Clifton POV
At 8 PM, Clifton sat in his private streaming room. He adjusted the webcam, tilting it up so the frame only showed his chest and face. The fresh black brace wrapped around his right wrist had to stay invisible.
Delmus rolled in a cart of sponsor-branded energy drinks. Clifton grabbed a Monster, popped the tab with his left hand, and took a slow sip. The sugar and caffeine would inflame his joints. He didn't care.
"The lights in the basement are still on," Delmus said. "That Justice kid is in the alcove again. He's going to kill himself playing like that."
Clifton's fingers crushed the aluminum can.
Delmus left.
Clifton stared at the "Start Streaming" button. He clicked it.
The viewer count exploded. Thousands per second. The chat became a blur of screaming fans and toxic haters.
Did Ash really get solo-killed by a nobody trainee?
Is the god washed?
Clifton read the comments. His eyes were ice. Normally, he'd have his moderators start banning. Tonight, he didn't.
He leaned into his microphone. "Since you all care so much about the new kid, let's do something special."
He opened the Aegis internal Discord. Found the ID he was looking for.
Ember.
Justice was sitting alone in a locked, password-protected voice channel. Solo practice.
A cruel smile curved Clifton's lips. He used his server administrator rights. Clicked and dragged his own icon—Ash—directly into Justice's locked room.
A sharp ding echoed in his headset.
The frantic clacking of Justice's keyboard instantly stopped. Like someone had pulled the plug on his life support.
Clifton didn't say a word. He just listened to the heavy, ragged, panicked breathing coming through Justice's microphone.
Fifty thousand viewers heard the dead silence.
Clifton spoke slowly. "Let me introduce you all. This is the genius tryout who 'solo killed' me this afternoon. Ember."
The chat exploded.
Ten seconds of agonizing silence. Then a sound came through the headset.
"Captain." Justice's voice was faint. Trembling.
"Get in the lobby," Clifton ordered. "Let's see if Ember can do it again in front of fifty thousand people."
