Season 4: Chapter 240. Finale (3)
The history of Treevy played out across the sky. Anyone who hadn’t entered Treevy City and solved the puzzle would be seeing this footage for the first time.
“Wow.”
“No way. Th-That’s from the Treevy days, isn’t it?”
Some only realized later that these scenes came from Treevy’s past.
“Was that Treevy?”
They thought it was just old footage, but the past meant those Treevy days when they really thought about it.
— Whoa...
— No way!
— What is this content!?
— Ending Treevy like this...
“Haaa...”
“Damn it.”
Not just Cheese Village, but the Paprika villagers couldn’t hide their emotions either as they watched Treevy’s footage.
“That’s the puzzle we solved, right?”
“Wow... so this is how it plays out.”
Those who had solved the puzzle felt a quiet pride. Some streamers, seeing their very beginning after so long, quietly shed tears. The dazzling lights and petals from the concert stage slowly faded.
“Huh? It’s snow.”
White snow began to fall over Cheese Village.
***
Under the starry sky, snow poured down. Footage played through the flurries. Within it were everyone’s beginnings.
‘Even seeing it again... It’s hard to get used to.’
Almond felt the same. It didn’t feel all that long ago, yet the scenes playing felt strangely distant.
“Bows... are no good?”
It was Almond when he first started playing Kingdom Age.
— The start of a legend, wow
— King~dom!
— Nice
— This...
— Now it’s finally playing in the right order, lol
Ironically, Almond had become well-known because of the infamous reputation bows had in Kingdom Age. Viewers began talking about his first stream and his accidental rise to fame. His heart used to race nonstop those days.
‘Back then too...’
A white snowflake drifted down onto Almond’s large eye. It had been winter back then as well.
One year after his grandmother passed away, his company suddenly let him go. What if he hadn’t dared to start that stream? His life would be completely different now.
None of the countless people here would know him. Being called Lord Almond, ruling like a king, winning with two hundred national representatives... All those cheers, applause, and tears... Without that moment, none of it would have existed.
“Hahaha!”
“That’s Almond. Wow, that’s actually pretty recent.”
“He was so pure back then... How did you end up going full dark lord, Lord Almond...?”
— Lol, genuinely pure era
— Look at those innocent eyes...
— Wow, insanely handsome as always
— Why does he look better back then?
— That capsule camera quality though, lol
Some residents laughed at the stark difference between Almond’s early days and when he reigned as an absolute ruler in Cheese Village. Almond stared blankly at his past self. He recalled what he’d been thinking back then.
‘Am I... doing this right?’
He was only human. It wasn’t like he had no worries. After getting fired from a major corporation and becoming unemployed again, he had started streaming on a whim. He just wanted to give it a try, but a certain anxiety was always tucked away in his heart.
Now, Sang-Hyeon could clearly see the unease clinging to that footage. His eyes darted slightly as he read the chat. His expression brightened every time a new viewer joined. Now, he knew all of that had been his anxiety. He wanted to say something to his past self.
‘You did well.’
He meant it. It had been the best decision ever even if he looked crazy, clumsy, and foolish. Maybe other streamers thought the same as they watched their own past. Sang-Hyeon thought so.
It grew quiet as the accumulating snow gently blanketed all the noise. In this white stillness, everyone watched the footage of the past. The solemn atmosphere felt as if everyone was offering a final prayer. Then, without any accompaniment, another song began.
“When love was overflowing~!”
A voice spread through the falling snow. It felt as if nothing else existed in this space except CutiePie’s voice. Slow, precise notes resonated clearly.
“I never thought farewell would come~!”
Everyone turned their gaze back to the stage. Standing before the screen where Treevy’s footage flowed, she clasped the microphone tightly with both hands as if praying.
She sang each syllable with intention. “If the final moment arrives~.”
Still no accompaniment, only her pure melody filled the air.
“If we can’t meet again~!”
Doom.
Instruments layered in one by one.
“I wished upon the stars~.”
The residents began singing the well-known song together.
“Asking you to hold me tight one last time~!”
“Hold me tight~!”
All the avatars swayed their arms left and right. Almond did the same. As the song reached its climax, lights flooded the space.
“You were born as a star, and only then did I begin to shine~.”
They knew the lyrics were about parting with a lover. To everyone here, it sounded different. Voices grew thick with emotion, and residents prone to tears lowered their heads, swaying silently.
— I’m crying
— Damn it...! So touching!
— Damn Dragon! Give back Treevy!
— Give Treevy back!
— Saint Kaiser, Knight Terror, Lady Grudge... we’ll remember you.
— Nooo...
— Goodbye...
Everyone knew it was coming.
[00:00:35]
When this song ended, Treevy’s server would shut down. The footage flashing by like a panorama of memories drew closer and closer to the present.
‘It’s ending.’
Almond felt it too. Major events he’d taken part in appeared one by one.
“Aaaah! The MVP of this LIL Tournament is Almond!!”
“A true royal road, right? His first participation! First victory! And first final...!”
The first LIL Tournament he’d ever entered.
“G-Star is once again with Treevy this year.”
G-Star had been packed with people.
“This game called Civil Empire may feel unfamiliar to many...”
The national preliminaries of Civil Empire flashed by.
“Joseon! Joseon has advanced to the quarterfinals!!”
They advance to the top eight against all odds.
“Monster!”
“Kraaaaaah!”
And Joseon miraculously won the championship. Several more events followed.
“Greetings... I am the CEO of Treevy headquarters...”
