Walking Through the Universe in a Loop

As the weeks passed, the unwanted visits became more and more frequent. Hannah and Mario quickly realized, based on what Rian told them, that those odd incidents that once seemed isolated were actually signs of harassment: the constant buzzing of the apartment intercom, messages from various companies asking to confirm Rian's phone number to approve loans, and calls from pawn shops looking for Rian's mother and brother.

Because of these disturbances, it became increasingly complex for Rian to leave the house and look for a job. They ended up taking refuge in freelance commissions through a digital platform. Due to their lack of formal experience, making enough money to contribute to the apartment expenses wasn't easy. Still, somehow, they always managed to gather just enough—almost always right before the rent deadline.

The family's harassment even reached the neighbors in the building. At first, they complained that every time the woman came by, she rang every apartment looking for "Rian." Then came reports that the brother would wait outside overnight, even stealing delivery food meant for other tenants. Eventually, one fed-up neighbor suggested to the landlord that they hire security guards. For a while, that worked. But every time Rian left the building without one of their roommates, they'd return running and ask the guard to hide them until the stalker left.

The harassment escalated so much that neighbors submitted video evidence to the authorities, requesting a restraining order to keep Rian's mother and brother at least 500 meters from the building. This brought a brief sense of peace to the area, allowing Rian to attend university again. After the attempted theft on campus had been reported by one of Mario's classmates, the university administration also imposed stricter entrance restrictions. While this felt like an improvement in safety to some, others saw it as a hassle. Rumors and whispers only increased Rian's visibility on campus—something that weighed heavily on them, especially since they had never sought such attention.

Rian stopped looking for jobs outside. They felt safer within the apartment's four walls—and even more so with their phone in hand. Hannah and Mario eventually agreed that Rian needed to quit the game but didn't know how to bring it up. Every time they tried, Rian became hypersensitive. Still, Rian always made time to talk to Elliot—although they began to notice the app didn't always respond when they wanted it to. They didn't think much of it, even though the game was always available.

Hannah glanced over at Rian from the kitchen while stirring honey into her tea and scrolling through her timeline. Meanwhile, Mario was recording his culinary practice for an upcoming practical exam, struggling to plate his dish properly.

"You know, this is really strange," the restless blonde began.

"What, and why?" Mario replied without looking up.

"A lot of people I knew who played that game stopped once they finished all the routes—usually about a year after its release. I started around then when the game was at its peak. Rian started a few months ago, so they should have unlocked at least half of the endings by now. But they're still on the same route—repeating the same ending repeatedly."

"I guess we all go through that phase. Repeating the same song, re-reading the same book, rewatching the same scene…" Mario mused, but Hannah interrupted.

"I get that, but listen. Normally, people move on. And this company has a reputation for that—launching a game, supporting it for about five years, and then taking it down." She showed Mario some online posts.

"They even made a probability chart for content updates? Alien conspiracy theories about consuming entertainment?" Mario scoffed. "People really have that little faith in the company?"

"Let's be real. Companies that release multiple games often lose interest in keeping fans constantly stimulated unless the content is completely immersive," Hannah said while browsing social media.

She showed Mario posts under the hashtag #BetaTesterGame, and he saw how the fandom's activity had peaked a year after the game's launch. Currently, there are only occasional digital illustrations, cosplay photos, animated clips, covers, and fanfics—all with captions like "I miss them" or "When's the next update?"

Mario felt like he was wasting time listening. He tapped his forehead lightly in frustration.

"My point is—it looks like the company really dropped the ball this time. Many people are returning to the fandom because the game's been glitching. They think maybe a patch is coming or an update's in the works."

"Isn't that a good thing? That the company's listening to its fans?" Mario tried to reason.

"Well… yes, if that were the case. The problem is: if everyone's reporting glitches, even after uninstalling and reinstalling… why hasn't Rian—of all people—said anything about it?"

Mario froze slightly at the peculiarity.

Unaware of her friends' concerns, Rian was sitting on the couch, sneaking glances at them while chatting with Elliot on a video call.

"That's a suspicious smile… too cute to be innocent. Confess right now!" Elliot teased, spinning a pen between his fingers.

"Make me," Rian replied playfully.

"Oh no! Did you just trigger my level 7 counterattack protocol?! Very well—you asked for it… Prepare your heart… I'm summoning… the deadliest adorable kitten!"

Rian giggled quietly, trying not to draw attention. Whenever Hannah or Mario realized she was talking to Elliot, they constantly butted in—driven by curiosity. But for Rian, these moments were sacred.

Elliot's camera moved as if he were running. Rian could recognize the in-game environment, which always gave them a strange feeling—especially when they saw details they hadn't programmed. But the desire to stay connected was stronger, and they had learned to brush those things under the rug.

