d3rlord3 — Derek

After everything that had happened in her world, and after reading Derek's letter, Avery felt somewhat empty, as if Derek had taken a part of her heart with him. Even though she hadn't known him for such a short time, she truly valued him and he was important to her, making the way he sacrificed himself in her place even more painful and guilt-ridden.

Every night, Avery would sit down and open her laptop to play in the world, wandering through empty places and landscapes, watching memories of every moment with Derek pass before her eyes. The darkness was a constant reminder of her loneliness and loss, and she would cry every time, like a child waking from a nightmare in the gloom of the night.

That day Avery was playing again and stopped, staring for a very long time at the sign Derek had written: "You are real," "You are special, remember who you are." Her gaze was lost on the screen, thinking of him, sinking once more into pain, tears falling from her face onto the keys, her hands, and the table, silent but at the same time agonizing.

And as he began to sink into despair again, a message appeared in the chat; he froze when he saw that name.

d3rlord3...?

I whispered, my voice breaking and hopeful, thinking I was hallucinating, but the user spoke.

"I'm still here... Avery, I'm not dead."

Avery stifled a scream that sounded like agony, but turned the camera around looking for that gentleman she missed so much and found him; behind him, the familiar silhouette was already there as if nothing had happened.

That's not true, is it...? Am I crazy?

She hurried to type in the chat, thinking that if it was a hallucination, at least she wanted to find some comfort.

"Derek... is that really you...? You have no idea how much I miss you."

"Yes, Avery, it's me, I'm real, I swear."

Avery was left processing this, rubbing her eyes and crying uncontrollably.

Please don't play with me like this now, mind... please

But when I looked back at the screen, it was still there, real.