Fiona spoke up first, her voice tired.“So, Caelan, is this story actually going anywhere, or are you just buying yourself time? What’s the point of you even being here?”

  Mark sipped his coffee, eyeing Caelan from across the table.“To be fair, he did just break an officer’s hand. Buying time won’t do him very much good,” he muttered, sounding more annoyed than angry.

  Across from them, Caelan lounged in the chair as if he were at a café, not surrounded by a full tactical unit—riot shields, loaded carbines, the works. If he noticed, he didn’t show it. He just smirked, holding up a finger.

  “Well, first, I told you all not to touch the swords, and what did he do? These aren’t toys for children to be playing with. And, well… sorry. There’s a lot to cover. You try summing up a war that lasted one hundred and thirteen thousand years in a single night.”

  Behind the glass, officers watched the interview with the kind of tension you only see in bomb squads.

  Fiona shot out of her chair, hands slamming onto the table.“Bullshit! A hundred and thirteen thousand years? Now you’re talking shit. Sarge, we can’t honestly be listening to this guy’s crap. Look at him—why the fuck would a god need four swords? Come on, asshole, what are they all for, smartass? And what’s with the patchwork jacket?”

  Mark just sipped his coffee and sighed.“Fi, calm down.”

  Caelan laughed, shaking his head.“Honestly, I don’t blame you. That shit was mental. Took me a while to figure out it wasn’t a damn video game myself.”

  He leaned forward, his tone softening, becoming something more real.“Each of these was a gift. Like this one, for example—”

  Before anyone could even register the motion, the katana from his left side was suddenly on the table. The blade was flawless, glinting in the harsh overhead light, and on the side, a tiny inscription: one shot – captain.

  Every armed officer in the room readied guns and tasers, drawn, voices shouting over one another:

  “Don’t move!”

  “Hands where we can see them!”

  “Step away from the table!”

  Mark stood up sharply, spreading his hands to calm the chaos.“Everyone, stand down. All of you, back off. We clearly don’t know what we’re dealing with here, and he’s not threatening anyone, so just let him talk for now.”

  In the middle of the noise, Caelan barely flinched—completely unfazed, the only sign he’d even noticed being a small, amused smile as the tension slowly drained out of the room.

  He traced a finger along the hilt, his voice gentler.“So this was a gift from Keira. Damn, that was so long ago now. That sword is older than any nation on this planet. Uh huh… wait, I think everything I own is. Never thought of it like that. Oh, and one more thing—don’t call me a god again. That’s a line none of us want to cross today.”

  With a blink, the katana was gone—back at his side before anyone could react. Caelan leaned back, swinging easily in his chair, hand resting casually on the bottom of the hilt of the sword on his right.

  Fiona, still unimpressed, folded her arms.“So did you really just come here to show off your little sword tricks?”

  “Oh no, no, please don’t get my intentions wrong.” Caelan smiled, infuriatingly relaxed. “I’m simply here to ensure this transition goes as smoothly as possible.”

  “Transition?” Mark repeated.

  “Let’s just say it’s easier to let you know what’s going on before you end up wrecking the place trying to figure it out,” Caelan said. “And, well, I’ve got some time to kill now. But yeah, I honestly get it—four swords looks a little dumb. Totally, one hundred per cent on your side with that one. Over time, it sort of became my thing.”

  He tapped the hilt on his right.“Oh, but how about I tell you about the person who gave me this one? Because, well, the story is mostly me and Keira singing, dancing, and eliminating people and monsters… until we met her.”

  Mark raised an eyebrow, finally curious.“Who might that be? What can you tell me about her?”

  Caelan’s eyes softened.“Well, what can I say? I’m only a hundred per cent sure I’m here telling you this story right now because of her. She is my everything—I could never dream of being half what she is.”

  He rolled his shoulders, settling into the story.“Ah, I suppose I can skip ahead a bit. To the day I first met her. The second in command of the Revolutionary Army… my lieutenant.”

  Seventeen years had passed since we woke up in that place, and some things just never stopped feeling wrong. The triplets still looked and acted fourteen. No birthdays, no bad backs, just… stuck.

