AFTER MOMENTS OF FLYING

Helen guided the dragon to a gentle landing at the northern edge of her territory. The scorched clearing lay half a kilometer south.

King dismounted first. He reached up and lifted Maya off the dragon’s back. The child landed softly on the grass and immediately pressed herself against King’s leg.

Helen remained in the saddle. She looked down at King with an expression he could not read. Gratitude, concern or regret. He wasn’t sure.

"This is where we part ways," Helen said.

King nodded.

"I wish you good luck. And again, thank you" Helen pulled on the reins. The dragon shifted its weight. "I hope we meet again. Under better circumstances."

King tilted his head. "We will."

Helen held his gaze for a heartbeat longer. Then she snapped the reins. The dragon launched into the air. Its wings beat twice, three times, and carried Helen South toward the blackened mountains.

King watched until she became a speck against the clouds.

Then he opened his interface.

Two message notifications waited for him. One from Vi. One from Eli.

King opened Vi’s message first.

[Vi: King, where are you?]

[Vi: I saw the world chat update. Why do you have a bounty on your head?]

King typed his response.

[King: I had an exchange with a member of Hunt’s guild. They wanted the elemental scroll I took and I did not give it to them.]

Vi’s reply came within seconds.

[Vi: That’s it? That’s why he put 50,000 runes on you?]

[King: it’s definitely a thing of pride now.]

[Vi: Are you okay?]

King glanced down at Maya. The child stared at the tree line, her small hand still gripping King’s pant leg.

[King: We’re both fine.]

[Vi: Stay safe. Please.]

[King: Sure I will, you too.]

King closed Vi’s chat and opened Eli’s.

It was shorter, and more firm, but still about the new update.

[Eli: Master King. The bounty.]

[Eli: Do you have a plan?]

King typed his response.

[King: Not necessarily. I am close to one hundred pruning points. I will drop my own rule soon, I couldn’t care less about who takes it up.]

[Eli: Okay sir.]

[King: The primary task has not changed. We will regroup. Do not let the bounty derail that.]

[Eli: Understood. Stay safe, Master King.]

[King: You as well.]

King closed Eli’s chat.

He stared at the world chat icon for a long moment. The icon pulsed with constant activity. Thousands of messages scrolling every minute. Players debating, speculating. And some gutsy or rather foolish players, openly planning how to claim 50,000 runes.

King had never typed in the world chat before. He had never seen a reason to. Words did not win fights.

But words could shift perception. And perception shaped the battlefield.

King opened the world chat.

And typed his first message everA.

[King: Good day, everyone.] 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

The chat froze for a few seconds.

Then a second wave of explosion came.

[HOLY SHIT]

[THE KING JUST SPOKE]

[Am I hallucinating? Did the rank 1 just type in world chat?]

[ Shut up and let him finish!.]

[King. The King. Actually typing. In the chat.]

[Yo, king, Why did you fall off the popular ranking? Too busy for the fans?]

[For real though. Rank 1 in power but dipped hard in popular. What happened?]

[ Who cares about popular ranking. The man is leagues above y’all.]

[It’s insane to think some of you actually want to take up that bounty, y’all’s funeral.]

[Btw, why ain’t hunt, hunting? Lmao]

King ignored the reactions. He typed his second message.

[King: The pruning games are the game maker’s biggest distraction. Hunt Starbuster is playing into those hands.]

The chat shifted and the frenzy quieted.

Players started reading instead of reacting.

[King: Do not lose sight of the main goal. Which is to complete the game, and save humanity. Together.]

King paused. His fingers hovered over the interface.

Then he typed his final message.

[King: But if any of you still chooses to come for me. You will find out why I am the number one.]

The chat erupted again. But a different tone had crept in. The excitement still persisted , but a lot more players spoke about caution.

[Did he just threaten the entire player base?]

[He didn’t threaten. He warned. There’s a difference.]

[ The number one in power ranking just told everyone to back off, this is so littt]

[ I mean... he’s not wrong. Do you really think you can hunt the rank 1, y’all dumbasses not even in top 10.]

[Rankings are not absolute kids.]

[Okay, gramps, shoot your shot]

Then,

A new message appeared.

[Cain: King.]

The chat went silent.

[Cain: I am coming.]

King stared at Cain’s name. The number two in power ranking. The wildcard. One who’s upgrade looked like he pledged to take King’s position before the Second Woe ended.

King frowned a bit, then closed the world chat.

He took Maya’s hand. The child’s small fingers wrapped around his.

"Let’s go," King said.

They stepped into the zone before them.

The terrain shifted immediately. The scorched badlands fell away. Trees rose around them, ancient oaks with bark the color of ash. Their branches intertwined overhead, blocking the sun. Patches of moss clung to the trunks. Creepers ran across stone structures half-swallowed by earth.

King stopped walking for a bir.

He knew this place.

The trees. The creepers. The stone structures. He had seen them before. Not in this zone. Not in this territory. In his starting zone. During the First Woe.

The template was not exactly the same, but identical. The same layouts, elevation changes. The same way pathways ran between the ruins.

King’s guess solidified into certainty.

This was the territory of the Fallen Stars. A similar zone to his starting city.

King opened his interface and tapped on Pantheon’s name, then he sent a message.

[King: Hello, Pantheon.]

He waited.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

The received check box remained blank.

King closed the interface and looked down at Maya. The child stared at the treeline with her usual cute expression. But her grip on King’s hand had tightened.

King crouched and lifted Maya onto his back.

"Hold on," King said.

Maya nodded against his back.

King walked into the territory of the Fallen Stars.