In a world where we cannot see each other's faces.

Back when Twitter and Instagram did not yet exist in this world.
I was in a community for a certain MMORPG, an online game where multiple players could participate.

In the game world, there are roles called jobs. Knight, Warrior, Hunter, Black Mage, Red Mage, Bard, White Mage, and so on. When forming a party, one must consider a good balance of tank, damage dealer, support, and healer.

In every game, there are groups like guilds where multiple people participate. We would move our characters while chatting, cooperating to complete quests and missions.

At the time, I played a support role called a Red Mage.
Even though it was a support role, it was an all-rounder that could fight and heal. However, in a party, it functioned to fill in whatever was lacking.

The leader of our group was a Knight.
With strong leadership, he was friendly and would sometimes do playful things; he was always the center of everyone. Because the Knight and Red Mage had good synergy, we were almost always acting together. (I should preface this by saying there were no romantic feelings involved.)

Before we knew it, the leader had become close with the White Mage, and we were all watching over them warmly and blessing them. However, the leader's best friend, who always lent them wisdom and strength, took action here.

Just before an important mission to defeat the final boss—this is something I heard later—he apparently bombarded the White Mage with abusive language (words I cannot write here) via private chat. She became unable to speak or even control her character, and the mission was aborted. Immediately after that, the leader's best friend disappeared from this world.

It seems he had been saying terrible things in private chats from time to time for a while. The cause was jealousy because he loved the leader. It was speculated that he was likely still in his teens. However, the emotions he unleashed due to his youth dealt a heavy blow to the leader and the White Mage. Unable to trust people anymore, they spent some time acting separately from the group.

The leader's best friend, who always led the group, was sometimes strict, and was always helping us. To think that he had been hurling abuse behind the scenes at a girl who seemed gentle and timid. Her wounds never healed, and she later left this world.

I could not choose to leave the side of the remaining leader. Again, there were no romantic feelings here, but because we shared a secret, because I respected him as a person, and above all, because he was still holding his hand over the blood overflowing from his gouged-out scars, there was no way I could just leave him alone.

He recovered little by little, over time. However, this wound also remained within me. No matter how small it becomes, it will never disappear. Likely, for the rest of each of our lives.

After I left due to childbirth, the group disbanded, and I heard that the leader had an arranged marriage through an acquaintance. Betrayed by his trusted best friend and left by the woman he loved, what must he have been thinking in a world where he was all alone?

No, we were there, his companions were there. You, who always cared for those around you and went along with my emoticons, never running out of playfulness—I believe that no matter how much you were hurt, and even if it never fully heals, you are moving forward and grasping new happiness.

Even if we couldn't see each other's faces, and even if it wasn't reality, we were living desperately in that world at that time. The emotions that arose were always real and genuine. One must never underestimate it just because it was only text.

Rather, precisely because it was only text, I read the emotions lying between the lines. I think I'm quite good at it, but I try not to say much about things that the person themselves likely doesn't want to convey.

Even if our paths diverged, I am glad we met at that time.
I want to continue having such encounters, both online and offline.