Second Witness

"Huh?! Say that again, Mom!"

"I said... play the scalers. You heard me right."

If silent was shocked moments later, he is now much worse, his eye pupils split open to the maximum extent his muscles could maintain. This was so much for him to handle and also too much to believe! His mother used to prevent him from going to those damned internet cafes so he couldn't play too much.

Silent used to play for at least 5 hours every single day, that was just the minimum amount of hours he spent playing as he was addicted to so many games back then. He even spent 12 hours on some days playing limited-time events, knowing for sure that he would get scolded for it and yet at this moment... his mother told him to play that extremely overrated game.

"Although I hated you playing for all of those hours, wasting time on worthless games that won't benefit you. Turns out, I was wrong... you are in desperate need to play and return to gaming, especially in that state of gloom and emptiness that devoured you lately... After that incident."

How ironic... The incident that caused Silent to quit gaming, leaving everything behind even his title in his friend group as the "Silent Assassin", it's cure and salvation was gaming itself!

"Mom, I won't return to that path... Again!" Yet, it's much worse than that, because the reason behind this incident was also... Gaming!

This path was 2 sides of the same coin, being the reason for everything that happened and also the solution for his depressed state... Just how ironic! Indeed, It was fate!

He knew very well that his mother was right. Indeed, the solution for him and the best too is to return to his lost path, but he couldn't forget that this exact path was the reason for everything that happened.

"You have to change, otherwise, you would only get worse and worse with every passing day."

Silent's face fell in utter darkness, his eyes blacked out, and his dark haloes shone despite the lights that fell directly on them.

"Ok, Mom, I will consider thinking about this." Saying in an even and low, depressed voice, Silent stood on his feet and entered his room, and pushed himself laying on the bed without changing his clothes.

"What is happening in this never-ending day! First, the 2v1 argument of my friends against me about the game, the trailer that caused numerous people to gather in one place, the emotional break-out of mine, and finally my mother telling me to game again... What the hell is happening?!"

Indeed, it was a day full of many surprises for our young man and he knew very well that this could mean that something unusual would happen... Something will change today!

"Sighs! Gaming... That brings so many memories."

Almost most of his life, he was driven by the addiction to gaming, he made so many friends throughout his journey on this path, learned so much that no courses or educational systems could provide, healed him when he was at his lowest... Yes, when he was at his lowest.

"At my lowest, huh! Haha, what a coincidence! I'm even below my lowest now."

His mother's advice ranged in his mind, realizing that gaming was really the solution to all of this suffering he had been dealing with for the past few months that would turn into a year by the next month.

Suddenly, a strange feeling hit him hard...

"Huh? Why do I feel that I forgot something?!" At that exact same time, his mother entered his room and sat next to him.

"I forgot to tell you something." Silent, who was laying on the bed, fully emerged in his deep thinking or... Overthinking about whether he should really return to that path or not, rose and sat beside her in confusion.

"What is it, Mom?"

His mother stayed silent for a moment and then revealed what he was afraid of.

"When I was in front of a game store today, which played the teaser trailer for the scalers, I... I noticed someone frozen in his place... In fear! Unlike the rest, they were very excited about the trailer. My gut told me that there was something off and that specific boy noticed it. So, if you are going to play it... Be safe."

And with that, she stood and left the department for her work, leaving Silent without daring to move a single muscle in his body... Frozen, shocked and dumbfounded.

"That guy... No way!" He knew what made him afraid and that only made a shiver to run down Silent's spine... The revelation that he, himself was afraid of.

"Someone... Someone else... Saw that deleted part!" Up until now, Silent was sure that he was the only one in the entire world who saw that deleted part of the trailer. Now, everything changed.

"Ah! Right, I forgot about the deleted part!" Turns out that what Silent had forgotten was none other than the ominous part of the teaser trailer. It was a remarkable event for him, how did he forget? Well, doesn't matter. All that matters is that he recalled it thanks to his mother but, with a consequence.

"I think... Nothing comes without consequences in this accursed world."

He lay again on the bed, thinking about the possibility of any other witness, but that was out of his reach. He got interrupted by his mother's speech immediately which was stuck in his mind.

'Play the Scalers.' Listening to the echo of those three brief words again and again, persuaded him a little and even convinced him and with the fact that he wasn't the only one who witnessed the deleted part along with his flame of interest finally started to light up once more, all of this turned into a question:

"Should I really get back to gaming? Should I?!"

As he asked himself, he got driven by all the memories that were carved in his head, the remarkable victories, the 1v5 clutches he made, the laughter along with his friends, all of this was too good for him to remember only... If that incident hadn't occurred.

That incident shattered everything, including his gaming path and ranking career, which made him depressed, gloomy, and always devoured by utter darkness, resulting in his activities becoming much worse and dull.

"If I want to advance in my life, I must change. I can't stay like that my entire life."

Silent: "Changing? Nah, I wouldn't say that."

"Hehe, no, I won't change. I will destroy this pathetic self of mine and rebuild another one. Depression? Let it be, I don't care anymore. I shall shift from Reality into Fantasy!"