Last Time: A Hololive Story

The first hints of dawn began to creep across the horizon, painting the sky in shades of gold and crimson. Gura stood still, her muscles stiff and aching with every movement, but her spirit remained unyielding. The cool morning air of the desert brushed against her skin, a fleeting reprieve from the suffocating heat of the battle she had just survived.

Her gaze wandered across the horizon, where faint trails of smoke curled skyward, dissipating into the golden hues of morning. Beyond the smoke, something glinted—a persistent gleam that had haunted her across countless cycles. That light, distant yet unnervingly consistent, seemed to call to her. Bright and almost blinding, it burned with an intensity that made her hesitate every time she encountered it.

She tightened her grip on her spear, her knuckles whitening.

That light again.

It wasn't the first time it had appeared. During her earlier cycles, she had noticed the anomaly—an unnatural beam that seemed to defy explanation. The AME device on her wrist had analyzed it time and time again, always producing the same confounding results. It was pure light, devoid of mass, heat, or tangible origin. No physical substance. No practical function. Yet it resonated with something deep inside her, as though it held answers she wasn't sure she was ready to face.

"What are you?" she murmured, her voice a whisper lost in the desert wind.

Each encounter with the light left her feeling vulnerable, as if it could pierce through her very being and lay bare her every thought. She hated the unease it stirred within her, but there was no denying its pull—a silent promise that within its glow lay the key to her endless struggle.

Her thoughts shifted back to the remnants of the camp. She turned, letting the smoldering ruins fill her vision. The acrid scent of burnt wood and scorched metal still lingered heavily in the air. What lay before her wasn't just a battlefield; it was a graveyard. The camp, now reduced to rubble, stood as a testament to her triumph—and her many failures.

The ground where the Masked Woman had fallen drew her gaze. Victory had felt like it should be monumental, but instead, it was muted. Hollow. The Masked Woman had been a fearsome adversary, her shadow looming over dozens of turns. Yet, even as Gura struck the final blow, she couldn't escape the nagging truth that this was only one battle in a war far greater than she understood.

"This is just one step," she whispered, her voice tinged with exhaustion.

The weight of her journey settled heavily on her shoulders. She thought back to every failure, each mistake etched vividly into her memory:

Turn 7, cornered in the eastern canyon, hopelessly outnumbered.

Turn 12, falling for an obvious trap, her own hubris her undoing.

Turn 35, an explosion miscalculated, leaving her battered and broken.

Each failure had been excruciating, their lessons seared into her like scars. Yet, despite the pain, those failures had forged her into the warrior she was now. Her lips curved into a bitter smile as the thought struck her:

"Those failures—they built me."

The first rays of sunlight bathed the desert in a warm, golden glow. For the first time in what felt like eternity, Gura allowed herself a moment to breathe deeply. The crisp morning air filled her lungs, washing away some of the tension coiled within her. The triumph she felt wasn't the jubilant kind she had once longed for. It was quieter, steadier—an ember that refused to die, no matter how many times it had been smothered.

"Time to move," she said aloud, breaking the stillness.

She adjusted the AME device on her wrist. The polished surface hummed faintly as she activated its holographic interface. With a flick of her fingers, the device projected a three-dimensional map into the air before her. The map shimmered in the dawn light, detailing the expanse of the desert with a precision that bordered on uncanny. Dunes, rocky outcroppings, and faint heat signatures of nearby creatures pulsed softly within the projection.

Her next destination blinked to life, marked faintly on the far eastern edge of the map. It lay deep in uncharted territory, past dunes that shifted unpredictably with the winds. Gura swiped at the holographic display, zooming in on her destination. Trails appeared, speculative pathways generated by the AME's predictive algorithms. Each was calculated to account for terrain and potential hazards.

"Stinky, you're looking far too serious for someone who just pulled off the impossible," came AMESS's voice, as playful as ever. Her holographic form materialized beside Gura, reclining mid-air as though lounging on an invisible chair. "Take a second to bask in your glory, why don't you? Before, you know, diving headfirst into the next disaster."

Gura huffed, sparing AMESS a glance. "I'll bask when it's over. This is just the first crack in their armor." She dismissed the map with a swipe, watching the glowing lines dissolve into particles of light. Her gaze lingered on the wrist device, the AME not just a tool but a lifeline—a symbol of how far she had come and how much further she had to go.

Gura snorted, some of the tension in her chest loosening. "Impossible? Just another Tuesday."

"Right," AMESS quipped, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "But don't get cocky. There's still a 78.912% chance you'll mess something up before the next checkpoint."

Gura smirked. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

As her figure grew smaller, disappearing into the distance, faint movements stirred among the ruins of the camp. Survivors emerged from the shadows—scarred, battered, and silent.

A man with a jagged wound across his temple crouched low, his eyes narrowing as he watched her retreat. Beside him, a woman leaned heavily against a collapsed barricade, her arm in a makeshift splint. Her gaze was sharp, unyielding.

"She left us alive," the man muttered, bitterness heavy in his voice.

"Not by choice," the woman snapped, her tone dripping with venom. "She missed us in the chaos."

"Or," a third voice interjected, deeper and calm, "she didn't see us as a threat." A hooded figure stepped forward, his features hidden in the shadows.

The man scoffed. "She will."

The three exchanged glances, unspoken plans forming in the spaces between their words. Then, they slipped back into the shadows, their presence reduced to whispers in the scorched earth.

Gura couldn't shake the unease that curled in her gut as she climbed the crest of a nearby dune. The glint of light returned to her vision, cutting through the haze with its eerie brilliance. She paused, her breath hitching.

"What are you hiding?" she muttered.

The AME device beeped softly, registering the anomaly once more. Its readings spiked, then steadied. Just light—pure, undiluted energy, and very high heat signatures still without explanation.

"Whatever you are," Gura thought, "I'll find you."

AMESS's voice chimed in, breaking the tension. "Careful, Stinky. Curiosity killed the catfish."

Gura smirked faintly. "Good thing I'm a shark."

She adjusted the strap on her spear and pressed forward. Answers awaited her in the unknown, and she was determined to uncover them—no matter the cost.

This wasn't the end.

It was only the beginning.