******
Inside a brightly lit apartment, the floor gleamed like polished glass — so immaculate that one could practically dine upon it without hesitation.
Although the room was so small and contained little to no furniture, it radiated an inviting warmth: a sanctuary of quiet serenity, like an untouched canvas waiting to be filled with life.
At this moment, a lone figure stood within this pristine space. A young woman, tall and graceful, her presence as striking as it was heartbreaking.
She stood at about 5’8" in height, her silhouette a flawless fusion of grace and delicacy, the kind that would evoke envy in anyone who laid eyes upon her. Her worn, threadbare dress clung to her slender frame, betraying her hardships yet unable to obscure her innate elegance.
Golden hair cascaded down her back, framing a face of delicate beauty – High cheekbones, soft pink lips, and eyes that shimmered with gentle innocence.
But right now, these pure and delicate eyes overflowed with unease.
This stunning young woman with an ethereal allure was none other than Aurelia.
She stood motionless before a sleek, metallic gaming pod, the glass cover glistening beneath the light, and through the transparent shell, she gazed at Xylen lying utterly still, so unnaturally motionless that he resembled a lifeless figure resting in a coffin.
She had already finished tidying and meticulously organizing the apartment hours earlier, and since then, she had persistently returned to check on Xylen, hoping he had awoken or logged out of the game. Yet no matter how much time passed, he remained unmoving, neither stirring nor waking.
At first, Aurelia had brushed off her worries, assuming Xylen was simply too engrossed in the game. But as minutes stretched into hours, her concern steadily grew.
’Could something have happened to him?’
’Is he still breathing?’
’Why hasn’t he moved even a fraction since entering the pod?’
These questions haunted her mind, echoing relentlessly and fueling her growing anxiety.
She had contemplated opening the gaming pod to ensure Xylen’s safety, but she had hesitated, scared of disrupting him or causing irreparable harm.
Yet, the sight of him lying there, so lifeless and showing no sign of moving, opening his eyes, or even breathing, gnawed away at her resolve.
And the longer he stayed this way, the more her hesitation crumbled until finally...
"I’ll just apologize if I end up messing anything up," she whispered to herself, casting her hesitation aside.
With a deep breath, Aurelia clenched her teeth and extended her hand toward the gaming pod, her fingers grazing the cool metal as she prepared to pry it open.
But then suddenly...
The eyes that had remained tightly shut for hours snapped open.
In the following second—
’This!’
Aurelia’s heart lurched, a sudden gasp tearing from her throat as she stumbled back, her pulse pounding in her ears.
But before she could fully comprehend what had just happened, the pod’s glass covers slowly slid open with a soft hiss, appearing like something out of a sci-fi movie.
Xylen then sat up, his gaze immediately locking onto Aurelia.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.
Hearing him, Aurelia instantly blinked, her breath catching as she scrambled to compose herself.
"Brother, I..." She swallowed slightly, guilt twisting in her gut. "I must have disturbed an important mission in the game, right?"
Xylen, "..."
He stared at Aurelia blankly for a moment, not understanding her question, and then he frowned.
But before he could ask her to expatiate...
"I was just worried," Aurelia rushed to explain, her voice apologetic. "You wouldn’t move, not even a little, from the moment you entered the pod, and I couldn’t even tell if you were breathing. But I had no idea merely touching the pod would log you out..."
"Oh..."
A look of understanding finally dawned on Xylen, and in the following second, his expression softened.
"I didn’t get logged out because of your touch," he reassured her, but Aurelia shook her head, stubbornly clinging to her guilt.
"I’m very sure I did," she argued, but Xylen simply smiled at her — a smile so gentle and so tender that if Aurelia had seen it, she would have sworn it wasn’t the same man she knew, and then she would have burned with jealousy.
"It was just a coincidence," he insisted, his voice steady, soft, and calm. "I’m 100% sure I initiated the log-out process myself."
