You will always be my most beautiful coincidence

What Rian had been preparing all night—the tactic against Al'Zip Oh—was now in motion.

Finally, after talking with their friends about the cosmic experience from the day before and enjoying a proper breakfast, Rian explained their plan.

"If there's one thing I've learned from Hannah," Rian said, spinning their fork between their fingers,

"it's that they hate when someone steals their spotlight."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Hannah replied, raising her cup before sipping.

"Good. Because that's exactly the strategy: give them what they hate the most. They asked me to make them feel something new—so the best way to 'surprise' them is by triggering a fandom-wide protest."

"I still don't get how you plan to pull that off," Mario said, slightly overwhelmed by the full story.

"Well, for years, there have been complaints about how poorly LudoVoid manages their games. The company—or the diva—thinks they've achieved massive success after launching a new expansion. The fandom handles all the marketing, and the PR cycle lasts two years: six months before launch, a year of hype, and another six months to celebrate the game's first anniversary. After that, they release one or two specials and then go radio silent for years. Maybe a contest here or there, but nothing relevant to the game. It creates the illusion that they still care when focused on selling merch. They miss deadlines, use misleading advertising, and fire the original staff—including writers and artists. The usual."

"I don't even play, and I'm already convinced," Mario whispered to Hannah.

"So, if I want to go against a diva and rescue the encrypted world, all I need to do is awaken the resentment that's been quietly building in the fans—remind them of their love for the franchise and hit the company where it hurts: reputation and, from a human, financial standpoint, sales. But where it hurts the diva… is devaluing him and the stories he adores."

"Getting enough people to quit would definitely make them pay attention. Maybe they still love Beta Tester, but no future release will sell if they lose faith in the company and the game is abandoned. If this entity has worked all this time to build a brand image since the days of radio, starting over from scratch without a greater investment in human culture would be incredibly difficult," Hannah analyzed.

"If they're all about worship and sharing, I bet they hate real social interaction. But still… the idea of them doing something to you terrifies me," Mario added, visibly concerned.

"I don't think they will. I don't fully trust them either, but they did say they make sure worlds don't stay beyond their allowed timeline—five years max—because the universe and its characters could start to break. They warned me that's already happening with Elliot and the others because they're defying the time constraints encoded into their world. I get it now—that glitch in him, that's the 'corruption' the diva was talking about."

"Still… your plan depends on everyone leaving. What if just one person stays and brings it all back—" Mario began, but Hannah cut him off.

"Nah. The moment enough people leave, he bothers to trace the cause."

"He'll come for me," Rian said, confident it was only a matter of time.

"Sooner than you think," came Al'Zip Oh's voice in Rian's ear.

The space they shared with their friends was suddenly swallowed by the starlit darkness of the omnipotent being's cloak. That shining porcelain mask was now eroded and more fractured. His eyes and smile were inverted, and they all stared at Rian with the force of a supernova.

"In less than twenty-four hours, Rian?! Twenty-four! Oooohhh, sublime! Unexpected… thrilling… and completely anticlimactic." His synthetic voice clicked its tongue.

"I knew you could do it, but I was expecting a symphony of emotion, not this… apathetic shortcut of logic and surrender."

Al'Zip Oh swayed from side to side, his figurative arms tucked into the folds of his stellar-dust robe.

"Where was the explosion? The soul-crushing whisper? The kiss was never given?" Suddenly, his cloak unfurled like a blooming flower, expanding as his voice betrayed his deep disappointment.

"WHERE IS MY CATHARSIS?!"

His laugh became manic and unhinged until, abruptly, he sighed, and the expression on his mask shifted to something between disappointment and fascination.

"Still… how fascinating that you dared to bring this to a conclusion before the game even shouted 'Final Round.' That, my little star, I didn't see coming."

Space twisted. The cosmos sighed for him. The mask remained, but its eyes and mouth detached and orbited like moons beneath Rian. His voice echoed now—behind, above, within—forcing Rian's senses to stay razor-sharp.

