabs usually work—the host channel gains the most. Our current Darkness Deception stream was boosting my channel, after all. When I appeared on Sora's channel, she gained viewers. Inagika seemed to be preparing something big, so she'd probably benefit soon too. As for Chell… I wasn't sure, but we'd eventually collab on her channel as well.
Still, uploading the MV to Sora's channel was fine, but—
"Putting 'feat. 6th Gen' in the title feels kinda tacky, doesn't it?"
Celestial Body Observation feat. EYEAI 6th Gen just didn't have the right vibe. VTubers sometimes receive original songs and release albums, but titling it "EYEAI 6th Gen Album" felt off. There were also group events that required a proper group name, which was why Leon had told us to decide soon.
"So, does anyone in chat have any suggestions~?"
"Want to get sued?"
Sora shot the chat a frosty look. Then she turned to me with a sigh.
"…Lora, got any good ideas?"
"One viewer suggested 'Lora and Her Maids.' I personally like it."
"That would never work… Oh, what about this?"
Sora pointed at a chat message.
"AoiS?"
A from AyanoKouji Sora. O from Oh Lora. I from Inagika. S from Chell Smeragi. Put together: AoiS.
"Not bad at all."
"Aoi" was written as 青い in Japanese—the character for "blue." It also often symbolized "youth."
"Shall we go with that?"
"Sounds good. But we should check with Inagika and Chell too."
"We can just ask them. They're here right now, after all."
"Huh? They're here?"
I nodded and clapped my hands lightly. Then—
"Um… I, I think it's good too……"
The door opened and Inagika walked in, Chell right behind her. Sora's eyes widened.
"…Why are you two here?"