Preston dropped dead on the spot.

  After he fell, Aidan slowly pushed himself to his feet. He didn’t say a word, just turned and walked away, a shroud of misery hanging over him.

  “Don’t you dare walk away!” Zara screamed.

  Aidan paused for a fraction of a second before continuing on his path.

  “If you walk out on me now, don’t ever think about coming back!” she shrieked.

  His silhouette simply faded into the distance.

  Zara’s face contorted in a fit of rage. “Who the hell are you to leave me?” she howled hysterically. “Did you forget your promise? You swore you’d be my lapdog forever, remember? You swore!”

  Isolde and AzureSky stood nearby, their brows furrowed in disgust. They couldn’t believe the roommate they saw every day was this twisted.

  Kael couldn't be bothered with the madwoman on the ground. He walked straight over to his sister, a wicked grin spreading across his face.

  Isolde and AzureSky immediately tensed up. Out of the frying pan and into the fire—they thought. The moment they registered the blood-red name floating above his head—“Dawnbreaker”—they recalled the rumor.

  Stare at that walking disaster for more than three seconds, and you’re dead.

  The two girls trembled, instinctively grabbing each other’s hands and huddling together.

  Lila, seeing right through Kael’s prank, smiled and said, “Kael, did you really come all this way just to scare your sister?”

  Isolde froze. “Kael? Y-you’re… my brother?”

  Kael stepped in front of her and booped her on the nose. “You little troublemaker. I can’t believe you’ve been ignoring my calls.”

  “Oh my god! It really is you!”

  Isolde let go of AzureSky’s hand and launched herself at Kael, leaping into a massive bear hug. After a long moment, they separated.

  “Bro, what are you doing here?” Isolde asked, clinging to his hand. “Isn’t your main city in Crescent?”

  Kael smiled. “You can teleport between main cities once you hit level 30.”

  “But how did you find me?” Isolde was still confused.

  Kael pointed a thumb at Elon behind him. “He’s got shops set up in every main city, so he has eyes and ears everywhere. He had his people ask around, and they tracked you down pretty fast. Turns out my little sister is kind of a celebrity. A lot of people know who you are.”

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Isolde puffed out her chest proudly. “Of course. I’m a star in Willow Creek. I’ve got a huge following on TikTok, you know.”

  “You’ve got some nerve saying that,” AzureSky chimed in, walking over. “It’s only because of that Ascendant ring your brother posted.”

  “Hehe.” Isolde was completely shameless in front of her brother, not caring in the least that her best friend was calling her out. “Bro, this is my roommate, AzureSky. Sky, this is my brother, Kael.”

  “Hey,” Kael said with a nod.

  “Hi,” she replied.

  Just then, Isolde held out her hand. “Gimme.”

  “Right, you little schemer. I didn’t forget.” Kael chuckled and opened a trade window with his sister, placing the [Hakkar's Signet of Celerity] into the slot.

  Truthfully, the ring wasn’t a perfect fit for her. The +100 Agility and +100 Strength were wasted on a mage, but the +100 Constitution was huge, giving her an extra 2000 HP. At the same time, Kael also got a full set of level 20 epic mage gear from Lila and traded it all over. Now his sister would have a full loadout ready when she leveled up.

  Isolde’s eyes went wide as she stared at the dozen or so items in the trade window. She was a total noob and didn’t have much time to play, let alone spend real money on gear. Most of her equipment slots were still empty.

  She never, ever imagined that her own brother was Dawnbreaker—the one player the entire server both loved and hated. It was like walking down the street and having Bill Gates walk up and tell you he was your long-lost father. It was completely unbelievable.

  It wasn't just Isolde; AzureSky was practically vibrating with nervous energy. She glanced at Kael, then at Lila, and mustered the courage to ask, “Kael… I heard you and her are… a thing?”

  Isolde’s eyes went wide, too. It was one of the two biggest mysteries they and their friends always gossiped about: Is Dawnbreaker secretly Ullr? Is Lila Dawnbreaker/Ullr’s wife?

  No girl is immune to good gossip.

  The question caught Kael off guard. He glanced back at Lila, worried she might feel awkward, but she seemed completely unfazed.

  Smiling, Lila walked over to Isolde and took her hand. “Your brother’s a very busy man. He doesn’t have time for things like that.”

  Isolde looked up at the guild master of Ascendant’s number one guild, practically starstruck. “Lila, can we join your guild?”

  Lila laughed. “Of course you can. That’s why your brother asked me to come along.”

  Isolde jumped for joy, grabbing AzureSky’s hand with her free one. “For real? Can my friend join too? She’s my absolute bestie.”

  Lila nodded. “Sure.”

  Isolde and AzureSky squealed and hugged each other. “Oh my god, we’re getting into Crimson Bloom! Everyone on campus is going to be so jealous when we tell them tomorrow!”

  “Totally!”

  “Isolde.” Kael’s voice turned serious. “You can talk, but don’t go around making promises to your classmates. Crimson Bloom’s ten thousand member slots have been full for ages. Lila had to make room for you two.”

  “It’s no big deal,” Lila said. “A lot of those members haven’t logged on in over three days. They were due for a clearing out anyway.”

  Kael kept his stern gaze on his sister. “If you need anything, you come to me. Don’t go around bothering other people, understand?”

  “Yeah, I know,” she mumbled.

  Lila just shook her head, saying nothing more. It wasn’t her place to interfere with Kael teaching his sister a lesson. Once he was done, she turned back to Isolde. “I’ll have a level 30 team come to Willow Creek to power-level you.”

  “Okay!” Isolde started to say happily, but then she remembered her brother’s words. She shot a questioning look at Kael, who could only let out a resigned sigh.

  “What do you say to Lila?” he prompted.

  “Thanks a lot, Lila!” Isolde said, a sly grin spreading across her face. She leaned in and murmured, “Thanks, sis-in-law.”

  Lila gently swatted her arm but didn’t say anything.

  Just as the group was about to leave, a figure darted out from the side. She grabbed onto Kael’s chestpiece.

  “Hey there. How about adding me as a friend? I’m Isolde’s roommate too. We’re super close.”

  It was Zara.

  Hearing this, Lila’s brow hardened. She closed the distance in a single step.

  SHIIINK—

  With a single strike of her greatsword, she sent another soul to the graveyard.