Chalter 1: A mysterious comment

Jesse sat in his dimly lit apartment, staring at the computer screen with a mixture of exhaustion and excitement. After months of toiling away at his keyboard, he had finally finished his novel, "The Forgotten Echoes." It was a story of love, loss, and self-discovery, and Jesse poured his heart and soul into every word.

The website where he had uploaded his work was a relatively unknown platform for aspiring writers. Jesse had stumbled upon it while desperately searching for any opportunity to share his stories with the world. He wasn't very tech-savvy, and the site's layout was quite alien to him, but he managed to navigate it well enough to publish his book.

Hours turned into days as he refreshed the page countless times, hoping to see the view counter tick upward. But each time, the counter remained stubbornly stuck at "1 view." Disappointment gnawed at him, and doubt began to creep into his mind. What if his writing was terrible? What if nobody cared about his stories?

Then, a notification appeared on the screen, breaking the monotonous silence of the room. Someone had left a comment on his book. Jesse's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly clicked on the notification, eager to see what the reader had to say.

The username of the commenter was a jumble of symbols: "∆¶¶∆." Jesse furrowed his brow, trying to make sense of it. Who could this person be? And why were they the only one to have viewed his novel?

With trepidation, he read the comment aloud, "D̴̹̍õ̵̠ ̵̼͌ÿ̸́͜o̶̽͜u̸̳̓ ̴̫̾w̶̮͑î̸̤s̷̩̑h̶̭͐ ̷͕͆t̸̢̎o̴̯͌ ̸̚͜c̷͙͆h̵̭͝à̵̳n̴͙̈́g̴̘͂e̷̠͠ ̶̗͒y̵̼͝o̸̡͆ų̴̔r̵̨͗ ̶̱̏l̶̺̋į̷́f̶͚̍e̵͙͂."

The words sent a chill down his spine. It was as if the commenter had seen into his soul, exposing the struggles he had kept hidden from the world. Debt, depression, and loneliness were constant companions in Jesse's life, and lately, he had found solace in a bottle, drowning his sorrows in cheap liquor.

The combination of weariness and a few too many drinks led Jesse to respond impulsively. "No, my life isn't all that great," he typed with a shaky hand. "It's a mess, and I don't know how to fix it."

As soon as the words left his fingertips and appeared on the screen, Jesse felt a sense of vulnerability. Opening up to a faceless user with a strange username was uncharacteristic of him, but there was something about the cryptic comment that struck a chord.

Minutes passed, feeling like an eternity, before another message appeared. "∆¶¶∆" had replied, "T̶̡̓h̸͈̓e̴̔ͅṇ̶̉ ̶̳͐l̶̮͛ẻ̸̬t̴̪̽ ̶̲̚m̸̳͑ÿ̴̯́ ̶̖͋w̷̫̃o̷͐͜r̴̛̫d̷̜͝s̸͕̋ ̸̪̚b̸̝̕e̸͆ͅ ̷̾͜t̵̟̊h̵̝͐e̸̝͊ ̶̜̍c̴̠̿a̶͓͠t̴̪̽a̵̜̍ḻ̶̉y̴̩͛š̵̙t̶̟̂ ̵̫̐f̶̱̽ȍ̶̱r̶̫͝ ̷͈͠c̶̬͒h̸͈͛a̵̜̅n̵̜̒ǧ̶͓ë̶̠́.̴͕͂ ̴̼͂E̸̱͂ṁ̸͈b̶̦̄r̷̡͠à̴̻c̴͎̚e̷̳͌ ̶̹͆t̶̺͝ḧ̶͈e̵̺͌ ̸̻̀ē̷̟c̷͔̆h̶̭̔o̴̘̍e̷̞̋s̴͎͌ ̶̲́o̶̮͝f̴̥͋ ̶͇̑y̵̛̯ò̸̖u̸̲̓r̵̞̓ ̴̺͝f̵̞͘ỏ̵̧r̵̫̈́g̴̣̊ô̸̩t̴̰̑t̸̨́e̶͈̿n̴̤̎ ̴̺͑d̷̹̎r̶̰̍ë̵̱́ȁ̸̦m̵̰̒s̷̲͂,̸͖͆ ̶̦̕a̵͙͒n̴͖̐d̶̲͐ ̴̗̈́ỹ̶̟o̷͉͛u̵̹̔ ̸̻̽s̶͖̄h̵̯̾a̵̛͍l̶̝͠ļ̸̚ ̴͍͋f̴̫̊ị̶̛n̴̳̆ď̵̤ ̴̲̾ẗ̷̞h̶̗̓e̵̱͑ ̸̺̚p̴̭̂ä̶̖́ţ̵̾ḣ̸̜ ̵̞̎y̸̻͗ǫ̵̉u̵͉̕ ̵̫̽s̷̫͋è̴̘ẻ̴̻k̸̯̆.̷̠̇"

Jesse couldn't quite decipher the meaning behind the words, but they held a glimmer of hope, a hint of promise amidst the darkness that surrounded him. Perhaps this mysterious commenter could offer him guidance, a beacon of light in his seemingly endless night.

He took another swig of his drink, pondering the enigmatic message. The alcohol fogged his mind, but it also eased his inhibitions, allowing him to consider taking a chance on whatever "∆¶¶∆" was suggesting.

With renewed determination, Jesse replied, "Alright, I'm listening. Show me the way."

As soon as he sent the message, he wondered if he had made a mistake, if he was simply indulging some internet stranger's whims. But in his heart, he knew that he needed something to change, something to pull him out of the abyss he had fallen into.

Little did Jesse know that this encounter with "∆¶¶∆" would set in motion a series of events that would challenge his perception of reality and lead him on a journey of self-discovery like no other.

And so, on a night when desperation and fate collided in the digital realm, Jesse unknowingly stepped into a story of his own making—a story that would test his courage, resilience, and creativity.

Little did he know that the echoes of his forgotten dreams were about to resound with a force that would shake the very foundation of his life.