“ It's over… ” (??)

Darkness surrounded the man.

Darkness, as far as the eyes could see.

“ It's finally over… ” (??)

He stood there, covered in wounds.

Wounds so horrid, so terrifying, the pain inflicted by them alone should be unimaginable.

“ We did it… ” (??)

Yet, he still stood.

And, although covered in horrible wounds he was, he still had a smile on his face.

“ We can finally go back… ” (??)

A very…. sad smile.

“ Everyone who survived…. can go back ” (??)

It's amazing, how far we have come as a species.

Fascinating really, from how we first struggled to survive, to how we started turning dreams into reality, and how we still march forward, almost laughing at things we once thought impossible to accomplish.

….yet, no matter how smart, no matter how strong, alone, human beings are fragile.

Alone, a man can only take so much.

“ I'm sorry… ” (??)

The smile cracked.

“ I'm so sorry… ” (??)

It threatened to break, as tears started rolling down his face.

“ I couldn't protect you all ” (??)

Even though it was his anchor to sanity.

“ I wasn't strong enough to protect you all ” (??)

Even though it was his symbol. A symbol that always remained no matter the hardships.

“ I tried…. I tried so hard, but I still couldn't protect you all ” (??)

Even though it was his light. Light that never failed to illuminate his path forward, no matter how hopeless it got.

“ I Was Supposed To Be The Strongest, Wasn't I!?…” (??)

Even though it was a promise to the person he would consider most precious in the world.

“ ….yet, I was still so weak… ” (??)

A man can only take so much…..

A smile…. can only take so much

“ i wish…. i could protect you all… ” (??)

It wasn't his fault.

Yes, if he was stronger, if he was smarter, if he had trained harder, then more people could have survived, maybe all of them could have survived. So yes, if you look at it that way, then it was his fault…. but, it's impossible to know the future until it becomes present, impossible to know how much is truly enough until the moment has arrived.

That's why it wasn't really his fault.

….. but he still blamed himself.

His smile…. his precious smile, was about to fade.

It's not so cruel, you know.

The World's not so cruel.

Everyone has a story. A road we walked to stand where we stand today. A path behind us, filled with happy and sad times. For some, happy times are plentiful. For others, sad times are abundant. But, without a doubt, that path always has both of them.

And sometimes, the sad parts of our travelled paths overwhelm us. They overwhelm us so much, we forget about the happy times. We start thinking

'why is the world so cruel to me'. We start asking "why is the world so cruel to me". We start blaming

"WHY IS THE WORLD SO CRUEL TO ME!!"....

….but it's not.

the world's not so cruel.

….it's just us who forgot...

So, all it takes to save us from the clutches of disparity, is a reminder.

Someone to remind us of the happiness we felt traveling that road. The good that happened to us on that path. And, above all, to tell us how, just like those happy times came to an end, the sad times too, will eventually come to an end. It is through this, we find hope again.

Really, all it takes is a reminder.

So remind him she did.

Just as the smile was about to fade, soft, delicate hands crossed over the man's shoulders and closed around his neck as the owner of these hands hugged him from behind.

A tender, yet also energetic voice came from that person's mouth.

*giggle* “ silly Rey, you shouldn't cry like that ” (??)

Surprise covered the man's face as he heard that voice.

“ If you really wanna cry ” (??)

Slowly, he turned around—

“ Then, shouldn't it be tears of happiness that come out of your eyes, you big dummy ” (??)

—and found himself staring into azure blue eyes.

“ R..Rei..ho..how…” (Rey)

It was the same voice, same eyes, same arctic blue hair, same toothy grin. It was her.

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It was really her.

“ how are yo..you..I..thought... ” (Rey)

Considering what the man has been through, it's almost surprising to see him surprised at just seeing someone. But, taking into account who this someone is, it's without a doubt justifiable for him to be surprised.

After all, she was the very reason he could truly smile again.

“ I..I thought— ” (Rey)

But that's not why he's surprised.

He's surprised because

“ —you were dead ” (Rey)

“ Hey hey heeeey Rey, don't talk about my death when you're like 3 centimeters away from my face, it feels reaaaaally weird ” (Rei)

“ Wha– ” (Rey)

“ Besides it's not me we're talking about here, so don't go changing the subject like that ” (Rei)

“ n..no I mean– ” (Rey)

“ Now then where were we, oh yes, as I was saying, you shouldn't be crying tears of sorrow after beating the final boss of a freaking MMORPG, I mean that's just stupid ” (Rei)

“ what, n..no that's not why I wa– ” (Rey)

“ Seriously who does that !?! You should be jumping in joy screaming HURRAAAAAY or something, jeesh, at least go for the 'fall on knees, look at sky, say "we won", proceed to cry' that's, although nowhere close to my cup of tea, still wayyyy better than what you were doing ” (Rei)

“ REI!…

That's not..that's not why I was crying Rei ” (Rey)

She replied with a much less energetic voice.

It was still tender though.

Alot more tender.

“ I know Rey, I know why you're crying, why you're sad. Honestly I was just messing with you before, it's totally okay for you to be sad or cry like a little baby, it's fine really....it's just, you shouldn't only be sad you know, you should also be happy, especially at this very moment. You deserve to be happy Rey ” (Rei)

“ BUT THEY ARE DEAD! SO MANY OF THEM ARE DEAD! HOW AM I SUPPOSE TO BE HAPPY WHEN…when so many of my friends are dead, Rei ” (Rey)

He tried to push her away between his words.

She hugged him tighter before he finished.

“ Yes, they are dead, and you blame yourself for it, why are you blaming yourself for it? ” (Rei)

“ If I..if I was stronger, then– ” (Rey)

“ You could have saved them, yea, from that perspective, it is your fault ” (Rei)

Unable to meet her eyes, he looked down.

