Getting out of a funk

"Draw~"

That was the last thing Wren heard before a bullet pierced his skull, 'killing' him once again. He couldn't actually die. Not here. This was just a recreation of his western simulation. One fabricated in the afterlife by himself and Niles as a way to entertain themselves for eternity.

Wren and Niles were kindred spirits. Both had worked hard to create a perfect world for another, only to be cruelly rejected before meeting a brutal end. It was a weirdly specific fate but it was one they shared nonetheless.

This is what had allowed them to bond in the afterlife. Although their personalities were wildly different, their aspirations and the way they tried to achieve their dreams made it easy to relate to one another. They could honestly say they enjoyed each other's company.

So, what do two kindred spirits do in an eternal plane with endless possibilities being just a few lines of code away? Well, they create the perfect world together that they were never able to have in life. A version of Wren's game for Meggy that would last until existence reaches an end. A constant cycle of killing one another that they each derived some sick pleasure from.

Of course, no game is fun without a few rules.

Each day marks the start of a new round. The goal? Kill or be killed. The winner of the previous day's match wakes up 2 hours before the loser which gives him plenty of time to find a good hiding spot in whatever map they're playing. Usually, a western setting.

Then, when the loser wakes up, it's his job to scout the map in search of the other player and eliminate him before he gets the chance to shoot.

That's just the standard way of playing though. The two players had managed to come up with some fun other 'game modes' to play. For example, a town-wide brawl where Wren and Niles work together to defeat a hoard of NPC's. Or a Russian roulette type of game where they let fate decide who will get a head start the following day.

However, not every day was spent fighting. As Wren and Niles spent more time together, it wasn't uncommon for them to go a whole day without killing each other. As a matter of fact, one day every week was an allocated "truce day" where the two would just chill. Whether that was working on new maps or game modes, sharing stories from their past lives or simply just spending time together. It was a welcomed break from the constant cycle of 'death' and it was what had allowed Wren and Niles to grow as close as they had.

Things were going well. Niles finally had someone who could not only handle but ENCOURAGE his destructive tendencies and boisterous personality. Wren finally had a willing participant in his game; someone who could actually give him a challenge!

And boy, Niles sure had been giving him a challenge these last few round's.

Typically, the loose to win ratio for the two was more or less 50/50, possibly leaning in Wren's favour a little since he was an experienced gunman. However, for over two weeks, Niles had been winning every single game they played. He was taking advantage of Wren's blind spot in every duel, killing more NPC's than him in their brawls, and he even managed to beat him in Russian roulette every time they played!

Wren didn't know what it was. Had Niles been cheating? Training harder? Simply getting lucky?? Or did this have nothing to do with the artificial meme guardian...?

Maybe Wren was just loosing his touch? He had been doing this sort of thing for decades now so really, was there anyway he could improve? If even his best wasn't enough to beat an amateur like Niles then what was the point?

As the days passed by, Wren's loosing streak began to take a toll on him. He was grumpier, more erratic and on edge during their games. His temper had somehow grown even shorter than it already was, making it practically impossible for Niles to not piss him off every time they interacted.