Part 28
I stop checking Discord.
Not completely.
Just… less.
At first, it feels normal. Healthy, even.
Go outside. Touch grass. Live life.
No constant pings. No endless scrolling.
Silence.
Real silence.
Days go by.
Then a week.
Then more.
And for a moment…
I almost forget.
Almost.
Until one night—
I wake up.
No reason.
No sound.
Just… awake.
I sit up slowly.
The room is dark. Quiet.
But something feels off.
Like I missed something.
Like something is waiting.
I check my phone.
No notifications.
No messages.
Nothing.
I hesitate.
Then… I open Discord.
The app loads instantly.
Too fast.
The server appears.
Active. Alive.
Like always.
But… different.
No one is typing.
No messages moving.
No chaos.
Just a frozen chat.
I scroll.
Everything is there.
But nothing is happening.
Like time stopped.
My chest tightens.
"…hello?"
I type it.
Send.
The message goes through.
But no one responds.
No one reacts.
Nothing.
Then—
Three dots appear.
Someone is typing.
Finally.
Relief hits for half a second.
Until I see the name.
"Listener"
My breath stops.
That role…
I haven't seen it in months.
The dots blink slowly.
Typing…
Stopping…
Typing again…
Like it's… thinking.
Then the message appears.
"you left"
I freeze.
My hands feel cold.
I type back:
"yeah… just busy"
Dots again.
Longer this time.
Then—
"we kept going"
I swallow.
Of course it did.
It doesn't need me.
It never did.
I glance at the server.
Still frozen.
Still waiting.
"For what?" I type.
The response comes instantly this time.
"For you to notice again"
Silence fills the room.
Not peaceful.
Not normal.
Heavy.
I stare at the screen.
Because now I understand something worse than before.
You don't leave the server.
You just… stop looking.
And the moment you look again—
It's still there.
Waiting.
Watching.
Continuing.
Without you.
Without stopping.
Ever.
I type slowly:
"…why me?"
The dots don't appear this time.
The answer comes instantly.
"you listened"
I lean back.
Heart pounding.
Because that's it.
That's the only requirement.
Not power.
Not skill.
Not being a mod.
Just… noticing.
Just… listening.
The chat suddenly moves.
Messages start flooding in again.
Like nothing ever stopped.
"lol"
"💀"
"anyone here?"
"can I be mod?"
Normal.
Completely normal.
I look back at the message from "Listener."
Gone.
No trace.
Like it was never there.
I check the roles.
No "Listener."
Just members. Mods. Admins.
That's it.
I sit there in the dark.
Phone glowing in my hands.
And I realize something.
I didn't escape.
I didn't move on.
I just… paused.
And now?
I'm back.
Not as a mod.
Not as the server.
But as something else.
Something quieter.
Something deeper.
I lock my phone.
Lay back down.
Close my eyes.
And for a moment…
Everything is silent again.
Until—
Ping.
I don't check it.
I don't need to.
Because now I know.
No matter how far I go…
No matter how long I leave…
The server will always be there.
Waiting.
Listening.
Just like me.