In his previous life, Kael had seen the news about Lila and the Whitmore Group several times.

  The first would appear a year from now. A headline that dominated every feed: MARRIAGE OF THE CENTURY: CALEB MORDANT WEDS LILA WHITMORE.

  The event was an absolute media frenzy. The merger of the Mordant Financial Group and the Whitmore industrial conglomerate, two titans of industry, was a seismic event. The city of Houston hosted a lavish, three-day gala that was the talk of the nation. Kael even remembered crashing one of the public events for a free meal.

  The second time was just three years after that. A quiet announcement in the financial press that the Whitmore Group had been fully acquired by Mordant Financial. The marriage, the alliance—it had all been a Trojan horse, a brilliant, ruthless play by the Mordant family to inject their capital into the Whitmore Group, only to seize total control from within.

  ***

  “…But you still haven’t told me how we can get out of this mess,” Lila said, pulling Kael back to the present. She didn’t press him on his strange foresight; the massive stone weighing on her heart was the company’s impending doom.

  “For ten billion, a bank loan should be the obvious solution…” Kael started.

  “The problem is, every single bank has rejected us,” Lila cut in. “Someone is clearly pulling strings behind the scenes to block us.”

  “What if you had an endorsement from the publishers of Godpath?” Kael asked.

  Lila looked at him, confused by the sudden change of topic. She thought it over for a moment before shaking her head. “The Whitmore family has no connection to them. That’s not a viable path.”

  Kael just smiled mysteriously. “Maybe you will one day.”

  He didn’t elaborate, and Lila, seeing his cryptic expression, didn’t push. Even without a concrete solution, she felt a weight lift from her shoulders. Just talking about it had helped.

  They shifted the conversation away from her family and onto the lighter topic of the game. When Kael mentioned the chest Nyxar had been looting, Lila’s eyes widened.

  “Wait, there was a third treasure chest? I thought there were only two.”

  “Yeah,” Kael admitted. “Even though I killed him right after, all I found was an empty chest on the ground. To be honest, it was so embarrassing I didn’t want to bring it up.”

  “Is it possible the chest was just empty to begin with?” Lila suggested.

  Kael paused. “Hmm, it’s not impossible to get an empty chest from a drop. But still, my pride couldn’t just let it go.”

  “So what happened? Did you get your revenge?”

  “Later, in Crescent…” Kael recounted the entire story of how he’d sabotaged Nyxar’s skill quest, from dropping pebbles on the dummy to deflecting the swinging blade.

  Lila couldn’t help but giggle. “You are terrible! That poor guy Nyxar must hate your guts.”

  “He probably doesn’t even know it was me,” Kael said with a shrug. “My ‘attacks’ never landed on him, so the system wouldn’t have flagged me in his combat log.”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “Well, either way, he definitely got the worse end of the deal,” Lila concluded. “Gear is great, but it eventually gets replaced. A high-level starting rank in a skill like that? That’s not something you can easily get back.”

  Kael nodded. The Nyxar of the future had become a server-wide public enemy for two reasons: his advanced Stealth and his master-tier Thievery.

  Early in the game, he stole from chests. Mid-game, he’d steal valuable items directly off bosses while parties were fighting them. Late-game, he started stealing from players themselves. He was an absolute menace.

  Kael himself had once lost an Ascendant item to Nyxar’s god-tier [Void Snatch] ability. Another player, even more unlucky, had an Ascendant weapon stolen and was so enraged that he’d hired the server’s number one player, Bloodshadow, to hunt Nyxar for a month straight.

  This time, Kael had crippled his Thievery skill right out of the gate. He was confident Nyxar wouldn't be causing any major trouble for at least the next year or two.

  They talked and ate, and with every passing minute, Lila’s mood visibly brightened.

  At nine o’clock, they left the restaurant. Soon after, Kael found himself pulling up to the entrance of the Oakwood Apartments in the passenger seat of Lila’s sleek sports car.

  He got out of the car and was about to head inside when she called out.

  “Dawnbreaker!”

  “Yeah?” He turned back, his gaze meeting her bright, clear eyes.

  Lila bit her lip gently. “Thank you,” she said softly.

  Kael gave her a casual, confident wave and walked into the complex. As she watched him go, Lila whispered to herself, “Thank you for giving me the courage and the direction to fight back.”

  Humming a tune, Kael climbed the six flights of stairs to his apartment. He unlocked his door, pushed it open, and froze.

  A massive object was blocking the entrance to his room.

  He quickly flipped on the hallway light and saw that it was the large, sad form of his neighbor, Chad, sitting slumped against his door.

  The moment Chad saw Kael, he scrambled to his feet with a Burst of Speed that would have made a gymnast proud. He grabbed Kael’s arm, his eyes wide with desperation.

  “My goddess! Kael, where did you take my goddess?”

  Kael couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculous sight. “Do you even know her?”

  Chad sputtered. “She… she’s… she’s my first love! She’s my goddess!”

  Kael pried the big man’s hands off his arm and placed them on Chad’s own chest. “Then you should pray to your goddess tonight. Maybe she’ll visit you in your dreams. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get into my room.”

  He managed to shove the pouting mountain of a man aside, slipped into his room, and threw the deadbolt. He let out a long sigh. He couldn’t stay in this dump a day longer. Remembering the more than a million dollars he had in his account, Kael decided to start house-hunting immediately, just to get away from his bizarre neighbor.

  Logging into the game, Kael appeared back in Crescent City. His thoughts returned to Lila’s plight. He opened his inventory and looked at the [Sunfire Bell]. He knew that in the original timeline, Lila was the one who had won this item. But now, with the Whitmore Group’s financial crisis, there was no way she could afford it.

  Should he just give it to her? Let her pay him back later? The thought crossed his mind, but he dismissed it. It wouldn't solve her real problem.

  He had a much bigger plan, a grand maneuver with the [Sunfire Bell] at its center.

  He opened his friends list and sent a message.

  Kael: Where are you?

  Elon: Stonehaven, trade district. As always.

  Kael: Don’t move. I’m on my way.

  Elon: Yes, Boss.

  Kael teleported back to Stonehaven. Amidst the sea of simple vendor stalls, Elon’s now stood out dramatically. He had clearly spent a good amount of money on a custom design, with rich colors and deluxe decorations that made the other stalls look like lemonade stands.

  When Elon saw Kael approach, he immediately closed his shop interface.

  “Boss! The items you consigned are almost all sold. Just one last epic-tier piece left.”

  Kael nodded.

  “Here’s the sales data,” Elon said, showing him the logs. “Total of 1,100 gold. Your cut is 880 gold.”

  This time, Kael held up a hand. “I’ll keep a running tab. You hold onto the money for now. In fact, I’m about to transfer you one million dollars for an advertising budget. I need you to help me auction something.”

  Elon’s eyes bulged. “What kind of item needs a million-dollar advertising budget?!”

  “The [Sunfire Bell].”

  “Holy crap,” Elon breathed, his jaw hanging open. “That thing is real?!”