Seijun: A Girl's Bygone Days

An American Man on the Road, Part 5

I can't believe what Soren just said.

His late friend, reincarnated in another world, albeit the online variety?

Yup, reincarnating in a fantasy realm is the bread and butter of a genre called isekai.

And I'm honestly getting sick and tired of isekai anime dominating the airwaves and isekai light novels dominating the bookshelves.

But then, I can sense his sincerity and honesty in telling his tale.

And thus, in my heart, he and I can be kindred spirits.

He encountered the reincarnation of his late friend, I encountered the supposed reincarnation of my late girlfriend. Simple as that.

***

Lianna explained that she couldn't just log out of the game, for that would negate her possession and resurrection in the first place, and that would also make her fail in finishing whatever unfinished business she had.

She then went on to enumerate the things she missed back on Earth, now that she's stuck in another world. Namely... food, her stuff, and most importantly, her family.

Later on, she convinced me to join her guild.

Seeing as I was a lone wolf even since I've first played the game, I figured it would be in our best interests for me to join one.

So after a rigorous series of tests, I was finally admitted into the guild.

What was even more amazing was that our guild leader was a straight-laced military woman, despite her job being a healer.

The leader then divulged the purpose of recruiting an additional member in the first place: Her guild was desperate in finally defeating a difficult boss after 27 failed attempts.

It didn't help that the boss that made us fail time after time was shrouded in mystery, even to other players.

We were all given ample time for pre-raid preparations, and we decided to end that losing streak once and for all.

Going through the quest that partly comprised the boss raid was a little bit easier thanks to our collective efforts.

And then, after much dungeon trudging, we came face-to-face with the penultimate boss.

We all knew how to defeat it, so we devised our tried and true strategies.

And once the boss was defeated, we all braced for the moment we've all dreaded.

This was the very reason why the ultimate boss was so notorious and formidable: It opened the battle with an instant-death attack that couldn't be blocked by ordinary means.

To add insult to injury, the name of the boss wasn't revealed unless at least one member of the raiding party survived that attack.

Fortunately, thanks to an accessory I've acquired before the raid – and it was a super rare one, mind you – I survived that dreaded instant-death attack. I immediately revived my guild mates so they could witness the true identity of the elusive boss for themselves.

Once the true identity was known, we gave it our all.

We never thought of turning back. Not even once.

Eventually, we emerged victorious over the boss, and I was even crowned the MVP, most likely due to the fact that I survived that nasty opening attack.

In the midst of my guild's celebration, I was presented with a warning from a mysterious player.

The guy warned me to sever my relationship with Lianna, and he had already done that twice before ever since her death and reincarnation.

But since he could sense my persistence and dedication to her, he told me to visit a real-world location, an office building within the town, and there he could finally reveal everything behind her circumstances and mine – and even his own identity.

Before I could face the mysterious guy, I was messaged by Lianna's cousin that her family decided to entrust her entire collection of games, music albums, her own PC, and everything else she loved to me.

I agreed to the cousin's proposal; and eventually her collection was integrated into mine, being given all the love and care that she once gave before her passing.

And then... the day came for the revelation.

I went to the office building as promised, and there he was.

The mysterious guy.

Before he divulged his true identity, he handed me a letter.

The letter revealed Lianna's deep thoughts about the sorry state of this world she had left, and how politics tears humanity apart – and she resolved to fix all that... by aspiring to become a political analyst.

The guy then told me that he got the letter when she dropped it the day before her death.

And finally, he revealed himself... to be a forgotten childhood friend of me and Lianna.

His name is Drake Pasteur.

He claimed to know more about Lianna than I thought, especially her dream of becoming a political analyst, which she never revealed to me.

Her efforts to achieve that dream, he said, put too much unwarranted stress on her body, and thus she died young. And he even warned her beforehand.

He also proved my suspicions of her possessing her own avatar right after she shed her mortal coil.

After all this... he still persisted that I should break up with her... because neither he nor I would know how long the possession would last.

With the revelation that stung my heart more than ever, I called in sick for school the next day.

The day after, I regained my energy, prepared to confront Lianna about her dreams.

And once she and I met again in Skypaths Online, I told her about Drake, and how he leaked the letter to me.

She was furious that her original revelation of her plans were spoiled – namely, her parents would deliver her letter to me on the day of her burial.

Instead of blaming herself for her grave error, she pinned the blame on me – even as I simply asked her why.

