Chapter 3: A Shattered Awakening and a Father’s Dawn

An elegant elf, refined in appearance, lay quietly within. Her beautiful silver hair cascaded like a waterfall before her, her skin was pristine white and delicate, and her slender hands rested upon her chest.

The elf’s face, clear and pure as a maiden’s, was breathtakingly striking, her tranquil demeanor as beautiful as a painting rich with untold stories.

Or so it should have been.

Suddenly—

The elven maiden’s eyes fluttered open.

Her gaze, filled with bewilderment, fixed on the space before her.

After a long moment, she extended a slender palm, effortlessly pushing open the crystal coffin.

Tiya sat upright, then her long, graceful legs emerged from the crystal coffin.

“Lynne… where is he?” she murmured, her eyes still clouded with confusion.

As the soles of her pristine feet touched the frigid ground, Tiya frowned, quickly withdrawing her legs from the floor.

“Ugh… it’s so cold. Where is this place?”

‘Am I already dead? I know, this must be the afterlife. Soon, a little angelic girl will appear to pierce my heart with a sword, and then when I wake again, I’ll finally see Lynne…’

Contrary to her serene, cool demeanor, the maiden’s first words were a lengthy, revealing monologue.

Tiya surveyed her surroundings, her delicate brows knitting together as she muttered, “This doesn’t look right either. Could it be the underworld? But where is Lynne?”

The bright light in her eyes abruptly extinguished…

Be it heaven or hell, to Tiya, a world without her childhood friend was equally bleak and desolate.

The scene of Lynne pushing her away—it replayed vividly in her mind.

She remembered holding Lynne’s mangled body, struck by the truck, weeping uncontrollably until her throat was raw.

This nightmarish memory once again haunted Tiya’s heart, leaving her gasping for breath, as if the despair of that moment surged anew within her.

In her anguish, Tiya clenched her arms tightly, her fingers leaving clear red marks on her milky-white skin.

She recalled how, after enduring the agony of separation to arrange Lynne’s funeral, she had resolved to follow him; even though that foolish boy had pleaded with her to live on in his dying moments.

‘But in a world without you, I… I couldn’t go on.’

Unbidden, crystalline tears welled up in Tiya’s eyes.

Her childhood friend, who had been by her side for so many years, who was already family and with whom she had promised to marry, had suddenly left her. Tiya simply could not accept it.

As her consciousness blurred, a voice echoed in her ears.

Hearing that she could start anew with Lynne, she agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

Yet—Tiya scanned her surroundings, finding no trace of Lynne.

‘Hmph, a liar after all.’ Tiya’s expression darkened.

“Lynne, wait for me. I will find you.”

Tiya’s voice turned chilling as she murmured, then, in a desperate move, she bit her tongue, intent on ending her life.

A searing burn suddenly erupted in her chest, interrupting her.

“What is this…?” Only then did Tiya notice a ring hanging around her neck, now glowing brilliantly.

She instinctively reached out to touch it, and in the next second, a flood of vast memories surged into her mind. She gradually understood everything, accompanied by a hazy vision.

“Lynne…?” Tiya recognized the man in the vision as Lynne, the one she yearned for so deeply that it had made her ill.

In the vision, Lynne was battling a demonic beast, a sight that tightened Tiya’s heartstrings with anxiety.

‘No… Lynne is in danger, I have to go help him.’

Tiya’s heart pounded with anxiety, and she desperately wanted to escape the crystal coffin.

Yet, in the very next second, her movements froze.

She saw Lynne carrying a small girl on his back, and the girl’s profile struck Tiya with a profound sense of familiarity.

The vision abruptly shifted—

Standing beside Lynne was a woman.

Crack—

The crystal coffin, crafted from millennia-old ice, let out a sharp crack as a corner was forcefully torn away.

Tiya’s expression turned grim.

“Who… is that woman? Why is she standing next to Lynne!?”

***

Lynne was startled awake by the morning dew dripping onto his cheek.

He groggily opened his eyes. A sliver of morning sunlight pierced through the mist, revealing a hazy dawn.

“Oh… it’s morning,” Lynne said, sitting upright and wiping the moisture from his cheek. “This feeling of reality… it seems this truly isn’t the game world anymore.”

Fortunately, all his items, equipment, and potions were still in his inventory, sparing him the misery of roughing it outdoors.

While enduring the elements meant little to Lynne, he could not tolerate Vivian having to suffer the same hardships.

After all, this was now the real world; Vivian was no longer a string of game data, but a genuine living being.

Moreover, Vivian was his and Tiya’s child; he could endure hardship himself, but he couldn’t let his daughter suffer.

Even when they were still in the game, Lynne had given Tiya and Vivian the very best.

He regretted that just before his final log-in, he had changed his daughter into a plain, low-quality fashion outfit, which meant her powerful, nation-destroying equipment hadn’t carried over. He found this quite a shame.

However—

Lynne gently stroked Vivian’s soft, smooth hair, his gaze tender as he watched his sleeping daughter.

The soft, comfortable fabric of her purple-streaked Gothic dress adorned Vivian, making her appear like a princess nestled among lavender, ethereal and dreamlike.

