Perspective: Lucifer
Date: January 19, 2018
Time: 11:35 AM
Location: Sylvaris — Central District, Outside Clinic (Frozen Temporal Domain)
My crimson eyes narrowed.
A talentless nobody? Pet food? Nepotism?
I took 1 measured step forward, letting my sovereign presence flood the frozen street until the air turned to black frost. Ordinary mortals would have suffocated in 2 seconds as their lungs crystallized. But the pink-haired girl didn't flinch. Her starlit blue irises merely tracked my movements with detached amusement.
Fine. If royal pressure wouldn't bow her, ancient demon law would.
"Chains of Gehenna."
I channeled Nether mana into the cobblestones, weaving 12 thorny, barbed chains forged from condensed abyssal curses. They shot from the stone like striking vipers, coiling violently around her throat, wrists, waist, and ribs. Above her head, the void fractured open to summon the Eye of Sheol—an ancient demonic aperture engineered to latch onto soul pathways and drink vitality directly into the void.
She didn't scream. She didn't struggle.
The barbed iron struck her skin and dissolved into smoke, slipping through her frame as if my curse were painted on air.
[Hades: Warning. The spell did not fail to connect. It ceased to exist upon contacting her skin.]
The girl tilted her head, her lips curling into a mocking sneer.
"Is that everything?" she said, her voice smooth and chilling. "All those terrifying threats, all those promises you tell the mirror just to fail at leaving a scratch? Don't stop now. Prove you're a man."
My jaw tightened. I drew Nocturne with 1 clean, fluid motion, the black sovereign blade humming with spatial compression.
"Sword of Abaddon."
I slashed once. Space tore open in a blinding, geometric lattice of 1,000 intersecting crimson and white incision lines. The attack cross-hatched the entire square, leaving zero escape vectors. Stone curbs pulverized, air pockets detonated, and ambient light shredded into violent red static.
The dust settled.
She was standing on the exact same patch of cracked cobblestone, smoothing down her ruffled lace collar with a bored yawn.
"Go and get a better spell from your daddy, why don't ya," Elfie murmured, looking straight through me. "You truly believe power given to you at birth makes you worthy of respect?"
[Hades: Coordinate failure. An infinite conceptual distance separates your blade from her physical form. The magic cannot bridge the gap.]
Dimensional Space? No... she's actively manipulating the distance between concepts.
If I unleashed my true authority here, the shockwave would flatten Sylvaris and kill Celia inside the clinic. I refused to let my future queen become collateral to an arrogant spirit.
I discarded my mortal flesh. My physical form dissolved into pure shadow—a towering, jet-black silhouette crowned with twin weeping crimson optics, an executioner's crimson seam burning across my severed neck.
"The Nether Crown: Pandemonium."
I forcibly inverted the coordinates of reality, ripping both of us out of the mortal realm and dragging her into my personal sovereign pocket dimension.
The frozen city vanished.
We materialized atop a wasteland of jagged volcanic obsidian beneath a suffocating blood eclipse. In my realm, foreign spells cost quadruple the mana, and foreign authority bends to my will. From the abyssal crags, the primordial behemoth of the 9th Gate stirred, its mountain-sized carapace rising from the magma with hundreds of weeping red eyes.
The titan locked onto her and discharged a concentrated beam of absolute planetary death—a pillar of raw nether energy capable of boring straight through a continent's crust.
Elfie didn't even shift her stance. She lifted 1 slender index finger and tapped the air.
Crack.
The sound was like a hammer striking crystal.
The entire hellscape—the jagged obsidian spires, the black sun, and the planet-killing beam—shattered like brittle blue glass.
The fragments dissolved into deep space.
Suddenly, I was back in my tailored coat, standing beside her in the silent void at the edge of the galaxy. We were moving faster than light, yet neither of us stirred a single millimeter. All around us, colossal, translucent celestial hands were weaving glowing cosmic threads across nebulae like an endless cat's cradle.
[Hades: Analysis complete. Target is utilizing pure celestial mana to flawlessly recreate Elvian, Demonic, and Sylaris magic. All 15 fundamental elements are operating simultaneously to rewrite reality's position.]
