Chapter 3 — Rebooting the Arena

The silence was deafening.

They could still hear the finality in his voice, the smug satisfaction of someone who knew they had won, who had orchestrated everything to perfection.

Everything felt distant, like the world had tilted off its axis. The team they had poured

Kai’s fingers twitched slightly, hovering over the controls as if they might somehow undo the disaster that had just unfolded. But nothing happened. The empty arena screen stared back at them, mocking their helplessness. The tournament was still happening—

Their vision blurred as they tried to blink away the shock, but no matter how many times they replayed the moment, it didn’t make sense.

And the rest of them—

A harsh laugh broke from Kai’s throat, dry and bitter.

The sudden jarring ring of their phone snapped Kai out of their thoughts. For a split second, hope flickered—maybe

It wasn’t a teammate. It was

Taking a breath, Kai answered, the line crackling slightly. “Hello?”

“Hello, this is

The robotic, impersonal voice on the other end was the final nail in the coffin. It wasn’t a question—it was a cold, official statement that made everything real.

Kai closed their eyes, fighting the lump rising in their throat. “Yeah. It’s… correct.”

“Thank you for confirming,” the voice said flatly. “Please be aware that team re-entry is not possible without a captain’s approval. If you need further assistance, you can contact us through the official channels.”

The line clicked dead.

Kai threw the phone onto the desk in frustration. Every muscle in their body screamed to lash out, to break something, anything, to release the building storm of anger and despair threatening to tear them apart. But instead, they sat there, frozen, the room feeling impossibly small and suffocating.

It was over.

The reality was sinking in now, its weight heavy and oppressive. Kai’s career in

The hours passed in a blur. Eventually, the practice room emptied out, the bright neon lights fading as the building grew quiet for the night. Kai remained seated in the dark, the faint glow of their monitor the only light in the room. It was well past midnight, but sleep was the furthest thing from their mind.

Kai logged into

A new notification pinged in the corner of the screen:

A bitter taste filled Kai’s mouth. Of course.

Kai couldn’t help but scroll through the

Kai’s thoughts spiraled as they watched their former team celebrate on the broadcast feed, the commentators praising

How could they celebrate like that? Didn’t they feel the loss? Didn’t they care that Kai was gone?

Apparently not.

Time stretched on, and soon the glow of morning crept through the practice room window. The tournament had continued without a hitch, and the world of

Kai slumped back in their chair, physically and emotionally drained. They had been through tough losses before—plenty of setbacks in their career—but this was something else. This was betrayal on a scale they hadn’t prepared for. And no matter how much they told themselves they would find a way to fight back, the truth was staring them in the face:

In the cold light of dawn, reality set in fully. There was no going back to

But what now? Was this it?

For the first time in years, Kai didn’t know the answer. They had no team, no support, and now, no place in the competitive world of

The bitter truth was, they were starting over. From the bottom.

Kai stared at the blank screen in front of them, hands trembling with exhaustion and anger. But deep beneath the pain, something else stirred. Something that hadn’t been snuffed out, not yet.

If Damon thought he could bury Kai and take everything, he was wrong.

Kai’s fists clenched.

And next time… they would make sure