It came too suddenly.
Crys couldn’t take it in.
His hands stopped.
He traced the words on the screen again and again.
Even the BGM he loved enough to keep on a playlist
was just noise now—churning his thoughts into a mess.
He muted it.
Under the clamp of the headphones,
his heartbeat sharpened—almost too clear.
When had TT even started thinking about this?
Every day had been the same.
Talking about whatever happened that day.
Trading stupid jokes—
TT had never once acted like he was going to quit.
The only thing different was today.
He’d taken Crys back to the place they first met
and said he’d wanted to come here.
So that’s what he’d been thinking about.
—Still.
Being told “I’m quitting” out of nowhere
didn’t let his brain catch up.
He’d thought he and TT were the kind of friends
who didn’t keep secrets.
Who could talk about anything.
And yet TT hadn’t said a word
until after he’d already decided.
The more it sank in,
the angrier Crys got.
He hammered at the keyboard like he meant to break it.
【Ad: why】
【Ad: why didn’t you tell me】
【Ad: this is way too sudden】
【TT: sorry】
That plain little word on the screen
was like gasoline.
Crys was about to fire back—
but TT sent another message first.
【TT: it’s sudden for me too】
【TT: honestly i don’t even fully get it myself】
【Ad: you don’t get it?】
He typed,
it’s not like i want an apology
then deleted it.
Retyped.
Deleted again.
And finally shoved out what he meant.
【Ad: then why are you saying you’re gonna quit】
【TT: i think i could keep playing. maybe】
【TT: but i don’t know what happens if i do】
【TT: so i just decided. better to stop now】
【TT: and while i’m at it】
【TT: you’re my best friend】
【TT: i don’t wanna just disappear on you. or lie to you】
That made even less sense.
Normally—
if TT, who barely ever talked about his feelings,
said best friend,
Crys would’ve gotten stupidly happy.
But right now,
it only made him more confused.
【Ad: what do you mean】
【Ad: like if you keep playing you might lie to me?】
【TT: mm】
【TT: not on purpose】
【TT: but yeah. it’d probably turn into that】
【Ad: is it family stuff?】
There were days TT couldn’t log in.
Times he’d refused voice chat.
Crys had figured it was a strict household.
So that’s what came out.
【TT: nah】
【TT: it’s my stuff】
And then—
TT stopped typing.
Like he was waiting.
Like he was watching for Crys’s reaction.
The chat went quiet.
Crys reread it over and over,
leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.
Not being able to talk to TT.
He’d never even pictured that kind of future.
Not because TT was his only friend.
But because TT was just… there.
Something that existed like air.
And Crys had never doubted
this—their time—would just keep going.
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He’d thought TT believed that too.
The longer he sat alone with it,
the heavier he got.
So he threw the words out raw.
【Ad: you’re coming back right】
【TT: i want to】
【TT: but i can’t promise when】
【Ad: when are you stopping】
【TT: today】
If it was this important, you should’ve told me sooner.
He shot up like he was about to kick his chair,
and typed hard, like hitting the keys could fix it.
Compared to this,
what happened at school didn’t matter.
He could’ve been doing harder quests with TT instead.
He had a million things he still wanted to talk about.
And now that it was past ten,
he didn’t even know when TT would log out
and that would be it.
Even “taking a break from the game” was too much to accept—
and without time to sort any of it,
tomorrow would just… start.
A day where TT wasn’t there.
He couldn’t stand it.
Crys dragged his gaming chair back from where it had slammed into the bed,
sat down again,
and asked the one thing TT had refused before—
one last time.
【Ad: tell me your number】
【TT: bro c’mon. basic opsec】
【Ad: TT!】
【TT: i said sorry】
【TT: but i can’t. fr】
【TT: before i said i wanted to keep game + real separate】
【TT: this time it’s not that】
【TT: i might not even be able to use my phone】
【TT: so even if i gave it to you, it wouldn’t help】
【Ad: still】
If he didn’t say it now,
he’d regret it forever.
Crys pushed.
【Ad: i won’t contact you unless i really need to】
No new messages.
Just the cursor blinking.
Ten seconds.
Thirty.
A minute.
—Had he stepped away?
Crys started imagining the worst:
TT logging out without even saying goodbye.
And then,
all at once,
new text slid onto the screen.
【TT: private number okay?】
“Of course!”
The words slipped out as he typed.
He’d said it—
but he’d been ready for TT to refuse.
Don’t expect anything.
He’d told himself that.
And yet he squeezed his eyes shut,
threw a fist pump like an idiot.
He didn’t even need to be the one who could reach out.
Just knowing there was a line between them
was enough.
If TT had his contact—
then when TT came back,
or started some new game—
he’d reach out.
He had to.
The moment Crys dropped his number into the chat,
his phone buzzed with a message—
from a private number.
