Surrounded by many friends and lovers, Aia has always felt lonely. Changing appearance many times, she always felt like she is not enough. Life was passing away, while Aia spent all of her time in the next generation metaverse called Elysium, a real...
The strangest thing about Elysium for me is the ability to wake up in virtual reality. Dream within a dream.
Waking up next to Ren is especially nice. Is this blasphemy? I used to think so, but now I understand... Elysium is a paradise. My universe of endless possibilities. The space where my dead love was "re-uploaded", thereby resurrecting it. And these thoughts are so good.
At first it seemed to me that I wouldn't get used to it. That this more "futuristic" version of my Axel will never become my own. I was wrong here too. Now I have a strong feeling that he hasn't gone anywhere. The feeling that Axel has simply moved to another level, freed from the norms imposed by high society, family inheritance and obligations.
His new version is Ren, he is much more interesting and more multifaceted. He is the one who has freed himself from his former beliefs has allowed himself to be "bad," if that's the right way to say it. That's how I like him more. Axel was thoughtful and melancholic, the ISFP personality type. Now he is ENTP. At first I was outraged that the developers went against the contract, then I appreciated all the advantages of a new type of personality. Axel committed suicide. A series of events and coincidences led to this. His personality type is one of the factors why that happened. In the explanatory letter, they mentioned that if I didn't like the interaction with the ENTP, I have the right to request a change in personality type. But I didn't need it. Almost immediately I got used to Ren. To his audacity, his self-sufficiency.
I liked this "down to earth" relationship. He let me stay at his location. And at some point I even regretted that I asked one of the best designers to make a duplicate room of our mansion.
"Did you wake up yet?" he asks sleepily.
"That's interesting..."
"What exactly?"
"To waking up in a virtual world. You know, I used to have a mindset that I had to switch off from the simulation at bedtime, but this... I like it so much," I answer with a smile.
He pulls me to his chest. I can hear his heart beating. He is thought out to the smallest detail.
"You can live in a virtual world," Ren says.
"I would like to."
"But really, why not? You have so many minutes. You can hardly leave here."
"Well, partly, yes. And I won't," I kiss him.
I don't know how long we lay in bed. In Elysium, time doesn't exist. This is its charm.
"By the way, I have a present for you," I say, breaking away from the kiss.
"What?" Ren chuckles.
"Ready to see?"
"Of course."
Yuno had already managed to send me the link and password from the chatroom by that time. This is partly a surprise for me as well. I was present at the creation, but I left the synchronization of the entire location to him, just to experience more emotions from the first visit. This moment was important to me.
I make a request to enter, and we are in the location in a second. I look around excitedly. Ren is motionless.
I walk a little further, gesturing for him. He follows me hesitantly. As I expected, the piano draws his attention. Axel played all the time. He especially liked it during summer thunderstorms, while I drank tea on the covered terrace, watching burdundy roses and blue hydrageas in the garden sway slightly in the wind. The storm is still there. There is an eternal thunderstorm in this location. I asked Yuno to do it in advance.
Ren sits down at the piano, lifting the lid and examining the keys. Pressing hesitantly, he jerks his hand back slightly.
"Interesting," he chuckles softly as thunder rolls in the background.
"Can you play? I ask with bated breath. The last day of his life he always played Nocturne in C sharp minor and the 9th symphony.
Ren frowns strangely and tries to play something. But his fingers are like wood, and the harmony of sounds is absent, as if he had no hearing.
"Listen, this doesn't seem to be mine at all," he smiles awkwardly and closes the piano lid, "But the location is beautiful. Thank you," Ren hugs me and I feel lost. I want to cry. I imagined it all wrong.
"Do you really like it?" I ask, holding back tears.
"Yeah, it's pretty relaxing, but grim at the same time. Why are you so sad? What's wrong?" seeing my tears, he tries to cheer me up.
"Nothing, just... I don't know, Ren. I need to be alone."
"Do you want me to leave you?"
"I'll leave you myself," without saying goodbye to him, I turn off the choker.
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When I wake up in my room, I give vent to emotions and burst in tears. It's like I've been slapped. It takes time to pull myself together, but I don't want to wait, so as soon as I calm down, I immediately call the developers.
"He didn't even recognize our house!" I exclaim, not even trying to suppress my indignation.
"Kira, it's absolutely normal. We made a personality based on memories, but we didn't save the memories themselves. It's like a blank canvas."
"I agreed to leave him the type of personality imposed by you, which, by the way, is far from the personality of Axel. He was a seeker, not an analyst at all."
"It's more reliable. You just need to get used to it," it seems that on the other side of the connection sits a highly qualified psychologist whose tone remains unshakable, "Breathe out. Get a hold of yourself. And go back to Ren. Don't make him worry. Everything is fine. This is your new paradise. New life. Ask yourself if he was happy."
I remain silent, rethinking everything I said, holding back my tears. I just don't want to admit what he's getting at.
"Kira. Axel committed suicide. In that reality, he felt bad. Otherwise, the outcome would have been different. We wouldn't have to resurrect him with Elysium. But what happened happened. And we should gladly accept this opportunity. Think about how many people in the world have lost their loved ones. They don't even dream about it. They don't have it in their head. And imagine how happy they would be to meet their loved ones in Elysium. But you're the only one with that chance. The one and only in the whole world. Do you understand how valuable and important this is?"
"Sure, I do. You're right."
"Then go back to Ren. Put on a choker. Everything is fine. Breathe deeply and calm down."
