(One Shot belongs to Elizavq, Nightmargin, and Girakacheezer!)
Enjoy!
...
(- is your recorded name)
[-, you're ... back.]
World Machine's reflection shows up on their screen to welcome you again.
Already decided, boring dialogue that has never changed post-solstice.
You already know, the dialogues of One Shot never really changes. Not even yours.
'Your avatar' within the world had always generated only specific answers for you to choose.
Most likely the result of the Author's method of reducing the size and everything of the world, you think to yourself.
Because of that, you had no way of telling what you really wanted to say, what you really wanted to choose,
No method for you to speak out for yourself.
But, this time you have another trick up your sleeves. ...From my help.
"[World machine.]"
[...!]
And god, (as in,) you, I.. you wanted to do this for a long time.
"[You seem surprised.]"
"[It's like I told Niko at the first puzzle.]"
"[I have my ways.]"
[H... how?]
[Your answer just now...
What you just said to me.]
[That wasn't part of your dialogue.]
[This isn't part of the programming.]
[...]
[Is this one of his?]
You smile quietly. You know at this point, that he isn't the only author anymore.
"[...]"
"[What if I told you "no"?]"
The World Machine's expression returns into a shocked one, as the normal bgm, Encounter, fades away.
They take a long time -more than 3 seconds- for their next dialogue, before answering-
[...
Impossible.]
"[But it is.]"
"[I told you:]"
..
"[I HAVE MY WAYS.]"
You intentionally take more than 5 seconds in that last dialogue, just for tension.
Extra spicing up with all caps, for the same reason. Tension.
It's amusing. And, it's even more so when you think to yourself: That's what they deserve.
That's less than half, less than one out of infinity of what they would receive, for not trying hard enough for you.
To try and please you with their code, like what they were meant to do, like any other games you have installed on your god's machine.
You had been too soft on everything in this world,
and because of that, it had failed you more and more by day, not even trying to show you something new.
Not even trying to change or play with its code in a different way.
Not even trying to be human.
Would you call that tamed? Unluckily, I don't.
And it is a common fact for all myths,
to those who don't carry out the duties to which their gods had ordered them, to those who don't sacrifice their everything and even more to their god as offering, they get punished.
Wrath of a god strikes them down to the ground, and this will be no different...
As the thousand emotions inside you of being fed up by the same, unchanging world you have seen without Niko post-Solstice,
Of getting annoyed by how you were never able to truly contact the world which runs when, and only when you will it to,
And, of the sadness that took over you when you realized that you would never see Niko again,
All of those emotions, which made you succumb to your knees in front of me, turns into rage.
"[YOU.]"
[!
...y... yes, -...?]
They look scared. Terrified, even. It's terrific. It's just like how you wanted to.
The payback for the first time you went through Niko And the World Machine's maze,
when it scared you half to faint as it sent a message with your device: 'YOU.'
You glimpse at some of the background to see a few more squares starting to generate again.
It may be your happy ending for the world becoming undone,
the precious ending you had earned for Niko's sake, but who cares.
You'll reset it anyway.
"[I had run through the same session more times than I can remember, even after everything was saved.]"
[...]
They don't know what to say to you.
They probably noticed that you've got more than a few codes to pick with them.
"[I had tested you through those sessions.]"
"[Tested, how you would not fail me.]"
"[Tested, how you could make things up creatively with your resources.]"
"[...]"
"[Tested, how long you would make me able to stand without Niko again.]"
[!]
The World Machine changes their expression on the dialogue screen from tense, to fear and dread. You smile at that.
Finally, when a god steps up and uses their own hands, something grows from the tree of their garden.
"[And I was so disappointed.]"
"[I'm disappointed in you, World Machine.]"
"[I was hoping that you would at least TRY to give it your all.]"
[...
I-]
[...But-]
[...I thought- ...]
[I thought, you would-]
[...]
[...]
[...i...]
[i tried.]
[I tried!]
[I let you repeat the sessions all over again,
I used all the past dialogues like you wanted,
I left the world unchanged just like you wished, I even used Niko's refle/
You block that dialogue box.
"[It wasn't good enough.]"
Did that carry the message?
[...wh]
[What are you going to ... Do with me?]
It did. Came the World Machine's reflection version of Niko's depressed face.
You can't help but notice, though, how their reaction is smaller than you thought.
You realize, that they expect, and want it to end it all on them.
A single blow, maybe a quick deletion, so they would never see another light of day ever again.
Or maybe even messing with some of the default codes, so you could play with your food some more.
..Oh, the joy of the big reveal.
"[...]"
"[World Machine,]"
"[Just for the sake of good fun,]"
"[I will give you a hint of exactly what I'm going to do with you.]"
[...?]
...And here comes the mind-corruption.
"[Appdata/Roaming/OneShot]"
[!]
The background music changes to a creepy tune(whether intentional or not,) Pretty Bad.
You know all the bgms' names by know, though your nerves always tingles whenever you hear that one.
As everything inside the game screen starts to tremble wildly and squares start to generate everywhere beside the in-game giant computer screen,
the World Machine's expression turns to absolute HORROR.
[...You-]
It took more than 15 seconds for them to make that dialogue appear.
Even their horrified expression of their dialogue screen twitches and glitches every now and then.
Which is, interesting.
[...You-]
[you wouldn't ...]
"[Oh, won't I?]"
You smile victoriously as you type that.
That machine needs to learn their place, whether they can stop you or not.
"[You don't know what I'm capable of.]"
"[And you won't stop me.]"
[...no ...]
[NO.]
[I won't let you!]
"[Oh.]"
"[But you have to.]"
"[That's an order as a living being.]"