Morgana sat back, rolling her eyes.
"If you start pitying every undead pixel, you’ll never make it past the tutorial."
But Sid didn’t reply. He just stared at the motionless body of the zombie on the screen, the digital blood pooling under it. It looked too real. Maybe too close to what he had seen outside before the fall.
The next few days, Morgana tried again. She sat beside him every afternoon after school, walking him through the basics— aiming, looting, surviving. Sid was slow at first, always hesitating when a zombie ca close. But gradually, with her patience and her occasional bursts of annoyance, he began to change. The first ti he managed to shoot a zombie by himself, Morgana gave a small, proud smirk.
"There you go, finally acting like a survivor."
Sid chuckled weakly.
"Guess I’m learning from the best."
One afternoon, Big D dropped by with his usual loud energy, holding a bag of snacks.
"Yo! What’s up, survivors?"
He greeted as he stepped inside. He glanced at the screen and blinked in surprise.
"Wait— no way. You two are playing Dead World Online?"
Morgana looked back.
"Yeah, why?"
"That ga’s everywhere right now! People are streaming it, making content, competing for top ranks. It’s blowing up online!"
He leaned closer to Sid.
"Bro, this could be your thing again. You could stream this. You already got the audience— people would go crazy seeing you play again."
Sid raised an eyebrow, interest flickering in his eyes.
"Streaming, huh? So, like, playing live while people watch?"
"Exactly!" You just record yourself, talk while you play, and chat with viewers. You’d kill it, man."
Before Sid could say anything else, Morgana cut in sharply.
"We’re just playing casually. Sid doesn’t need to go back into that world yet."
Big D blinked, sensing her tone, then raised his hands in mock surrender.
"Alright, alright. Chill. Just saying."
Morgana leaned on the back of Sid’s chair, her eyes softening.
"He’s still recovering, Big D. The internet can wait."
Sid smiled faintly at her words, a mix of gratitude and guilt in his eyes. He looked at the screen again— the quiet, pixelated ruins of the ga’s world and for the first ti, it didn’t feel empty. It felt like a place to start over.
Big D watched them both for a mont, a small grin forming on his face.
"Well, whatever this is... it’s good to see you back, bro."
"Yeah. too."
Days passed in a blur. The world outside their apartnt drifted quietly by while Sid found himself pulled deeper into Dead World Online. Each click, each headshot, each wave cleared seed to pull a spark back into him—one that Morgana hadn’t seen since before the fall. He laughed again, cursed at the screen, even shouted in triumph when he beat a tough wave.
Big D spent his days just watching Sid enjoy the ga. He sat beside Sid for hours, grinning, even feeding him snacks so he wouldn’t have to take his hands off the keyboard. When a zombie suddenly jumped onto Sid’s avatar, Big D scread louder than he did.
Watching Sid play beca their quiet joy. It felt like seeing a version of him they thought had been lost— alive, focused, and happy again. He had changed. Every movent on the keyboard was sharp and precise, every decision calculated. Morgana couldn’t help but smile as she leaned on the edge of his chair.
"You know, you’re learning this way too fast. At this rate, you’ll surpass ."
Sid grinned without taking his eyes off the screen.
"Guess I’ve got a good teacher. But you? You play like a boss. How can I beat that?"
"Please. I only play casually. There are players out there grinding day and night for rank and ego."
"Rank?"
She nodded, pulling up a window on his screen.
"See this? That’s the leaderboard. Each player’s rank goes up when they complete missions or survive long waves. Higher rank ans more rewards, more bragging rights. So players take this way too seriously— there are even tournants now."
Big D leaned closer, his eyes widening.
"That’s what I’m talking about! I heard the last tournant had a massive cash prize, bro. People are literally making this their career now—streaming, competing, the whole deal!"
Sid leaned closer, eyes narrowing as he scrolled through the rankings. The top player’s na glowed in gold, a symbol of digital dominance.
"So, there’s always soone higher,"
"Pretty much," Morgana said. "People are obsessed with it. I don’t bother. It’s just a ga for ."
But Sid’s expression changed. Sothing inside him stirred— the sa fire that once pushed him to climb the tallest towers, to stand above the clouds. Now that drive had a new direction. He could no longer climb with his legs... but maybe he could still climb in another way.
When Morgana noticed the look in his eyes, she sighed softly.
"Don’t tell you’re thinking about ranking up already."
Big D grinned, slapping Sid’s shoulder lightly.
"Oh, he’s totally thinking about it! Look at that face— sa crazy spark from when he said he’d start posting his parkour runs! Don’t even try to hide it, bro. You’re already plotting your coback, aren’t you?"
Sid just smiled faintly.
"Maybe. It’s not rooftops anymore, but it’s still sothing to reach for, right?"
She laughed quietly and shook her head.
"Just don’t overdo it, okay? So of those players barely sleep. I’d rather not drag you back to the hospital."
Sid chuckled.
"No promises."
Big D threw his fist into the air with a wide grin.
"That’s what I’m talking about! The king is back, baby! From skyscrapers to screens— doesn’t matter where you put him, Sid always climbs to the top!"
Morgana rolled her eyes but smiled softly at their energy.
"Yeah, yeah, King of the Screens. Just don’t break another leg trying to climb the leaderboard."
She stood, stretching her arms above her head with a long yawn.
"Speaking of sleep, I actually need to get so. I’ve got to present tomorrow— Master’s defense day. Don’t stay up too late, Sid. And you, Big D— go ho already. It’s late, and your parents might start calling us again if you don’t."
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