This is a Beta Test?! - A Literally Broken System

"You were saying, Moriya?"

Spawning back in our starting positions, Guidance and I shared a pointed look as I let out a tired sigh. It was clear that we were getting heated, and I knew for a fact that she wouldn't back down no matter how much I argued.

That was just the way she operated, unfortunately. Then again, wasn't that always the case with women? I did notice that happening even with some of my lady friends. They were prideful creatures, ones that just refused to listen to reason at times depending on how determined they were with their beliefs.

"Fine then. That one was my fault," I capitulated, keeping my voice level as to avoid any further conflict. "Shall we go again?"

"No. I don't think we should," she groaned, blowing off a bit of steam as she blew up at her own bangs. "We're not getting anywhere right now. It's best that we reset."

I could only nod as I followed her lead. Sitting on the ground, we both leaned on the nearest piece of rubble as we just let the time pass by. Then again, did time even pass outside this instance? Also, we weren't on a timer right now, so did that mean that we could take as much time as we could before we try and kill this thing?

"So... It's clear that we're not doing anything at the moment," she awkwardly commented, her eyes averting my own. "Is there a timer counting down?"

"None that I can see," I replied with a shrug. "I'm going to take that as permission for us to do absolutely nothing without any consequences."

"I would too if not for the fact that the Engine can just randomly decide whatever part of my code it wants to work at a whim," Guidance sighed. "For all we know, the clock's just invisible to us, and that we're actually wasting time right now as opposed to just taking a break and resetting our emotions."

"Fair enough," I nodded. "Still, we have to do what we have to do."

"Yeah," she breathed out, her eyes going up to the [Star] filled sky. "Besides, when was the last time we actually had some actual downtime?"

"Over a day now, at least," I chuckled.

With time seemingly paused, I couldn't help but notice the world around us more closely. Everything was on fire, and the beam of light erupting from the crater never seemed to end as it stretched on skyward. Despite being a concentrated beam of light, it never seemed to hit what I knew was the cave ceiling that existed high above the dark sky. I guess it was just so high up that the beam just couldn't reach it? Still, I would've expected to at least see some kind of light refracting due to the distance it was traveling through the air.

Aaandd I was starting to ramble again.

"Say... can I ask you a question?"

"What is it, Moriya?"

I blinked as I gathered my thoughts, my gaze still on the pillar of light stretching up into the sky as I spoke. "When are we going to tell each other our real names?"

I couldn't help but blush at my question. It just... It just felt like it was appropriate for us. We were technically dating now, and if we had the time, we were practically screwing each other every other day. To think that I still didn't know a lot about this woman beyond her alias and that she was this world's creator kind of just dawned on me.

"Do we even have to?" Guidance absently replied, her tone sounding more hollow than usual. "If we're not going back to our world, what use would our old names be?"

"Well, for one, they're our names," I replied. "They still hold some meaning to us, what with them being us."

"But that isn't the case here, Moriya," she rebutted. "We're essentially different people now. Sure, we retain our memories and all of the skills we got living a life in the old world, but all of that doesn't have to define us here."

I turned my gaze back down, giving Guidance a questioning look. "So you're suggesting that our names are a legacy of our old lives then."

"I mean, isn't that exactly what they are?" she shrugged, letting out a sigh as she kept her gaze skyward. "What meaning could they hold here when everyone we know already knows of us as Moriya and Guidance?"

"So you really don't care about your old name?"

To my surprise, Guidance gave me a conflicted look as she turned to face me. "Well, I do. It's kind of beautiful sounding, really, but I don't even think I deserve it. Besides, I'm more Guidance than that woman nowadays anyway."

I couldn't help but hum in thought as I considered her words. Well, it did make sense for her to shun a name that she doesn't associate much with anymore. But to hear her say that it was too beautiful for her to use kind of rubbed me the wrong way.

"Why would it be too beautiful for you to use when you're already beautiful to begin with?" I gave her a warm smile as she blushed at my words. Not that I meant for her to blush, but seeing her being cute was always a bonus. "If anything, you deserve to be called something synonymous with the word."please visit pαпᵈα-:)ɴᴏᴠᴇ1.co)m

"N-Now you're just complimenting me," she whined, her cheeks still red despite her protests. "And no, I won't give you my name even if you asked me."

"Then I suppose I'll have to keep calling you Guidance," I chuckled in defeat. "Though, doesn't that sound weird to you? Being called a word that isn't really an actual name?"

To my surprise, she actually glared at me. "This has been my online handle ever since I was a kid. I've been called Guidance by my party and guild members for over a decade now, so I don't think it's that unnatural sounding, Moriya," she spat out, my name getting extra emphasis as she scoffed. "As if you're one to talk, Moriya. Your name sounds so generic that I'd even say that it might just be your real name."

"Close, but far off the mark," I smirked. "Do you honestly think I'll use my real name in a game?"

"Fair enough," she rolled her eyes. "Still, why Moriya?"

"Why Guidance?" I answered back. Still, I wouldn't leave her question hanging as I replied, "As for why Moriya, I was debating either on that or Hijiri. But since I've been using the latter on a ton of other games, I decided to use the name I have today."

"Well, that was boring," she chuckled. "I expected to hear something along the lines of 'it's a reference' or something like that."

I let out a small chuckle as I shifted my position, placing an arm on my knee as I leaned further back into the slab of rock I was using as a chair. "I guess you can say that they're both references then. Though if you aren't familiar with them already, then you probably won't get it."

"Try me."

"Oh?"

"I'd like to think that I know a lot of stuff from the internet," Guidance challenged, a self-confident smile on her face as she crossed her arms. "I might just know where those names come from. I already know they're Japanese, and unless you're from there, I don't believe one bit that they're meaningless."

"We'll see about that then," I scoffed. "Ever heard of Eastern Wonderland?"

At my question, Guidance visibly fell into deep thought as she did her best to somehow recall the name of the franchise I just told her. It was pretty obscure too. Eastern Wonderland was a bullet hell shooter that had a niche following due to its amazing music and pretty patterns. The lore and characters were great too, which was why I was a fan of it in the first place.

"I... I have a feeling I know what those words mean..." she pensively frowned.

"It does have that tendency to be known across the internet," I shrugged, giving her a small hint. "It's spawned a ton of memes despite being niche, to the point that the fanworks are even more famous than the games themselves."

"Wait... I think I'm starting to remember now..."

"Something on your mind?" I teased.

"Yeah," she nodded, her eyes uncharacteristically turning darker as she unexpectedly growled. "That one 'Easy Mode' meme is going to haunt me for the rest of my days..."

"Sounds like a story waiting to be told," I chuckled.

"No, it isn't," she shook her head with a frown. "Anyway, we've had enough rest as it is. Let's get back to bashing our heads against the wall."

"You're the boss."

Standing back up, I followed Guidance's lead as we positioned ourselves in front of Lewis again. Thanks to game shenanigans, the old man didn't seem too upset that we left him standing still for a good few minutes while we sorted ourselves out.

"Again?" I asked, my pistols at the ready.

"Again," she nodded. "This time, let's not die in the first five minutes."

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