Sender

After logging out of Rise Online, Klaus woke up in his usual dusty little room. 

As has become a habit by now, he removed the NeuroGear from his head and placed it next to his pillow. It was exactly 11:53 pm on December 23. Another day, he had spent the whole day playing and this time he didn't even have time to take some breaks for basic things like eating or going to the bathroom. Still, he felt extremely good, he felt more alive now than in all the last years of his life.

Naturally, Klaus got up and to make sure that what had just happened was real, he sat down in front of his old computer. 

The CPU fans were making more noise as they ran with each passing day, and the LED lights had been burned out for some time.