It was the live broadcast that had announced Treevy’s server shutdown.
— Not that!
— No...
— What...
— Aw man...
— Damn it!
There was nothing left to play. The long panorama of memories came to an end.
“Even if all the stars lose their light~!”
The song ended too. The accompaniment faded away, and the once-brilliant lights slowly sank into darkness.
“I’ll stay behind on this planet, all alone...”
With the final lyrics, every light went completely out.
Thump.
[00:00:00]
Deep darkness settled in. Not a single light remained in Treevy City. The flying city began to fall, slowly at first.
The Patissier members, who had been singing, vanished somewhere as well. They probably shrank back down.
— Whoa
— No...
— Ah...
— I’m crying
— It’s falling
The city crashed into the ground and was utterly annihilated. With a massive explosion, it disappeared without a trace.
[Service Terminated]
All the viewers who had been watching through Treevy vanished as well.
— Huh??
— No way...
— The stream ended...
— Noooo!
— It’s over...
— Ha...
“Whoa...”
The residents were left speechless. They had expected it, but its disappearance felt far too empty. No matter how much one anticipated it, no amount of preparation could ever fill this hollowness. Some residents collapsed to the ground and broke down in tears.
Almond stared blankly at where Treevy had been.
‘It’s really over.’
Wooooong!
Then, it happened. A violet orb floated up from the shattered remnants of Treevy City.
“Huh? That is...”
Those who had cleared the main scenario quest recognized it. That orb was Treevy’s true core.
Wooooong!
The orb flew toward the residents and came to a stop above one person’s head.
“Almond?”
“Gasp... Almond...”
“As expected of the Lord!”
“This too must be the Lord’s grace...”
Out of all the residents, it hovered above Almond’s head. It would’ve been natural to question how that could happen, but the residents, long since accustomed to the Lord’s authority, accepted it as yet another of his blessings. The truth was different.
Treevy didn’t head to the Lord, but to Treeana on top of his head. She rose slowly and reached out her hand.
Bzzt!
In that instant, a violent noise tore through the entire server. Treevy’s violet light vanished completely, and all magic was released. Almond, Zelo, Orange, and ForeverAlone shrank back to their original sizes. All the summoned monsters also dissolved into smoke and disappeared.
Treeana began to glow. The light flared once like an explosion.
Pazzzzt!
‘Huh?’
Treeana returned to her original proportions as the beautiful Saintess whom Orange had first discovered. A being that wasn’t supposed to exist in Survival Craft. All the residents stared at her.
“My role here ends.” Treeana extended the Treevy orb forward. “This orb has lost all its light now... but it wasn’t always so. In the past, it shone brilliantly. And perhaps, simply by having shone so brightly once, it still holds power even now.”
No one could fully understand her words.
Then, she closed her eyes. “Goodbye.”
Bzzzt!
As static noise crackled, Almond’s eyes widened.
‘Huh.’
He saw something strange like an afterimage. Creating avatars that looked like real people didn’t align with Survival Craft’s optimization, so the graphics sometimes glitched.
As Treeana’s model glitched, he saw someone else. She had long black hair and deep, captivating eyes. It lasted only an instant.
Shooong!
She vanished from the world. All that remained was the Treevy orb, floating alone. Almond stared blankly at where she had disappeared.
‘What was that?’
A sense of deja vu hit him.
Potato Servant approached. “L-Lord, shouldn’t you do something with that orb?”
Potato Servant thought Treeana had given the orb to Almond. This wasn’t true, but it certainly looked that way from a distance. He wasn’t the only one who thought so.
“That’s right. Cheese Village is completely destroyed. Shouldn’t we use that to restore it?”
The Treevy orb held enough energy to restore Treevy City itself. Restoring Cheese Village would be trivial. The problem was that it had no light at all now.
Almond squeezed the orb in his hand. “There’s no more power in it now...”
“That’s true.”
“But she said it had power in the past.”
“That’s correct, but... that was the past.”
“It may still have some power in the present from shining brilliantly in the past.”
What did that mean? Everyone knew it had power in the past, but how could that give it power now?
“Um...!” Orange came running with his hand raised. “Did I... never use my special skill?”
— Wait, seriously?
— LOL what
— LOL
— Why did he even get one??
Orange wasn’t speaking idly. “My special skill is called Mirror of Recollection.”
Almond realized it as Orange pulled out the mirror.
“It shone in the past. That alone becomes power.” Almond brought the orb toward the mirror. “I think it’s talking about memories.”
— Oh
— No way
— ?
— Whoa
— Is that it?
— Oh
— That actually makes sense
He didn’t love that Orange of all people possessed the mirror.
Tap.
However, he couldn’t stop.
Holding the orb to the mirror, he asked, “Deduction?”
Wooooong!
As the Treevy orb reflected in the mirror, the reflection began to glow a clear and golden light. It wasn’t power trapped in the mirror.
Fwaaaaa!
Golden energy burst free and spread in all directions. The ruined Cheese Village began restoring itself, piece by piece. The towering Ah-Sung building, the countless homes, the statues of the five Knights, the lush greenery... Everything was reborn in the golden light.
— Almondoyle!
— AD!
— Almondoyle! Almondoyle! Almondoyle!
— Nice
— He really pulled it off at the end
— Wow...
Orange’s wide eyes locked with Almond’s. Without a word, they high-fived.
Clap!
“Almondoyle!”
As if the Dragon of Streaming Destruction’s assault had never happened, peace returned to Cheese Village once more.