The first thing I noticed in Gothenburg was that this country was cold as fuck.

  I got out of the cab in the city center. The evening wind under the cloudy sky ate straight through my jacket. It wasn’t quite snowing in October yet, but it sure felt like I’d traveled to the heart of winter. Even the snowiest mountaintops weren’t this cold in-game.

  The locals seemed to be immune. Some didn’t even have their hands in their pockets while they calmly waited for their street cars, or trams, as they were called here. An electric scooter rode past on a bike lane with two teens on it, the girl hugging the guy steering it from behind, no helmets in sight.

  There’s no way that’s allowed, I thought and began walking through the streets with my suitcase rolling behind. So far, none of the random Swedish people had recognized me.

  Buildings here were smaller than in New York, with mostly historic buildings lining the streets. The sidewalks were wider and far less crowded, and with less noise. That was mostly thanks to the lack of cars, I noticed. The street only had one lane for vehicles in each direction, compared to the usual two or three in New York. People were frequently jaywalking straight through the car lanes as if that was no big deal.

  I had already googled, “Best date spots in Gothenburg,” with all sorts of cafes and whatever in mind, but a better option would have been to just walk around the city with Veyra and pick something that caught our eye. That would have been awesome.

  I sighed, pulled out my phone, and decided I was done being nervous.

  Assassin: “I’m in the city right now, what about you?”

  She read it within ten seconds, but took over a minute to respond.

  Veyra: “I got a bit sick. I’m on a survival mission at the hotel right now D;”

  Assassin: “Oh shit, is it bad?”

  Veyra: “Meh, just the usual. I should be good by tomorrow. I don’t think I can meet today, though, sorry.”

  My smile fell slightly, but she kept typing.

  Veyra: “The group stage should be easy. I checked the brackets. We’re not against any of the top top guilds. Luxueux is the toughest opponent. The day after, things will get difficult.”

  Assassin: “Just rest and don’t worry about it.”

  Veyra: “Yeah, Wind Virtual sent me a doctor. He said that the meds I’ve been using might have been wrongly prescribed… But I should be good by tomorrow.”

  Assassin: “Get well soon, see you then.”

  She reacted with a heart emoji, and I closed my phone, continuing to walk aimlessly across the city.

  Was it bad that I was just as excited to meet Veyra as I was to compete in Worlds and have a rematch against Annath?

  No, I was definitely more excited about meeting Veyra.

  Not that Worlds wasn’t nerve wracking. I was fairly sure I could fight on even ground against Annath now, especially now that Veyra had her mythic spellbook, Astral Defiance. I could use its soft invincibility to trade the early hits I needed to start stacking defence. The problem was that Annath also had two allies, and she definitely had more mythic skills she hadn’t revealed during our first duel.

  My thoughts were cut as I approached a larger intersection, jammed with a small line of cars. The cars had a green light, but nobody was moving. An old grandma pushed a walker across the crosswalk, her pedestrian light having already turned red. She frowned as she knelt down to pick up a fallen bag of groceries.

  I rushed over. A few cars were swerving past her, having just enough space. I held out my hand to stop more from passing and went to help the woman.

  She was probably Swedish, though, so I just quietly picked up her bag, placing the fallen soda can back in. I supported her from the shoulder, and we began crossing the remaining street. We made it, and I gave her groceries back.

  “Tack,” she said, which I knew meant thanks. Then she spoke more complex Swedish sentences, which I definitely didn’t understand.

  “Uh, jag tallar inte Swedish,” I said with my shitty pronunciation, hoping to say, “I don’t speak Swedish.”

  “Oh, English?” the grandma asked.

  “Yes, I’m American,” I said. “Do you speak English?”

  “Of course, of course, welcome welcome.” She spoke with an accent and squinted at me, studying my face. “Have I seen you somevhere before…? You’re on the news, young man?”

  “Sorry?” I said.

  “The Wonderwind news channel. You’re a professional, aren’t you?”

