After being struck by a lightning bolt carrying millions of volts, Yumeji simulated helplessness by lying sprawled out on the ground.
His body twitched while his skin and hair were charred black like a scientist who had just blown up his lab after failing his experiment for the nth time.
His hair curled as he lay limp on the snow, exhaling white breaths mixed with the sharp metallic smell reminiscent of chlorine at swimming pools, a scent that wafted out from his nose and mouth due to the heavy static electricity infection in his lungs.
It was honestly funny that he was still alive. But from the beginning, he wasn't even human—just a character from a digital world—so the state he was in could simply be described as a character suffering from lag.
It might sound strange, but no matter how severely he was punished, he wouldn't die unless someone deleted his data, he was defeated by another game character, or by a player.
As for the administrator, well… as long as they didn't decide to delete him, any damage he received would soon be restored.
He was just lying there all this time simply because he was sulking and throwing a tantrum. And he didn't have much motivation to get up.
Each break he gave Kiana lasted about 20 minutes, and there was a significant time discrepancy between out there and here. Specifically, it was 1/10000, so even if he lay there sulking for an entire month, it wouldn't be a problem.
It might sound ridiculous, but he was genuinely so idle that he explored the entire data region after defeating his opponent. He even went so far as to test the geographical limits of each data area during the battles.
So, the current Yumeji simulation had absolutely no desire to get up after being punished by Ai-chan; his motivation and passion were temporarily at rock bottom, and thus he lay on his back, lazily staring at the winter night sky despite Ai-chan's loud complaints ringing right by his ear.
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He turned his head after hearing the voice and saw Siegfried sitting on a tree trunk lying on the snow, looking in his direction. He stared at the man for a moment before opening his mouth to speak.
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As he heard the source of the noisy voice hovering around him trying to get attention, Yumeji squinted his eyes because he was annoyed, but he didn't dare to stop that blaring loudspeaker of a mouth from opening and closing since he didn't want to get hit with another lightning punishment.
So, he decided to ignore her by stuffing some snow into his ears to muffle the irritating volume surrounding him.
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<<...Yaaawn~~>>
He still didn't respond to Ai-chan and simply shifted to a sideways position facing Siegfried, resting his head on his right arm while letting out a yawn to assert that his work spirit was bottoming out. If nothing came along to truly reignite his passion afterward, he'd probably just end this by going to sleep and only then think about returning to the real world to resume his battle with that silly little lady.
****
Siegfried wasn't sure how he should interpret this situation. He came from the Kaslana family, a lineage known for their unruly and carefree nature to the point where everyone around them saw them as uncontrollable individuals who would do whatever popped into their heads without giving it much thought.
But even though he himself had a temperament that represented that family, he wasn't certain he could compare to the boy in front of him, because the boy's personality seemed absurdly childish.
He would start something and then give it up far too easily.
In Siegfried's opinion, this kid was probably the type who, once he fixated on some silly task, would carry it out to the end no matter how difficult it was—he simply wouldn't care and would finish it.
On the flip side, if anything interrupted his inspiration, he would toss everything aside regardless of its importance or how far he had come before that, simply because he was bored and no longer motivated—no need for any profound reason.
In some ways, he was just an overgrown child.
And in some other ways, he was even harder to teach than Siegfried's own daughter, which only proved how uncontrollable his personality was.
("Truly a troublesome kid to deal with.")
In short, Siegfried's impression of the simulated Yumeji was as follows:
An unpredictable brat with issues and a fickle temperament just like a cat.
There wasn't really anything more to it than that, so after letting out a sigh, Siegfried cleared his throat and began the task at hand.
There were a few things he had planned to do, but unpredictable elements—like the sudden appearance of that boy—had ruined everything, forcing him to reconsider and making him unsure whether he should still proceed with the original plan after hearing the boy's explanation for why he came here.
And in order to weigh his options going forward, Siegfried decided to start a little heart-to-heart talk with that whimsical and unpredictable kid.
Even though, at the end of the day, he was just a simulation.
No matter how much he painted and decorated his story, or what kind of proposal he came up with, it would all be meaningless—because in the end, no matter what he created, it would still just be an artificial act, from an artificial existence, trying its best to resemble a human being.
...
Is that really the case?
