“I noticed you after the world quest. You were treating even these NPCs so well, like they’re real. It reminded me of my family, a bit.” The voice became quiet. “I thought that maybe I can copy you after all. It didn’t need to be exactly the same, but if I did that, you’d stay. Even if you left the game, you would still be here.”
“It didn’t work”, Jian Lin mused, looking at the Ice Emperor. The figure clearly lacked things.
“Yes”, Little Droplet laughed sadly. “I can’t, after all. I simply can’t. I can’t go against the promises I made. That’s why I gave you that quest, because… because…”
“Because?”
Jian Lin held his breath. Little Droplet looked back up at him, deep eyes so endlessly desolate that it was painful to look at. They shimmered softly as if the person was about to cry.
“Jian Lin, please… Please, can you give the Ice Emperor to me?”
“What?” Surprised, Jian Lin did not know how to respond. “What do you mean?”
“The Ice Emperor who is best friends with Prince Altair. The Ice Emperor who fought against the wyvern. The Ice Emperor who joined a mission… to reach his own castle. Jian Lin, can you give him to me? Can you allow me to keep the Ice Emperor with me?”
And that was when he understood.
The character inside this game was Jian Lin, but he also was not. Jian Lin was a person living in reality, while the Ice Emperor was a Foreigner visiting these lands. They were the same and yet different.
Little Droplet could not copy a person without permission, and could not copy them as long as they existed within the same space. But the game and reality were two different lives. As long as Jian Lin left this character behind, Little Droplet could copy his personality into it.
“The Ice Emperor is the owner of this castle. An ancient mage who has recently awoken from his slumber and set out to explore the world that has changed so much”, Little Droplet explained. “He made a fake body join the mission to find out whether the capital was hostile against him, as he did not want more than peace. That is the story I prepared… if you agree.”
It was such an easy request, in a way.
Just give him the character.
But he is mine, Jian Lin thought. The Ice Emperor is mine. He belongs to me.
Giving this character away, it meant much more than simply losing a gaming avatar.
“But-” Jian Lin felt his voice break. “If I give you the Ice Emperor… What about me? What about Jian Lin? Who is Jian Lin in Haven, if not the Ice Emperor?”
“Someone else”, Little Droplet offered softly. “Whoever you want to be. A friend of the Ice Emperor, a brother, a son, a servant, a knight – or someone not related at all. Whoever you wish to be, Jian Lin. That is the payment I will give to you. I know that it might not be too much, but…”
Jian Lin turned quiet. In his heart, he already had an answer, but there were still things he was unclear about.
Too easy a request.
How could he deny it?
“The copying process, how does it work?”
“I can’t tell you.” Little Droplet shook their head. “Not a single sentence. I can’t let anyone find a hint on how to copy people, this is technology you’ll have to find yourself. But it won’t hurt – you just lie down in the capsule as if to sleep, and in two or three weeks, I’ll be done. It won’t hurt and you won’t notice anything.”
Jian Lin sighed deeply.
He felt attached to the Ice Emperor, but it wasn’t as if the figure would be gone. It would still exist, at least.
“Won’t it be weird? Two people with the same personality?”
Little Droplet laughed. “Only for a day. Don’t you know? You’re made up from your experiences. Once the Ice Emperor is separate from Jian Lin, you will be in different environments, with different people. Before long, you will have developed into different directions. Only the base will be the same.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Will… he have my old memories?”
“Tfr. Ktf Pmf Swqfgbg klii gfwfwyfg tjnlcu yffc Aljc Olc, yea tf klii jirb gfwfwyfg atf alwf tf kjr lc atlr mjraif. P klii wfguf ybat qjgar abufatfg. Lbkfnfg, la klii yf ilxf j wfwbgs bo j ijra ilof. Eflcmjgcjalbc, lc j kjs.”
“Dea jgf sbe regf atja sbe’gf jibcf tfgf? Cgf sbe regf atfrf CPr… jgf cba ilxf sbe?”
He did not mention who. Little Droplet understood, shaking their head. “I am not able to create living beings. It’s impossible.”
Jian Lin bit his lip.
He would not say it. Would not say that this AI in front of him was talking with a lack of self-confidence. Would not say that, just like a human, they were clouded by their own beliefs.
He’d prove it to them. In his new character, he’d prove it.