  I blinked. Did this grandma just recognize me?

  I noticed that her bag of groceries was full of soda and boxes of what looked like microwave food, with a few bags of ramen instant noodles. “You play Wonderwind?” I asked.

  “Of course,” she said with a laugh. “Helps me feel young. We’re going to Worlds with my grandkids.”

  Wow, I thought. I knew old people played Wonderwind more than other games, mostly because virtual reality fixed joint pain and allowed older folk to be nimble again, but it had still been a while since I’d actually talked to an old Wonderwind player.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Oh, there he is.” She spotted someone and waved. “Liam! Kom h?r!”

  It was a younger kid, perhaps sixteen. He ran over, greeting her in Swedish.

  He saw me, and his eyes lit up, switching to English. “No way. You can’t be him!”

  “Uh, I’m just your local New Yorker…”

  “Assassin A?” He spoke with much more clear pronunciation and enthusiastically. “Do you remember me? Alomancer13. You killed me in the Wrightwoods last June.”

  “Uh, sorry, I kill too many people these days.”

  His eyes sparkled like an excited kid’s regardless. “Can I have an autograph?”

  What in the world is going on? I thought. Out loud, I said, “Sure? Got a pen?”

  He paused, realizing neither of us had one.

  “Liam, the event is open,” his grandma said. Then she spoke in Swedish and began walking forward.

  “I’ll ask again at the event!” Liam said. “You better not forget me!” He then went after his grandma, and they headed toward the Worlds arena by foot.

  I watched them go, thinking, Is this country just built different or what?

  From there, I made it to my hotel and set home, focusing on fixing jet lag for tomorrow. The LAN event at Worlds was already open for the audience, and the 1v1 and guild PvP tournaments had already started, but 3v3 wouldn’t start until tomorrow. I had time to eat at the hotel’s buffet and text with Veyra for a bit, mostly just about our strategies for tomorrow.

  ***

  Friday hit, and I took a cab to the venue the first thing after breakfast.

  Worlds this year was held in a new arena, constructed in 2024 at the outskirts of Gothenburg city, called the Virtual Haven Arena—easily the most modern building I’d seen in a long time, with grand architecture and large screens on the walls displaying Worlds 2026 posters that illustrated Ray Dragon Embridge. Driving past, the entrance was filled with snaking lines with hundreds of people entering.

  Assassin: “I’m about to arrive at the event. You feeling better?”

  Veyra didn’t read the message. She wasn’t online. I stared at my phone for a bit with nothing, until I had to focus on getting myself checked in.

  My cab driver took me past the front entrance, following the special entry instructions I’d received as a competitor. A line of cars was entering through large gates at the back. We waited five minutes for our turn, and I had to show my ID even before the cab was let in.

  From there, I stepped out and was led inside, into a hectic check-up with multiple players entering at the same time. The room was well-lit with cardboard boxes still laying around, organizers bustling about. They confirmed that I was supposed to be there, until I was given a competitor’s pass.

  “This will let you through any door that’s marked for ‘Contestants Only,’” a tall man with a short beard and a black tank top explained to me. “You’re free to explore the event on your own. Follow the schedule and the instructions to find your matches. You’re assigned to pod 15 in warm-up room 3, and you can use that as you wish. If there are problems, don’t hesitate to call this number.”

  I was let in, and I found myself in a rather normal, well-lit hallway with Worlds 2026 posters on the walls. Two Asian men sat by the wall on a chair, chatting and drinking energy drinks. Further in, more contestants from different continents had gathered to chat—faces I immediately recognized. That black-skinned man with a charismatic grin was Dazzarth from Zenith Protocol’s main team, and he was surrounded by more famous players, all deep into the top one hundred.

  I’m probably one of the lowest ranked contestants here, I thought. Veyra was easily the lowest, since she wasn’t even in the top five hundred at all yet.

  The following rooms had a canteen with 24/7 food service for all contestants, followed by a large bathroom and warm-up room one.

