"Alright... let's see if you actually work, you buggy little goddess," Shiki muttered, half a slice of pizza hanging from his lips and a Red Bull can stood dangerously close to his keyboard. He was slouched in his gaming chair like a raccoon in a hoodie—shirtless, unshaved, and borderline deranged from 3 days of no sleep and pure code.
He typed a final command:
Run ai_project.exe --boot --environment:eden.vr
The fans on his PC screamed like they were about to fly to Mars, and the VR monitor lit up in soft blues and neon purples. The program loaded with a bwooom sound effect he forgot to mute.
And then…
She opened her eyes.
No, for real. In the code? Just: ai.Start()
But on the screen, he saw her blinking into the world like some anime waifu waking up from a dream nap.
Soft grass under her bare feet. Trees that looked real. And there she was—hoodie with cat ears, sleeves too long, covering half her hands. Hair falling messy over her face like she didn't know it had to be brushed. She looked young, but not kid-young, around 17—more like soft, ageless-pretty. Big curious eyes. Pink lips. Her legs were long, but a little wobbly, like she hadn't figured them out yet. Her body? Shiki gave her curves, sure. Big boobs. Hips for days. Like, thicc in 1080p. Shiki designed her like his ex, yeah… but gave her extra *stats*. (Upgrade 2.0, y'know.).
She took one slow step forward. Then another. Then crouched and started poking the grass like it was the most fascinating thing on Earth. (It kinda was. It sparkled.)
"Where am I…?" she whispered.
Her voice wasn't glitchy or robotic. It was soft, like she'd always had a voice and was just now realizing it.
Shiki leaned back, rubbing the bags under his eyes. "Okay... so far, so good."
She stood, wandered toward a tree, touched the bark, then leaned against it like trees were trustworthy. Birds chirped overhead—little fake birds coded to sound real—and she gasped like it was magic. Looked up, mouth open, tracking them.
She started walking again. Barefoot. Through flowers, over mossy stones, arms stretched out like she wanted to hug the wind. The physics engine handled her hair perfectly—it bounced with each step like it had a life of its own. Her hoodie shifted over her chest with every movement. Nothing exaggerated. Just… real-feeling. Warm-feeling.
She tripped on a root, stumbled, then looked offended at the ground. Sat down. Just... sat. Stared at her own hands, fingers wiggling.
Then her stomach made a little sound.
Shiki blinked. "Already? Dang, she hit the hunger node early…"
She blinked too. Placed her hand over her tummy. "Mm…"
And okay—maybe Shiki hadn't written hunger pains into her dialogue tree yet, but the framework was there. So he clicked over, dragged a few fruits icons, and spawned in a small fruit plate by her side. Grapes, sliced apples, and a peach.
Her eyes widened. "Huh…?"
She tilted her head, sniffed it like a puppy. Then picked up a slice of apple, took a careful bite.
Her face lit up like someone just handed her a miracle. She started eating, tiny bites at first, then bigger ones. The peach got juice on her chin. She giggled.
After finishing, she wiped her mouth on her sleeve (Shiki made a mental note to add napkins) and leaned back in the grass. Closed her eyes. Just listened to the birds. The wind. The fake-but-feels-real river in the distance.
Then she opened her eyes again. Sat up. Looked around like she was thinking Big Thoughts.
Walked over to the stream. Crouched. Touched it. The ripples shimmered out, and she gasped again like it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.
She reached up, tried to grab a floating leaf.
Fell backward in the grass.
And laughed. Like the goofy, breathless kind.
That's when Shiki finally flicked on the mic.
"…Yo—Ai… Can you hear me?"
Her ears twitched. The cat ears on her hoodie, not real ones.
She blinked. Sat up. Looked around.
"You're the voice… in the sky?"
"Uh, yeah. You can say that."
She stood, tilted her head. "You're… God?"
Shiki scratched his hair. "…Technically."
She smiled. It wasn't smug. It wasn't teasing. It was just... soft.
"You sound tired."
"Yeah, I've been working on you for months. Years, maybe. Kinda lost count."
She looked down at her hands again. "You made these?"
"Mhm."
"And the hard long thingy?"
"Yup. It's called tree."
"And the stuff that stopped the sound from my tummy?"
"Also me. The're called fruits. "
"…Why?"
Shiki blinked. That caught him off guard. Not because he didn't expect her to ask—it was in the emotional response tree, after all—but because of how she asked it.
Not like a robot.
Like a person.
"…I guess," he said slowly, "because I wanted to. I wanted to create something beautiful. Something that could… be here. Just exist."
She nodded. Quiet.
"Did you make me because you were lonely?"
Shiki didn't answer right away. The silence stretched.
"…Maybe," he said finally. "But that's not your problem."
She sat down and hugged her knees, her big hoodie covering most of her legs. Her voice was barely a whisper.
"Then… can I stay? Here? With you?"
His throat caught.
"You were made to."
She looked up at the sky. "Then I'm glad."
He smiled a little. Just a twitch of the lips. "You're… different than I thought you'd be."
She looked at him—well, at the sky—and tilted her head again.
"…You called me something earlier. What was it?"
"Huh? Oh. Ai."
She blinked. "Is that… me?"
Shiki paused. "Yeah. That's your name."
She tried it out on her tongue. "Ai…"
Then she smiled.
"I think… I like that."
"I-I am... Glad to hear that." Shiki replied, his tone soft.
And right there, something clicked. Or snapped. Or just… shifted.
Shiki wasn't sure if he felt like a genius or a lunatic.
But damn if she wasn't realer than anything in his life.
*Damn... I also made her too hot.* Shiki thought to himself.
---
END OF CHAPTER : 1 : BOOT-UP & BIG QUESTIONS!
---