  Days were something like twenty-eight hours long, but you only really noticed when you were on hour twenty-six and still on your feet. The goddess who built this place hadn’t gone for tentacles and aliens; ninety-nine percent of the people could’ve walked down a street on Earth and passed for normal—and don’t get me started on the zones. Honest to God, nothing in that place seemed to have even a microscopic level of creativity.

  After a couple of weeks in our starter zone, we packed our bags and walked. East and south, we hit invisible walls, which honestly led us to believe we’d started in the very corner of whatever this place was. North and west, you’ve got starter towns and monsters in the forests spawning every night, rinse and repeat. Scrap bars from the monsters became a kind of currency. Little settlements started popping up, and specialist groups formed—some camping in zones waiting for items to respawn so they could lock down good loot, some building up pure manpower to challenge the now-strengthening monsters, and, of course, the usual idiots trying to take over everything until they ran into a wall. That never really went far in our region.

  For us? Well, we hunted, we drank, we trained. Year after year, the kids got faster and meaner. I went from a nerd with a wooden katana copying anime in my bedroom to the kind of feral bastard you’d give a wide path to without me ever needing to ask.

  That is, until the day I met her. And, of course, it started in the most human place possible—a bar in the middle of a war.

  Commanders remaining: 1,781,848,176,892

  Followers remaining: 54,732,918,442

  Days elapsed: 5,386

  Eliminated: 10,640,661,910

  Keira weaved and darted through the chaos of the city square, clutching something huge and awkward wrapped in cloth—about twice her size—ignoring the shouts of angry merchants as she vaulted over crates, ducked under stalls, and dodged a group of bickering scavengers.

  The starter zone we had settled in for now had begun to feel like a market built on pure adrenaline and worse decisions. Someone tried to hawk her a supposedly “genuine god core weapon”—Keira just flashed them a shit-eating grin and kept moving.

  She crashed through a group of mercenaries trading their usual monster scrap bars for supplies, heard a vendor shout after her, “Oi! That’s twice this week!” and vaulted over a pair of scavengers arguing about a broken blade. She barely slowed until the bar was in sight—a battered, two-storey place half-swallowed by scrap and banners.

  Without breaking stride, she shouldered through the door, skidding to a stop with a huge grin. “Captain! Captain—look what I found!”

  The tavern was packed with all sorts—mercs, scavengers, traders, and monster hunters from every corner of the region. Somewhere near the centre, a burly guy was shouting about plans for the next big hunt tonight, but Keira didn’t hesitate to disturb the chaos as she ducked and weaved through the crowd, calling, “Excuse me… pardon me… move it, fatty.”

  The man talking about the hunt scowled. “Excuse me, miss, can you please be quiet or get the hell out of here while the adults talk?”

  Keira just stopped, dumbfounded, actually pointing at herself as if to say, You’re talking to me?

  A murmur ran through the crowd—one voice muttered, “Careful, she’s with the captain’s group,” just as someone from across the room barked, “What the hell do you mean you gave all the money to that reckless mini-you… for the third time, you idiot! Will you stop drifting off and answer me!”

  Keira flashed her most dangerous smile, shrugged, and bounced her way toward the bar as if nothing at all had happened. She waved in the general direction of their usual table with a bright, shit-eating grin. “Sorry, I’m with those idiots,” she called, skipping past a trio of mercenaries who groaned in recognition.

  She tossed a scrap bar across the counter to the barkeep, grinning. “Hey, asshole, why does a cutie like me gotta pay for her own drinks? Wait, is that tea? Who the hell ordered that?”

  The bartender, without looking up, grunted, “Redhead in the corner over there, ask your captain, he’s been staring at her for the better part of an hour, not creepy at all. Also, maybe when you stop swinging from the rafters with that sniper, you little psycho. until then, full price, Langston.”

  “Damn, you tease. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to him,” Keira shot back, catching the drink he slid her way and beelining for Caelan’s normal spot—where she plopped down next to him and, with a flourish, set the huge wrapped bundle across the table.