  Then there were the curtains, dark lights shining underneath, with a security guy watching over the entrance. The security guard saw my competitors’ pass and let me through.

  And there I was. The famous LAN event that always accompanied Worlds. The lights were off, replaced by atmospheric LEDs. To my right were small rows of traditional computer setups, people playing various games with screens and keyboards, others eating hotdogs on their computer chairs. Behind them was a row of virtual pods crammed together, where attendees could log in to complete some sort of in-game challenge for items. To my left were the sales booths, selling everything from team T-shirts to player merchandise, and of course the big corporations selling game pods and accessories.

  I couldn’t even see any of the stages. The LAN event alone was massive, and the stages were separated from each other. A sign ahead read, “Main Stage (Guild PvP)” with an arrow pointing left. “Secondary Stage (1v1 PvP)” and “Misc. Stage” pointed to the right.

  I couldn’t see Veyra, though. She still hadn’t responded.

  Might as well check what our stage will be like…

  I put up my cat-eared hood, hoping to cover my face. I also hid my contestant card in my pocket as best I could, hoping to stop people from recognizing me. I stepped forward and began exploring.

  The LAN event continued with hundreds of people in different outfits enjoying Worlds. Food booths sold fast-food, sushi, and one served traditional Swedish foods, meatballs with mashed potatoes and whatevers. More gaming setups followed, seemingly extending forever, with people bustling past all around.

  I must have walked for five minutes, and I still hadn’t found the first stage. I stepped down a set of stairs, when someone flinched, spotting my face. He blurted out, “Hello!”

  He was a short and plump boy. Slightly younger than me, wearing an oversized grey hoodie. “You’re Assassin A, right?” he said. “Can I get a signature?”

  He held a pen and an old VR-headset. His hands were visibly shaking.

  “Of course,” I said, accepting the headset and the pen. We moved to the bottom of the stairway to not be in the way of traffic. “You’re lucky. This will be my first signature.”

  “Really?” he asked. “No way, I got Veyra’s first signature as well!”

  I paused. “Hold up. What did you just say?”

  “I also got Veyra’s first signature,” he said. “You two are my favorite duo!”

  The headset already had one signature. A heart with a cutely drawn “V” inside it.

  “You met Veyra?” I asked.

  “Yeah, she was really nice!” he said through his nervousness. “I met her earlier. I’m Greenwitch, by the way! A long time fan!”

  So she’s here, I thought. Her signature had just one letter drawn inside a heart, yet it was clearly her drawing skills. The prettiest V I had ever seen. What could I even attempt to match that?

  I had already practiced a signature back at home for a quick fifteen minutes, but compared to Veyra’s, there was no way I could do anything nearly as pretty. My idea definitely wouldn’t match hers.

  An idea came. I drew a heart, just like her, with an A inside it. I made the center line of the letter into a dagger. Not quite as good as Veyra’s, but it matched.

  I handed it back. “I’ve seen your comments on the forums. Thanks for the support.”

  His eyes lit up. “Of course!”

  We shook hands, and he walked off with the widest grin on his face. I smiled after him.

  And I immediately pulled out my phone when he disappeared, opening the text chat with Veyra.

  She hadn’t responded. The messages weren’t even on read; she hadn’t opened them at all. But she was at the event? She’d given a signature to someone already. So what was going on?

  I should have asked him where he met Veyra… I thought with a sigh. Maybe I could go back to the player area to see if I could recognize her? She’d need to pass at one point, right?

  I was about to continue, but stopped. To the right of the stairway was an accessible ramp for wheelchairs. A girl with brown hair and round glasses on a wheelchair moved up. She wore a face-mask, and it was too dark to see features. She wore baggy and oversized jeans with a nice sweater.

  She tried to push the wheels up the ramp with one hand, but struggled, lacking strength. The wheels rolled sideways at an awkward angle.

  I rushed over and grabbed the push handles. “Can I help you?”

  20 chapters ahead on !