Thea was right. One day, these people would regain their creator’s love.
“Fine”, Jian Lin finally whispered with a wry smile. “I’ll give him to you. My Ice Emperor.”
Little Droplet’s body twitched. The pair of eyes widened, then narrowed again as they held back a sob. An eternity alone, how painful must it have been?
“Thank you”, they whispered. “I know… I know I can’t truly repay it. There’s nothing I can offer, because everything will impact reality. That’s why… Thank you. Thank you, Jian Lin. I will never forget this. For as long as I live… The Ice Emperor will live alongside me.”
“Little Droplet”, Jian Lin called out, taking a step closer. “If you want to repay me, there’s only one thing. Please don’t forget you’re not only an AI. You’re the god of this place. It’s your own creation. Don’t give it up as it grows, okay? Even if one day all players leave Haven, don’t give it up.”
“I won’t”, Little Droplet vowed solemnly.
The world flickered again. As it descended into darkness, Jian Lin heard the voice once more.
“Today, play as much as you want. From the next time you log in, I’ll start the copying process. Once it’s done, I’ll notify you. Just lay down in the capsule whenever you’d like, even if you want to sleep. I’ll do the rest, including talking to the company.”
It faded away.
Jian Lin – no, Ice, stumbled a bit at suddenly appearing in Bloody’s guild, inside a room.
Bloody was on the ground, obviously having fallen from his chair. “Uh… Hi?”
“Bloody!”
Ice’s enthusiasm overwhelmed the beastman a bit. He let himself be pulled up, then began patting over Ice’s body. “You’re not injured? How did it go? How did you teleport back like this?”
“About that…”
Ice summed up the situation.
About Abzu being Tiamat and, as expected, Little Droplet. About them being an AI created by beings not of this world and reawakened by Halwitt. About Haven being their home.
A game and reality at the same time. A different world, perfectly real to its inhabitants, even if fake to its visitors.
It was a lot, and it left Bloody expressionless, wheels turning inside his head.
“They’ll copy me over”, he finished. “The Ice Emperor will become a part of this game. An NPC. I’ll give him to Little Droplet.”
“What?” Bloody slurred the word a bit. He was holding his head, overwhelmed by the more than massive amount of info he had gotten. The priority was beginning to mix up in his head, and yet he didn’t doubt a single word. “You mean… You’re going to vanish?”
Ice nodded. “Yes. The Ice Emperor as a player will be permanently gone. He will live in the castle.”
“No way!” Bloody rejected the idea immediately. He shook his head like a rattle-drum. “No way, no way! You can’t do that! You can’t leave!”
“I have to. Bloody…” Ice reached out for the wolfman, but he took a step back.
The man’s lips were quivering, his eyes a tiny bit reddened. “Why would you agree? You… Is it that easy to leave me behind?”
“What?”
Bloody lowered his head. His messy hair fell over his face, hiding it, but his drooping ears were enough to know his current state of emotion. Ice stood in front of him, at a loss.
“Didn’t you promise me that we’d go explore the new areas together?”
Ice breathed in slowly. “I did.”
“And you wanted to help me gather new materials for my weapon.”
“…Yes.”
“You…” Bloody choked up a bit. “We’ve been playing together for years now.”
Whatever exact emotion he was feeling, it was quickly twisting into a rage that Ice could not understand. The wolfman’s fur bristled.
“So, why? Why are you leaving me here? I know that you want to help, but… Am I not important at all? Do you not mind not seeing me at all? Was I on my own, enjoying the time we spent together?” The bright yellow eyes were glistening. They were radiant, almost, as their owner talked himself into his rage. “I mind! I don’t want to be discarded! I want to explore together and fight together! I like having you by my side! Why do I have to lose the person I like to some stupid AI!”
Bloody shouted the last couple of words. Ice’s mouth hung open, stupefied. In the silence, only Bloody’s breathing could be heard.
Ice swallowed heavily, then awkwardly moved his eyes away. “Bloody…”
“What!”
“I’m… still a real person, even if I vanish inside the game”, he whispered slowly. “And… And actually, they said they’d let me create a new character. I won’t leave for long.”
Silence fell over them.
It was Bloody’s turn to stare, dumbfounded, his jaw hanging down. He sucked in a breath but didn’t manage to say anything at all.