  Caelan sat sideways on his chair, gently swinging it back and forth, next to the group’s newest member—Takeshi Oda. Takeshi was a riot. Honestly, a straight-up engineering genius, and somehow still suffering withdrawals from whatever MMO was huge back in Japan. It was no surprise they’d clicked instantly once Takeshi realised Caelan was just as much of a nerd.

  Caelan nodded at Keira as she dropped into the seat. “So, how did the lead go?”

  She tipped her beer back and groaned. “Damn, you wouldn’t believe the shitshow. And guess what? No goddamn hot chocolate again. I even broke my sniper rifle, beating some asshole over the head with it.”

  Caelan started to laugh, but before he could say anything, Takeshi was already hoisting Keira up by one arm like a rag doll. “Well, I’ve noticed one thing, you chaos goblin—where’s the bag of scrap bars?”

  Keira’s eyes lit up. “Aww yeah, I can’t believe I almost forgot. Look at the replacement I got, Captain!”

  She unwrapped the bundle with a dramatic flourish, revealing a cannon-sized sniper rifle that looked like it could level a house.

  Takeshi jumped out of his chair, grabbing Keira’s jacket. “How much was that?”

  Keira just grinned. “Aww, it was like eighty per cent of the bag—so, a bargain. Honestly, would have been losing money if I didn’t get it at that price.”

  Takeshi let go of Keira, flopping to the ground and smacking the floor with his fist. “Eighteen months! Eighteen months chasing two idiots around, all those fights, we finally get ahead for once, and poof, all gone. Well, at least we won’t starve with what’s left. That should last us a while.”

  Keira smirked. “What do you mean, ‘what’s left’? …Bullets, duh.” She stuck her tongue out, spinning the new rifle in her hands.

  Takeshi sighed in defeat. “It’s official. I joined the biggest idiots here. Why did they have to be so dumb?” He muttered to himself, “What, because we’re all from Earth? Yeah, smart call, Takeshi—real smart.”

  Keira started practising sniper spins, cackling like a madwoman, and the whole bar froze as she swung it around, shouting, “Look, Captain!”

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  The barkeep, placing the tea and pot on the redhead woman’s table, turned, yelling, “Put that down before I need to replace a goddamn wall again, you idiot!”

  Keira didn’t even flinch. She was still grinning at Caelan. He was laughing at first—until he suddenly went dead silent, caught staring across the room again.

  There was a woman sitting alone at a table just across from them—something about her instantly unsettled him.

  For reasons he couldn’t even put into words, right then she felt like a bigger mystery than even this whole damned war.

  She was a walking contradiction: her long red hair was striking, almost carefully kept despite the world they lived in, but her sword lay on the table, the blade hidden by a rough cover. The hilt, though—that wasn’t something you saw every day.

  Most weapons around here were rough, cobbled together, or scavenged from zones. Even the blacksmiths, with all their skill, made weapons from scraps. But this? That hilt was leagues above anything Caelan had seen. It looked old, ornate, with craftsmanship that belonged in another era entirely.

  Her clothes were ragged, and all she drank was a plain cup of tea, sitting quietly in the corner. But Caelan’s eyes tracked the heavy scrap bag tucked under her cloak—so weighed down with loot he could spot it from here. She could have bought the best gear in town a dozen times over, but chose not to.

  None of this made sense.

  “‘Save her, save everything.’ Do I… do I know her? Is that hell? Was that the same voice? He wondered.” He quietly mumbled to himself.

  He didn’t even notice he’d been staring until Keira clicked her fingers right in front of his face, breaking the spell. “Hello, Captain? Anyone home?”

  “Aww, sorry—drifted away there. What’s up, buddy?” Caelan asked, finally tearing his eyes away from the strange woman.

  Keira snorted. “Where are those two idiots off to now?”

  Takeshi dropped into his seat with mock seriousness. “Oh, you haven’t heard?”

  Keira’s face fell. “Heard what? Are they alright?”

  Caelan smirked. “What do you think happens when they finally crawl out of bed at midday?”

  Keira bowed her head, half laughing, half sighing. “Damn. Wonder if they’ll survive this time… damn idiots better not come crying to me.”

