Empty. Devoid of light or sound. Nothing. That is what Daniel felt. He could see nothing around him just a never-ending nothing filled with a deafening emptiness that shook his ears like an earthquake ready to split his skull in half. He couldn't feel anything at the moment he wasn't standing nor sitting, and he couldn't feel the cord around his neck, so he wasn't hanging. He simply existed. He simply was. It was this existence that he’d strived for so dearly and he hated it. He was scared of it. The lack of anything crushed the depths of his heart as his chest tightened deeply leaving him completely and utterly alone. Isolated.

This was death.

Suddenly Daniel felt a swell within his lungs, it was crisp. It was fresh. It was alive. He could feel the dryness in his mouth as he opened his mouth and the dark veil that had engulfed him in isolation was lifted ever so slowly revealing a bleached light that was capable of blinding even the most brilliant of suns. Blurred with a series of whites, blues and grays Daniel could only make out one thing clearly. On the TV, before him, he watched as cartoon flashed before him on the screen the antics slowly becoming more distinct and clearer until Daniel watched as the intro for gravity falls played before him. Slowly moving his eyes down he saw his neighbor sleeping beside his bed. Ayas auburn hair was splayed across the light blue comforter while her small face laid limply to the side, but as Daniel looked at her more, he saw her puffy eyes and flushed cheeks. She'd been crying a lot; Daniel slowly lifted his arm finding the iv and heart monitor to feel quite unsettling as he carefully patted Ayas head. His body felt sluggish and his eyes felt sore and soon he saw his neighbors walk through the door their dour melancholy expressions instantly lit up with surprise and relief as they vehemently called for a doctor.

The rest of the experience blurred together with a series of long boring explanations, discussions, and a very long psychological test but that was mere the effect of the drugs as without them Daniel would be wracked with pain with every nod, head turn, and shrug. Slowly over the course of a week, Daniel's neck healed enough to the point where he didn't need the drugs anymore, but a large dark bruise remained around his neck almost as a grim reminder of his attempt on his life. Gently readjusting to the feeling of salve on his neck he finally turned to his neighbors and decided to ask the question that soundly hung in his mind “what happened?”. As he stared at the couple before him with Aya meekly standing between them the father began explaining “well we had just brought Aya back home from school seeing as it was a half-day until she ran to her room and saw… you. Hanging there” it was obvious that the large man was unsettled but the sheer paleness in his face was more than enough to tell that he had never been in such a frightful experience.

“When we called 911, they said they'd be at least 30 minutes out and that was just too much time, so I broke into your house sorry about the door by the way and rushed in to get you down. Luckily you had some scissors on your desk which helped cut you down but you weren't breathing so I tried CPR until the EMTs arrived and from there well…" Daniel stared at the man confused his face semi twisted with the soft distortions of bewilderment “what happened to me?”.

The man clearly struggled with words opening his mouth and closing it again many times like a fish gasping for air until his wife gently laid a hand on his shoulder and spoke for him “you were confirmed dead for at least 15 minutes.” and it was with that statement that Daniel felt a chill run down the length of his spine as he felt a small inkling of numbness crawl through his veins shooting throughout his limbs. Shaking Daniel simply sat in shock as tears ran down his face in droves, that dark empty void that he saw was death. There was no god. No heaven. No hell. Simply nothing and it terrified him. As the treatment continued Daniel began to wonder why his mom hadn't visited him, true she’s often busy but even on the weekends she couldn't be bothered to come by, confused and depressed by the lack of answers Daniel asked his doctor if his mother was all right. To which he learned his mother was arrested, apparently warren had been using the house as a means to hide the drugs that he’d often peddle around the streets at night and since she was in possession and an accomplice to warrens actions she was sent to live 4 to 9 years in prison. Startled by this fact Daniel knew that eventually, child protective services would arrive to take him away and as expected the did, talking about emotional damages and potential physical abuse but Daniel could only see them as opportunistic parasites.

 If they were able to clear his case and get him a "good home" they'd have an amazing case for their record they'd be the one to help the poor innocent boy out of the worst possible situation. Daniel was ready to protest when his neighbors interjected the workers' tirade of emotional and legal nonsense, and in a turn of events his neighbors, people he barely knew crouched on level with him with the wife looking deeply in his eyes as she spoke. "Look. I know you barely know us aside from the occasional block party but… would you like to stay with us? You don't have to but if you want you could stay with us for as long as you want". Daniel already knew which route he wanted to go, he didn't want to live a life of bouncing from home to home before being put out onto the streets and maybe it was his imagination but all he felt was disgust. Simply hearing the workers' voice was enough to slowly strangle what little patience he held in his body as a simmering rage smoothly flowed through his veins. Turning to his neighbors Daniel let a soft smile hang on his face as he said "yes" while he watched from the corner of his eye as the once-friendly smile of the cps worker quickly turned into a disgruntled scowl.

Daniel could feel a sense of satisfaction roll over him as he watched the cps worker hesitantly deliver the papers of transfer to Daniel's new family, it was nice. On the last day of his treatment Daniel and the rest of his new family which he came to know as the Henson’s had a meeting with a psychiatrist who recommended a series of safety measures to prevent a second attempt with a brochure of instruction and an in-depth interview to boot. The final day of his treatment was a relieving one, Daniel was finally able to go home, wear his own clothes and sleep in his own bed but every once in a while, he’d rub at his neck feeling the soreness if the bruise ever so slightly as he aimed for a brighter future. As the weekend came and passed Daniel was able to move most of his belongings into the Henson’s surprisingly large guest room but there was still one thing left in his room. Picking up the small pair of glasses Daniel thought back to all of the strain and exhaustion he endured because of his so-called friends. His desperation, his naivety it was his own fault for putting as much faith in them as he did but now, he knew better, and he wasn't going to let anyone push him down any further. He still had his mom who loved him and now he had the Henson’s he didn’t need to rely on anyone but himself from now on. Yet right as that thought crossed his mind, he heard a phone ring and after he picked it up his world shattered one final time.

He only had to rely on himself.

Right?

Reddit message boards r/thathappened: ROW- IRL GAMEPLAY XG

Crox99: hey long time lurker first-time poster but has anyone else been experiencing weird events like tremors, and random attacks well I think it might be linked to this new realm of wizardry game. Seriously it's like that old kid's fil at the end where all the monsters were invisible to the naked eye and reports have been flooding the news about people being attacked by invisible creatures. It just makes sense but tell me is this for real or am I just losing my goddamn mind

Grott7: wrong forum dude

Jaxxyb4by: actually when you put it like that, I have seen a few monsters around the city lately and when I kill some of them, they don't just disappear like they used to they just rot rapidly leaving a pile of ash and items left. I thought it was just a weird update until I felt my pet breathing

Urril: no this is for real the dragon raid in Hong Kong was crazy because the people in the building said massive divots due to weight were left on the roof

Bjwawa: what should we do this isn't an anime some of us don't even have the ROW gear

Fagua: well you better get it soon bitch cause this shit is gonna have NUTZ IN IT!!!