Sylperion - 2: After Coming Out of the House
Quite a bit of time passed before Sylperion finally stepped outside. She was still wearing the same clothes, but her disheveled hair had been neatly tidied.
"Let's go, Creator."
Sylperion pulled on a hat she'd brought out and tugged it low over her eyes as she started walking.
"Sure. Have you thought about where you want to go?"
"...Not really. Nothing's coming to mind."
"Then how about we just walk until something does?"
Sylperion pondered my words for a moment before nodding.
"...Yeah. Let's do that."
And so, we began strolling along a nearby walking path not far from Sylperion's house.
It was a weekday morning, so the path was remarkably quiet. There were hardly any people—you could say there were none at all.
"It's nice and quiet, huh?"
The silence during our walk felt awkward, so I tried striking up a conversation with Sylperion, but...
"...I suppose."
Her delayed response was as cold as ice.
It was only natural. The wounds accumulated over a hundred years wouldn't heal in a single day.
I decided to take it slow, unraveling things bit by bit.
"Do you like walking?"
"...Not particularly."
"Then maybe you prefer lying in bed and resting."
"...No, not that either. I'm sick of lying around."
Sylperion stared blankly ahead and added,
"I guess I'm not as lazy as Hapu."
"She's a sea lion, after all. She spends more time lounging than moving."
"...Yeah. Because she's a sea lion."
Sylperion looked at me as if it made sense, nodding slowly.
But she soon averted her gaze, staring off into space as we walked.
That sight struck me as so profoundly lonely that, without thinking, I reached out and took her hand.
"...What is it, Creator?"
She turned a cold stare my way when I grabbed her hand.
"Ah, uh... Sorry. I did it without thinking... Did it bother you a lot?"
Sylperion stared at me for a moment before turning her head away. She didn't pull her hand free, though.
"...Not really. It's not that bad."
That was a relief.
If she'd hated it intensely, our relationship might have shattered beyond repair before we could even mend it.
"Is it okay if I keep holding on?"
"Just don't grip too tight. I hate it when hands get sweaty and sticky."
"Got it. I'll hold just right."
Following her words, I clasped her small, soft hand—damp with moisture but warm—neither too firmly nor too loosely.
"...Walking like this brings back a lot of old memories."
As we walked hand in hand in silence, Sylperion spoke up.
"We used to walk together all the time back then."
"Yeah, we did. We'd talk a ton while walking."
"...Yes. Back then."
Sylperion stopped and looked at me. My reflection shimmered in her red eyes.
"I really loved those days. Walking peacefully, laughing and chatting, looking forward to what tomorrow might bring."
It was like she was dredging up an ancient tale.
Sylperion slowly closed her eyes, then opened them again, lifting her eyelids as she continued.
"...But now, that feeling from back then just doesn't come."
Her gaze was vacant, fixed not on me but on some distant place.
I stood still, and Sylperion turned her body away, saying,
"Let's head back now. I don't feel like walking anymore."
I wanted to walk a little longer together, but her face looked so bitterly sad that I couldn't say a word. I just followed as she turned back.
Our clasped hands had already come apart.
The silence on the way back grew heavier.
Could I even begin to fathom the pain of someone I'd loved, abandoned for a hundred years?
- But now, that feeling from back then just doesn't come.
Her emotions were fathomless, and I couldn't utter a single word the whole way.
We arrived at Sylperion's house in that heavy quiet.
She glanced at me sidelong at the door, punched in the code, and opened it.
"...Please go home for today. I suddenly want to be alone."
"Uh, sure... See you tomorrow if we can."
"...Yeah."
Sylperion gave a short nod and went inside, the door shutting firmly behind her.
She probably needed some time.
Pushing further here might just reopen wounds, so I decided to back off without bothering her today.
Back home without the Creator.
The house was still a mess, cluttered and untouched. Just like my heart right now.
"Haaaa..."
A sigh escaped me naturally.
I'd planned to curse her out the moment we met, maybe even punch her in the face. I'd thought that for so long...
But seeing her in person, I couldn't do it. I didn't.
Even though it was because of her that my arms bore so many scars. Even though I'd bled and hurt for so long.
Strangely, just seeing her melted away all those painful memories from the past hundred years like snow.
"..."
I grabbed a cutter knife and traced the hand she'd held earlier.
Fresh blood welled up from the new cut, bringing pain. But it didn't hurt as much as the old ones.
It's so weird...
My pain tolerance hadn't dulled. Yet just one glimpse of the Creator made it hurt less.
What a ridiculous thing.
A hundred years without her in front of me. And before that, just three years together.
Ridiculously, I still held her in my heart.
"Ahaha, ahahaha..."
Pathetic, isn't it?
I wanted to run out and throw myself into her arms right now. Yet at the same time, I wanted to keep things like this a bit longer, to draw more of her attention.
"Creator..."
In the quiet, empty house, I cautiously licked the blood trickling from my hand.
A metallic taste. But faintly mingled within it was the Creator's scent.
That sweet aroma that had melted my senses as we walked side by side.
"I'm sorry, Creator."
I picked up the cutter knife I'd set down and slashed my wrist three times. Blood flowed from the wounds, trailing down my skin.
"I'm such a bad child who wants your attention like this..."
The cuts hurt, but it was okay.
If this could draw even a little more of your focus. If it could make you think of me more than the others.
That would be enough.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry...♡"
As I walked the streets after leaving Sylperion's house, one worry naturally surfaced.
Where am I going to sleep...?
In the game, I could've used in-game currency for lodging, but right now, I was penniless. No place to stay anywhere.
Kartellis's house came to mind, but...
It was about 200 km from Sylperion's—way too far to walk in a day.
"What now..."
I couldn't even eat or rest comfortably.
As I pondered my dire situation, a familiar face appeared in the distance.
A woman carrying bags stuffed with groceries, probably from shopping.
It was Selphira.
"Selphira...!"
Calling her name, she looked up at me and curved her eyes into lovely crescent moons with a gentle smile.
"Creator, fancy meeting you here."
"Yeah. I figured we wouldn't run into each other since our first meeting was on land."
"My real home is in Atlantis, after all."
Selphira, still smiling, showed me her bags and asked,
"If you haven't eaten, why don't you come to my place? We could have a meal together. I bought too much—more than I can eat alone..."
My favorite character, as expected.
I was starving and homeless, worrying over both, and her kindness solved everything at once.
"I'd love that. I haven't eaten and I'm starving."
"Oh dear. Then I'd better hurry and prepare. I was thinking seafood stew—sound good?"
"Right now, I'd eat sashimi if you offered."
"Serving you just sashimi wouldn't show enough sincerity. I'll make it delicious, so don't hold back."
Selphira took my hand with her free one and led me toward her house.
"Follow me, Creator."
Eating a meal with my favorite character in real life. For a moment, being pulled into the game felt like a blessing.
"Yeah. Let's hurry and eat."