Well then, to find the answer to this little battle that no one outside this world is even watching, let us listen to the story of a certain man—a tale that is nothing more than a skewed past borrowed from the subjective memories of his daughter.
***
Was it a long story? If asked to evaluate it, the boy's answer would be no.
But if you asked whether he felt tired watching it, then the answer would be yes.
After all, what he was watching was a condensed film of part of a man's life through the eyes of someone else, so even if the footage lasted a full two hours, it still couldn't be called "long."
Outsiders had no voice here. He wouldn't be shameless enough to comment on someone else's life.
He had even chosen to watch it voluntarily, so even if it was a long-winded and unexciting documentary, he had no right to complain.
The scenery shifted once again.
Although this land was blanketed in snow for most of the time, there were still moments when the snow faded, allowing the vegetation to flourish.
The previously white landscape was now dyed green by vast, sprawling grasslands.
And perhaps, the scene took place during summer, somewhere between June and August.
Though the timestamp wasn't important, it did give the boy a glimpse into the lifestyle of that father and daughter.
("A nomadic lifestyle, huh?")
To be honest, Siegfried and Kiana in this memory setting, created by the simulated Siegfried with a snap of his fingers, were no different from scenes in a VR movie.
After all, Siegfried was the master of this data realm, so this was nothing strange.
The lifestyle of this father and daughter pair could be summed up in one phrase: always on the move. They never stayed in one place for long, instead traveling for most of their time.
Sometimes, they stayed in an abandoned lodge on a mountain to escape the harshness of winter.
Sometimes, they went out hunting to gather food for the cold season.
Sometimes, they left one place behind and settled in another—usually abandoned homes, or rented lodges in nearby rural areas or more populated regions.
After all, the model for the simulated Yumeji was an Asian—specifically Japanese—someone used to living in apartments and walking on busy streets, where walking more than 100 meters a day would be seen as a surprisingly diligent act, considering most people relied on public transportation.
Even if he was merely a subjective simulation formed from Kiana's memories, the girl had likely imposed a few stereotypes about the Japanese on his design—like the classic image of running to school with toast in his mouth.
So it could be said that the Hyperion server had arbitrarily assigned him a nationality and lifestyle background as a Japanese guy, even though it wasn't part of Kiana's actual memory data.
Still, he had been designed in such a way that an Asian like him would be wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the European lifestyle, in the end.
So he found himself quietly marveling at the past life of that father and daughter.
But there was one thing he was quite sure of as he followed everything up to this point: Siegfried seemed to be rather distant toward Kiana.
Of course, he had ensured a life with enough food, clothing, and a warm shelter, and he had certainly fulfilled the duty labeled as "taking care of his daughter."
But was a family relationship supposed to be that one-sided?
There was no clear emotional bond of father and daughter built between the two. What he saw here was just Siegfried maintaining Kiana's life under the guise of care and protection.
What was he thinking when he looked at his daughter with those tired and cloudy eyes?
No. Was he even really looking at her? Or was he seeing something else entirely?
What was he thinking when he kept disappearing without a word, leaving his daughter all alone in that empty wooden cabin, only to return late at night covered in wounds?
He didn't know. But he was sure that he'd feel annoyed and frustrated if things continued like this.
He looked at Kiana in the memory, a young Kiana with empty blue eyes playing with the red apples on the table.
After all, everything here was borrowed from Kiana, so it was only natural that her perspective was prioritized.
"Ow!"
He heard a small cry. It seemed Kiana had tried to peel an apple with a silver knife using her tiny hands while her father was nowhere to be seen. So, clumsy as she was, she had ended up cutting herself.
With tears welling up from the pain but still holding back her cries and trying to act tough even though no one was watching—this was a foolish act that no child should have to make, because it took away a child's right to rely on adults when hurt.
Feeling perhaps that leaving things messy with blood splattered around would trouble someone, little Kiana hurriedly searched for the first-aid kit stored in the wooden cabinet on the wall, pulled out white bandages and disinfectant, and quickly began to treat her wound and clean up the mess she had made.
Didn't someone once say that happy children tend to live messily, and the opposite is also true?
Usually, leaving traces of oneself on surrounding things is a way to attract attention from others, to affirm one's existence, and to form bonds with someone.
So then, what about the opposite?
That would be avoidance—trying to live a life that causes no trouble for anyone, and giving up on having expectations of others.