"Can I be honest with you, little star? I would've cried with you if you'd just released one more emotion."

With a firm but composed gaze, Rian placed their hand over their chest and breathed in for four seconds, exhaling for eight. Facing the diva in all his inverted glory, they hardened their expressions in response to his mocking laughter.

"Well, there weren't any terms and conditions besides me surprising you—and you fulfilling my request, whether you liked it or not."

In a tense pause, the figure froze in space. The upside-down smile spun like a coin tossed into the air, landing upright again.

"Touché," he whispered with delight, tilting his head of nebular strands as if receiving an elegant blow.

"You used the dirtiest tactic of all: conscious surrender. And on top of that…" His voice shifted from impressed to disgusted, "…you risked breaking the very world you were trying to protect. What sarcasm! Oh, the delicious irony! All to push me back… Delightful! Maddening! Brilliant in the worst way!"

The intergalactic creature—now resembling a teru teru bōzu—spun through the endless void. His cloak swirled like cosmic ink, and the cyber halo over his head spun wildly.

"Most humans, when faced with a challenge, beg for mercy. But you offered destruction in exchange for attention. Do you know what that means?"

Al'Zip Oh paused dramatically as he twirled, turning his back. Suddenly, his eldritch extensions appeared, and he seemed to hug himself.

"It means you're closer to me… than you'd care to admit." He moaned with pleasure at the thought of finding a being so similar.

"I'll grant what you wish, Rian. I'll uphold my end of the deal," he said, as the slitted lines of his eyes and mouth merged to form a massive eye where his mouth should have been.

"I'm dying to see what's left of you… when everything you love looks back at you."

Holding back the horror that twisted through them at the sight of that warped face, Rian held their breath and closed their eyes as they shouted their demand:

"I want three wishes—just like the one you promised me initially."

Like a tight string snapping, the face rewound into its usual state—but with a comically disappointed expression.

"Three identical wishes!? Pfahhh! What a letdown, my little star. So calculated, so… numerical!"

The mouth twisted in disgust in a very human-like way. "Is that all you have for me after smashing the board so stylishly?"

Rising above Rian's head—starting from the swirling edge of their cloak, the halo slowing down but still spinning on its own axis—Al'Zip Oh crossed his arms in a cosmic pout.

"I was expecting tears, chaos, an existential scream, or a passionate confession. But no! What do I get? A contract extension form."

Unmoved by the dramatics, Rian stood firm in their proposal.

"I solemnly promise I have my reasons. And none of my next wishes will be about multiplying them further."

After Rian's vow, he froze. His body didn't move, but his shadow pulsed like a heartbeat on a mirrored surface.

"Hmm… Three wishes," he muttered, lifting his cloak to his chin. "No tricks, no loops, no infinite replications?"

The mask tilted slightly, expression softening. His hair flashed with light, and he smiled once more.

"Now that's juicier. More human. Something in there could explode, yes… mmhm."

Al'Zip Oh snapped his fingers, and a small spotlight ignited behind him as if a performance were beginning, erasing the stars around them and making Rian fall onto a stool identical to the ones in their apartment kitchen.

Al'Zip Oh remained silent a moment too long as if savoring a concept on his invisible palate. Then, with liquid-like grace, he spun mid-air until he was face-to-face with Rian, arms open in a mocking, theatrical bow.

"Very well, Rian…" he sang, "The stage is yours. Dazzle me."

Rian cleared their throat, raising a finger with composed confidence while their other hand gripped the stool tightly, anchoring themselves in the chaos that was this creature.

"I want you to remove Beta Tester from the market. I don't care if it's not aligned with your timeline. They're already hurt… and you said you didn't want any world to be."

Al'Zip Oh's eyes blinked asynchronously, each reacting to a different emotion. His face shifted from surprise to delight to a faintly disappointed pout. He crossed his legs mid-air, floating sideways like resting in an invisible hammock.