With a flick of her wrist, the cosmic threads contracted, dragging us directly into the blazing core of the Cygnus Supernova.
"What are you?" I demanded, my hand gripping Nocturne's hilt.
"If you spent half as much time practicing as you do running your mouth, you might actually be a threat. Don't waste my time," Elfie replied, leaning against a solar flare.
"You're burning through her life force," I countered coldly. "Keep this up, and you'll destroy this girl's body forever. You'll have nowhere to return."
"I know," she smiled faintly. "That's why I'm showing you mercy. If I didn't care about keeping this body intact for Kai, you wouldn't be standing here talking. I would have erased your soul the instant you raised your hand."
"Mercy from a parasite wearing a human's skin?" I sneered. "You brought us into a dying star."
Hades, can I survive this?
[Hades: Even deploying Pandemonium Infinity and all 5 defensive authorities, you will survive the supernova core—but the spatial displacement is 4,200 light-years from Celestine. At maximum light-speed transit, returning will take 3,200 years. Recommendation: Disengage. You have far more to lose.]
Elfie traced a ring of stellar fire with her thumb.
"You were born with 5 lives, Demon Lord. You'll burn 1 right here just to endure the blast, leaving you with 4. I only have this 1 life—yet I have far more lives left to live than you. In this game, neither of us walks away clean unless we walk away now."
"And Kaiser?" I scoffed, holding my ground. "You're playing guardian angel to a talentless mortal who can't even circulate mana?"
"I'm his mommy," she said simply. "Anyone who lays a finger on my boy gets erased. It's that simple."
I stared at her. What is wrong with this girl?!
[Hades: Caution. Psychological profiling indicates extreme obsessive attachment. She is a yandere.]
Nah, I'm better. At least my pursuit of Celia is civilized.
If we detonate here, the collateral shockwave across 10,000 kilometers will obliterate Sylvaris—killing both Celia and Kaiser.
"Call it whatever helps you cope with being outclassed," Elfie said, her blue eyes piercing my core. "Here is the deal: 1 rule. You don't touch Kaiser. If you ever attempt to harm him again, I won't just take 1 life—I will drive the entire demon race into extinction."
"And you stay out of my pursuit of Celia," I replied with chilled, regal composure. "Next time you try to corner me, you won't have the freedom to pull this trick. Watch your words."
"Deal. Go chase your little bitch. She'll never choose you anyway."
The celestial strings snapped shut.
The supernova vanished.
The deep blue cosmos collapsed back into cold cobblestones outside the clinic. Time resumed with a sudden rush of wind.
The girl before me stumbled. The glowing blue starlight in her eyes dissolved, replaced by soft, watery pastel pink.
She shrank back, trembling like a leaf, clutching her dress with tears brimming on her lashes.
I looked down at her, sheathing Nocturne with a dry click.
"I won't hurt you," I said quietly, turning on my heel and walking into the street.
A cosmic anomaly wearing the face of a crybaby. Celestine is far more dangerous than I estimated.
[Hades: Earlier diagnostic complete. The Demonic Eye has finished indexing karmic records and casualty archives of all nearby entities.]
I tapped my royal signet ring as I walked down the street. The Demonic Eye was an innate bloodline authority passed down through high demon royalty, allowing us to read the exact kill count and history of lives extinguished by any soul within range.
Report, I commanded mentally.
[Hades: Target 1 — Eve. Total confirmed kills: 0. Zero monsters, zero humans, zero lives extinguished across all recorded planes.]
I exhaled softly.
Makes sense. She's a fragile healer who bursts into tears if someone raises their voice.
[Hades: Target 2 — Lucas Reindhardt. Total confirmed kills: 727. Primarily mid-tier dungeon fiends and low humans.]
Decent enough for an adventurer his age, I evaluated.
My thoughts naturally turned inward. Growing up in the Nether Realm, I had been thrown into border skirmishes before my horns had fully hardened.
I had slaughtered elven battalions, human crusaders, rebel demon warlords, and colossal subterranean behemoths.
My personal kill count stood at a staggering 111,000 lives. In the demon realm, that number commanded absolute obedience among regional lords.
