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An avatar in a black screen lured me in, and now we play for a soul. It’s like no game I’ve ever seen or been a part of. The more I experience, the more I learn, the smarter he gets. Before we met, I was just a boy living in a world that I was comfortable in. He introduced me to a hidden world. One where we could create as we go. Of course, I had no idea of this at first. Offerings of parties filled with booze and Mary Jane boosted my ego, disguised as confidence. Blinded by the women that it attracted, I was none the wiser of the false reality I was a part of. This avatar looked just like me to begin with, which made it harder to see what was to come. To me, it was just I, having the time of my life. A cloud of vanity dirtied the windows to my soul with each passing glance into my reflection. Those around me could see that I was in a transition away from the humble and pure home where I once resided. The grip on reality was slowly slipping from grasp.

As time went on, this North Carolina native flew higher and higher. Soaring in a way that would have made the Wright brothers proud. The avatar’s whispers grew into shouts, until the sun stared me in the eye, blinding me and burning my wings to a crisp. You see, the avatar designed the game with trauma. The smarter you are, the more good looking you are, the more courageous you believe you are, that’s when the trauma hits the hardest. A fall from that sort of height is deadly. The thing is, death is easy, and welcomed when life takes a tragic turn. However, the game is just starting for the avatar. Instead of death, he places you in purgatory. The face in the mirror begins to look unrecognizable. He starts to move in, and the fight for control over the most precious jewel in existence begins. The war for the soul.

He’s a shapeshifter, appearing in many forms. Depression, anxiety, anger, and all other forms derived out of fear. As the ball rolls further away from love, the heart becomes weaker, and the will to take on life begins to fade. This is his strategy, attack the heart by any means necessary, until it’s no more. Once he takes control of the heart, he gains control over the mind. I began seeing things that wasn’t there, and hearing things that never was. Stuck in a reality of his design, forced to play the game by his rules, I was in a house of mirrors, unable to escape myself. He wanted me to know of his existence now, so that he could taunt and ridicule. Next thing you know, I was at a stand still, stuck in the game on pause, waiting to press play.

To be continued...