Gremory Mansion, Underworld.
"Here it is," Kousuke said as he ushered Akeno and Morgan to look at the bulky machine resembling a sleeping pod that occupied the center of the guest room. He had pulled it out of his inventory before bringing them here, saying he was going to show them something amazing. The excitement look on his face was a rare sight.
"What is this? There are so many enchantments on it that a single glance is making me dizzy," Morgan muttered, light flickering in her pupils before she looked away and rubbed her temple. She didn't hesitate to turn off her magic eyes, it was like staring straight into the sun, the blinding intensity too much to handle.
"This is the gaming capsule I've been working on in secret. It took a lot of time since I had to actually make a game engine to power it," Kousuke explained. "Otherwise, it would just be a piece of junk worth less than scrap metal."
"Gaming capsule? How do you even play games with this?" Akeno asked, pressing her face close to the hatch as she peeked inside. She couldn't find any keyboard or monitor, not even a controller anywhere, no matter where she looked. It was as it looked, a glorified sleeping capsule.
"That's the neat part," Kousuke replied with a grin. He pointed to his temple and continued, "It's all in the head, a simulation of sorts."
"A simulation?"
Both of them spoke simultaneously, their voices overlapping with shared confusion.
"Yes, you heard right. This capsule scans your brain and registers your brainwave as a User ID, binding the capsule exclusively to you." He pressed a button near the hatch, and it opened with a click. "Of course, it's not a scientific method since science still has a long way to go, so I came up with a shortcut."
"So that's where all those countless enchantments came from?"
"Bingo. Of course, I didn't make it that complicated just for that. The enchantments also prevent anyone from reverse-engineering it," he said with a chuckle. He didn't mention the few hidden mechanisms, Satan could be watching, after all. But if anyone dared to tamper with his work, they'd regret ever being born.
"There's only one capsule here," Akeno muttered. Kousuke heard her and waved his hand. Suddenly, two identical copies of the first capsule materialized neatly beside him as if he had them prepared beforehand.
"Copying them isn't the difficult part, so I can mass-produce them very quickly."
"Come on, you two, get in as well. I'll explain the rest inside," Kousuke said before climbing into the capsule and lying down. The two watched as the hatch automatically closed without him pressing a button, as if it could sense his presence.
Morgan, ever the curious witch, couldn't resist and entered the capsule next to his without hesitation. Akeno followed soon after; she knew Kousuke wouldn't involve her or Morgan in anything dangerous unless he was absolutely certain it was safe.
"Now then, link start!"
As soon as they heard his voice, their vision suddenly went dark. Then a monotone voice whispered in their minds:
[Scanning brainwaves.]
[User ID registered.]
[Welcome to Virtual World — Alpha Test Version 1.5.]
A wide grassy field appeared around them, surrounded by tall trees. The three stood in an open clearing, moving awkwardly like newborn fawns trying to stand. Though clumsy at first, they gradually learned to walk without tripping over the occasional branch.
"There's still a small flaw I haven't patched yet since I needed more tests and data," Kousuke said while stretching his virtual body. "In gaming terms, your current avatar and your brain need to synchronize first, to become one. Unity, that sort of thing."
"I see, that makes sense," Morgan muttered while flexing her hand. She could feel a tiny lag between her thoughts and the avatar's movements, like being under a mild slow debuff. Nothing too bad, but in combat, it could be fatal.
She tried conjuring a basic fireball, but nothing happened. She then realized she couldn't sense any mana within her virtual body. As if reading her thoughts, Kousuke spoke up.
"I'm still in the process of creating the Magic System. It'll take a while until its implanted since I want to add my own ideas to it. So for now, we can only do this."
He waved his hand downward, and a holographic menu appeared in front of him. In the next moment, the surroundings shifted, the grassy field vanished. Now they stood atop an invisible platform in the sky, overlooking a beautiful castle below. People in medieval clothing filled the streets, looking up and pointing at them.
"Welcome to the Beginner City," Kousuke said with a proud smile. Despite this being entirely his own creation through magic, it still felt like a dream made real, the culmination of his countless experiences in the Otherworld and his most importantly, his greatest power as an Enchanter.
"This looks similar to the Magic City," Morgan said softly. She recognized the architecture and the surrounding landscape, it was the city where she had first crossed paths with Kousuke.
Meanwhile, Akeno was stunned by how expressive the people below were. They didn't move like ordinary NPCs; they reacted like real humans. Guards were already forming up, readying weapons at the sight of unknown figures floating above their city.
"That's because it is," Kousuke said with a faint smile. "I can recreate something from memory much faster than rebuilding everything from scratch."
He swiped his hand horizontally, and the entire scene froze, as if time itself halted like he had pressed a pause button.
"And these people… are no ordinary NPCs."
In an instant, the three were now standing on the ground among the frozen citizens. Kousuke walked up to the nearest guard and poked at his forehead. But the NPC showed no reaction whatsoever.
"These people are the failed products of a terrible experiment."
"You mean these people…" Morgan's face turned grim as she caught his meaning. Akeno tilted her head in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"These NPCs are the results of a group of occultists who tried to recreate a reincarnation system," Kousuke said heavily, his tone dark. He remembered that small organization, the one that nearly caused humanity's extinction.
Their goal had once been noble: to bring hope to the Otherworld after witnessing the Demon God resurrecting monsters from the dead. Even though that world had no true afterlife, it didn't mean people didn't die. The dead became wandering souls unless the church exorcised them completely, or they fell into corruption, rising as monsters after prolonged exposure to the Demon God's influence.
"The reason they act almost like real people… because they are real souls but without physical bodies," he muttered somberly. Akeno widened her eyes in shock, while Morgan's gaze darkened with understanding.
"My reason for creating this virtual world isn't just to fulfill my childhood dream," Kousuke said quietly, looking around at the motionless citizens. "Also, to give these poor souls… another chance at life."
For a moment, silence blanketed the suspended city around them. The wind stood still, and even the light felt frozen in time. He did felt guilty for using these poor souls for his Trinity Project. Of course once he figure out the way to create an actual artificial NPC, he made a promise to himself, that he will give them their own place to live.
Morgan's expression softened as she studied the frozen figures—the mother reaching for her child, the merchant mid-laugh, the knight holding his spear with quiet pride. Every single one of them had once lived, laughed, and died somewhere far beyond this place. And now, here they stood, suspended between existence and oblivion.
"You really went that far for them…" she whispered, her voice carrying a mix of admiration and melancholy. "Even I never considered the souls lost to time could be saved like this."
"It's not perfect yet," Kousuke admitted with a faint, almost tired smile. "They can't feel emotions properly, and their memories are fragments at best. But… even if it's a fragile imitation, I want them to live again, even if only inside a world made of one and zero."
Akeno placed a hand against her chest, feeling a quiet ache bloom inside. Watching him speak so sincerely, she realized there was so much about Kousuke she still didn't understand. The weight he carried, the things he'd seen, the kindness he still chose to hold onto, all of it made her chest tighten with something she couldn't quite name.