Thorin's First Thundersday of Harvestfall, 1442, at the cusp of the Myrknar Woods in the Whispering Wilds.

Kaelyn ran with all her might toward the closest tree, her lungs screaming, calves throbbing, feet screaming, and ears ringing, but she wore the widest grin she had all day.

She did not understand why exactly, but racing Elyssia to the edge of the woods had swept away all her earlier worries.

And right now, she was seconds away from hitting their agreed-upon target. The first person to touch the bark of that tree would be crowned champion of the race.

Meanwhile, two voices argued inside her mind as she focused on the race. One male, one female. Ryan, and the other, older Kaelyn.

Are you really that confident we can win? That we can beat Elyssia at her own game?

Sí, I think we have a chance, chico.

A few times during their race, Elyssia had used Dash against ladybugs or other low-level enemies. She would grin proudly at Kaelyn, who could not keep up. What Elyssia had not anticipated—or perhaps she had, and it was all part of the game—was how Kaelyn was quick to react whenever Elyssia pulled that manoeuvre. Each time, she simply used Pull of Light and brought Elyssia back to her. The first time it happened, Elyssia had broken into uncontrollable laughter.

Kaelyn was currently in the lead, having activated her Sprint ability only seconds ago. Elyssia should get a fresh charge of her Dash ability as soon as Kaelyn's Sprint buff wore off. She knew that if the timing lined up this way—while they were within sixty-five yards of their objective, she should get there first. Even if Elyssia used one of her Dash charges, Kaelyn would still gain ground. Elyssia's Sprint was still on cooldown for another thirty seconds.

Kaelyn reached for the bark—

And then zoom. A gust of wind and laughter. Elyssia dashed right past her.

Kaelyn realised immediately. She must have spotted come critter on the far side of the tree… and used it to overshoot. Now she was doubling back from the other side!

Lasso her!

On it!

Kaelyn grinned. She could still save this. She used her Pull of Light ability, sending a tether of light towards Elyssia. Once the light surrounded her, Kaelyn pulled hard, sending the sylvani flying her way.

Gotcha!

Except—

As Elyssia flew, she slapped the tree with an outstretched hand, her grin smug as hell.

The magic drained from Kaelyn, and she could only stare at the sylvani in utter shock, mouth agape.

I can't believe her. All according to keikaku, huh?

Damn it, chico! She really outsmarted us there.

Kaelyn slowed to a stop, panting, hands on her knees. Elyssia, on the other hand, stood tall and beaming, casually stretching her arms one at a time like this was a warm-up.

"That was clever," she said, brushing a strand of hair behind one ear. "Your plan would've worked… if you'd just sidestepped first."

"You—" Kaelyn started, then paused to steady her breathing. "Was this your plan all along? Every time you dashed into local vermin, you were training me to yank you back so you could use it to slingshot into the win?"

Elyssia tilted her head, all innocence. "You think?" she asked, voice syrupy sweet. "Would it make you feel better to believe I planned that far ahead?"

"Yes?" Kaelyn narrowed her eyes. "—What? Are you saying this was a spur-of-the-moment decision? I can't believe that—I refuse to…"

Elyssia shrugged. "Then I guess it doesn't matter what my answer is, does it?"

Kaelyn huffed. "You flew past the finish line backwards."

"And still won." Elyssia winked. "Plus, if this were an actual race, I technically crossed the finish line first."

"You're insufferable."

"Guilty as charged," Elyssia said, drawing a lazy circle in the air. "But look at you—you were this close to victory, when earlier you didn't think you stood a chance in a race against me. I'm proud of you."

Kaelyn made a strangled noise. "I didn't do this for your approval."

"No. And it's better this way, trust me," Elyssia said, her tone serious. "You don't want to tie your self-worth to the opinion of others. In any case, it looks like you enjoyed yourself, and we were neck-and-neck the whole way. You should be proud of that."

Kaelyn rolled her eyes but chose not to argue. Not out loud, anyway.

Maybe she was a little proud. Maybe.

She straightened up, brushing the dust off the hem of her priestly robes. "You realise I'm going to win the rematch, right?"

"Oh?" Elyssia's ears perked. "Already plotting your revenge?"

"No, not plotting anything. Just statistical inevitability."

"Sounds good to me."

Then Elyssia turned toward the shadowed woods and let out a theatrical sigh. "Anyway, we should probably stop flirting and move on to the next leg of our glorious murder quest."

"Who's flirting?"

Elyssia chuckled but did not answer. "Now that we're in Myrknar, I want to clear our hunt list as we go. No sense backtracking later."

