Leon and Hazel took a moment on the bench, a breather from the whirl of amusement park attractions. Hazel savored her ice cream, her body swaying gently to the cheerful music
playing from the nearby rides.
As she licked her ice cream cone, Hazel’s expression grew somber for a moment. “I saw it with my own eyes,” she began. “When they pulled my father’s dead body from the capsule device.”
She fell silent, her gaze distant, as if replaying the haunting memory. “It’s a sight that never leaves my mind, no matter how hard I try to forget.” Her tone was calm.
“But you still chose to play the game, didn’t you?” Leon asked.
She nodded in response, nibbling at the cone now.
“You even dove deeper into the game,” he continued.
Hazel nodded again, a wry smile crossing her lips. “I have a reason…” she trailed off, then took a deep breath and looked up at him. “And I want to share that reason with you. I want to know your opinion.”
Leon nodded. “Yes, I’m here to listen.”
Hazel took a moment to finish her ice cream before speaking again, this time more slowly. “I met my father… in the game.”
Leon turned to her, surprised. “When he was still alive?”
Hazel shook her head. “No, I met my father as an NPC in the game.”
A chill ran down Leon’s spine at this revelation. His curiosity peaked, he looked at her intently, eager to hear more.
“Did he look like your father? The face?” he asked.
Hazel shook her head again. “No, it’s a game character, an NPC. He had a completely different appearance, but I’m sure he is my father-at least in the way he talked and acted around me.”
Leon sat in silence, trying to process this. Could it be that Hazel was just projecting her hopes and desires to see her father onto this NPC?
“You probably think I’m just hallucinating, right?” she said, turning to him with a smile.
Leon didn’t respond.
“I can’t explain it in words, but only I know that he’s him, my father. He lives inside the game, as a game character. He’s not just an NPC generated by a super AI like people claim; I’m sure he’s the same person, with the same soul,” she continued.
Leon shook his head slightly. He tried to find reasons to reject this idea, but of course, he had none. This was Hazel’s interpretation of her experience in the game.
“I knew him very well,” she said softly. “Yes, he isn’t my biological father, but I love him a lot.”
Leon nodded, recalling the stories Lily had shared about Hazel’s parents.
“When you love someone deeply and you encounter them again, even if they’re in a different body, it doesn’t take long for you to recognize them,” she continued. “Because love is something that lives inside us. It’s always there, it never leaves.”
Hazel’s words stirred Leon’s memories of his own parents, his father and his mother, who had disappeared without a trace when he was a little kid. Even now, he couldn’t deny the longing The felt for them and would give anything to see them again.
The love he had received from his parents still resided in his heart, and he missed that feeling, that sense of togetherness.
“My father lost his life while he was surfing the game, Immortal Legacy,” she went on.
Leon remained silent, giving her space to share her story.
“I wonder if the game took his soul and revived it inside the game, as an NPC,” she continued. “Did you ever ask this NPC you met if he was the same person you meant?” Leon asked gently. Hazel shook her head. “This character would shake his head and respond haltingly, exactly the way my father used to whenever he tried to hide something from me. Trying to seem perfect in front of me, even though I knew how troubled his life had been since the accident,” she said softly.
Leon took a slow breath, trying to calm himself since this topic touched something sensitive within him as well.
“Is it possible to bring someone back to life in a game? To use their personality and any data they had while alive to create a character that’s similar in the game?” she asked, turning to
Leon.
Leon shook his head slowly, not offering an answer.
“I want to know more about Immortal Legacy,” she continued. “I want to understand what lies behind this game-something that remains a mystery for many. Even the Golden Age Company hasn’t shared much about it. They just let everyone log in and explore, doing whatever they want, like giving us access to another world where we can live any life we choose,” she said, ending her words with a smile.
Leon remained silent, giving Hazel space to speak.
“That’s why,” she went on, “I want to delve deeper into the game, reach new heights, and uncover the many secrets it holds.” She paused, barely able to contain her enthusiasm. “And my level is high,” she added with a soft giggle.
“Above 200?” Leon murmured.
Hazel shook her head as if keeping a secret. “My class is cool, too.”
“You have a high-grade class?”
Hazel sighed. “This is a request from Lily, but don’t worry, I’ll see you soon, Leon,” she said and giggled.
They sat in silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts, watching the happy faces of people passing by in the amusement park. For a moment, Leon noticed that Hazel had moved closer, her shoulder now touching his.
“Do you often meet the NPC you talked about… your father in the game?” Leon asked,
hesitating slightly.
Hazel shook her head. “Not anymore,” she said softly, pausing. “It seems he is deliberately avoiding me.”
Leon wondered if he might experience the same-meeting his parents again in the game, even if it was just an illusion. The thought triggered a wave of emotion, a twinge of pain in his heart. It was the longing he always tried to bury. This conversation made him hope for something uncertain.
If everyone who had passed away could be brought back to life in a game, wouldn’t that be extraordinary? It would change so many things in the world. People would never truly lose their loved ones. They could simply log into the game and encounter them there. Whether it’s real or not, the feelings in one’s heart would remain the same.
Love doesn’t care whether what it loves is real or just a fantastical creation, a generated pixel made by a super AI. Maybe one day, this could become a reality.
“Let’s go,” Hazel said as she stood up. She reached out for Leon’s hand, standing in front of
him.
“I’ve taken up too much of your time. I’m happy, thank you,” she added with a smile.
Leon stood up as well and nodded.
“Are you happy too?” she continued.
Leon nodded immediately. “Yes, I’m happy. Thanks for the day, Hazel.”
Hazel giggled, then looked down before lifting her face again. “In a month, I’ll be 18, and I’ll
be ready to compete with the other women.”
Leon smiled at her words. “Are you serious?”
Hazel nodded and pulled Leon’s hand. “Of course I am.” She tilted her head, looking at him. “Besides, we share the same story, right?”
Leon nodded, realizing she was referring to his parents, a topic she might have heard about from Lily.