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