[Ding]
[The 'Translator Feature' has been activated… Now all language aside from Monster language will be translated to English]
…
"My lord… I asked if this was true…"
Her voice trembled as she spoke.
Tears welled up in her eyes and began to fall, streaking down her pale cheeks.
She raised her hands to wipe them away, but her shoulders shook too much.
She wasn't crying out of pain… there was joy in her tears like a long-lost hope finally coming true.
She was happy.
Alexander just stared blankly at her.
His mind couldn't process any of it.
What was even going on? A second ago, he was sitting at his desk fixing a bug, and now… this?
His screen had blinked, and he'd been swallowed by light.
And now he was here, in this strange body, staring at a crying woman who looked like she'd stepped straight out of one of his own character design sheets.
He blinked slowly.
He recognized her.
Of course he did… he'd helped make her.
Her name was Lyria Iskhtar, the Lordess of Iskhtar Höhle.
She was one of the Chosen Ones.
He remembered the hours he'd spent adjusting her data, rebalancing her stats, tweaking her dialogue tree.
He'd even, admittedly, increased her bust size by a small margin for… immersion, at least that was what he had told himself.
But this wasn't a model on a screen.
This was a living, breathing woman.
And she was crying over him.
That made no sense at all.
Alex's mind raced, trying to remember everything about Lyria's in-game storyline.
She was the wife of Isriah Iskhtar… the man whose body he was probably inside right now.
Isriah had been one of the most detailed background characters in Winter Lord Online.
He was a cold man, born into the Iskhtar family that were the rulers of Iskhtar Höhle.
His story had been meant to evoke pity… his father was a warlord who'd died defending their borders, leaving him as heir to a crumbling domain.
In the lore, Lyria and Isriah were childhood friends.
She had admired him from the start, even before she awakened her Path.
When she was chosen by fate and gained the Path of the Stars, she became the region's protector while Isriah was left comatose from a mysterious curse.
His father had gotten them married while he was sleeping, and told her to take over just in case his son didn't awake.
When he finally awoke, instead of being grateful, he grew bitter and angry that she had become stronger than him, that she had taken his title as Lordess.
He'd begun to mistreat her.
She never fought back… she only wanted the boy she'd loved to come back. Even after all of it, even when he turned his sword against her, she couldn't bring herself to harm him.
She ran away instead, brokenhearted.
And that was when the player, the protagonist of Winter Lord Online met her. She had stumbled upon the player's small territory, exhausted and hurt.
Despite everything, she offered her skills to help, and her presence marked the beginning of a major storyline… one where the player's settlement would eventually grow powerful enough to challenge the other settlements.
He remembered that well.
It had been one of the most emotionally charged story arcs.
But now, sitting here in the body of Isriah Iskhtar, Alexander couldn't help but feel… strange.
He couldn't blame Lyria for any of what she did in the story.
Isriah had been a complete idiot.
Still, seeing her like this, crying out of relief that he was alive… He couldn't place this feeling.
He sighed softly.
The sound of his voice startled him, it was deeper and fuller than before.
Without thinking, he reached out and brushed a tear off her cheek.
"Stop crying," he said quietly.
His voice rumbled from his chest. But it carried authority, and to his surprise, Lyria immediately froze, sniffling before lowering her hands.
She looked at him with wide eyes, trembling.
"My Lord," she whispered, her voice filled with awe. "You have been in a coma for five months… and so much has happened during that time."
Her lips quivered. "Your father… passed away in battle."
Alexander felt something twist inside him.
The words hit harder than they should have.
This wasn't his father.
This wasn't his body.
But when she said it, he felt a sharp ache spread through his chest.
His throat tightened.
It wasn't his grief but it was there like a memory that belonged to the body he was in.
Lyria reached forward gently, pulling his head into her chest.
Her arms wrapped around him and she stroked his hair with careful tenderness.
"It's okay to cry," she whispered. "Your wife is here. You can vent all your frustrations on me."
Her words were soft, like a lullaby. Her warmth seeped into him, breaking through the cold confusion in his heart.
Alexander sat there, frozen, his mind blank.
The scent of her hair filled his nose… it was like the flowers back in his home.
Her heartbeat was gentle.
He didn't know what to do, what to say, or how to even begin to explain that he wasn't the man she thought he was.
He wasn't Isriah Iskhtar.
He was Alexander from Earth, a game developer who'd fallen into his own creation.
But she looked so happy…
Her tears, her trembling hands, the way she clutched him like she was afraid he'd disappear again… it all felt too real to destroy with the truth.
He stayed silent.
His hand hovered awkwardly, then slowly settled against her back.
"It's okay," he found himself whispering. "I'm… here now."
And she let him go to his surprise, standing up.
"Where are you going?" He asked and she smiled.
"I'll go and get the Doctor, your bones must feel stiff my Lord. We'll straighten them so you can use them properly." She said and scurried out of the chamber.
He took a deep breath and laid down on the ground.
'How do I survive in this world now?' He thought.