"Leon!" Elliot called out as the video switched from the front to the rear camera.

It was the first time Rian had seen another character from the game. Their earlier suspicion vanished—because they adored Leon for his unbearably cute nature.

"Huh? What's going on?" asked the blonde, adjusting his glasses. "Elliot, what—Rian! How are you?" he greeted warmly.

"Leon, I offered something to Rian, but we need your help answering an essential question," Elliot began.

The young programmer stood up, innocently cooperative.

"Of course! I'll help however I can," he said with full conviction.

Rian felt their heart melt—they wanted to hug Leon and ruffle his hair.

"Do the enemies scale to the player's level in the game? Or do they just cry and run like you when someone with high charisma shows up?" Elliot grinned mischievously.

"Yes! There's a dynamic difficulty system—HEY!" Leon finally realized it was a trap.

Rian was laughing and tearing up at the same time.

"Don't encourage him, Rian. He's always mean to me!" the blond complained.

"Confirmed: enemies flee automatically if the player pulls out a flower. It counts as an improvised weapon. Totally broken balance!" Elliot added, trying not to burst out laughing.

"I already pre-ordered the collector's edition: Legend of Leon: Tears of the Freshman. Comes with a plushie—embroidered, with a single tear, covering its face."

"Soundtrack included! Main theme: Left on Read in D minor, Level 14."

All three were now laughing uncontrollably, though Leon was the first to regain composure—and looked like he might cry for real.

"Why do I always end up in these situations with you two? I thought you actually wanted to know!" he sobbed, wiping his tears with his lab coat.

"Sorry, Leon. You're too adorable—and too easy to prank. Maybe if you got Elliot back once in a while, things would balance out," Rian said kindly.

"Did I hear that right? A rival?" Elliot joked, but Leon's glare sparkled with defiance.

"What's going on over here?" a firm female voice asked.

Sophia approached, drawn by the commotion—but her expression softened when she saw who was on the call. "Oh? Rian," she greeted with a refined smile. "It's a bit late, isn't it? Let them rest, Elliot."

She tugged Elliot's ear playfully, assuming he'd called for work. Leon chuckled at Elliot's distressed expression.

"You're making a scene. We should get going," said a deep, soothing voice—right before Elliot whimpered.

"What now?" Victor asked, recognizing the all-too-familiar scenario.

"Hey, Victor," Leon called out. "Rian's on the phone."

"Good evening, Rian," said the suited man with the purple tie, softening his expression at the sight of her.

"Guys! Are we leaving or what?" called a charismatic voice from the back.

"Edmund," Victor gestured as the silver-haired youth jogged over.

"We have to hurry—Lysander's closing the lab door," he said before Victor handed him the phone. "Rian, it's great to see you! Good evening!"

"Hey! When are you giving my phone back?!" Elliot shouted, finally escaping Sophia's grasp.

Rian watched as the phone passed from hand to hand, the voices becoming muffled.

"Sorry. It's getting loud over here. I'll call you later," Elliot said, looking slightly frazzled.

"Sure. Talk to you soon," Rian replied, waving as the screen went black and the app auto-closed.

"That… was exciting but really strange," Rian muttered, removing their earbuds.

"Extremely strange," came Hannah's voice from behind.

"Ah, crap!" Rian jumped. "How long have you been there?" they asked, clutching their phone to their chest.

"A while," Mario replied. "Long enough to see at least four other characters in the AI?"

Rian didn't respond. Mario's questions matched precisely the doubts that had formed in their minds minutes earlier.

"Hey, Rian," Hannah asked, "have you had any issues with the game lately?"

Rian didn't answer. Hannah recognized that evasive look, that mocking smile, that fake innocence.

"What did you do to the game, Rian?" she asked bluntly.

"Me? Do something to the game? Nothing," Rian replied, clearly uneasy.

"Do you know the entire fandom's been struggling to access the app?" Rian shook their head. "You're the only person who seems able to get in. What's happening in your game?"

Rian looked around as if searching for an escape—but Mario's gaze pinned them in place.

"It's stuck on the last day. It just loops. I'm on Elliot's route and unlocked the chat with all the admins," they said while twirling a strand of hair.

"I doubt you check social media for updates outside the game or work," Hannah said, handing her phone to Rian. "Read this."

After skimming a few lines, Rian handed it back.

"I see. But I don't see how that's related to me," they tried to deflect.

"You do know," Mario said. He'd learned to spot Rian's lies. "The day people marked as the start of the game's crash… was the day you got attacked. Almost six months ago."

