He Drowned Me, I Burned His World.
Salas
tronger, faster, smarter. You win or you lose. My plan for the championship was my lifeline, the one solid thing I could cling to. As Val
re flashed across my vision. You hav
ll of digital ozone. Across from me stood a player in shimmering pink armor.
er voice sickeningly sweet. "Anthony has been telling me so
perfect match to Dahlia' s pink. They stood side-by-side, a grotesque parody of a fantasy power couple.
s Ant
'A.' His party history showed he' d been exclusively teamed up with 'Dalia' for the past three months
their secret life. He had completed the 'Lover' s Leap' quest with her, a notoriously difficult couples-only quest that rewarded
ural sensors from my head and scre
liness. "The final reward is a 'Phoenix Tear.' Anthony said it can permanently boos
nix Tear was a legendary item, a one-time drop. It could shave mont
bit out.
l whipped across my back, and a jolt of real, searing pain shot up my spine. The haptic suit was calibrated to provide realistic feedback, a setting
odged a petrifying gaze, my sword a silver blur, and prepared for t
ight surrounded me. A 'Divine Stasis' spell. Only
oulder. The pain was excruciating. I could feel the phantom tearing of muscle, the crunch o
ling," he said,
the gorgon' s heart. The beast dissolved into a shower of
pixels. In the real world, my face was
voice hoarse, both in t
orm, her expression a perfect blend of pity and triumph. "Oh, silly. Don' t you se
me the tear," I rasped, my vi
ing sorry at all. "It' s already s
y virtual lips. A warning siren blared in my ear from the VR pod' s diagnost
rom the game, the last thing I h
ou won last year? The one you said you designed for your Va
a stake through my a
my love. Anyt
racing a path through the sweat on my t