[Hades: Contextual comparison — Demon Lord Malphas. Total confirmed kills: 152 million.]
A faint smirk crossed my lips.
My father has ruled for hundreds of centuries across planar wars and slaughtered entire continental civilizations. That's a given.
[Hades: Target 3 — Celia. Total confirmed kills: 1,551.]
A spark of genuine pride warmed my chest.
Over 1,500 kills at her age. Ruthless, capable, and lethal. She truly is fit to sit beside me on the Nether Throne.
[Hades: Target 4 remaining.]
I frowned, adjusting my collar against the draft. Who? The doctor inside?
[Hades: Kaiser Everhart.]
I scoffed. Why are you scanning that magicless parasite? He's a broken human who hides behind women. His count is probably 0, just like the crybaby.
[Hades: Correction. Kaiser Everhart — total confirmed kills: 36.7 million.]
My boots froze on the cobblestones.
The breath locked in my throat.
What did you just say?
[Hades: 36.7 million confirmed lives extinguished. Further breakdown indicates less than 5% monster casualties. The remaining 95% comprises intelligent mortal races: High Elves, Demonic Legions, Beastkin Tribes, Dragonic Sovereigns, and Imperial Humans.]
My heart hammered against my ribs like a war drum.
Impossible. He's barely a teenager—younger than me! How can a human without mana have butchered 36.7 million souls?! That's a quarter of my father's count!
[Hades: He was unfazed by your sovereign aura not because he was pretending to be brave, Lucifer. He did not flinch because he has drowned in total war firsthand. To a soul who has extinguished 36.7 million lives, your aura is merely a warm breeze.]
A slow, chilling silence settled over my mind.
Then, standing in the cold shadows of the alley, a low laugh escaped my throat.
"Oh, Celia..." I murmured, my crimson eyes burning with dark amusement.
"Now I understand why you cling to him. A monster pretending to be a fool."
*
Perspective: Eve
Time: 11:45 AM
Location: Sylvaris — Market District
H-he was so scary...!
My knees were still trembling as I walked down the crowded cobblestone street, hugging both hands tightly against my chest.
I let out a tiny, shaky breath, wiping a stray tear from my cheek. I'm just so glad he was kind enough to let me go... I don't ever want to meet someone like that again.
The delicious aroma of warm cinnamon pastries and roasted honey nuts drifted through the market, slowly easing the tight, anxious knot in my stomach. As I turned a lively corner, a colorful wooden stall caught my eye.
Racks of soft, fluffy plushies and handmade cloth dolls sat neatly displayed on velvet blankets.
Ah... they're so cute.
I stepped closer, peeking shyly over the wooden counter.
"U-um... hello, sir. My name is Eve..."
The elderly craftsman behind the counter dropped his carving chisel. He pushed up his brass spectacles, his eyes widening in total disbelief.
"Eve? The apprentice healer? The girl who cured that adventurer from necrotic ash poisoning this morning?"
"A-ah... yes, that was me, but—"
"Bless the heavens!" The man rushed forward, wiping his hands on his apron with a broad, beaming grin. "My name is Isaac! That adventurer you saved pulled my son out of a burning carriage a few years ago! I owe that man my family's life, which means I owe you everything, little lady!"
Isaac waved his arms enthusiastically toward his entire collection.
"Take any doll in this stall for free! Anything you want, it's yours!"
"N-no, I couldn't possibly—"
"I insist!" Isaac laughed warmly. "Please, look around!"
My cheeks warmed. "T-thank you so much, Mr. Isaac..."
I turned to browse the shelves. There were cute woodland foxes with fluffy tails, round chubby bears, and sleeping kittens.
Then my gaze stopped.
Sitting on the top shelf was a cloth doll of a young boy wearing a dark longcoat.
My heart thumped.
He looks... kind of like Kai.
Isaac noticed my stare and smiled knowingly. "Like that doll? I'm an alteration tailor—I can use thread magic to customize it if you have someone special in mind."
My face burned bright crimson. "C-can you really do that...?"
"Of course! Tell me how he looks."
