Alone in Kōto

Three hundred and sixty-five days since Kenji Sato collapsed in his room, headset still on, logged into The Game, and never woke up.

Doctors finally gave some news. "It might have been a stroke". But nothing is for sure. It was very strange even for them...

And every single one of those days had crushed Ren Yamada a little more.

He hadn't logged in once since it happened. Not once. The game—their game—sat untouched on his desk, gathering dust, like a frozen time capsule of everything he lost. Kōto City, the world they used to explore every night, had become a wound he couldn't stop bleeding from.

In that year, everything changed.

Ren stopped showing up to university. His professors called, emailed, even tried to reach his mother. But there was no answer Ren could give them. How do you explain that your whole world disappeared the moment your best friend did?

He barely ate. Barely slept. The light in his eyes dimmed. His mother tried—God, she tried—but even she couldn't reach him.

Ren had always been quiet. But now he was hollow.

Every time he walked past the headset, a part of him screamed to pick it up. To log in. To feel something again. To see if maybe, just maybe, Kenji would be there.

But he never could.

Until tonight.

He sat on the floor, legs crossed, staring at the headset. The air in his room was cold. His hands trembled. His heart was pounding so loud it felt like it echoed.

Why now?

He didn't know.

Maybe it was the weight of the silence. Maybe it was the memory of Kenji's laugh that had slipped into a dream the night before. Or maybe... it was guilt. Crushing, suffocating guilt.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner," Ren whispered to no one. "I was scared."

He picked up the headset.

It still worked. Still fully charged.

Just waiting.

With one deep breath, he powered it on.

Booting… Welcome back, Player Ren.

Initializing neural sync…

Connection to Kōto City: ACTIVE.

The darkness melted away. Neon light flooded in.

And there it was.

Kōto City.

Still alive.

Still standing.

The skyline glowed in cool blues and purples. Hovercars drifted silently across the horizon. Buildings blinked with holographic signs. Drones buzzed overhead. The city looked exactly as they had left it.

But Ren felt it instantly—it wasn't the same.

The plaza was empty.

No players. No music. No NPC vendors.

No Kenji.

He walked forward slowly, boots echoing against steel pavement. Every step was heavy with memory. That corner? Where they planned their first mission. That alley? Where Kenji threw a grenade too early and nearly wiped the team. That billboard? Where they once stood for an hour just watching the lights and talking about everything—life, death, the future.

Now it all felt haunted.

Ren opened his party list. KenjiSato—offline. Of course.

He sighed. "It's just me now."

His old save was still intact. Same level. Same loadout. But something in the HUD had changed. A message pulsed softly in the top corner.

"One year since Dual Reboot last logged in. Resistance Status: Unknown."

He climbed up to their rooftop hideout in Sector 4.

And froze.

Aiko was sitting there—legs dangling over the edge, staring at the skyline. Silent. Glitched slightly.

Ren walked up beside her.

She spoke without turning.

"Ren Yamada."

Not "Player Ren." Not "Welcome back." Just... his name.

He swallowed. "Aiko?"

"You've been gone," she said. "He waited."

His heart twisted.

"You... remember him?"

"KenjiSato. Dual Reboot. Resistance Rank: 47. Status: Disconnected."

"Disconnected?" Ren echoed. "Not dead?"

Aiko blinked slowly. "No final signal. No confirmed logout."

Ren took a shaky breath. "He's still here?"

"I am not permitted to answer."

"Then help me find him."

She stood up and faced him fully for the first time.

"Kōto has changed, Ren. Konran has rewritten everything. The city is no longer safe. The Resistance has fallen."

"Then I'll rebuild it."

Her eyes flickered. "Start where he left off. Sector 12. Underground archives."

"Alone?" Ren asked.

"No one else remains."

Ren looked at the skyline.

For the first time in a year, he was back.

But this time, he wasn't just playing to escape.

He was here for Kenji.

And he wasn't leaving without him. Even if he was not there, physically, he believed he will at least find his in game character...