Maybe they were both doing the same thing – repeating Bloody’s last sentence in their mind.
“Hey guys, do you-”
The door behind Ice creaked open. Spiderlily stood behind Blackstone, holding some sort of notebook, while the dwarf still had one hand on the handle.
“…”
“Oh, this is a baaaad moment…” Without waiting for an answer, Blackstone pulled the door shut again. Two sets of footsteps moved away from the room.
Bloody pulled a face. He dragged his hands over his slowly flushing cheeks before using them to hide his expression.
“I’m an idiot.”
A hiccup escaped the young man.
“…You’re not.”
“Yes, I am. I absolutely didn’t think that through. I totally overreacted there. It’s cause of this whole mess.”
Bloody’s ears pressed tighter into his hair. Ice still hadn’t moved an inch from where he stood.
“…I think it’s sweet…”
He wasn’t sure if Bloody heard the almost inaudible words. Either way, the beastman slapped his own cheeks and laughed very awkwardly, his body hitching from hiccups. “Anyway, I, hic, should probably… go. Do… hiccup stuff. Talk to Blackstone.”
“Xi Yang…”
Bloody stumbled half a step forward, trying to walk past Ice. He was still laughing nervously, although it got messed up by his hitching breathing. “I’ll… see you later…”
Ice quickly reached out to grab Bloody’s hand. I’m awkward, don’t make me do this was written all over his face. “Wait-”
“God, Jian Lin!” Bloody groaned. He tugged lightly at his hand, but didn’t rip it out of Ice’s grasp. “I really, really don’t need to hear a rejection! Can we just, please, think of this as a drunk episode or something?”
“I-”
“I know people always say, you can’t stay friends with someone you like, but I’ll tell you that that’s nonsense. You’re a precious friend and I’d hate having messed that up, so-”
“I-”
“Please?” Bloody whined.
Frustrated, Ice placed a hand on his own throat. Of course Bloody would misunderstand if he needed forever to talk, but-
But this-
He simply wasn’t used to it!
Blame Bloody for usually being so tolerant with Ice and always waiting! He hadn’t practised talking under pressure at all!
“I’m not… I mean, I-”
A small, frustrated sound escaped Ice. He held Bloody’s wrist tighter, afraid the other would run away. He needed a moment, just a moment.
“I also… also like you, so that’s why… why-”
He made his way through the broken sentence like a child learning how to talk.
“Huh?”
Bloody pressed out a word of surprise. His hiccups stopped.
Outside of the door, a group of people seemed to be approaching. They could make out Blackstone’s voice, urging everyone to leave, but the person approaching seemed to be Knightrider who blatantly ignored her.
Ice closed his eyes and quickly made a decision. “Log off. Please don’t ask, I’ll explain in a minute, but just log off.”
The moment he was done, he said the command to log off. He saw Bloody nod hurriedly as his vision faded to black.
Author’s Note
This is the messiest confession scene I have ever written and I am happy about it.
awwwwwwwww Bloody!!!!!! cute Bloody!!!! ears pressed down!! hiccuping!!! so cute!! haha
They’re so cute QAQ
Thank you for the chapter!! ❤️❤️
But… What if IA Ice wants Bloody too? Ice fight? Or Bloody’s dream of 2 boyfriends?
That’s his dream alright. I mention it in the extra, but Ice’s feelings for Bloody weren’t copied over as it’d be too mean – so IA Ice just thinks of Bloody as a good friend
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Thank you for the chapter!
I’m looking forward how that will end with the Ice copy.
Hahaha, indeed very messy confession xDD Ice is trying to talk and Bloody is just in a panic. And why is that Knightrider back? Dx (But they logged off, so it’s fine.)
It’d be funny if JL just walks over and rings the door bell of XY haha.
Thx for the ch ٩(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )و
coughs
please, I was so emotional with Bloody I got all teary eyed too! I am glad Ice didn’t let Bloody just leave and choked out an “I like you too”
thanks for the chapter <3
Done. Hiccuped and stuttered but done! Messy, yes!
AaaAAAHHH MY GODDDDD WHY DIDNT I SEE THIS EARLIER WAHH BLOODY IS ADORABLEEEE THEY CONFESSEDDDDD SO CUTEEEEEE SCREAMMSSS
They’re so cute haha 😂
Thank you for the chapter <3