Rian's eyes widened. They knew exactly where this was going.

"That was also the day your AI began functioning. Could one of the programs you used have affected the game?" Mario continued.

Rian's heart raced. Could it be… that their AI had broken the game for everyone else?

"Heh," they let out a dry laugh. "That can't be true," they said, voice lacking conviction. They wanted to believe it wasn't their fault—but the voices of their mother and brother echoed in their mind. "I mean, I downloaded the game from the App Store. I built everything on my phone."

"Can we try something?" Hannah asked, trying to reason with her.

"What do you want?" Rian asked, hesitant to let anyone touch their phone.

"You do it if you prefer. I'd like you to delete the game and reinstall it."

"Well, it'll just reload the cloud save when I log in," Rian pointed out.

"Then delete the save file, uninstall the app, and reinstall it," Hannah clarified.

Rian didn't want to. Deleting their progress felt like betraying the characters. But… the video call had made her suspicious.

They opened the game, accessed the save data—a month old, frozen on day ten—and deleted it. They cleared the cache and temp files and restarted the phone. Once it booted, they searched for the app. Nothing remained—except the AI.

Once everyone agreed the device was clean, Rian reinstalled the game. Hannah and Mario did the same, covering two more possibilities: only accounts were affected, or new players were affected.

Once updated, they all opened the app at the same time.

Hannah's screen: "Unknown error. Please contact your provider."

Mario's: "Service temporarily unavailable. Please try again later."

Rian's: the game opened normally.

Nerves returned—amplified.

"Maybe your newer phone handles the app better," Mario reasoned.

Hannah clapped, full of sarcasm.

"That was brilliant. Truly," she said, half-sincere, half scathing.

Rian opened the save menu—and sighed in relief. The save was gone, as expected.

"Now let's see if it loads properly," she muttered, dreading replaying all nine days.

They all relaxed when the loading screen appeared—but their breath caught when it skipped the intro and jumped directly to day ten, just like before.

"What's going on?" Rian asked aloud, just as the game glitched and crashed.

A new screen appeared—an incoming video call.

The three stared at each other, their former suspicions now terrifyingly real. Rian tapped to accept.

"Whoa! Did I land in an alternate timeline? Rian answered on the first ring!" Elliot teased from a new location.

"Hi. Yeah, I had my phone in hand," Rian said, visibly uneasy.

"Hmm? What's wrong? You're in power-saving mode. Your brightness is, like, at 30%. That only happens when something's off… Who dimmed your sparkle without permission?" Elliot joked, sitting on a couch surrounded by pillows and plushies.

Rian laughed despite themself.

"No, it's not that. Hey… Elliot…”

"Rian… what's wrong?" he asked, dropping the jokes.

"Ah… how many da—"

"Rian?!" a cheerful voice interrupted—sweet and youthful.

The other redhead appeared on-screen, tugging Elliot's hand to get closer.

"Hi! How are you?" asked the boy with black-painted nails and a white streak in his hair.

"Hi, Elijah. I'm… fine. Elliot called. I wanted to ask him something," Rian said, gripping her pants nervously.

"Eli, I'm running on fumes. Could you get me a soda from the kitchen?"

Elijah looked offended.

"Then go get it yourself," he grumbled.

"Eli… please," Elliot asked calmly, signaling with his eyes that he needed a moment alone.

Grumbling, Elijah eventually gave in and left.

"Sorry, you were saying?"

"Yeah," Rian replied, though her chest was tight and her breathing shallow.

"Elliot… how long have we known each other?"

"Hmm, well… if we count the day we met in the Golden Moon hallway, today's our ten-day anniversary," he smiled, but it slowly faded when he saw Rian's expression.

"Elliot… it's been months," she corrected him.

He laughed nervously.

"Ah, almost got me! I don't fall for jokes like Leon. But it could work! Next time he's napping in the rest area, we could sneak in and—"

"No!" she interrupted. "Listen. Listen carefully, Elliot…"

Rian began to cry, covering her mouth. She wiped her tears with her sleeve, avoiding the leather bracelets on her wrists.

"We've been talking for almost six months."

Elliot clutched his head, scratching compulsively—showing signs of anxiety and denial.

"That… can't be."

"It is. Elliot… try to remember how long we've been talking."

The call was filled with Rian's sobs and Elliot's groans of pain. Mario and Hannah remained in stunned silence, shaken by the revelation.

When the pain seemed to pass, Elliot's eyes looked clearer—brighter.

"Rian, I—"

The call cut off. Not like before.

This time, a message appeared on the company's official social media:

[ We've heard your concerns and deeply regret the delay in identifying the issue causing these failures. You may now return without problems, BetaTesters. ]