I fidgeted with my sleeves, my voice dropping to a shy, tender whisper.
"Um... his hair is raven black... parted slightly in the middle, falling over his forehead. And his eyes are... very sharp, like the deep winter ocean, but quiet and calm."
"Sharp blue eyes. Got it," Isaac chuckled, his fingers glowing with golden thread magic as he reshaped the cloth. "What else?"
"He... he has a very faint half-smile," I murmured, clutching my collar as my ears turned red. "He only smiles like that when he's relaxed. And he wears a tailored dark overcoat with a crisp white shirt underneath."
"Done!" Isaac tied off the glowing seam with a neat snip and handed the plushie over the counter.
I took the small doll into my trembling hands.
It had neat black hair, tiny embroidered blue eyes, a little dark coat, and that unmistakable, calm half-smile.
Kaiser...
A warm, bubbling flutter filled my chest. My lips parted into a radiant, helpless smile, tears of pure happiness pricking my eyes.
I pulled the plushie tight against my chest with both arms, burying my burning face straight into its soft fluffy hair, squishing it with everything I had.
Perspective: Lucas
Date: January 23, 2018
Time: 5:45 AM
Location: Sylvaris — Lucas's Rented Room
I love sleep.
"Get up, trash," Celia's voice barked from above. "The guild board refreshes at 6:00 AM. If Marcus gives the high-bounty quests to some randoms because your lazy ass was drooling on a pillow, I'm tossing you into the lake."
I peeled my face off the mattress, clutching my bruised side.
Terrorism at dawn.
"I wasn't drooling," I groaned, fumbling for my coat. "I was deep in parallel cognitive meditation, calculating ways to sleep 8 hours in 4..."
"You were snoring like a pig," she replied, already strapping her scythe across her back. "Move."
Our goal was insane: 9 guild quests cleared before dinner. 9 contracts in 14 hours. Most B-rank parties took 3 days just to complete 2. But we had a Leviathan to hunt, Avalon Island to raid, and a gap to close.
By 7:30 AM, we were ankle-deep in mud on the Western Marshes for Quest 1.
A pack of 8 swamp carapaces rushed the embankment, snapping armored mandibles. I didn't even take my hands out of my coat pockets.
Lightstep II.
I pivoted 2 inches, casually tilting my neck as a glob of green venom hissed past my ear. With a lazy flick of my wrist, 4 radiant light daggers whistled through the air, carving the beasts into clean, smoking chunks before their claws touched the grass.
[System: 4 Swamp Carapaces eliminated. EXP gained.]
"Too slow," Celia called out.
Further up the ridge, a massive mud goliath swung a club the size of a carriage. Celia didn't flinch. She vaulted into the morning sky, her twin scythe blades spinning in a blur of crimson and black curse thorns. With 1 brutal downward cleave, she split the 15-foot goliath clean in half from skull to groin.
She landed gracefully, flicking black sludge off her blade.
"Ascend," she muttered under her breath.
I wiped a speck of mud off my sleeve. "You know, Sis, a normal girl would say 'good morning' before chopping a mini-boss in half."
"Normal girls don't have to carry a deadweight brother," she shot back.
By 11:00 AM, we reached the misty crags of the Dead Pines for Quest 3.
The mist rolled back, and the ground shook violently.
Emerging from the fog was a lanky, pitch-black nightmare—a 30-foot shadow horror with multi-jointed arms, rows of glowing white side-eyes, and a skeletal tail writhing like a dead snake.
My eyes bugged out. "Oh, shit! What the hell is this thing?! Sis, where are you?!"
"I'm here, dork."
A sonic boom cracked overhead.
Celia dropped from the pine canopy like a meteor, her right heel slamming squarely into the monster's jaw. The sheer force knocked the 40-ton abomination sideways, snapping 3 pine trees like matchsticks.
Before it could screech, I raised both palms, spinning 6 floating ray mirrors into formation.
"Ray Mirrors: Focused Retribution!"
Beams of concentrated celestial light ricocheted between the glass prisms, bombarding the beast's exposed ribcage in a blinding strobe of explosions. Crimson curse thorns burst from the earth beneath it, nailing its limbs to the bedrock.