  On cue, Milo and Aidan burst through the tavern doors, shoving past the crowd, shouting at the top of their lungs:

  “Cap—Cap! She’s trying to kill us! like actually this time!”

  Aidan chimed in, looking frantic. “He’s not joking this time, Captain—she’s really gonna do it!”

  Caelan, Keira, and Takeshi couldn’t help themselves—they all started laughing as the boys tried to squeeze through the chaos of the bar.

  A moment later, the doors slammed open so hard it was a miracle they stayed on their hinges.

  In stormed a woman, almost feral, bloodlust in her eyes—a skinny, smaller woman with long black hair covering her face. The entire bar fell silent as she scanned across the room, voice sharp enough to cut stone.

  “Where the hell are they? Come on, show me now! I’ll have their heads!”

  Like magic, the crowd parted, leaving Aidan and Milo completely exposed. Everyone held their breath as she marched over, the floor almost seeming to shake with each step.

  The boys turned, desperate to flee, but she snatched both of them up by the collars with one hand. “Do you two have a death wish?”

  Keira, swinging in her chair, just grinned. “Hey, Veyra. Guess those idiots slept in again, huh?”

  The terrifying woman finally cracked a smile. “Aww, hey, Keira. How’d the quest go—did you finally get some? And, well, you know these two.”

  Milo and Aidan pouted mid-air.

  “Why is it always us, Auntie Veyra?” Milo whined.

  Aidan crossed his arms. “Yeah, what the hell, Auntie Veyra? Keira sleeps in all the time.”

  Veyra shot them a look. “Do you two honestly expect me to answer that after what you pulled in the last goddamn town? Also, let’s remember about TRIPPING ME IN MUD AGAIN! three, three outfits that I actually like, but no, you two are scared off a little workout.”

  Caelan couldn’t help but watch Veyra for a second and think—damn, it had been nearly eight years since they first met her.

  He couldn’t picture a single day when she wasn’t chasing those boys around, keeping them in line. She was one hell of a hunter—still using just a simple bow and arrow in a place like this, and the crazy shit she pulled off never stopped blowing his mind.

  Sometimes, he was pretty sure Keira was running a secret Veyra Thorne fan club she wouldn’t even tell him about.

  At this point, the man who’d been yelling about the monster hunt pushed through the crowd, shouting at Veyra, Aidan, and Milo. “I’m trying to deal with a goddamn important situation here—will you all get the hell out if you’re going to keep interrupting? That thing has killed at least 300 people so far. If you’re not here to join, get out of my sight before I do something—”

  His hand reached for Veyra’s T-shirt, but before anyone could react, the whole bar shook as a massive tower shield slammed down between them, the floorboards rattling.

  The shield was held by a towering woman with a death stare that could flatten a brick wall. She looked the man up and down and said, “Now, am I mistaken, or are you the same guy who was in here yesterday bragging about how you and your ‘loyal followers’ were going to kill that thing last night? Huh. Where are your followers? I don’t see any of them.”

  The man froze, stammering, “E-Emm…”

  The woman stared him dead in the eyes. “With communication skills like that, I’m guessing you got them all eliminated and ran away like a little rat. Am I right?”

  The man’s jaw tightened; he turned to the crowd and tried to save face, yelling, “All the more reason we need to go in strength tonight! The rewards from a monster like that will be incredible!”

  But the tall woman leaned right into his face, voice cold as steel. “I’m still waiting for an answer. Either that, or you get out of my sight.”

  Defeated, the man all but retreated, slinking back to his corner, head down and noticeably quieter.

  Takeshi waved her over, grinning. “Hey, Braen—how’d the training go today?”

  The woman—Braen—broke into a bright smile, her whole demeanour flipping. “Aww, yes! Thank you for asking, Takeshi, my lovely. And might I just say—the boys were so good today, honestly! They are such good boys. I’m so lucky to have found such a nice group. Thank you all for bringing me along.”

  Caelan laughed. “Braen, you joined us seven years ago. You can stop thanking us any time.”

  Keira jumped in, “Aww, big dawg, want to buy the cutest girl in the bar a round? We’ve run out of scrap bars again.”

