A Year in the Real World
Rose woke up, gasping for breath, as if emerging from a dream. She was back in her own bed, in her real world. The harsh light of the morning poured through the window, spilling across the familiar contours of her bedroom. For a moment, she thought maybe it had all been a figment of her imagination—a vivid fantasy conjured in the depths of her restless mind. But the weight in her chest, the hollow ache that seemed to press against her ribs, told her it wasn't.
She sat up, her hair disheveled, her mind racing. It had been months since her return—months of trying to readjust to a world that now felt cold and colorless. A world where Sylus didn't exist.
The memory of his voice lingered, a phantom echo in her mind: "I will find you." The promise was etched into her soul, yet every passing day without him made her question if he'd meant it.
Rose wandered to her couch, her phone already in hand. It had become a habit—scrolling absentmindedly through social media, news apps, and forums, looking for anything to distract herself from the void he had left behind. Her thumb moved automatically, skimming through articles she didn't care about, posts she couldn't bring herself to engage with.
That was when she saw it.
A banner ad splashed across her screen:
"Love and Deep Space: Back Online. Reimagined, Reborn, and Ready for You."
Her breath caught. For a second, she was frozen, her eyes locked on the words. She tapped the ad, and a promotional video began to play. The screen lit up with sleek visuals, breathtaking new landscapes, and dazzling characters. And then, there he was.
Sylus.
His signature smirk was intact, his silver-gray hair falling perfectly over his brow. But it was his eyes that stopped her cold. They were no longer the piercing silver-gray she had fallen in love with. Now, they glowed with an otherworldly intensity—a deep, burning red that seemed to pierce straight through the screen and into her soul.
The sight sent a shiver down her spine. He looked devastatingly perfect, and yet something about him seemed... different.
Rose's chest tightened. She hadn't seen him in a year—not his face, not his teasing grin, not the fire that always burned in his gaze when he looked at her. And now here he was, larger than life on her screen, captivating the world in a way only he could.
The video ended with the tagline: "Join the journey. The stars await."
Rose sat in stunned silence, her phone trembling in her hands. The game was back, and Sylus... he was everywhere.
The relaunch took the world by storm. Within days, Love and Deep Space was trending worldwide. Fans old and new were flocking to the game, raving about its revamped mechanics, its stunning graphics, and—most of all—its characters.
Sylus became the centerpiece of the hype. Social media was flooded with memes, fanart, and breathless declarations of love for him. He was dubbed the "Ultimate Dream Man," a title that only fueled the frenzy.
Teenagers gushed over his charm. College students debated his best quotes. Even middle-aged women declared him the "perfect man." He was on billboards, in commercials, plastered across merchandise.
And Rose hated every second of it.
Sitting in her small apartment, she scrolled through the endless stream of posts about him, her fists clenching tighter with each one.
"Sylus is perfect. Where can I find someone like him IRL?"
"He's so hot, I can't stop staring!"
"Sylus is literally my boyfriend now. Don't @ me."
She slammed her phone down, her chest heaving with frustration. He wasn't just some character, some virtual fantasy for millions of people to fawn over. He was hers. He had promised.
But he wasn't here. Not yet.
As the days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, Rose's hope began to waver. She told herself to be patient, to trust in the bond they had shared. But the longer she waited, the more distant that bond felt, like a thread unraveling in the wind.
One cold, gray evening, as rain drummed against her windows, Rose found herself browsing the game's official forums. It had become another habit—a way to feel closer to the world she had lost, even if it only deepened her longing.
Most of the threads were filled with excitement, speculation, and fan theories. Players traded stories about their encounters with Sylus, praising his new dialogue, his updated animations, and his mesmerizing red eyes that seemed to burn with life.
But then, in the depths of one thread, buried beneath dozens of replies, she saw something.
It was a single comment, unsigned and cryptic, with no context or explanation:
"Our bond is stronger than you know. Don't give up. I will find you again."
Her heart skipped a beat. She reread the message, her fingers trembling as she hovered over the screen.
Could it be?
It felt impossible, yet the words resonated with a familiarity that made her chest ache. She could almost hear his voice, low and velvety, saying them to her directly.
Tears welled up in her eyes as a small, fragile smile tugged at her lips. For the first time in months, a spark of hope flickered to life within her.
Maybe, just maybe, he was still out there.
Rose leaned back on the couch, clutching her phone tightly. The rain outside continued to fall, a steady rhythm that mirrored the beating of her heart.
She didn't know how, or when, but she believed.
Sylus had promised her. And if there was one thing she had learned during her time in his world, it was that he always kept his promises.
The beginning of a new journey was unfolding before her, and this time, she was ready to fight for it.