That is a way of life that no child should ever have to follow.
He looked around and felt frustrated with the house that the little girl had cleaned so thoroughly it erased all traces of human presence—even though it was clear she was the one living here.
Was there any reason he had to watch this?
He was just a simulation, so expecting him to form any kind of personal emotion toward that girl was pointless. His mission was to fight and to conduct trials; developing personal feelings after witnessing her past was nothing but a shackle that would hinder his duty.
(Damn it!)
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His voice was colder as he addressed the man who looked like a mercenary and was playing the role of a tour guide.
Ai-chan also remained silent, gazing at the man while sitting on his shoulder. Despite being ignored by him, she still tried to act close to him.
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He wondered what that was supposed to mean, but the man didn't respond. Instead, he simply waved his hand to change the scene, as if flipping the channel on a TV.
This time, the scenery changed once more. The short summer had passed, and the cold winter, along with the white snow, once again blanketed this land.
As always, Kiana would continue to be alone in the wooden cabin while Siegfried once again left the house without a word.
But this time, there was a small shift.
Instead of staying behind to watch the house like every other time, little Kiana had mustered up an invisible amount of courage from who-knows-where and secretly followed behind Siegfried like a tiny spy.
And then she saw it—the scene of Siegfried fighting two monsters while wielding a pair of twin guns in his hands.
She witnessed that battle while hiding behind a tree.
It was a battle that revealed another side of her father, when he was no longer the sad and distant man, but instead, the figure of a brave, powerful warrior with a broad back, ready to face terrifying monsters without hesitation.
And...
And.....
And.....
That little Kiana found a small flame in her heart, something that gave her the courage to close the distance between father and daughter.
And she carried out a certain action—a foolish action of snatching away her father's twin guns while he was preoccupied, and then rushing out to fight the monsters.
It seemed that the little girl had a small conversation with her father after witnessing his battle earlier.
She might have even asked him why he fought, only to come home with a body drenched in blood and covered in wounds.
He answered her—to protect humanity.
What is humanity?
Are they people like her and her father?
She had rarely seen anyone else besides her father. She had only ever seen the innkeeper uncle, an elderly couple, and a few others living in a relatively quiet village at the foot of the mountain.
Were those the people her father called humanity?
Why did he have to protect them? When she asked him that, for the first time in all the time they'd lived together, her father smiled.
That lit a small light in her soulless eyes.
"Why, huh? Haha, maybe because I feel proud that the blood running through my veins always pushes me, gives me the drive and strength to stand up and protect others."
That might have given the little girl a small reason to fight.
Even if she didn't understand the value of protecting others, she was sure that such an action would bring a smile to her father's face.
And since she didn't want to see her father covered in injuries and collapsing in pain on the floor from fighting anymore, after tending to his wounds and letting him rest another time, the little girl grabbed her father's weapon and ran outside to fight in his place.
To fight the Honkai.
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...
...
Surely, it was a reckless and thoughtless act, but the outcome of it wasn't bad at all.
It was that very action and that determination that warmed and healed, even just a little, the heart of a man that had been worn down by suffering.
And then, he gave her the most meaningful gift that day instead of the boring and fake gifts of previous birthdays. On her 3rd birthday and also her 11th birthday since the day she met her father and was told that she had amnesia due to trauma.
That gift was the girl's name.
Kiana Kaslana.
A name that represented love, pride, and a father's acceptance of her existence.
And at the same time, it was a name that placed upon her a great responsibility.
The responsibility to protect humanity.
...
("Come to think of it, the narration in those clips was always Kiana's voice, wasn't it?")
That wasn't too surprising, since whether the memory belonged to him or to Kiana's father, they were all simulated memories compiled from Kiana's own recollection.
He smiled slightly at that thought, but when he glanced at Siegfried, he immediately realized that things weren't over yet.
The contemplative and sorrowful look in his eyes said it all.
And then...
And then...
The scenery before him changed again, and a blazing red of fire filled his entire vision.
At that moment, the simulated Yumeji realized that this was the greatest regret, the deepest question, and the most profound torment of the man standing next to him.
A man who wasn't truly praiseworthy as a father.
Yet also a man who bore the weight of the name Kaslana.
A suffering man who never truly succeeded in protecting that small happiness called family.