  Braen just smiled and said, “Of course, anything for my lovely little tiny teammates.”

  Truth be told, Braen Dalkor was a tough one to sum up.

  What could anyone even say about her—or really, which side of her were they talking about? She was honestly one of the kindest, sweetest people he had ever met… but the way she lugged around that shield and warhammer? He was just grateful he’d asked her to join them when he did.

  If anyone—anyone—even thought about stepping toward one of theirs, she’d either quietly make the problem go away or just smash it out of existence. It depended on what kind of day she was having, really.

  Weirdly enough, that’s exactly why Caelan thought she was awesome.

  At this stage, Veyra stormed over with Milo and Aidan dangling helplessly by the backs of their jackets. She plopped them both into chairs and dropped down between them with a dramatic, world-weary sigh.

  “Damn, you two are hard work, you know that? Captain, can’t we make a rule about sleeping in already?”

  Caelan just leaned back in his chair, smirking as Braen wandered over, handing him a drink with a bright smile.

  “Here you go, my little captain.”

  He tipped the drink in salute, grinning. “Braen, you’re honestly my goddamn hero—thank you. And Veyra, do you honestly trust me to enforce the rules?” He started to laugh, taking a long drink.

  Veyra slumped in defeat, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Just wish I could control these two idiots for once. Just one normal day where everyone follows the rules.”

  Takeshi muttered, “Join the club. They’re beyond hope—they’ve spent too much time with him.”

  Milo, already half out of his chair, tried to leap onto the table, shouting, “Sis! What the hell is that? Oh my god, so damn cool—can I see?”

  Before he could even land, Veyra snatched him by the collar and plopped him right back down.

  Keira, unfazed, hopped onto her own chair and spun her new sniper around for show.

  “Aww, this little thing? Picked it up today. Ain’t it beautiful?”

  The whole bar froze.

  A split second later, an empty bottle went flying past Keira’s head. The barkeep, not even hiding his terror, yelled, “What the hell did I tell you, Langston? Put that damn thing away before I kick your ass—finally!”

  Keira just smirked, putting her foot up on the table. “Well, come on then. Don’t promise the cutest girl in here a good time and not deliver, asshole.”

  He set a drink down in front of Keira and muttered, “One free drink if you calm it down for today.”

  At the same time, Braen slid another drink in front of her with a grin.

  Keira’s entire demeanour changed—she sat instantly still, smiling widely. “Ooh, two drinks? You’ve got a deal.”

  The barkeep let out the sigh of a man granted one more day to live. “Damn, if I knew that was all it would take, I’d have done it before you broke half the second floor.”

  The group burst out laughing as the barkeep retreated, muttering, “Just for today, Keira.” Keira just sipped both drinks at once, swinging side to side, perfectly content.

  At this point, Takeshi leaned in, grumbling, “So, Captain, are we joining the hunt for that White Death tonight or not? I know what you said, but imagine the scrap haul if we bag it. That thing’s lasted two weeks—must be loaded. And, well… we’re broke again.”

  Before Caelan could answer, the man from earlier returned, a lot more humble than before. “Sorry to interrupt, but I overheard your talk. Look, the stories about you all? Everyone in town’s heard them. If you join us, I’ll give each of you a double share of the scraps—and as much as you can drink for a week. Deal?”

  Takeshi started to stand, hand already half-extended as he said, “Deal—” but Caelan grabbed the back of his jacket and hauled him back into his seat.

  Caelan swung in his chair, took a sip, and balanced his cup on one finger. He eyed the man and, with a sly grin, said, “Let me ask: anyone in your group got a sword like this?”

  He drew the katana he’d gotten from Keira—the blade now chipped and battered, holding together more from sheer will than steel.

  The man stared, half in awe, half in fear. “Uh… Can I ask around? Would a new sword seal the deal?”

  Caelan just laughed, almost wild. “Oh, no—don’t get the wrong idea! I was just curious, so I know where to pick it up after you inevitably fuck this up. Honestly, it should be good for a laugh—same as last night, when you swaggered in all high and mighty and crawled back here alone like a pathetic little fucking worm. So why don’t you—”

  Before he could finish, the red-haired woman from across the room suddenly stepped up beside the man.

