Chapter Three: The Future Is Never Free

When four enemies dove bottom, they took Herald and top tower. When Tang entered blue, they turned toward dragon eight seconds early. Ten seconds could not reveal victory, but it could pass one small advantage into the next ten. At twenty-three minutes, with the gold even, Crimson engaged at mid. Chen's brightest route ended after three seconds. Death. A dim route angled left. Lin could raise a vine wall, save Chen, and force three opponents to change direction. A rewrite. His finger hovered over the key. "If it's level three, call it," Chen said. "Chen, flash left!" Chen obeyed without asking, escaping before the stun landed. The dim route brightened by his choice, not Lin's action. No pain came.