reality 5: “a connection”

“Why do you make the quest for Heaven’s Gardens so hard to find?” Mori asked, thumbing the documents he had in his hands.

The man he asked looked up from his computer screen and glanced at Mori with a teasing look. “What? Are you trying to get ahead now that you’re invested in the game?”

Mori felt his cheeks warming up with embarrassment. “N-no! I’m just curious! You know I’d never try to cheat like that.”

The man laughed at his nervousness. “What, you don’t want to? Here’s your once in a lifetime opportunity to know inside information from World Symphony’s creator.”

Mori let out a sigh. “But I talk to you every single day.”

The man laughed again but this time it fettered off into a thoughtful silence. Mori stared at the man. He’d known him for a few years now. It started when he worked as an intern in the game studio. Over time, the two had gotten close, bonding over the love of game tech in general. Mori had learned so many valuable lessons from the man, not just about games, and he was proud to call the man his friend and mentor.

After thinking for a while, the man answered the question seriously. “You know, I’ve hidden something in that last dungeon.”

Mori was surprised. This was the first time the man had mentioned that. 

“It’s a special item.” The man leaned back against his chair. His eyes were a bit distant, as if thinking about something else. His lips formed a sad looking smile. “Well, no one can actually get the item so it doesn’t really matter.”

Mori’s brows furrowed in confusion. What was the point of putting an item there that no one could get. It seemed like a waste of space and resources.

“I just wanted him to be the first to clear that dungeon.”

Who? Mori wanted to know but before he could even form the question on his lips, the man burst into a violent fit of coughing. Mori rushed towards his friend, worry etched deeply in his face. He laid a hand on the man’s back and tried to think of a way to ease his pain. When the coughing subsided, there was fresh blood staining the man’s palm. 

“Why won’t you get yourself treated?” Mori muttered.

The man grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood clean. “It’s fine. I don’t have long anyway. What’s the point of delaying it?”

“`What’s the point?`” Mori glanced at a picture of a child on his friend’s desk and the pile of unsent letters. “Your son finally agreed to meet up with you. Don’t you want to spend more time with him?”

The man finally glanced at the picture too. His eyes turned incredibly soft as he gazed at the childish face of his son. “I don’t even know if he would forgive me. It’s been so long.”

Mori didn’t have more to say. He could only stare at his friend in dismay. How long did he have?

“Mori, you’ll keep your promise, right?” The man asked, his voice incredibly quiet. 

“...yes.” Mori sighed. He looked at the envelope encasing a special copy of his mentor’s lifework. The writing “For Ayn” was neatly placed on the top of the envelope. “I’ll give him the game.”

***

Mori took off his VR headgear and took big breaths to calm himself. His heart was racing, and his mind could still see the last thing he saw in [World Symphony]. The face of his mentor on an NPC and Ayn’s expression that was full of panic and terror.

They should’ve never gone into that forest. He should’ve pulled them both out of there by any means. Ayn would’ve been confused or maybe even a little upset, but at least it wouldn’t be the violently negative emotion he actually felt.

Mori glanced at the stack of papers on his desk, his gaze landing on the envelope that once carried a copy of World Symphony. The writing on the envelope had started to fade, but he could still see it even if it disappeared.

For Ayn

He should’ve given that envelope too. 

Why hadn’t he?

Mori thought back to the day he approached Ayn for the first time to give him the game per his father’s request. The expression he had…numb and apathetic, that was why he couldn’t let Ayn know that the game was from his father. The other boy wouldn’t be able to take it. He needed time. Now, however…

Mori set his VR gear aside and got up from his bed. He needed to talk to Ayn. They were strangers in real life, but there was no way he could just leave him alone. Not after seeing that devastated and haunted expression.

Not only that, his friend had entrusted him to help Ai gain closure. That had been his dying wish, for his son to be happy. As his friend, he intended to make that wish come true.