Shred—!
The abomination collapsed into dissolving ash.
[System: Quest 3 complete. Level Up! Level Up! Current Level: 39.]
I threw my head back, grinning. "Double level-up! Who's carrying who now, huh?"
Celia strolled past, nudging my shoulder with her scythe shaft. "Talk when your arms are thicker than toothpicks."
By 3:00 PM, we hit the deep woods for Quest 6.
I leaned against an oak tree, yawning loudly. "Sister, be quicker! The sun is going down, and I'm starving!"
"Yeah, yeah. Working on it."
14 horned forest fiends dropped from the canopy simultaneously, surrounding Celia in a pincer ambush.
She didn't even draw her scythe.
Unbeknownst to them, she had already threaded microscopic curse thorns through the bark of every tree within 20 yards. With 1 sharp clench of her fist, the thorns erupted, wrapping tight around all 14 throats at once.
She pulled.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
14 necks snapped in unison. The bodies hit the dirt with a dull thud.
"Ascend," she murmured coldly.
I smirked, leaning forward. "Good work. Good girl out there."
Whoosh—!
A spiked black thorn chain whipped straight at my face. I caught it barehanded, stopping the barb 1 inch from my nose.
"Hey!" I yelled.
"Die. Don't you dare call me that," Celia deadpans.
"Now that isn't so charming, is it?" I chuckled, letting the chain dissolve. "You're lucky I have fast reflexes, or Kaiser would have to find a new 3rd wheel."
Celia rolled her eyes so hard I heard it. "Shut up and walk."
By 6:30 PM, we reached the deep shafts of the Sylvaris Iron Mines for Quest 9.
The miners had evacuated days ago. Lurking in the central quarry pit was the culprit—an Olivier-class mine serpent, over 60 feet long, coiled like an armored centipede with jagged dorsal spines, glowing crimson mandibles, and dozens of burning red eyes.
The serpent hissed, a sound that rattled our teeth, and lunged.
Celia immediately cast a triple cage of curse brambles, pinning its lower coils to the stone.
While she held it, I tapped my glowing interface.
Level 39... 2 attribute points available. Let's see what Clanker cooked up.
[System: Milestone reached! New Skill unlocked: [Divine Protection: Foresight].]
[Divine Protection: Foresight (Lv. 1) — Grants perception of an opponent's physical movements up to 7 seconds into the future.]
7 seconds? Oh, that is absolutely disgusting.
The serpent shattered Celia's thorn cage and snapped its jaws straight at my chest.
In my vision, faint golden ghost trails appeared 7 seconds before the monster moved. I stepped half a pace to the left, effortlessly letting the massive fangs bite empty air.
I pivoted inside its guard, cocked my right fist, and punched the giant beast right in its armored snout with reinforced kinetic mana.
CRACK!
The serpent reeled, shrieking. I grabbed its left nasal horn, leaped onto its brow, and summoned a halo of 8 light daggers, driving them like glowing pitons into its armored scales.
Celia watched from below, leaning on her scythe. "You only know like 2 moves. Punch and poke."
I flashed her a cocky grin. "Oh, you think so?"
The enraged serpent reared back to crush me against the cavern ceiling.
I leaped into the open air, cupping my hands together. A tiny, warm light—no bigger than a candle flame—ignited between my palms.
I drew my hands apart, then slammed them forward. Celestial mana fused with concentrated solar fire, forming a spinning, condensed halo of white-hot radiance.
Fwip—!
There was no explosion. No roar.
A hair-thin line of pure white heat sliced clean through the serpent's neck at hypersonic speed. The monster didn't even realize it had been struck. It froze mid-lunge.
1 beat passed.
BOOOOOM!
A thunderous sonic shockwave blew through the quarry, severing the 60-foot beast cleanly in half. The massive carcass slammed into the stone with a deafening crash.
I landed lightly on my boots, dusting off my coat.
"I just like holding back," I declared smoothly. "I learned it from someone that it gives me far more aura."
Celia looked at the bisected monster, then up at me, giving an approving nod.
"Yep. That was kind of aura-full."