Just one word.
【TT】
Crys stared at the screen,
holding the phone in both hands.
His eyes were shining—
more than when he pulled a top-tier rare drop.
【Ad: TT THANK YOU】
【TT: nah】
【TT: but fr don’t expect anything】
【TT: aight. finish this quest w me】
The loneliness didn’t vanish.
Starting tomorrow,
he wouldn’t be talking to TT in-game anymore.
Still—
they were connected now.
Just that
lit something small in his chest.
There was still so much he wanted to say,
swirling,
but they headed for the fortress boss they were halfway through—
Vermizar.
The lowest hall was almost all burning floor—
constant fire damage.
This was Crys’s role.
Same weak element as Valentus,
so he loaded freeze rounds
and took aim with the sniper rifle.
The target was small.
But tonight,
Crys didn’t hesitate.
He spun off a piece of cover like it was a foothold,
and put six rounds straight into the crit zone.
No wobble.
No drift.
【TT: woooow】
TT’s awe popped up in chat.
When Vermizar weakened and the burning floor finally stopped,
TT dove in all at once.
Vermizar kept warping away—
Crys tagged it with freeze rounds,
TT cut in—
Crys tagged again—
Their coordination clicked.
Quieter than usual.
He should’ve been focused.
But memories kept flashing behind his eyes—
TT, TT, TT—
And Crys felt something strange.
Thistle moved with almost too much precision,
like it was alive,
and little by little
Crys sank into it.
The weight of the powered armor.
The kickback left in his hands after every shot.
Like he was holding a real weapon.
Like he was really fighting.
【TT: WOOO buddy, fastest clear yet!】
The notification sound snapped him back.
He looked.
The clear time was glowing—
NEW RECORD.
He glanced at his phone.
It was past ten already.
Almost eleven.
【TT: i got no regrets now】
【TT: good work】
No regrets.
That phrase hit him hard.
—If he was going to leave,
Crys almost wanted him to have regrets.
Something that would make him want to come back sooner.
He hated himself for thinking it.
Crys shook his head,
forced his mouth into a smile,
and typed.
【Ad: nah. thank YOU】
【Ad: i had fun】
【Ad: not just today, obviously】
【TT: i’m the one who brought it up but…】
【TT: yeah. i’m gonna miss talking to you】
【Ad: msg anytime】
【Ad: calls work too】
The second he hit send,
his phone rang.
Crys jolted.
The call cut off immediately,
leaving a pop-up:
“Private Number — Missed Call (1)”
【TT: u jump?】
【Ad: my soul left my body】
【TT: you said calls were fine】
Crys could picture TT laughing,
teeth showing,
somewhere on the other side of the screen.
Crys laughed too.
And still,
his chest hurt—
tight, sharp.
They could stay connected.
But that didn’t change the fact their time ended here.
He didn’t know when they’d stand side by side like this again.
Worst case—
this was the last time.
So he tapped his knuckles on the desk instead of the keyboard,
like he could knock the feeling away.
【TT: hate to say it but… i’m gonna log off soon】
So he finally said it.
Crys swallowed hard,
and typed words
he didn’t even want to type.
【Ad: i’ll say it as many times as it takes】
【Ad: i had fun because you were here】
【Ad: seriously… thanks for everything】
【Ad: i’ll be waiting. always】
【TT: don’t forget that】
【TT: i’ll get jealous if you get another buddy】
A small silence.
Then TT sent one more.
【TT: aight. later】
【Ad: yeah】
【Ad: see you】
Right after Crys’s reply—
like he’d been waiting for it—
TT logged out.
Crys stared at Thistle,
left alone.
In True World Origins,
there were endless teams you could form.
He had other friends.
But someone he could talk to like this—
only TT.
No one else was even possible.
Not for him.
TT had been the reason
he made it through Amelia’s death.
Even when things were awkward with Dad.
Even when school had no friends.
As long as TT was there,
he could believe he’d be okay.
And now—
starting tomorrow—
TT wouldn’t be.
Even Thistle’s idle animation
looked unsteady.
Maybe TT would log back in,
in that stupid joking tone—
“Oh yeah, one more thing I forgot to tell you—”
Crys wandered without purpose,
half-waiting for it.
But nothing appeared.
The night was still young.
But after hearing TT was stepping away,
Crys couldn’t keep playing.
He took his time,
clicked Log Out,
and shut the PC down.
In the darkened screen,
his own dull reflection stared back.
Crys looked away
and let himself fall onto the bed.
Ping.
His phone chimed—an email notification.
Crys glanced at the screen on reflex.
The pop-up read:
Creator: Do you remember your dream?
He hadn’t seen it in a while,
but of course.
Spam again.
For someone like Crys—
someone with no one to text—
spam emails had this weird,
almost-friendly comfort.
