Before I even had time to react or respond, the scene around us changed rapidly. I saw the heavy red curtain in front of us lift, revealing rows of empty seats—we were now on a theater stage.
"Oh, handsome, you dragged me here with you again. We didn't even get to finish our conversation properly. When are you ever going to take things seriously?" Élodie rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Don't be mad, Élo. I thought it'd be a fun surprise to switch scenes right after I congratulated her, and I also wanted to show you my new set," Beau said, trying to soothe her.
He then turned to me and said, "Although Élodie and I are in charge of different parts, you could say the introduction test and the first challenge are closely connected. We can move between them freely. If you're lucky enough to pass the first challenge, you'll be transported directly to the second one. That means once the first challenge begins, there's no telling when we'll see each other again."
We fell silent for a moment after he finished speaking.
"So, where exactly are we now? And are you saying no one will come to guide me through the second challenge or the ones after? That you won't be able to contact me anymore either?" I broke the silence.
Élodie remained quiet, but Beau sighed and replied, "To answer the first question, since you're not officially in the first challenge yet, we're essentially in the opening credits of a movie. As for the second—no, no one will be there to explain things in detail like we did. Even though each challenge has a designated overseer, their role is only to monitor your progress. They won't interact with you directly."
"Sounds like things are about to get complicated." I sighed. Unlike the playful tone earlier, the atmosphere had turned heavy.
"Well, you still have the option to back out. If you choose to let go of your memories and start a new life, we'd have a little more time to spend together before you move on," Beau said, tapping his forehead, unaware that Élodie and I had already clashed over this earlier.
"Now that I'm here, I intend to see this through to the end. I hope you both understand." I looked at Élodie, feeling she silently hoped I'd change my mind. Perhaps the price of failure was too high.
"In that case, let me introduce your first challenge: a role-playing game," Beau said without trying to dissuade me any further.
"We'll randomly select a scenario, and you'll have to play one of the characters and complete two tasks without breaking the character's personality. Don't underestimate these tasks! Do not act out of character! The detailed information about your character won't be shared here—it will be automatically implanted in your mind when you enter the first challenge. I should warn you now: this method of memory transmission is risky. You'll need to be careful in identifying memories. Each time you complete a challenge, you'll recover a piece of your real memory. But if you continue doing role-play challenges, the more character memories you acquire, the easier it'll be to confuse them with your own."
It was the first time Beau had spoken so seriously since we met.
"I've taken note of everything. Thank you—both of you." I looked at them. We hadn't known each other long, but I already felt reluctant to part ways.
"You must succeed, Vivienne," Élodie finally spoke after a long silence.
"I'll do my best to recover my memories—and find a way to see you both again. Trust me." I gently patted their shoulders.
"It's time. I'll try to make your entry into the first role-play world as smooth as possible," Beau said, patting my shoulder as well. "Good luck."
"Don't worry. Wait for me." I lost consciousness just as I finished speaking.