Aurelia hesitated, then...
"Really?" her voice wavered with hope, her eyes searching Xylen’s face for any trace of deception.
But when she found none, her shoulders sagged in relief.
And then, in the next second, her eyes lit up in anticipation.
"Come on, brother, tell me everything!" she demanded, excitement suddenly bubbling in her voice. "What was the game like? What did you see? How did it feel? Did it really make you feel like you were inside it, experiencing everything with your own body?!"
Hearing her and feeling her excitement, Xylen’s chest tightened.
In his past life, he had longed for this moment — to share the wonders of the game with Aurelia. He had yearned to tell her that, in that virtual world, he had walked, run, and used his arms as if he had never lost control of them.
But in that life, Aurelia had already been gone by then.
He had mourned her absence again, sobbing into the quiet emptiness of his apartment, desperate for the chance to tell her and desperately wishing she hadn’t died.
Now, however... that chance was right before him.
Thinking this, Xylen’s face slowly lit up with pure, unfiltered joy, his teeth literally shining.
"The game was beyond anything I could have ever imagined," he began, recounting every single detail with breathless excitement. He spoke of meeting Goddess Lunara, becoming a Baron, and then...
The miracle.
"I could use my arms and legs," he confessed, his voice trembling as if he had just experienced it for the first time.
The moment Aurelia heard him, she froze, her eyes suddenly widening until finally, tears welled up.
"You..." her voice cracked. "You could use... use them? For real?"
Xylen nodded his head without hesitation, and in the next second—
"This is incredible!" Aurelia jumped and sobbed, her entire body trembling with happiness. "Brother, this is the best news I’ve ever heard!"
With this, she began to fire questions at Xylen, her words tumbling out in a desperate rush — each one overflowing with love, hope, and boundless joy.
"How was the feeling, Brother?"
"Have you mastered using them?"
"Hope the feeling was not too strange?"
"Were there any limitations?"
"This calls for a celebration! How should we celebrate?"
"How amazing would it be if I could see it for myself?"
Her words poured out in a desperate rush, but Xylen only watched her in silence, smiling softly... because this was the reaction he had dreamed of in his past life.
Gradually, however, Xylen’s eyes burned, tears pooling as he silently thanked whatever force had given him this second chance.
Finally, he shook off the emotion, and then suddenly—
"How about we buy your own gaming pod tomorrow?" he asked, cutting through Aurelia’s excitement with gentle determination.
The moment Aurelia heard this, she faltered, completely caught off guard.
Then, for a fleeting moment, temptation flickered across her face.
Of course, she wanted to enter the game!
This is the most important person in her life after all, and now... he could walk and use his hands.
She had always imagined and dreamed of this day—the day he would stand on his own legs and use his hands. But it had never become a reality... until now.
But then—
"Hahaha!" She laughed, a forced, awkward sound.
"Why would I waste my time in a virtual world?" she lied, her voice brittle. "I’d rather sleep or stare at nothing."
The moment she finished speaking, however, she realized her words had come out wrong and quickly apologized.
"I didn’t mean it was a bad thing or a waste of time. I was just talking about my own preference," she explained.
But Xylen remained silent, instead, he smiled gently and softly.
Of course, he has seen through her façade.
How could he not see that she wanted to enter the game more than anything?
But she was obviously simply holding back, not wanting to burden him with the cost.
Xylen wanted to argue, to reassure her that it wouldn’t affect them too much and that they would recoup the money in the future, but he knew better. Aurelia could be as unyielding as she was kind and pure-hearted.
Thinking this, Xylen sighed internally and decided to let it go.
"What have you been up to all day?" he asked, steering the conversation away.
Immediately, Aurelia, unaware that Xylen had seen right through her, breathed a sigh of relief and began detailing her day — her voice animated as she spoke of cleaning, organizing, and preparing dinner.
And Xylen listened.
Because in this life, he wouldn’t take a single second with her for granted.