Close Second

Chapter 1

CLOSE SECOND

Chapter 1 — Defeat

Everest's POV

Three seconds.

That was all I had.

Three seconds to turn the match around.

Three seconds to prove that this time, I wasn't going to lose.

My fingers tightened around the controller.

On the enormous monitor in front of me, my character staggered backward, health bar flashing dangerously low.

ASHEN — 4% HP

Across the digital arena, my opponent stood almost untouched.

KAI — 7% HP

Seven percent.

That was it.

Seven miserable percent stood between me and the victory I'd been chasing for months.

My breathing became shallow.

The arena around me disappeared.

The commentary.

The music.

The flashing lights.

Even the thousands of spectators watching the match through the live broadcast.

None of it mattered.

There was only me.

My opponent.

And the tiny gap between us.

"Come on," I whispered.

My thumb moved.

Kai's character lunged.

I blocked.

Perfect Guard.

The crowd erupted.

I immediately countered.

One strike.

Two.

Three.

His health dropped.

5%.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

"Yes."

I pushed forward.

Kai dodged.

I followed.

He blocked.

I switched direction.

He anticipated it.

My eyes widened.

No.

He knew my pattern.

Of course he did.

That was what made him so damn good.

Kai wasn't the number-one player in the world because he was lucky.

He studied people.

He learned them.

And somehow, despite having played against him dozens of times, he always seemed to know what I was going to do before I did it.

His character disappeared from my screen for half a second.

I knew what was coming.

A finishing combination.

I moved to counter.

Too late.

The screen exploded in white.

CRITICAL HIT.

My character dropped.

Silence.

Then—

DEFEAT.

I stared at the screen.

For several seconds, I didn't move.

Then the scoreboard appeared.

ASHEN — 2ND

KAI — 1ST

Again.

My jaw tightened.

"No."

I stared harder, as though glaring at the screen could somehow change the result.

It didn't.

The victory animation played.

Kai's character stood in the center of the arena while golden particles drifted around him.

I hated that animation.

I hated his stupid victory pose.

I hated the smug little crown beside his username.

Most of all, I hated the fact that I knew exactly how good he was.

Because that made losing to him even worse.

A notification appeared.

MATCH RESULT

KAI defeated ASHEN.

Margin: 0.8 seconds.

I laughed once.

It wasn't a happy laugh.

"Eight-tenths of a second."

My headset crackled.

"Everest."

I ignored it.

"Everest."

I finally pulled the headset off.

Priya stood behind me with her arms folded.

She was wearing a bright yellow jacket over a white crop top, her long black hair pulled into a loose braid.

She looked entirely too cheerful for someone standing next to a person who had just suffered another psychological assassination.

"Don't."

She raised an eyebrow.

"I haven't said anything."

"You were about to."

"I was going to say you played really well."

"Don't."

"Okay."

She paused.

"Then I'll say something else."

I looked at her suspiciously.

"You're obsessed."

I groaned.

"Priya."

"Eight-tenths of a second, Everest."

"I know."

"You've been playing against this man for almost a year."

"I know."

"You've lost to him seventeen times."

"I know."

"And you're still convinced you're going to beat him."

I turned back toward the screen.

"Because I am."

Priya sighed.

"You say that every time."

"Because one day I'll be right."

She walked around my chair and looked at the screen.

The ranking board had updated.

My username remained directly beneath his.

#1 — KAI

#2 — ASHEN

I hated seeing it.

Not because second place was bad.

Second place in Ashfall was extraordinary.

There were millions of players around the world.

Thousands competed professionally.

Hundreds were ranked.

Only two players had remained at the top consistently for months.

Kai.

And me.

But I didn't want to be second.

I wanted first.

I wanted the number beside my name.

And I wanted it because of him.

Priya leaned against my desk.

"You're aware normal people would be celebrating right now, right?"

"I'm not normal."

"Clearly."

I shot her a look.

She grinned.

"You know what I think?"

"I don't want to."

"I think you have a crush."

I nearly choked.

"On Kai?"

"Obviously."

"I hate Kai."

"That's what people say when they're in denial."

"I would rather fail every class this semester than have a crush on that arrogant—"

My phone vibrated.

I stopped.

Priya glanced at it.

"Who is it?"

I picked up the phone.

A message had appeared from an unknown account.

KAI: Closer this time.

My blood boiled.

Another message appeared.

KAI: Keep practicing, Ashen.

I stared at the screen.

Priya slowly smiled.

"Oh, he is flirting with you."

"He's taunting me."

"Same thing."

"No."

"Everest."

"Priya."

"You've got to admit, that's kind of cute."

I typed a response.

Deleted it.

Typed another.

Deleted that too.

Finally, I sent:

ASHEN: Enjoy being first while it lasts.

Three dots appeared almost immediately.

Then:

KAI: I'll be waiting.

I stared at the message.

Something about those three words irritated me more than the loss itself.

Because he wasn't worried.

He wasn't threatened.

He was confident.

Like he knew I would come back.

Like he knew I'd challenge him again.

He was right.

I tossed my phone onto the desk.

"Tomorrow."

Priya blinked.

"What?"

"I'm beating him tomorrow."

She laughed.

"You've said that before."

"This time is different."

"Why?"

I looked at the glowing screen.

At the two names.

KAI — #1

ASHEN — #2

My fingers curled into fists.

"Because I'm done being his close second."

---

Later That Night

The Calloway mansion was silent when I returned.

That was one of the things I liked about late nights.

Everyone was asleep.

No assistants asking where I had been.

No security guards reminding me that my father wanted me home.

No formal dinners.

No business conversations.

No expectations.

Just silence.

I slipped through the entrance and kicked off my shoes.

For a moment, I simply stood there.

The marble foyer reflected the soft golden lights overhead.

Everything in this house screamed wealth.

The polished floors.

The enormous staircase.

The paintings.

The chandeliers.

The flowers replaced every morning by staff.

My family had spent decades building an empire.

And someday, everyone expected me to fit perfectly into it.

I hated that thought.

My phone vibrated again.

I pulled it from my pocket.

Not Kai this time.

Mom: Your father wants you home early tomorrow. We need to talk.

My eyebrows drew together.

That was strange.

My parents didn't usually text me things like that.

Especially not both of them.

I typed:

Me: About what?

No response.

I stared at the screen for a moment before putting my phone away.

Whatever it was could wait until morning.

I climbed the stairs.

My bedroom was at the far end of the second floor.

The moment I closed the door behind me, the polished billionaire heiress disappeared.

I walked to my desk.

Behind a row of books was a small black case.

I pulled it out.

Inside was my second life.

Gaming headset.

Custom controller.

Backup keyboard.

Tournament credentials.

A tiny silver pendant engraved with one word:

ASHEN.

I smiled faintly.

Nobody knew.

Not my parents.

Not the people at university.

Not the families who knew the Calloways.

Only Priya.

To everyone else, I was Everest Calloway.

Daughter of Richard Calloway.

Heiress.

University student.

Perfect daughter.

But online?

I was Ashen.

And tomorrow, I was going to hunt down the only person standing between me and first place.

Kai.

I switched off the bedroom light.

As I climbed into bed, one thought remained in my mind.

One day, I would beat him.

I just didn't know yet that the person I was determined to defeat...

was already much closer to me than I thought.