And thus, I had no choice but to make her come to her senses... by dueling her.

PVP. No holds barred.

And in the end... we were both knocked out, and our battlefield became a smoldering ruin.

And after some players healed us, she finally spit it out.

The reason for her pursuing of a political science degree was that she simply wanted to change the world, even if that meant she had to drift away from me as childhood friends.

We then apologized for our own mistakes just as server maintenance was approaching.

After the server maintenance, Lianna and I were finally back in the game, reinvigorated – just as a special timed event was taking place.

Our guild reorganized and learned more about the quests the comprised the event. We were tasked to aid a struggling ghost guild in thwarting the threat behind the spiritual world crisis the guild was facing.

And after defeating several bosses and solving the guild's problems one by one, we finally defeated the root cause of the entire crisis. We were all jubilant that we've lent our hands in saving their realm from certain destruction.

But even an online world can't last forever.

Because...

...the day after the successful completion of the quest, Skypaths Online would finally close its doors on November 13, 2018 – which was exactly 40 days after Lianna's death – due to financial difficulties of the company behind it.

In desperation, I wanted to do everything I can to save her and her soul from disappearing forever once the servers shut down.

I even attempted to retrieve her character data from the company's offices, which were situated in a nearby town.

And as I explained Lianna's resurrection and possession of her own character to the GM, I was faced with a cruel reality.

The reality that I could never get the entire Lianna Riversdale back, as the GM explained his polite rejection of my attempt to retrieve the character data that housed her soul.

Instead, he consoled me by telling me to spend the last moments of the game with her and telling her my innermost feelings.

All of us players had their own ways in making the most out of the days until the end of service.

Me and Lianna? We spent the next day together, and she finally confessed about not achieving her dreams. I then consoled her.

Furthermore, the guild Lianna and I was in decided to disband. It was inevitable, but still as heartbreaking as ever. Fortunately, us guild members gave one another our real-life names and such, so that when the time comes that we can all see each other again, but in another place...

...we could relive the time we've spent together.

But not her.

A few days after, I encountered the real-life guild mistress, and she is indeed the progeny of a military family.

She wanted to do her family and my country proud by acing the admission into the military just like the ones who came before her.

After divulging on what our other former guild mates were up to, she finally gave the most important piece of advice – the same one the GM gave me.

Make her last moments the most memorable by confessing your innermost feelings.

I logged in again, and it was then Drake's turn to make amends and say his last goodbye to both of us.

He imparted an important lesson that she forgot – that is, to seize the day – before finally making his farewell.

The day then came.

November 13, 2018.

Lianna and I picked an isolated spot where we could spend the game's last hour – as well as hers.

We saw how other players made the most out of the final minutes.

We talked to each other about how things have went so far on the world she unfortunately left 40 days ago.

And then...

Her character glitched, which was the indication that exactly 40 days has passed since her death – that is, 11:35 pm of October 4, 2018.

She was supposed to ascend to heaven, but I knew of a solution to have her hold on a little longer.

And that is... by hugging her.

With my interference, her glitching eventually stopped.

We them mustered up the courage to finally say what we've wanted to say deep inside...

“I love you.”

And that came in the form of a simple yet powerful kiss.

The confession was complete, and Lianna was able to say goodbye once Skypaths Online formally ended its service at 11:59 pm.

Her time on two realms finally ended, and her soul finally ascended to heaven with no lingering regrets.

And thus ends my story.

***

“Ever since Lianna Riversdale's passing, I've always wanted to respect her and her legacy, even though to others, she was just an ordinary American woman with a dream, but died young.

“I take care of the stuff she left behind; and no matter where I go, I will always remember her.”

Needless to say, both Gunpei and Harumi shed tears just like I do.

“And now that I've finished telling my bittersweet tale, my distinguished Japanese companions... always remember...

“Our lives and our memories may be transient... but nevertheless, we should strive in upholding the lives they left behind and the memories they carried for generations to come.

“You may be familiar with the term mono no aware, right?”

They obviously nod.

“Time may be our greatest enemy in not forgetting something or someone... but in constantly remembering... the transient can and will be eternal!”

We all then give one other a solemn group hug.

Whatever the two are currently going through, I assure them that in some way, they will pick up a lesson or two by remembering the woman I've loved and lost.

Lianna Riversdale.

And thus, the storytelling hour draws to a close.

I still have to look forward to tomorrow, yes.

But as always, she continuously gives me the will to live, right from up above.