After the Dragon of Streaming Destruction failed to withstand the 5G overload, it ended its own existence.

Shooong.

The Cheese Village operations team entered. Cheddar, Mozzarella, and Emmental also appeared.

“Alright. Let’s start getting ready.”

“Yes!”

Until now, Cheese Village had been built entirely around autonomous action. From this point on, they had a clear plan.

Paat!

The operations team moved to their assigned positions and triggered the fireworks devices.

Paboom...!

Pop...!

Fireworks burst across the night sky.

CutiePie began singing. “You know, I keep thinking of you~!”

Treevy City became her stage as violet lights and smoke spread out.

Fweee!

Cheddar flew through the air and said through voice link, “Alright, it’s started. Everyone, stay sharp!”

The staff responded, “Yes!”

“PD Jang says the rest of the Patissier members will be logging in soon.”

“Okay.”

Patissier was the idol group CutiePie belonged to. As the years passed since their debut, they often worked separately. Especially after rumors of internal conflict, they had gained a reputation for rarely gathering together. The last time they had appeared as a full group was at the Treevy Awards at the end of last year.

‘I figured they’d come if it was Treevy related... but they really showed up as a full lineup.’

This finale performance was about the Cheese Village server, but even more than that, it was meant to commemorate Treevy ending and continuing through Cheese. That was the heart of this finale.

[00:48:42]

Less than an hour remained until Treevy’s server shutdown. Cheddar looked up at the fireworks in the night sky.

‘So, this really is the end...’

The server that had been prepared over a long period neared its conclusion.

Paboom...!

The Treevy emblem appeared amid the fireworks.

“Waaaaaaaah!”

The residents cheered for CutiePie. Viewers flooded in endlessly at the news of her concert.

— They’re actually doing a concert?

— Whoa

— Looks fun

— As expected of CutiePie!

With time, all of this would fade away as if it never happened. Just like fireworks that once burst beautifully, they would leave nothing behind. Everything would disappear when the server ended, Treevy included.

‘I was... a devoted viewer too.’

Cheddar recalled the past. Back in college, she had discovered Treevy and fallen into personal streams. Eventually, she had even gotten a job there. While working internally, she realized something.

‘Foreign companies were tough.’

Streaming platforms ultimately had to be run by domestic conglomerates. Once she noticed that, she moved to the Cheese Project, which had solid backing. It had been a smart decision and a rational one. She couldn’t stay on a sinking ship.

‘Is it really going?’

Cheddar’s expression wasn’t bright as she looked at Treevy City, glowing vividly in purple.

“You know, I keep thinking of you~.”

CutiePie’s first song ended. The opening and final lines were the same. The song spoke of the past with that line, then returned to the present to sing it again unchanged.

Paboom!

Fireworks erupted as if celebrating the first song’s completion.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

Residents leaped to their feet and applauded excitedly. Perhaps because it was a virtual world, everyone looked far more liberated than in the real world. The enlarged Almond and Zelo danced together while Orange planted his head on the ground and even spun into a headspin.

“Hahahahahaha!”

“What is Orange even doing!?”

“Isn’t that impossible to stop!?”

The residents lost it even more. It was a true festival.

‘This was the first stream I ever watched too.’

Survival Craft had a fanbase as solid as LIL. Cheddar had entered streaming through this game. What drew her deep into Treevy culture was the massive collaborative content built around it.

Compared to the content she had watched back then, today’s Cheese Village was several times higher in quality. However, those faded memories felt more beautiful than the present’s flashy brightness.

No matter what was planned, it could never surpass the era etched in her mind. The past had already become her ideal, and this very moment would become someone else’s ideal someday.

CutiePie prepared for the next track. “Everyone, did you enjoy the song?”

“Yes~!!”

“Actually, this was the very first song I ever wrote. I released it later, though.”

“Wooo~!”

Shweeeee!

Treevy City, which had been descending, now rose once more.

“Next up is a group song.”

The lighting changed from pure violet to five different colors.

A staff member said, “They’ve arrived.”

“Did you lock the coordinates?”

“Yes, x: 328, y: 101, z: 70. Logging in soon. Countdown at 5.”

As the countdown began, Treevy City moved toward the coordinates.

“Four.”

Multicolored smoke scattered through the air.

“Waaaaaaaaah!”

Residents ran after the city, cheering.

“Three.”

The music began to play. The song had an intentionally long intro.

“Huh? That’s a Patissier song.”

“No way... Are they coming as a full group?”

“For real?”

“Two.”

CutiePie grabbed the microphone.

Thump!

At the same time, giant screens lit up everywhere. CutiePie’s face appeared in close-up, but it wasn’t her Survival Craft character.

— Whoa

— No way

— It’s real, lol

— Wow

CutiePie’s real self appeared on the screens. Of course, she was still a big-headed avatar in the game. This was just their pre-recorded performance footage.

“One.”

The countdown ended, and CutiePie began to sing.

“Connected!”

Pop!

Fireworks exploded in the sky. As they did, the remaining members’ avatars dropped down.

“Hello! Treevy friends!”

“We are Patissier!”

They had come to mark Treevy’s final moment.

Ding.

A notification rang out for all residents.

“The invited singers for the finale performance are Patissier. Please welcome them with a big round of applause!”

“Waaaaaaaaah!”

Amid thunderous cheers, their song began.