But today—
the fact that he’d let himself hope,
even for a second,
that it might be TT—
made him so embarrassed
he almost wanted to throw the phone across the room.
Do you remember your dream?
Dreams?
He’d never had one.
And yet,
for some reason,
those words stuck.
Crys laced his fingers behind his head
and stared at the ceiling.
He’d never imagined TT would quit the game.
Still—
wanting to stay connected in real life…
in a way,
that wish had come true.
Sort of.
And now…
if he could have one more thing—
just once,
he wanted to meet him in person.
With TT,
it felt like they could do more than just play.
Like normal high school things.
Hang out.
Maybe even travel.
But—
Crys pressed his lips together.
TT liked keeping the game and real life separate.
Tonight, he’d pushed.
Because it might be the last time.
He hadn’t wished for anything.
And wishes—
they never came true.
Sleepiness crept in.
Crys let out one long yawn.
His eyelids sank shut.
His body felt heavy,
melting down into the bed.
Dreams.
Dreams…
And the moment his fading consciousness
touched the surface of sleep—
Crys remembered.
—That dream.
When Crys snapped awake,
he was standing in the middle of a circular hall,
the floor carpeted in deep burgundy.
In front of him was an elevator—
a gilded cage wrapped in golden vines.
He lifted both hands, checking himself.
He should’ve been in sleepwear,
but he was back in the hoodie he’d worn all day.
The drowsiness from a moment ago was gone, as if it had never been there.
His mind was painfully clear.
He’d only seen this dream once—
a few days before Halloween.
After that, months had passed,
and he’d forgotten it completely.
And yet now—
the memories came rushing back,
as sharp as if it had been yesterday.
Almost-translucent blond hair.
Tsitsi.
A girl in a white dress.
The Room of the Heart,
with its glass case.
Three doors.
And the words she’d said
right before his memory cut out.
—Next time. On Yom Reshit.
The day the sun is reborn.
What even was Yom Reshit?
Was today supposed to be that day?
…Ridiculous.
It was a dream.
That was all.
No need to treat it like anything more.
Crys stopped thinking
and stepped into the elevator.
Golden vines sealed the opening.
With a clunk that made his skin prickle,
the elevator began to descend.
The red arrow crawled downward—
slow, steady—
but the cage itself,
open to the air like a birdcage,
sank into darkness far faster than the arrow suggested.
A black so thick it stole the breath from his lungs
swallowed up distance,
direction,
even the idea of up and down.
No matter how many times he went through it,
he never got used to it.
Like sinking into a deep sea where light couldn’t reach—
or being thrown into space
and watching Earth vanish behind him.
Lonely wasn’t the word.
No one.
Nothing.
Only the cold unease of heading into a void,
spreading through his chest.
Down.
Down.
The deeper it went,
the worse it became.
By the time cold sweat slid down his back
and his breathing turned shallow,
the red arrow finally pointed straight up.
He let out the breath he’d been holding
and waited for the vines to part.
—But it didn’t stop.
Crys looked up, confused,
and his voice cracked.
“Huh…?”
The arrow passed straight up—
and kept moving.
To the right.
He panicked and ran his hands along the metal sides,
searching for buttons.
There weren’t any.
Had it gone past the stop?
No.
That couldn’t be.
It always stopped on its own.
It had never gone lower than that.
He’d been staring forward the whole time,
ever since the arrow started pointing upward—
and he hadn’t even felt it pass a floor.
The arrow kept drifting right,
slowly.
The elevator kept dropping.
Down.
Deeper.
Fear pressed in until it felt like it might crush his lungs.
The dark below was enough to make him think of death.
Crys bit down hard on his lip.
He couldn’t let himself scream.
He couldn’t look away from the arrow.
The arrow slid farther right.
His heart hammered
like it was about to rip straight through his skin.
The elevator sank lower.
He clenched his sweaty hands,
forcing his body not to move on its own.
The arrow slid farther right.
He licked his lips,
trying to hide how fast his breathing was getting.
The elevator sank lower still.
Wind brushed the back of his neck—
and it felt like fingers.
His skin crawled.
—I can’t take it. I’m going to scream.
And then—
a gentle breeze passed clean through him,
like it had slipped inside his body.
All at once,
he felt lighter.
He took a breath—
and it went in shockingly deep.
When he pressed a hand to his chest,
his heartbeat was steady again.
Slowly, carefully,
he looked out.
The ugliness of the darkness—
somehow—
was gone.
As he stared,
the black beneath him began to pale,
like dawn breaking.
A light brighter than the ceiling lamps
poured up into the elevator.
It kept growing stronger.
The gold ornamentation,
the burgundy floor—
everything
was washed white.
Until even the shadow at his feet vanished,
and the whole world filled with white.
Crys couldn’t stand it.
He squeezed his eyes shut,
and raised his arm to cover his face.