Kaelyn frowned, her mood dimming a little. She tapped one hand over her coin pouch, the soft clink of metal breaking the quiet. "Really? Isn't this a low-level zone? Are the cuprum rewards even worth it? I'm telling you, I can—"

Elyssia raised a finger to interrupt. "I mean, I'll take the money—your share too, if you're feeling charitable toward the Church of Elyssia—but that's not the point."

"Oh, no. Some other lesson?"

"I wanted to take the opportunity to show you some fun tricks."

Kaelyn narrowed her eyes. "Okay, first you teach me how to race a martial artist as a priest. What are you going to show me next—how to out-damage our DPS while playing a healer?"

"Yes, exactly that."

"—What?"

"I'm not kidding. Let's go find a bounty target—two birds, one miracle."

The woods thickened fast beyond the race's finish line. As the starter zone bordering Umbraholme, Myrknar was far from as dangerous as it looked. The trees here grew tall and old, their trunks gnarled and roots sprawling. Moss clung to everything, and the air was cooler, heavier. Dappled light filtered through the canopy in long, trembling lines.

They walked in silence for a bit, Kaelyn occasionally glancing at her mini-map.

A low, guttural grunt echoed through the underbrush. Elyssia stopped, one hand raised.

Then came another grunt, and finally a snort.

From behind a thick hedge of brambles, a massive boar emerged—at least seven feet long from snout to tail, its tusks curved like sickles. Its back bristled with thick, dark fur, and one of its flanks bore a long scar that shimmered faintly in the light.

A level five Dire Root-Boar. One of their hunt targets.

Kaelyn nodded slowly. "This one is on my bounty list."

"Mine too." Elyssia cracked her knuckles. "Perfect. Our first volunteer."

Before Kaelyn could ask what the plan was, Elyssia strode forward and crouched low by the brambles. She waited for the boar to spot her. Her fists started glowing ochre-brown—her tanking stance. She did not pull her weapons, and instead reached out… and flicked its snout.

The beast reared back, enraged. A furious squeal tore through the woods, birds scattering overhead. Elyssia danced out of the way just as the boar charged, its hooves tearing up dirt and moss.

"What are you doing?"

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"I just had to build some aggro. I don't want to accidentally kill it. That's going to be your job."

Kaelyn watched as Elyssia juked left, then right, always just ahead of the boar's rush. She did not attack—not even once. Instead, she moved, keeping the creature's attention while slowly drawing it toward a thick, root-bound tree.

Elyssia pivoted around the boar, skipping backward through exposed roots and mulch, until the creature stood directly in front of the tree—barely a foot between bark and beast.

"Kaelyn? Want to come over here?" she asked.

Kaelyn jogged up, clutching her staff tight. "You're not going to kite it forever, right?"

"Of course not," Elyssia said. "I am just setting the stage for you."

"Okay?"

"Stand here," she instructed, tapping the ground beside her. "Make sure the boar and the tree are perfectly lined up. You want them on a direct axis from you."

Kaelyn blinked, then adjusted her position. "Like this?"

"A little more to the right… there. Perfect."

Kaelyn hesitated. "Okay. What now?"

"Now, I want you to use Sanctuary. Just channel your defence bubble and keep it up for the full duration."

"That's—wait. How is this going to work? The tree's inside the area, won't it interfere with the dome's range?"

Elyssia's grin widened. "Not exactly. The spell has a fixed radius."

Kaelyn's mouth opened as she connected the dots. She closed it slowly. "Oh. Oh, that's evil. Is it really going to do what I think it will?"

"Maybe? Now that you have a theory, it's time to put it to the test. Isn't science great?"

Kaelyn chuckled. She raised her staff and began channelling. Light spiralled upward around her, forming a gentle dome of radiance. The moment it solidified, the boar squealed in pain—it flew backwards, its spine lining up against the tree, and all four of its legs pinned to both sides. A huge chunk of its hit points vanished instantly—sanctuary's damage to enemies inside the zone was actually one of the heaviest hits in Kaelyn's current arsenal.

Moments later, the boar shrieked again as the server registered the creature still inside the shield bubble. The physics system once again inflicted damage and tried ejecting the boar. But there was nowhere for it to go. The tree blocked the knock-back vector. So, the game tried again.

And again.

…and again.

Each server tick, a fresh attempt. Each time, more radiant force collided with solid boar hide, smashing it against the unmoving tree. It jittered, rattled, tusks flailing wildly—but the code would not give up. And neither would the simulated laws of physics.

The boar's health bar dissipated in an instant.

Elyssia watched, hands on hips, smile on her face.

Kaelyn blinked. She focused on keeping the spell up, and the poor long-dead boar carcass kept getting hammered by rapid-fire blasts of holy damage, multiple hits per second. She held the spell for its maximum duration—five seconds.