‘Wow.’

Almond raised his enormous head and watched in awe.

‘They really prepared this much.’

It was the end of a long, long journey. Maybe there wouldn’t be any regrets if the ending were this dazzling.

Someone murmured in admiration, “Wow.”

Almond froze.

“Huh...?”

He remembered Treeana was still on his head.

“You didn’t realize I was still here?”

Almond hadn’t.

“You were dancing pretty well earlier. I almost fell off.”

— LOL

— Treeana was there??

— No way!

For some reason, Almond felt his face heat up. He hadn’t meant to dance. Zelo’s excitement just spilled over, and his body reacted on its own.

Thump. Thump.

The upbeat song still echoed in the air.

— Let’s gooo~

— Nice

— This is it

Head-bobbing emojis filled the chat.

— (_ )(- -) ( ) (- -)( )

— (- -) ( ) (- -)( )

— ( ) (- -) ( _) (- -)

This atmosphere couldn’t be stopped.

Treeana pointed at the Wish gauge and urged them on. “I’m fine. Keep going. That way, the gauge will fill faster.”

[Wish]

[461,302/1,000,000]

The gauge still floated high in the sky, steadily climbing. The better the crowd’s response and the more the viewers got swept up, the faster the Wish gauge filled. The current song was far more exciting than the earlier solo track.

“Sometimes, you know, my heart suddenly starts racing!”

One person stepped forward, motioning for the audience to jump.

“Jump!”

The residents who knew the chant began hopping wildly, caught up in the excitement.

“Juuump!”

Zelo, beside them, bounced enthusiastically. Almond hadn’t known, but Zelo was actually a pretty serious dancer.

— What is Zelo doing? LOL

— Holy crap

— Watched so many female streamers that he became one

— LOL insane

— Ah...

It wasn’t just playful teasing. Even with a chibi avatar two heads tall, his sense of rhythm was obvious. Did he watch dance streams often?

Meanwhile, Orange still couldn’t stop the headspin he’d started earlier. “Uooogh...”

With his body proportions, his hands couldn’t quite reach the ground properly.

— He turned into a spinning top!

— Let’s go!

— Avatars gone wild

— (_ ) (- -) ( ) (- -)

— Is Orange broken??

— So many viewers!

— ( ) (- -) ( _) (- -)

Viewers poured in after hearing the rumors. Almond couldn’t help himself either.

“It’s always been the same, the same old days, but sometimes!”

“Sometimes!”

He jumped in time with the beat.

Puh-hah.

Laughter rang out from above his head.

— LOL

— That chuckle...

— (_ ) (- -) ( _) (- -)

— You told him to jump!

— LMAO

“Sometimes, you know, my heart suddenly starts racing!”

Treeana gripped Almond’s hair tightly and shouted, “Jump!”

Just like that, the Wish gauge climbed higher and higher.

[Wish]

[703,129/1,000,000]

***

[Patissier full group reunion at Cheese concert!]

[Cheese Village finale concert is insane!]

[Breaking News: Almond is currently dancing lol.]

[Even if you’ve never watched Cheese Village before, missing this is a crime lol.]

[Almond-Zelo dance duo?!]

Talk of the Cheese Village concert instantly spread through the community. Giant Almond and Zelo continued dancing. Orange flipped endlessly. The concert featured Patissier in full. This was all an irresistible temptation for users of the streaming platform. Anyone who had even once watched Cheese Village gathered one by one.

— Is this where the festival’s happening??

— Wow...

— This is gorgeous

— Cosmic superstar CutiePie

— Nice

The concert completely swept up the viewers, and the Wish gauge filled faster.

[1,000,000/1,000,000]

Thump!

The golden gauge completely filled up.

— Oh!

— It’s done!

— No way!

— That’s insane...

Booooom!

Golden fireworks fired in all directions, and the residents who had died began appearing in the sky.

[All Residents Revived.]

Pop.

Bubblegum appeared first. “Wooooaaah! Finally!”

— The founder of the noobs!

— Nice

— The best at being the worst! 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

— Finally!!

Like flower petals scattered at a festival, they fell from the sky one by one. The song reached its full conclusion.

“Sometimes, you know, my heart suddenly starts racing!”

“Sometimes, you know, maybe only when I see you~!”

“My heart suddenly starts racing!”

“My heart suddenly starts racing!”

“Maybe only when I see you~!”

Paboom!

Brilliant lights exploded, and multicolored petals drifted down. The second song came to a dazzling close. The Patissier members stepped forward to greet the crowd, and thunderous applause erupted. Then, the screens that had been focused on the members flickered.

Chzzzzzt...

“Huh?”

“Whoa.”

What appeared on the screens wasn’t them, but old footage. The very puzzle that those who had visited Treevy City once solved. Treevy’s history began playing in order.

[Hello... I’m Zelo. Yes, nice to meet you. Why Treevy? I don’t know. It just... happened.]

[Ah, are you JeonJaPa? This is today’s debut match. A lot of anticipation is building...]

[The first LIL match of 2020...]

Everyone who had once used Treevy watched their past in stunned silence, including the on-stage CutiePie, the gigantic Almond, and Treeana on top of his head. At that moment, less than thirty minutes remained for Treevy.

[00:29:31]

People often said that when life ends, the past flashes before one’s eyes. Perhaps this was Treevy’s own life flashing by.