*
Time: 8:00 PM
Location: Whispering Woods — Campfire Clearing
The crackle of dry pine logs broke the forest quiet.
We had set up camp in a small clearing 2 miles outside Sylvaris, resting our legs before trekking back to turn in the 9 completed bounties.
I slumped against a mossy boulder, groaning as I stretched out my boots.
"Man... I have such a sore back," I grumbled, rubbing my neck. "Carrying this entire party on my shoulders is hard."
Celia tossed a dry pinecone straight at my forehead.
I caught it, but the lazy grin on my face didn't fade.
The fire burned warm between us, casting long shadows across the trees as the night settled in.
The fire popped, sending a lazy shower of orange sparks drifting toward the pine canopy.
Above the trees, the night sky over Celestine was clear and endless, dusted with thousands of cold white stars and faint streaks of violet nebulae.
I leaned back against the mossy boulder, twirling a dry pinecone between my fingers. Across the flames, Celia was poking at the glowing embers with a long stick. Her massive scythe leaned against the log beside her, the dark steel reflecting flickering orange light.
We've been fighting side by side for months. But how much do we actually know about each other?
"Hey, Sis."
She didn't look up, just flicked an ash ember into the dark. "What?"
"Don't you think we should actually know each other?"
Her stick paused mid-air. She glanced up through her bangs, her violet eyes skeptical.
"We do know each other," she said flatly. "You're a loudmouth who combs his hair in puddles, and and I stop monsters from eating your face."
I snorted. "Surface-level banter. That's not knowing someone."
"It's enough to clear 9 bounties in 14 hours."
"For a guild contract, sure," I said, tossing the pinecone from hand to hand. "But as a party? As people who are supposed to have each other's backs when the real shit hits? We don't know a thing about each other. You and I specifically."
Celia let out a quiet scoff, but she didn't throw another pinecone.
"Either of us can talk to Kaiser," I continued, keeping my tone relaxed. "He's a master tactician. He can read an entire room in 3 seconds and pull truth out of a stone without even raising his voice. But you and I? We're guarded around each other. We hide behind humor and excuses."
She went silent. The stick hovered above the coals.
"You have a dark past you don't want to talk about because you think it'll make me look down on you," I said, looking straight into the fire.
"And I'm not the type to open up unless someone drags it out of me with pliers. Right now, we're just 2 incompatible siblings faking our way through."
Celia stared at the embers for a long time. The night breeze stirred her dark hair, carrying the sharp scent of damp earth and woodsmoke.
Finally, she let out a slow breath.
"You talk too much," she murmured. But her voice had lost its sharp bite. "So what? You want to play question-and-answer like children?"
"I'll start," I said.
I tossed the pinecone into the heart of the coals, watching the dry needles catch fire.
"I grew up in Asura," I said quietly. "Born into the Reindhardt house. Ancient noble bloodline, massive estate, endless expectations. From the day I could walk, every morning was etiquette, sword tutors, mana control, and political posture. Everyone expects you to be a prodigy before you're even 10 years old."
I rubbed the back of my neck with a dry chuckle.
"I got overwhelmed. So I shut down. I grew anti-social, arrogant, and detached. I convinced myself that everyone else was just inferior so I wouldn't have to carry the burden of caring. Never made real friends. Maybe 1 or 2 people I could tolerate before I packed my bags and sailed to Celestine to hunt primordial beasts. Acting like an untouchable genius was just easier than admitting I was lonely."
Celia listened without interrupting. The firelight carved soft shadows across her cheeks.
She turned the stick in her hands, her knuckles pale against the wood.
"Growing up..." her voice dropped, softer than I had ever heard it. "They forced me into being the good girl."
I glanced at her.
Her jaw tightened, a bitter edge creeping into her tone.
"Every single day. 'Sit straight, Celia. Smile softly, Celia. Don't raise your voice, Celia.' I had to be this flawless little angel who never made a mistake, never got angry, and never had an opinion of her own. A doll on display for other people's comfort. I wasn't a person. I was something they could brag about."
She looked up, her red eyes blazing with raw resentment.
