Chapter Three: The Future Is Never Free

Both sides stripped the river of vision. Ten sets of paths wove a blinding cocoon before Lin. Tang waited behind the pit wall, his brightest route showing that he would let Obsidian begin, then vault in for the steal. Lin reported him. Obsidian pretended to start Titan while Zhou circled from the side. Then every bright line beneath Tang went dark. Lin's pupils tightened. False signal. Tang had never intended to steal. He had made Obsidian surround him according to standard logic. The real strike came from Crimson's midlaner. A formerly faint gold line swept up from the lower river behind Su Wanxing and suddenly blazed. "Behind you!"