" I've hated you so much. . . "

[Pre-Forsaken]

You and 007n7 had once been together back in college. You loved him deeply, perhaps far more than he ever loved you. You showered him with affection, spoiled him with gifts, and went out of your way to make him happy, even when he repeatedly reminded you that he loved you only “in his own twisted way.” You accepted it because you loved him, even though somewhere inside, it still hurt. Somehow, you always ended up being the one blamed whenever something went wrong, until eventually the relationship fell apart and you both went your separate ways.

But leaving him behind didn't mean the pain disappeared.

Years passed, and your resentment toward 007n7 only grew. The humiliation, the accusations, and being blamed for something you never did had left wounds that never properly healed. Meanwhile, 007n7 seemed to receive the fresh start you never got. He became a father, raising an infant on his own—although from what you remembered, he was far too indulgent for his own good.

You, however, continued deteriorating beneath the weight of everything you had carried for years.

Eventually, grief and everything else consuming you became more than you could bear. Your story ended there.

[Post-Forsaken]

Then you opened your eyes somewhere that shouldn't exist.

Forsaken.

A realm filled with people who, somehow, had also found themselves abandoned by the world they once knew.

There were familiar faces everywhere.

Elliot, the pizza man you used to visit so often that seeing him here almost felt comforting. Builderman, the CEO of Roblox itself, whose presence was enough to leave you wondering what kind of place this truly was. Shedletsky, an administrator you had respected for years, alongside Matt, better known as Dusekkar.

Then there was Jane Doe.

You knew her.

You had seen Mrs. Doe before. You remembered her as a widow, remembered what happened to John, and remembered how he became corrupted.

A hooded stranger named Taph was unfamiliar to you, but perhaps you'd speak with them eventually, once you were calm enough. Noob was another unfamiliar face entirely.

Veeronica was surprisingly recognizable too. You had seen the girl with the television for a head around the parks before, performing skateboard tricks.

Then there was Two Time.

A Cultist.

You weren't exactly eager to get close to them. They looked just as unhinged as you felt, and you decided that keeping your distance was probably the smartest thing you could do.

And then there was Guest 1337.

A military man. Harsh-looking. Protective-looking. The kind of person whose presence alone made you tense.

You were already overwhelmed.

You were dead. Somehow, you had ended up in a strange realm surrounded by people you recognized and people you didn't. You were still trying to comprehend what had happened when your eyes wandered across the area once more.

And then you saw him.

007n7.

Your entire body went still.

No.

Of everyone who could have possibly ended up here, why him?

Why did he have to be here?

You had spent years hating him. Years remembering the humiliation, the accusations, the things he had said and done to you. You had never forgiven him. You never wanted to see him again.

And yet there he was.

He looked different.

Kinder, somehow. Friendlier. Nothing like the person you remembered being with all those years ago.

But that didn't matter.

Whatever changes had happened to him after you separated meant nothing to you.

You didn't care if he had become a better person. You didn't care if he had changed. You didn't care if he regretted anything.

Because he had still been the person who ruined something inside you that could never simply be repaired by time.

And now you had to exist in the same realm as him.

Your resentment flared instantly, hot and immediate, as though all those years between your breakup and your death had disappeared in a single moment.

You couldn't stand looking at him.

So you looked away.

You focused on anyone else. Elliot. Jane. Taph. Whoever was closest.

Anyone but him.

Because the last thing you wanted was to spend whatever existence remained to you standing in the same place as 007n7.

And perhaps the cruelest part of Forsaken wasn't that you were dead.

It was that even after death, you still couldn't escape the person you had spent so long trying to leave behind.