23rd of May, 2023
Well, I'm a coward and Jaden isn't.
I knew that, but I never thought that Jaden was courageous. The man who went down to try and save his friends from the Pathfinders wouldn't have done that. Leaving me must have taken a different kind of determination.
I woke yesterday morning and he was gone. I don't want to go into my reaction when it finally hit home, but it was pretty embarrassing. I hadn't cried like that since the time I saw the NPCs' being attacked. Anyways, that was yesterday. That night, I got a message from him. Not a PM, he'd removed himself from my friends list, but he'd left a timed message in my inventory. I can remember it so clearly, it just stands out so much against the usual blabber of killing, attacking, and climbing.
"Hey, Angela, it's me." Unnecessary and fluff-filled to the end. Who else would it be? And since when did he use my name? He never used it, there wasn't anyone else to confuse me with.
"I guess you're wondering why I did this. I'd been thinking about it for a while, whether it might break you beyond repair, but you're stronger than that. I'm not talking about the strength you show to the public, but the strength inside that you still haven't really drawn upon yet." He sighed and I could picture him running his hand through his head as he said this.
"Damn, this is coming out all wrong. Look, the reason I'm leaving you is actually the reason I was with you all this time. You're scared and you're cruel because of it. I could see you aren't as scared as when we first started, but you're still as rigid, like a spire that'll fall down at any moment. And I could see that you'd fall soon." Here, he sighed again.
"I admit that I wanted to be with you at first because I needed a tank, but I saw how broken you were under that glass skin." He laughed. "OK, this is sounding really wrong. Suffice to say I was with you because I wanted you to see the beauty in things, not just the potential for ugliness. Just like I saw the beauty in you."
He laughed again. "If you were anyone else, I wouldn't dare say anything like that, but I'm pretty sure you won't get it now. Don't travel alone, you'll just go back to being that hating player you've always feared you were. But you're not a monster, I know what you think but you're not. You're just seeing the faults that may arise inside you, just like you do with everyone else. But I've seen the beauty in you for a while, and that's what you need to do as well. Come find me when you've figured out why I've stayed with you. I'll be on the front lines, but I won't risk my life. I won't die until I see you again, and that's a promise."
Here he paused, as if in indecision, then continued. "My real name's Daniel. I'm telling you this because I don't want you to think I betrayed you. I still trust you, and I know you could make it to the top, but if you do what will you have left? So when you've figured out what I'm feeling and why I'm doing all this, find me and call me that. Bye for now."
That was it. His parting message. He's right on a lot of things. For one thing, I don't know what he meant about him seeing the beauty inside me. I've never been one to care about that. He's right about a lot of other things, but that's not important. What's important is deciding what I have to do next. First of all, I'm never going to call Daniel Jaden again. Jaden was some naive kid who just tagged along and tore me up inside; Daniel's the person who's come closer to understanding me than anyone I've met.
Second, where should I go from here? Normally I'd keep on heading up, disregarding everyone and everything, but that's not what Daniel would want. It's hard to believe I've changed so much, but it just so happens that what Daniel wants is what's best for me, and that's what I want too. That's what he's always wanted. So I'll keep going up, and hope I run into him. I don't want to find him without knowing what he meant, so I'll take my time. But I will solve his riddle and meet up and together we'll conquer this tower and kick the ass of everyone who stands in our way.
A/N: so, that's that. About the names, I'm not sure if too many people will mind if they are western. Hopefully not. Thanks again to Desdendelle for proofreading. Enjoy!