They promised us paradise.

Eternity on our terms. No aging, no disease, no conflict, just endless perfection. That was
supposed to be the first clue that something was wrong. But humans are inherently wired
to believe what we’re told to believe, and Negasi was a master at shaping narratives.
One night the world went to sleep willing to at least fight for The Earth that had nurtured us
for millennia; the next morning, we saw a mass transition to a digital reality.

I never trusted Negasi.

You always said it was because I had an inferiority complex toward this young man who had
so much money, power, and intelligence. He was everything I wanted to be, and so I hated
him. I think, at first, you may have been right. You hear that, my heart? You were right. I
hated him. I hated his guts. To dream of a Digitalized World. But most of all, I hated him for
the boldness to reach out for his dreams.
Even now, with all I’ve uncovered about the boy who would be god, I still envy him the
confidence to dream and work to bring that dream to reality.

I never trusted Negasi.

And you knew this. And you still chose to experience Dev. You said it was a bright new
experience, and I was being a coward. “Why couldn’t I drop my prejudice and come with
you?” you asked. You even promised we could come back if Paradise became too hollow.
Would the story have changed if I had come with you? Would eternity have been sweeter if
we were together?

Negasi sold us a poisoned fruit but masked it as the perfect meal.

I had my doubts, but I was willing to lay them down to be with you. I almost clicked that link
that day to finalize my journey through time and space to Dev. I didn’t, though. I didn’t, and
now I have to live with the fear. The worry. The regret.

Dark things have come to light about the Genius that is Negasi.

I never trusted Negasi. I could never trust a boy playing at god, but recently, recently, I have
learned to hate him. Yes, Ife, I hate Tariku Negasi. I hate him because he took you away. I
hate him because now I’m writing you letters knowing you’re part of the Black Sheet. Yes.
They deleted your consciousness. Your psych profile showed you wouldn’t fit in—you’d be
an anomaly in their world, a conscious malware or something they said. I hacked their files,
my heart. They said you were a virus. They were scared of you asking questions.

Your perfect genius killed you.

You allowed him to play god, and he killed you. He killed me. He killed us.

Don’t worry, my heart.

I’ll destroy Negasi for you. I’ll destroy his life’s work. I’ll take revenge for you. And then I’ll
join you in the Black Sheet. I won’t leave you alone, even in oblivion.

You never saw it, but I never needed Dev.

I didn’t need its promise of Paradise. I already found Heaven in you, my heart. I love you,
now and always.
Yours.

Written by King Sebastian