When the spell finally faded, Kaelyn lowered the staff and looked at the remains of the boar. "This.. was ridiculously overkill. I could have vaporised an enemy far stronger than this."

"Yes. You could have. Sanctuary has a long cooldown—thirty seconds. And it's a defensive cooldown. So you're meant to keep it as an emergency measure. Most priests do—I saw you use it that way in our last two runs."

"But… this amount of damage, it makes Vaelith's death-from-above manoeuvre pale in comparison…"

"It does, doesn't it?"

"I'm in awe. And also a little afraid."

"That's fair."

With a final screech, the boar collapsed, shimmering into golden light. An assortment of cuprum chips, pieces and ferrum shards materialised into Kaelyn and Elyssia's open hands. The sylvani knelt beside the crumpled body.

"Ooh, boar meat and hides. Leoric and Vaelith will be happy."

Kaelyn looked down at the clinking coins in her palm. She closed her fist, then stepped forward, hand held high over Elyssia's outstretched one. Without even counting them, she let the coins fall through her fingers, one by one.

"You're going to make me complicit in this, aren't you?" she muttered.

Elyssia leaned in with a wicked grin. "Sweetheart, you already are."

"Okay, level with me," Kaelyn said, turning toward her. "This isn't going to work for groups, is it?"

Elyssia's grin widened. "Want to find out?"

Kaelyn folded her arms. "It can't. Right? It's already tricky lining up a single target. Multiple enemies? You'd never get them all on a clean axis against a tree."

"Correct. If you're not perfectly aligned, the knock-back vector eventually finds a gap."

Kaelyn raised a finger. "So. It doesn't work?"

Elyssia leaned in, eyes sparkling. "But—"

Kaelyn groaned. "Ugh. Don't tell me you have a solution for that?"

"Can you think of what would solve the problem?"

Kaelyn stared at her. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Give me a pop quiz on game physics while I'm still recovering from your holy blender trick."

Elyssia tilted her head as if genuinely considering. "Fair. But come on—what do we need?"

Kaelyn opened her mouth, then closed it again. Her brow furrowed. "…More walls?"

"See You're pretty warm already. Go on, what else?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Two walls. If they're in the right shape—a funnel?"

"Correct," Elyssia said. "But it's not just terrain. Try to remember how Vaelith did things during the previous run."

Kaelyn frowned. "I can't teleport above enemies to use the floor like she does…"

Elyssia nodded. "That's true. It's just easier for her to mess with physics than for you. But she didn't always rely on blinking. Think back to the other tricks she pulled off."

"Her force walls? Are you suggesting we make our own funnels?"

"If we can't find a neat corner, we can always just add a single wall," Elyssia replied. "Ta-da! Instant corner. The sharper the angle, the better. It's geometry, baby."

Kaelyn stared at her as if she had grown a second head. "You're suggesting we cage enemies in with party-made obstacles, force them into the dome, and let the server eat them alive."

"I'm not suggesting anything," Elyssia said with a wink. "You're the one drawing conclusions."

"…I hate how much I want to try this."

Elyssia slung an arm over her shoulders. "Welcome to the dark side. We have AoE."

Kaelyn narrowed her eyes. "Where did you even learn something like that?"

"Decades ago, actually." Elyssia's smile turned wistful. "There was this retro game I played when I was a kid—a side-scrolling beat'em-up. Old-school pixel art, killer soundtrack, janky hitboxes. You know the type."

"I don't, but go on."

"There were a few playable characters, but I only ever played Nicole—one of the only two girls on the roster. Everyone said she was the worst character—a luck-based healer. Her attacks had random effects, her heals varied wildly from useless to overpowered, and her crits were pure RNG. She would literally trip and fall on her face randomly just walking around the stage."

Kaelyn raised an eyebrow. "And you liked that?"

"I loved it," Elyssia said. "Because she had one spell that wasn't random. One spell that made her a god-killer."

"Let me guess," Kaelyn said dryly, "she had a force barrier."

"Got it in one."

Elyssia stepped ahead, hopping over a root as if it were part of a dance.

"As long as you could find a wall, using her barrier would crush enemies in seconds. It didn't knock them back. It tried to—but the physics would trap them instead. The engine would go into overdrive trying to shove them out. And with every frame it failed…"

"Free damage?"

"Free murder."

Kaelyn blinked. "And no one else figured this out?"

"They didn't give her a chance. Nicole wasn't flashy. She didn't have the big magic sword the protagonist had, or the fire arsenal the wizard kid had. She was quiet. Technical. People played her wrong and gave up."

Elyssia looked back over her shoulder, voice softening.

"She wasn't meant to be strong. But if you understood how her kit worked, she could out-damage the whole cast. Even the final bosses—literal gods—couldn't stand against her. The weakest character in the game, deleting them with a wall and a light bubble."

