Chapter 2

Kaitlynn moved her mouse, her index finger trembling slightly.

She hovered the cursor over the purple Abyssal Crystal in her inventory.

The massive magic power stats popped up in a tooltip box.

She slapped a hand over her mouth, her teeth biting into her palm to stop herself from screaming.

She opened her friends list.

Hex's name sat at the top, completely grayed out.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard for a long time, the plastic keys cold against her skin.

She finally pressed down, typing out a long, rambling paragraph of gratitude.

She hit enter.

Immediately, the guild chat icon flashed violently.

The vice-guild master sent her a private message.

"Did Hex just adopt you as his personal sugar baby? That material goes for at least a grand on the black market."

Blood rushed to Kaitlynn's cheeks, making her skin burn.

She slammed her fingers onto the keys, typing furiously.

"We are just master and student! It's pure!"

The vice-guild master replied with a laughing emoji.

"Nobody gives away a thousand dollars for pure reasons, Aetheria."

The words hit Kaitlynn's chest like a physical weight.

Her heart started to hammer against her ribs, the rhythm fast and erratic.

She closed the chat window and clicked on Hex's profile picture.

She wanted to find something, anything, that proved he was real.

The profile page loaded.

It was completely blank.

No linked social media, no bio, no location tags.

Kaitlynn let out a frustrated breath.

She pushed her feet against the floor, rolling her chair back.

She tilted her head back against the headrest and stared at the white ceiling.

An image formed in her mind.

She pictured Hex in a tailored suit, a Wall Street elite with sharp jawlines and cold eyes.

She shook her head, her hair rubbing against the leather chair.

No, his voice was too commanding.

Maybe he was a retired military guy, someone used to giving orders under fire.

Then, a darker thought crept in.

Maybe he was just a guy living in a basement, surrounded by empty pizza boxes, typing with greasy fingers.

She shuddered, a physical wave of goosebumps breaking out across her arms.

Regardless of what he looked like, that low chuckle echoed in her ears again.

Her stomach did a strange, tight flip.

She glanced at the digital clock on her desk.

The red numbers glared back at her: 3:00 AM.

She groaned, her throat dry.

She reached forward, closed the game client, and yanked the headset cord out of the USB port.

She pushed herself up from the chair.

Her joints popped as she stretched her arms over her head.

She walked over to the window and pulled the plastic blinds shut, blocking out the orange glow of the streetlamp.

She crawled into her bed, pulling the heavy comforter up to her chin.

She closed her eyes, but the image of the Treant falling kept flashing behind her eyelids.

She rolled onto her side.

She reached under her pillow, her fingers finding the cold metal of her phone.

She unlocked the screen and opened Twitter.

She tapped the trending tab.

Right at the top, the number one trend was "AethelgardWhisperingForest".

She clicked the hashtag.

Thousands of tweets were pouring in, linking to clips of Hex's final dodge and dagger throw.

A hot wave of pride swelled in her chest, making it hard to breathe.

She double-tapped a tweet calling Hex the only god of the server.

She pressed the power button, plunging the room into darkness.

She shoved the phone back under her pillow and forced her eyes shut.

Sleep pulled her under slowly.

In her dream, she was standing in the Whispering Forest.

A tall, broad-shouldered shadow stood in front of her, blocking the toxic sludge.

The shadow turned around and reached a hand out toward her.

His face was covered in a thick, gray fog.

Kaitlynn strained her eyes, stepping forward, desperate to see his features.

A loud, sharp banging noise shattered the fog.

Kaitlynn groaned, grabbing her pillow and smashing it over her ears.

The banging didn't stop.

"Kaitlynn! It's almost noon!"

Her mother's voice, muffled but angry, pierced through the bedroom door.

Kaitlynn's eyes snapped open.

She sat up violently, her heart racing from the sudden wake-up.

She dragged her hands through her tangled hair, the reality of the morning crashing down on her.