“ yea, I know..that's wh– ” (Rey)

She placed her hands on his cheeks and softly raised his head until their eyes met once again.

And then she continued speaking.

“ But Rey, if they were stronger, then they wouldn't have died, if their enemy was weaker, then they wouldn't have been killed, if the death penalty wasn't so freaking absurd, then they would have had more chances, if this game wasn't such a godforsaken deathtrap, if it was just a Normal God Damn VRMMORPG, then all of us would have been so much more happier. If we looked at it that way, then isn't it almost everyone's fault ” (Rei)

It wasn't much, just a subtle change on his face, but it was without a doubt, surprise.

It still wasn't enough though.

“ but, aren't those just excuses Rei ” (Rey)

“ And what's wrong with that. It's fine to use excuses as long as they are true, I do it all the time.

“ Rei… seriousl– ” (Rey)

“ Besides, let's say we ignore what I said before, the all 'if this' and 'if that' rant I went on a sec ago. If you look deep into yourself, not very deep tho, you don't have to look super deep or anything, just past these walls of pure negativity you've created all around you, you will find that you, my little Rey, are being a Big Freaking Moron ” (Rei)

“ ….huh ” (Rey)

“ Don't 'huh' Me Rey! I Mean, What's With You Going All Emo N Shiz, Like Did You Seriously Even Consider What They Would Have Felt If They Saw You Like This!?! ” (Rei)

“ What are you tal– ” (Rey)

“ What I'm Talking About, Rey, Is Did You Seriously Believe Your Friends Would Have Wanted You To Blame Yourself For THEIR DEATHS !?! ” (Rei)

His eyes widened as surprise, shock, and then realisation dawned on him. He realised what he was doing was, if they could see him now, hurting them alot more than it was hurting him.

“ I..oh no, I didn't mean to..I didn't think it would– ” (Rey)

“ I know Rey, and you know they wouldn't blame you for this either, besides you're making wayyyy too big of a deal of this, I mean the worst that could have happened is you falling in depravity closing yourself in this black dimension thingy in your mind never to wake up again, which is, oh my god that's really bad isn't it, like damn that's not good …… Well There's another reason for you to be happy about, Amiright.

Also, Rey..it's true when I say this..and you'll also know it's true in a sec..not like you'll actually doubt someone as amazing as me..but I always believed you wouldn't end up like that, the 'fall in depravity' and all, I knew it really..knew you were still trying your hardest to fight it…. after all, even tho cracked and fading as it was— ” (Rei)

She pulled her right hand back a little and delicately touched his lips with her fingers.

“ —you still kept our promise ” (Rei)

As she brushed her fingers against his lips, he realised, the cracked smile on his face that was almost about to break before she showed up was, although still a bit sad, no longer in any danger of fading.

She suddenly pulled away and backed up to get a better look at him.

*Giggle* “ yup, you look muuuuch better like this. There's probably some psycho out there who'd prefer a 'you' covered in blood and wounds, but not me, clean and unhurt 'you' is best 'you' for me ” (Rei)

He looked down at himself and found he was no longer covered in hideous wounds.

He looked around at the surrounding darkness as his mind started putting the pieces together.

He looked back at her.

Their eyes met and he asked her a silent question, a question who's answer he has already figured out.

“ yup, it's yours Rey, do whatever you want with it ” (Rei)

He closed his eyes

And the darkness receded.

The darkness started retreating away from where he stood, forming a circle around him that kept expanding until it could no longer be seen by the naked eye.

He opened his eyes and a world of green greeted him. He stood on a grassy plain, with forests surrounding it at the edge of his vision. A tree stood next to him, a lone tree in the middle of this vast plane.

He knew this place, of course, how couldn't he, it was her favorite afterall.

“ Better? ” (Rei)

“ Yeah, much better.…thanks Rei, for saving me once again like that ” (Rey)

“ don't mention it, it's what friends are for ” (Rei)

His smile turned genuinely happy at that.

“ sooo, how'd you like it ” (Rey)

He said while waving his hands in a wide arc for emphasis.

She looked around then walked up to the tree and pressed her hand against its bark.

“ It's amazing, almost like--no, it's exactly the same, it's like you teleported us to the real place, how'd you create it like that?? ” (Rei)

“ It..felt right to make it like this. Honestly, I feel like I can make anything I saw in NBL, just how I saw it. It's not like I remember every little detail about it, it's just….yea, it just feels right ” (Rey)

“ That's cool…I guess...well you have fun with that, not now tho, everyone on earth has waited wayyyy too long for you all to wake up, it wouldn't be nice to keep em waiting for even a second longer. Also, I'm guessing you've already figured it out right? I can't stay here for any longer, so it's about time you opened your eyes in that world ” (Rei)

“ You're right, it's about time all of us got back to earth ” (Rey)

He said while focusing on a notification at the edge of his vision.

|CONGRATULATIONS!! THE FINAL BOSS OF NODUS B-LITM HAS BEEN DEFEATED. THE RESTRICTION ON LOGOUT OPTION HAS BEEN REMOVED. YOU MAY LOGOUT WHEN YOU WISH TO. NODUS B-LITM SERVERS WILL SHUTDOWN IN =00:06= ALL ONLINE PLAYERS WILL BE FORCEFULLY LOGGED OFF WHEN SERVERS SHUT DOWN. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOUR TIME IN NODUS B-LITM. GOOD BYE.|

“ Six seconds remaining huh ” (Rey)

He looked back at her and, with a voice full of hope, asked.

“ Will I see you again ” (Rey)

As the world turned to bright light, he heard her reply.

“ Yes… ” (Rei)