Evening Game
Chapter 8

A weird sense of dread filled him as he rose from his bed. They met a couple of enemies on the way back, and the two teamed up to take care of them, going as far as taking out another yellow lion without Ethan’s help. It took some time, but the performance was impressive for beginners.

Ethan had more trouble when he first faced a high-level enemy, although in his defense, he fought alone back then. Calista’s agility build did work in her favor, and she found herself using the hit-and-run tactic, constantly bringing the lion’s attention toward her and her alone, while Chione skillfully sniped from afar. Ethan decided to not help, as a way to test them. They used low-level weapons, dealing very low damage against the enemy.

They eventually succeeded, but as a result, he got his sleep time pushed all the way back to eleven. He decided to go out and drink some milk when he heard some sounds coming from outside. He opened the door, finding the kitchen’s light to be on. He walked toward the kitchen and found a figure in there.

“Mom?”

He asked as he entered the kitchen.

“Ah, Ethan honey. You’re not asleep?”

“Had something to do.”

“I see.”

He could see curry roux on the kitchen counter along with several pieces of chopped chicken.

“Curry?”

“Yeah. I couldn’t let you handle all the cooking, could I?”

“But-”

“Let your mom do this every once in a while.”

“... Alright, thanks.”

“No problemo. Sorry, I can’t be a more responsible mom to you.”

“Ah, that’s not the case!”

Ethan waved his hand, and his mom simply smiled, her short black hair sliding to the side as she tilted her head. Even before his father died two years ago, his mom always spent most of her time outside, working in the successful business she built. Her father was more of the house type and spent most of his time around the house doing chores. That was how they regulated family duties, but things changed after his father died in that accident.

“Are you not tired, though? Work must be heavy.”

“Not for today. How about school?”

“It’s doing fine.”

He didn’t want to burden his mother with something as trivial as no friends, especially when it was partly his fault. His mother had enough problems to deal with as is, especially being a single parent raising two children. He opened the refrigerator and took the milk. He poured it into a small, metal pot and heated it up, before pouring it into a glass. He sat down at the dining table and took a sip.

“Need any help?”

“Don’t worry, I got it covered.”

“Okay.”

Upon finishing, Ethan took the drink toward the sink and put them down. He took the sponge but his mother stopped him.

“You must be tired, right? Just leave those to me.”

“Alright, thank you. Good night.”

“Good night, honey.”

Ethan’s mother smiled at him and he went back to his room. He sat down on the bed, looking at the door.

Was it that visible?

He thought. It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t tired. He spent way more time in the game than usual, and he actually interacted with someone today, not to mention he needed to watch the two girls slowly reduce the lion’s health points to zero. While he didn’t need to participate, he was constantly on the edge, in case something did go wrong, especially considering how close Calista was cutting it. She had been in more than a few instances where her body was barely five centimeters away from the lion’s claws.

He let out a faint smile.

You two won’t need me anymore.

They didn’t agree on a meeting time or place tomorrow, which meant he could return to his usual, solo gameplay. He rested his body on the bed, his mind recalling the last two days. A lot happened when compared to the two months he spent alone in school. It was fun. The realization of it ending felt bittersweet, but it couldn’t go forever. Chione had her mission, whatever it was, and he didn’t want to be involved, while Calista had her own friends to play with.

They will part ways, their paths split and would never meet. He enjoyed it while it lasted. For a moment, he regretted not talking more, but that wouldn’t be natural for FireRock, nor would it be right for him, either. While Ethan was supposed to be more friendly, except when around Mason or anyone that kept calling him Pinky, FireRock was supposed to be this silent, solo player that the mention of his name spread fear on the battlefield.

Someone that allied with no one, but was willing to help the weak.

Momentarily help the weak, at least. He wasn’t enough of a saint to be willing to spend all his money on someone else.

No, he wasn’t a saint in the first place. He did all this for glory, a desire to be praised and remembered, all hidden under that cold face of his.

Someone that looked cold and cool, but at the same time warm inside.

A silent hero that appeared out of nowhere and disappeared into the setting afternoon sun.

At least that was how he imagined the character, someone different from him, his other side. He soon realized that he started mixing his fantasies with his real self, something that he didn’t want to happen.

His mind went back and corrected some of his thoughts. Unlike him, FireRock was cold and ruthless. He helped because of his desire to be praised, a desire so that people feel indebted to him. He wasn’t warm, no matter how close you got to him. Cold and hard as a rock, but when hot had the power to destroy the world like magma consuming everything in his path. Fire Rock.

The ability to be both kind and evil at the same time. The power to both build and destroy. The ability to become both a building and destroy said building.

The screen of his phone suddenly lit up, breaking his line of thought. He turned toward the table beside his bed and took the smartphone in his hands. He turned down the brightness, which momentarily blinded him. He then took a look at the screen, finding a notification on the top. It carried a message from the game’s companion app, one from his in-game friend, ChioneAyadi.

He wondered why she would be contacting him this late. He opened the message, a line of text occupied the screen.

“When are we meeting tomorrow? … huh?”

He intended to stop meeting her, but since she was the one who asked, he didn’t exactly want to deny her.

Same time.

Alright, see you.

Ethan closed the app and turned off the smartphone, setting it back to its original place on the table. He looked up at the ceiling, a small smile creeping onto his face.

Guess FireRock can wait.

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