"Mmmmh… not a bad opening," he mused, tilting his head dramatically. "In fact, I was expecting that one. But I'll be honest, I was dreaming of something more theatrical, you know? Tears, lightning, a scream-laced resignation. Something… worthy of an opera's final act. Oh well."

He spun again and landed softly, conjuring a stool identical to Rian's. He sat on it with unnatural ease, shrinking to a human size without warning. His elongated, floating form compressed as though it had always belonged to this plane.

"I don't refuse," he added, "but… how do I erase a game without staining the interdimensional reputation of the most entertaining company I've ever created?"

Rian, unbothered by the sarcasm, met his gaze calmly.

"Say the company has listened to its fans. That you'll do a complete restructuring. And since it's my wish, you can say—truthfully—that it's a change in management."

Al'Zip Oh scrunched his lips in a mock grimace, but his eyes gleamed with genuine interest. It was an elegant solution. Logical. Human. Everything he was not—and for that reason, fascinating.

"Hmm… I see. New leadership. Fresh season. Plot twist. I like it," he murmured, leaning slightly toward them.

"What's your second wish?"

Instead of answering, Rian touched the halo of code, which spun gently around him. Under pressure, the surface cracked like glass.

"H-Hey! Don't touch that!" he exclaimed, jerking back like they had pricked him with a pin.

"It's sensitive! Private! Delicate!"

He crossed his arms like a child whose favorite toy had been taken, puffing his cheeks in comic indignation.

"If you love human emotions so much," Rian replied, almost tenderly, "then who better than humans to give them to you?"

That stopped him cold. Literally, his body froze mid-spin. The glow in his eyes condensed into a focused spark. After a few seconds of eerie silence, he slowly lowered his feet, elbows on knees, leaning toward them.

"Go on," he whispered.

"Restructure the company. Work with humans. They understand what we're looking for better than you do. You can still propose ideas, choose what you like, and let them evolve with others' help."

Al'Zip Oh tilted his head, slowly rotating in a circle on his stool as if orbiting a thought. He snapped his fingers once, and a screen of alternate memories flickered briefly in the air—images of distant worlds, distilled emotions, infinite variables.

"And give up watching all those alternate universes? Abandon my emotional strolls?" he asked with a hint of unease.

"That would make the oversight pointless."

"Of course not. You can still look, observe, study. But instead of encrypting entire realities… you could work with real people to recreate them from the heart—without hurting anyone."

His feet dangled. His posture shifted into something childlike, almost excited. His gestures turned curious and restless. He was processing. He was feeling.

"But to be among them like that…"

"We humans practice the art of disguise," Rian interrupted. "In fact, we love it. We call it cosplay. You can cosplay as a human."

There was a brief silence—then a muffled, enthusiastic laugh.

"I can cosplay as a human! Oh, what a deliciously absurd idea! Robes, shirts, those ridiculous things you call 'slippers'!"

He stood, twirled, and posed like an actor center stage.

"But being human means having no powers…" he mused, voice softening.

"Exactly," Rian said. "Only when you're alone or with people you trust."

He shot them a sly look.

"Like… you, for example."

Rian blushed slightly, looking away.

"Er… yeah. I suppose."

Al'Zip Oh clapped silently, his enthusiasm echoing like a soft ripple.

"Good, good, good. I'm ecstatic! This… this is what I was looking for. A soul that speaks to me with fire. Come on, little star, what's your third wish?"

Rian looked down, this time without bracing themselves. They played with their fingers, letting the moment breathe.

"Well… I'd like access to Elliot's world. So I can keep in touch with him… and the others."

The world stopped.

Al'Zip Oh ceased all motion. His shadow shrank inward. The stool creaked under an unseen weight. His eyes lost their playful shine.

"No," he said flatly. No flourish. No music.