idraax | Chapter 1: A circle cut (Reply)

Sun Xiang wakes up in the past. Things go differently

Sun Xiang did not expect the all too familiar walls of Excellent Era to appear when he opened his eyes. The last thing he had seen was a spear heading straight for him, then a sharp pain had bloomed in his chest. He must have died, though he certainly didn't expect death to look like the conference room of Excellent Era.

"Hand over One Autumn Leaf."

He was snapped back to the present with Tao Xuan's words. Ye Xiu looked as unflappable as always, but Sun Xiang still remembered the way his hands had shaken. Unlike in the past, this time, he stayed silent.

Ye Xiu made his way over to Sun Xiang slowly, One Autumn Leaf's card clutched tightly in his fingers. Sun Xiang took a deep silent breath and reached for the card as Ye Xiu stopped before him. His hands were shaking and it was even worse the second time around.

Sun Xiang tugged gently on the card. He wanted to leave. The eyes on them made something sink in his chest and his stomach twisted upon seeing the carefully blank expression on Ye Xiu's face.

Ye Xiu opened his mouth and Sun Xiang braced himself for the question.

"Do you love Glory?"

He swallowed hard, felt the invisible weight crush his chest. After the tenth season, it had quickly become apparent that Glory wasn't just a game. Monsters had started appearing in real life, then the avatars.

The sound of pouring rain. A grey-black sky streaked with lightning. The copper tang of blood and a scream.

"Master!"

Ye Xiu cleared his throat and Sun Xiang blinked back to the present. His face heated up as he realized he had been staring at Ye Xiu for quite some time.

He tugged on the card again. He needed to leave, needed to step outside and make sure he was actually in normal Hangzhou and not the version in which the environment of Glory had bled into the city.

"I'll take care of him Senior Ye," he said, trying his best to convey his sincerity through his gaze. "I promise."

"His hands were shaking," Sun Xiang murmured to One Autumn Leaf's account card. They were in his room, the same one they'd given him last time. That hadn't changed either.

There was no answer from the card. They'd never had the bond that other avatars did with their players. It had been awkward at first finding out that their avatars had their own personalities, but there had been other things to worry about, so they had quickly gotten used to it.

He turned the account card over in his hands, thought about Tao Xuan's words.

"He can't afford the penalty fee."

Come to think of it, the few times he had seen Ye Xiu, the other player had always been wearing the same clothes. Sun Xiang absently continued turning the card over in his hands. Maybe he should ask Su Mucheng for his WeChat.

He sighed and got up from the chair. There was no way she would give him Ye Xiu's information, not now.

He turned to face the window. The curtains were drawn, but he had long ago memorized the view outside. His window overlooked the street across from Excellent Era. By now Ye Xiu would probably be at the internet cafe.

Sun Xiang imagined it. Ye Xiu playing on someone else's account, breaking records and casually sending everyone else into spasms. His hands tightened on the card.

Bright blood spreading out on the street. A dragon's roar. A large horned wolf falling with a slash .

Forcefully, he shook his head as if it would dislodge the memory from his mind. This time he would be ready.

Across the street, Ye Xiu sat in the internet cafe putting the last touches on Lord Grim's character. The night hadn't gone how he expected. Being forcefully retired was well within his expectations, but his replacement’s reaction to the news was not.

"His hands were shaking," he mumbled to himself as he waited for Lord Grim to load into the server.

He had asked him if he loved Glory and Sun Xiang had gotten the most peculiar look on his face. There was the usual admiration he had seen on other people's faces, but it was mixed in with pain and something that looked like longing. He had only looked away when Ye Xiu had cleared his throat and had gently tugged on the card.

His hands had been shaking then, but he had looked at Ye Xiu with steady eyes as he had promised to take care of his old account. Him , Sun Xiang had said as if acknowledging a person. Interesting.