  “If you’re looking for people to fight for scraps, count me in. I’ll leave my reward to you—just tell me when we meet.”

  The man, clearly stunned, turned to her. “Uh… two hours. East side of town.”

  As the woman walked away, she glanced over her shoulder at Caelan.

  “You know, you don’t need to swear so much—it doesn’t suit you.”

  Then she disappeared through the crowd, the man scrambling after her, still babbling something about being her commander and promising to “take real good care of her.”

  Aidan turned to Takeshi, raising an eyebrow.

  “Say, what did you mean earlier when you said we’re broke again?”

  Takeshi, immediately getting loud, jabbed a finger at Keira.

  “Well, the reckless idiot over there decided to give the smaller reckless idiot over there the main bag, because she had yet another lead on—get that—goddamn hot chocolate.”

  Aidan spat out his drink, half choking.

  “Captain, are you honestly joking right now? You know what happens when you give Keira scrap. She can’t last a day without blowing everything we have—god damn it, that’s eighteen months of hunting, for what?”

  Takeshi slammed the table, exasperated.

  “That’s what I said!”

  In perfect unison, both of them shouted, “You idiots!”

  Keira, unfazed, put down her drink and pulled her new sniper into her lap, rubbing the barrel with a starstruck look.

  “But look how beautiful she is… honestly, I think I could put a hole in a building for real with this thing.” She paused, took a sip, then added under her breath, “Or maybe both your egos.”

  Aidan glared. “I heard that, sis.”

  She just arched her eyebrows at him, like, What are you gonna do about it?

  Caelan just laughed. “Guys, honestly, it’s fine. It won’t take us long to make it back. Plus, I wonder if that white monster will drop anything special.” He started rocking back and forth in his chair, with that wild look in his eyes. “Aww, I can’t wait to find out.”

  Veyra leaned in, shaking her head. “Well, it’s our night off, so what’s the plan tonight, Captain? I need a damn bath, thanks to these two idiots again. Every time I try to wear something cute, they always make it a damn mess.”

  Braen just grinned at Veyra, ruffling her hair with a gentle, playful touch. “Aww, little Veyra—don’t worry, you always look cute, even for a small person covered in mud.”

  Veyra tried to glare but couldn’t hide her laugh, shoving Braen’s hand away with a smile.

  Caelan stretched and yawned. “Honestly? Think I might head to bed early tonight. What do you think, Keira?”

  Keira nodded, all bravado gone for a moment.

  “Yeah, I’m pretty tired today. Eliminating cry-baby bitches all day really takes it out of you.”

  Caelan squinted at her, half amused, half concerned.

  “Wait, who the hell did you fight?”

  Later that night, the inn at the edge of town was quiet—the kind of quiet you only got from people grateful just to have survived another day. Most of the lights were out, only a few lanterns burning low in the hall.

  Moving like a ghost, Caelan slipped into the cramped room where Keira was sharing space with Braen and Veyra. Doing his best to be silent, he crept to Keira’s bedside and tapped her shoulder.

  “Psst, you awake?”

  Keira, already alert, whispered back, “Duh.”

  Caelan grinned. “Want to try out your new toy tonight?”

  Keira, fully dressed under the covers, slid out of bed with a wicked smile. “What do you think? I’ve been waiting on you.”

  The two of them grinned at each other, barely containing their excitement.

  “This is going to be so fun,” she whispered.

  As they tiptoed toward the door, Keira giggled, nudging him with a grin. “Those idiots are all going to be so jealous when they find out what we did. So, we’re going to save your new girlfriend, big bro?”

  Caelan rolled his eyes, trying not to smile. “God damn it, sis, you know I’m not like that.”

  Keira snickered, swinging her sniper over her shoulder. “Well, your eyes told a different story today.”

  They both laughed, slipping out into the night.

  Almost skipping with excitement, the two of them headed toward the forest—on the hunt for their next great adventure.

  But as they disappeared into the darkness, thinking they’d slipped away unnoticed, five sets of eyes watched from the shadows behind them—silent, calculating, unseen.