Kaelyn said nothing for a while. Just walked.

Finally: "You know that's you, right?"

Elyssia blinked. "What?"

Kaelyn gestured at the fading glow behind them. "The healer who breaks the game when no one's looking and turns utility-spells into artillery. That's not just Nicole. That's you."

Elyssia's grin flickered, softer this time.

"Well," she said, "someone's been paying attention."

"Yeah. And… huh. You only ever played a girl in that game?"

"I mean, I cleared the whole game with every character—except Randy, the mage, because Jae always used him. But Nicole was easily ninety percent of my playtime."

Kaelyn tilted her head. "And that never clued you in? About who you were inside?"

Elyssia grimaced, looking a little hurt. "Look—she was clearly OP. It was easy to convince myself—and everyone else watching, like Jae—that I picked her because she broke the game."

Kaelyn did not respond. She could not really argue in good faith. Not when it had taken decades before Ryan had learned of her own existence.

Elyssia went on. "That reminds me of the killer combo Jae and I figured out. Randy's spell ultimate was this massive, fire-element hadouken beam—took up nearly half the screen. But it never hit as hard as it should've, because enemies would get knocked up every frame, bouncing out of the beam before they soaked all the damage."

Kaelyn's brow lifted. "Oh, that seems underwhelming. Did you figure out a fix?"

Elyssia grinned. "I'm so glad you asked. We found two solutions—and they required pairing either Serena or Nicole."

Kaelyn snorted. "Of course they did."

"Nicole's version of the fix was simple: pin the mobs against a wall with her barrier, then have Randy beam them while they're stuck. Every frame, full damage. No knock-back escape."

"And the other?"

"A little trickier, but—okay, so Serena was a green-haired magic knight. As good a wizard as Randy, almost as skilled with a sword as the main guy, Han. She had a counter-based defensive play-style using her shield, really versatile. And she had access to all elements—fireballs, lightning bolts, ice storms…"

Kaelyn squinted. "Okay, you're talking way too fast. Clearly, you had a crush on her."

"I—" Elyssia faltered. "I think I might have, actually."

"You think?" Kaelyn smirked, glancing at Elyssia's green hair. "Do you think she might have influenced your character creation decades later?"

"Huh? Maybe?" Elyssia cleared her throat. "Anyway! Serena had her own super beam spell—except ice-based. Same screen-filling nonsense as Randy's, but instead of knocking enemies around, it froze them in place. Literal icicles. So if you lined it up just right and then Randy fired his beam…"

Kaelyn gasped. "You'd get both effects at once?"

"Even better! Every frame, the enemy would turn to ice, then the burn effect would melt the ice and set them on fire. Both debuffs would trigger and cancel each other every frame, dealing their full-load of damage. It was the only combo in the game that could out-damage Nicole's barrier—and it required two players who could read each other perfectly."

"And you and Jae could pull that off?"

"Oh yeah," Elyssia said. "No voice chat, no planning—we'd just do it. We'd be talking about school, work, relationships, whatever. Meanwhile, our hands were clearing entire stages. Part muscle memory and part intuition. We had been playing games together for so long, we didn't need to talk and could just tell what the other's thinking or doing. That's still mostly true to this day."

Kaelyn was quiet for a moment, something thoughtful flickering behind her eyes.

"Yeah, I sorta noticed how you have this unspoken communication going. It's… actually kind of beautiful."

Elyssia shrugged, but her smile turned nostalgic. "Yeah. It really is."

"Do you think we'll get there, someday?"

Elyssia smiled. "Maybe? It's up to you, really. Stick around long enough, and it's bound to happen. You'll see."

Kaelyn let the silence stretch as they walked, the sound of their boots muffled by moss and loam. Her hands adjusted her grip on the staff, fingers suddenly restless.

When she had said, "Do you think we'll get there?", she had not just meant the group—not really.

She meant them.

Kaelyn. Ryan. And me.

That same kind of wordless sync, the way Elyssia and Jae had danced through pixels and spells like two halves of one thought. What she truly yearned for was a state of effortless collaboration, where confidence was shared and there was a natural and flowing process that did not require specific instruction.

We're not there yet, chico, chica.

No, but maybe we'll get there. If we stick around long enough?

She nodded to herself as if affirming some unspoken agreement. And when Elyssia looked back over her shoulder again, Kaelyn offered her a quiet smile.

They said nothing else for a while. They did not need to.

But Elyssia flashed a grin and pointed somewhere deeper in the woods. Kaelyn's gaze followed in that direction and spotted the three boars.

"Time to put theory to practise? Let me see if I can get them near a ledge or something…"

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