‘Vivian looks so incredibly adorable like this!’ A doting smile unconsciously spread across Lynne’s lips.

When he had woken up this morning, Lynne discovered his daughter clinging to him like a ‘hanging pet’ sleeping soundly, with crystalline drool dribbling from the corner of her mouth, dampening his clothes.

(TL Note: A term from gaming, referring to a companion character that visually attaches to the player’s avatar),

Her slightly chubby, baby-fat cheeks resembled a squeezed dumpling, practically begging to be kneaded.

“Vivian, time to wake up. If you don’t, Mommy’s going to spank your bottom,” Lynne said, unable to resist poking his daughter’s round cheeks with his fingertip.

Her face, at this age, was as smooth and tender as a freshly peeled egg.

‘And when I pinch them, they feel quite nice—plump and rather smooth. Heh… this is actually quite fun.’

Lynne finally understood why people spoke of a “child’s prime enjoyment period”. Children at this age were truly delightful to play with.

“Mmm…” Vivian’s delicate brows furrowed together. She rolled over, attempting to escape the relentless ‘demonic claw’ that kept poking her cheek.

Finally, she buried her face in the pillow, only for the annoying assault to shift tactics, now tugging at the hair on top of her head.

“Mean Papa!”

Vivian, puffed up with indignation, hurled the pillow at her old father.

“Vivian, why are you still so grumpy in the mornings?”

Lynne couldn’t help but chuckle, watching his daughter, who, despite being clearly annoyed, exuded an adorable, naive charm.

He had completely forgotten that he himself was the culprit who had provoked his daughter’s anger.

Forcibly roused by her old father, Vivian knelt on the bed, glaring angrily at Lynne, though her beautiful eyes, having just woken up, still held a hint of grogginess. This only made her look even cuter.

Vivian’s silken, smooth silver hair appeared somewhat disheveled, and where Lynne had tugged, a single ‘ahoge’ (TL Note: A Japanese term, ‘idiot hair,’ referring to a strand of hair that sticks up playfully) now swayed.

Cough, cough… Lynne, feeling a touch guilty, tried to smooth down his daughter’s ahoge. However, no matter how he combed it, the stubborn strand stood firm and swayed, as if emitting a ‘duang-duang’ noise.

(TL Note: An onomatopoeic sound indicating a bouncy, springy movement)

‘Never mind.’ While the ahoge looked a bit silly, it was perfectly charming on a child.

“Alright, alright, time to get up now,” Lynne said, patting his daughter’s head before turning to set up a pot for breakfast.

Seeing Vivian still glaring at him, puffed up with anger, Lynne had no choice but to deploy his trump card: “Don’t you want to find Mommy anymore?”

“Yes!”

“Then hurry and get up!” Lynne commanded, instantly filling an empty basin with water using a water elemental spell. He added, “Vivian, go wash up quickly. If you don’t hurry, Papa will go find Mommy by himself later.”

“No! Vivian’s going now!” Vivian instantly became frantic upon hearing this.

Lynne smiled, watching his daughter’s retreating back. ‘She’s still so easy to trick at this age.’

He then resumed preparing breakfast, summoning ingredients from his storage ring to begin cooking.

Fortunately, he had listened to his childhood friend (Tiya) back then, buying a wilderness adventure kit and storing plenty of ingredients.

Now, after his transmigration, they were proving useful. He had to admit, Tiya certainly knew how to live.

Lynne considered that if it were just him, he would probably just start a fire with wood or catch a random rabbit to roast. ‘Wait… I’m an elf now, shouldn’t eating berries be more in character?’

“Papa…”

His daughter’s soft, sweet voice rang out. Lynne felt a tug on the pants around his calf, and turning, he saw Vivian looking up at him, her lips pursed, an embarrassed expression on her face.

“What’s wrong?” Lynne asked patiently, setting down the ingredients and crouching to her level.

Vivian remained silent, simply handing the toothbrush to Lynne. “Papa, help me.”

“Vivian, you’re a big girl now, you need to learn to do things by yourself~”

No sooner had he finished speaking than tears welled up in Vivian’s eyes. “But Mommy always helps me!”

‘Huh—?’

‘So Tiya actually did these things? Lynne was somewhat surprised; he had always assumed the system handled such tasks.’

Lynne couldn’t help but ponder how, in the original game world, even with system automation, his childhood friend (Tiya) had still fulfilled her motherly duties, whereas he had lacked that awareness entirely.

The thought filled him with deep shame. ‘It seems I’m the only irresponsible father here.’

“I’m sorry, Vivian. I’m new to being a papa too, but I’ll pay more attention from now on,” Lynne said, his expression contrite.

He no longer insisted Vivian do it herself; instead, he took the offered toothbrush and began to help his sweet daughter wash up.

Vivian squinted her eyes in enjoyment as her father helped her with her morning routine.

‘Sure enough, if I just mention Mommy and then act a little spoiled… Papa always softens up, hehehe~ I’ll use this trick again next time.’

(TL Note: The description completely matches Vivian from ZZZ)