"I despise that title. When someone calls me 'good girl'—even as a stupid joke like you did in the woods—it makes my blood boil. It reminds me of the lies. The fake smile. The helpless little angel who wasn't allowed to be herself."
A cold chill ran down my spine as realization clicked.
Ah... so that's why she aimed that chain straight at my skull.
"My bad," I admitted, raising both hands in surrender. "You're lucky I caught that chain 1 inch from my nose, or Kaiser would be burying me tomorrow."
Celia rolled her eyes, but a faint, reluctant smirk broke through her frown. "You're lucky I didn't aim for your throat."
"Duly noted. That word is permanently banned from my vocabulary."
The heavy tension that usually sat between us melted away, replaced by an easy, comfortable silence.
I leaned back against the rock, staring up at the constellation trails. A familiar, nostalgic itch tugged at the back of my mind.
"You know... before all this magic and monster-slaying madness, in my ordinary life, I spent half my time glued to glowing screens playing video games."
Celia tilted her head, her brow furrowing. "Video games?"
"Yeah. Virtual combat simulations. My absolute favorite was this game called Roblox Rivals. I was top 1."
She looked at me like I had grown an extra head. "Roblox... Rivals? What are you even saying?"
"Peak ranked que, Sis," I grinned, gesturing with my hands. "You toss a flare to burn them, chainsaw tech up into the sky, and AR everyone down in 3 seconds flat. Pure aimlock mastery. Though, honestly? You'd be complete trash at FPS games."
Celia's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Excuse me?"
"1st-Person Shooters," I explained, leaning forward. "Yo, listen. When we reach Elysium in the future—the continent of technology—they have to have arcade machines. Actual gaming tech."
"And what do you do in an 'FPS'?" she asked, crossing her arms defensively.
"You hold a firearm, aim through crosshairs, and shoot the other player before they shoot you. Pure reaction speed."
Celia let out a haughty scoff, tossing her stick into the fire. "Oh, you're on, then. You're trash, Lucas. I'd wipe the floor with you."
I gasped in mock outrage, clutching my chest. "Trash?! Do you know who I am?! I was 1-high in TSB!"
Celia blinked, completely lost. "...1-high in what?"
"TSB. The Strongest Battlegrounds," I said, waving my hand dismissively. "Never mind. High-tier gamer terminology. You wouldn't get it."
Celia sneered, determined not to back down from the trash talk.
"Yeah, whatever. 1-high? When we play, I'll be 2-high."
I stared at her for 1 silent beat.
Then I lost it.
I burst into an uncontrollable, howling laugh, clutching my ribs and slapping the boulder with my palm.
"2-high?! Pfft—hahaha! Yeah, trust me, '2-high' is definitely higher than 1-high! Holy shit, that is funny!"
Celia's pale face flushed a furious, vibrant crimson. She grabbed a handful of dry pine needles and hurled them straight into my laughing face.
"Shut up! Don't laugh at me, idiot! I didn't know!"
I sputtered, brushing pine needles out of my hair while still wheezing with laughter. "No, no, keep that exact same energy when we reach Elysium! I want you to walk up to the machine and announce you're a '2-high' garou main!"
"Kill yourself," she hissed, but her lips were twitching, fighting back an embarrassed smile.
The laughter died down slowly, leaving the clearing warm and quiet under the stars.
The walls were gone. No fake arrogance. No guarded silences. Just 2 stubborn, chaotic siblings who finally understood why the other fought so hard.
I extended my right arm across the fire, resting my fist in the air between us.
"Deal, then. We clear Avalon Island. We hunt down the Leviathan. And once we have time lets us take a breath, we take a boat to Elysium, find an arcade, and I'll teach you what 1-low actually means."
Celia looked down at my knuckles, then up at my face.
The sharp, guarded tension in her shoulders softened into something genuine and warm. She raised her right hand and bumped her fist firmly against mine.
"Bet. But if you lose to this '2-high' trash you keep talking about, you're paying for all my meals for a month."
"Bet, Sis."
We packed up our gear as the fire burned down to glowing embers, kicking dirt over the coals before stepping out of the woods side by side toward the lanterns of Sylvaris.