Chapter 3

The cold blue light of the monitor washed over Aries' pale face.

He sat in his dark bedroom, his eyes fixed on the screen.

He was playing a ranked match, throwing his character into the enemy lines with zero regard for defense.

It was a reckless, self-destructive style of play.

His phone started vibrating on the desk next to his keyboard.

The screen lit up.

The caller ID read Caleb Marshall, the captain of the NSN team.

Aries' hand twitched on the mouse.

His character took a massive hit in the game, his health bar dropping to red.

Aries ripped his headset off and threw it onto the desk.

He grabbed the phone, hit accept, and tapped the speaker button.

"What do you want, Caleb?" Aries asked, his voice flat.

Caleb hesitated.

Through the speaker, Aries could hear the heavy sounds of equipment being moved in the background.

"Elias showed up at the NSN base this morning," Caleb said.

Aries' heart stopped beating for a full second.

He forced a cold smirk onto his face, even though no one could see it.

"And?" Aries asked.

"He signed the paperwork," Caleb said quietly. "He is officially part of NSN."

Aries stopped breathing.

His eyes went completely hollow.

Deep down, buried under layers of hatred and pride, a tiny, pathetic part of him had hoped Elias would come back to IAC.

He had hoped Elias would fix what he broke.

That delusion was now dead.

"It is just business, Aries," Caleb said, trying to sound comforting. "Do not let it get in your head."

Aries ground his teeth together.

"I do not care about that traitor," Aries forced the words through his tight jaw.

Caleb sighed.

"I am just warning you. Next week is the preseason opener. IAC is playing NSN."

The words felt like a physical needle driving straight into Aries' brain.

Aries hit the red button on his screen, cutting the call off instantly.

The room fell back into dead silence.

The only sound was the low hum of his computer fans.

Aries looked at the defeat screen on his monitor.

A strange, twisted sense of relief washed over him.

The hope was gone.

Now, he could just hate him.

Aries reached out and grabbed the half-full glass of water sitting next to his keyboard.

His fingers gripped the glass so tight his joints ached.

Without warning, he whipped his arm back and hurled the glass across the room.

It smashed against the far wall.

Glass shattered into a hundred pieces, water splashing down the paint and soaking into the carpet.

Aries stared at the mess.

A dark, aggressive smile pulled at the corners of his mouth.

He picked up his headset and put it back on.

He reached over to his streaming deck and pushed the microphone slider all the way up.

He clicked into his stream chat.

"We play NSN next week," Aries typed into the public box. "I am going to show them what cruelty looks like."

The chat exploded.

Viewers started taking screenshots, the text moving at light speed.

Aries clicked the button to queue up for another match.

His eyes burned with a sick, toxic need for revenge.

The matchmaking chime rang through his headset.

Aries clicked accept.

The champion select screen loaded.

He did not hesitate.

He instantly locked in the most aggressive assassin character in the game.

He was going to kill him.