The forest exploded into chaos. Leaves burst into the air.Roots snapped under charging feet.Ten players surged at Riley's group with low-tier weapons gleaming, spirits snarling ahead of them. But something else burst at the same time— A surge of adrenaline. Riley felt everything sharpen—sound, colour, instinct. Lumi bristled on his shoulder, tiny body glowing with fierce, determined light.Echo planted her paws, fur lifting.Dot clicked like a creature preparing for glorious violence. Aria cracked her knuckles.Sofia tightened her grip on her staff. Hayes and Hayley took one step forward, raising their shields at the same time. "Form up!" Riley shouted. The battle began. Two enemy wolf pups sprinted straight at Aria. "Dot!" Aria snapped. Dot leapt forward, far faster than her size suggested. One wolf lunged— Dot dodged sideways and body-slammed its face so hard it yelped and tumbled across the dirt. Aria cackled."That's my girl!" The other wolf went for Dot's flank.Dot turned, angry clicks rapid and sharp. Her mandibles sparked— WEB SHOT! A burst of sticky silk slapped straight onto the wolf's muzzle, gluing its mouth shut. It stumbled, confused. "DOT IS TERRIFYING AND I LOVE HER!" Aria screamed. A cat spirit lunged at Sofia. Echo's eyes narrowed. She darted forward with surprising speed—grabbing the cat by the scruff and flipping it over her back like she'd been trained for combat her entire life. The cat hit the ground with a soft oof and attempted to stand— Echo leapt on top of it, pinning it with her paws, teeth gently bared. Sofia gasped."Echo! That was—?" "BADASS!" Aria shouted. Echo barked proudly. Three players rushed Riley at once. He drew the Spirit Bow—even sealed, it felt alive under his fingers. He fired. FREE SHOT — STARCHARGED ARROW A streak of light flew across the clearing— SLAM. The first attacker stumbled, a glowing mark searing across his chest. "What kind of bow is THAT?!" Riley didn't answer. He shot again.And again. Each shot wasn't powerful, but each forced movement, controlled the flow. He wasn't trying to defeat them—he was positioning them. "Hayley, left!" Riley called. Hayley shifted just as the next arrow forced an enemy into her shield's arc. CLANG! The hit echoed through the clearing. Hayes stepped in front of Sofia, blocking another sword swipe. "You good back there?" he called. "I—I think so!" Sofia stammered, charging up light. Echo blocked another spirit charging her side. Sofia whispered, "Thank you…"Echo's tail wagged once. Two more wolf pups darted toward Riley's legs. "Lumi — FLASH!" Lumi puffed out his chest. FLASH! A burst of starlight blasted out. The wolves screeched, blinded, stumbling in circles. "Good boy!" Riley praised. Lumi chirped triumphantly— —and then hopped down from Riley's shoulder, tail glowing, ready to fight. Three enemy spirits—two wolves, one cat—surrounded him. "Lumi!" Sofia cried. But Riley held her back. "Watch," he said softly. The three spirits pounced. Lumi's glow intensified.He rolled under the wolf, tail smacking the cat's chin.Then— TACKLE! Like a tiny comet, Lumi rammed full-force into the wolf's stomach, sending it flying. Even Aria froze. "…did your adorable star hamster just BODY a wolf?!" Riley grinned despite the chaos. "Yeah. He's small, not weak." The wolf pup hit a tree and vanished into particles—defeated and unsummoned. "ONE DOWN!" Aria cheered. Lumi puffed up proudly… then tripped over a root. Dot clicked, judging him harshly. One of Harry's mages focused on Sofia, hurling a weak fire spell. "Echo—BLOCK!" Echo darted forward, sliding under the flame and tackling the mage's spirit with enough force to disrupt the casting. The spell fizzled. The mage screamed, "STOP HER!" Too late. Echo rammed him in the shin again.He stumbled backward over a root and vanished— "Player down!" Aria shouted. "Eat dirt, fire nerd!" Another spirit rushed Dot. Dot sidestepped and slammed all eight legs down in a shockwave. BODY SLAM! The enemy spirit flew backwards, instantly unsummoned. Aria laughed so hard she almost fell over. "DOT DESTROYS—LET HER COOK!" Dot clicked smugly. Three players regrouped and charged her again—this time not falling for Lumen Shield. Sofia panicked, grip shaking— Riley shouted:"SOFIA! Remember training—light travels where you guide it!" Sofia inhaled sharply.Her trembling stilled. She raised the staff. "LUMIN BURST!" A brilliant wave of light surged forward— BOOOOM— Three players staggered, blinded, spirit links disrupted. One spirit vanished immediately.Another fell whimpering.The third player stumbled and tripped over a root, collapsing in a heap. Aria howled,"SOFIA JUST SOLO'D A TRIO! SHE'S A QUEEN!" Sofia's face turned bright red. "I-I didn't mean— I mean— I did, but—" Echo nuzzled her leg proudly. Hayes blocked a double strike, his shield ringing like a bell. Hayley followed with a clean counterstrike, smacking the attacker in the ribs. Their twin cat spirits moved in perfect sync: One clawed at ankles The other targeted wrists They rotated positions like dancers Aria's jaw dropped."These two are STRAIGHT-UP duo-queue champions!" Hayley's grin was feral."Thanks!" Hayes grunted, holding off another strike."Busy—please—focus!" Aria punched a guy off him."See? Teamwork!" Harry, still blinking away Lumi's dazzling blast, pushed through the fray. He pointed directly at Sofia. "Stop hitting my team. Take the staff!" Three remaining players raced toward her. Echo barked, bracing herself. Dot skittered sideways, ready to intercept. Riley turned, already drawing his bow— But two enemy spirits lunged at HIM. He dodged one—Lumi leapt and tackled the other—But it still left Sofia exposed. "Sofia—MOVE!" Riley yelled. Sofia lifted her staff on instinct— But too slow. Too many. They were going to reach her. Until— Aria roared,"OVER. MY. DEAD. BODY!" She slammed her gauntlets together. SHOCKWIRE! A cracking line of electricity shot across the ground, wrapping around two attackers' legs, jerking them off their feet. The third lunged— Echo intercepted, teeth bared. Sofia gasped."Echo!" Echo growled, refusing to let them near her. Aria smirked."That's what you get for picking on my sister." Harry snarled."Fine. Forget her. Take the bow." Riley exhaled sharply. That was worse. Way worse. The Starsear Bow hummed faintly in his hands, reacting to the danger even in its sealed state. He raised it. "If it's me you want," Riley murmured, "come and see how far you get." There were still six enemies left. But they were shaky.Scattered.Wounded.Badly coordinated. Riley raised his voice, sharp and commanding: "Aria—left!Sofia—support the twins!Hayes, Hayley—push center!Spirits—split and flank!" Everyone moved instantly. It felt like a team that had fought together for years—not like a group that met an hour ago. Even the spirits listened. Dot shot to the left, ambushing a wolf pup and pinning it on its back.Echo darted right, cutting off an escape route. Lumi's tail glowed as he circled behind Riley, ready for another Flash. The battle twisted—shifted—Riley's formation collapsing the enemy's numbers advantage. Hayley slammed her shield into someone's stomach.Hayes blocked two simultaneous attacks.Aria punched a guy so hard his sword flew into a bush. Sofia cast another Lumen Burst to support. The clearing lit up like a battlefield of glowing spells and flickering spirit energy. Players were dropping. Enemy spirits were disappearing one after another. Riley nocked another arrow. "Harry," he called over the noise, "you should've walked away." Harry's eyes burned."You think you've won?!" He lunged at Riley—the last reckless charge. Riley fired at Harry's feet. The flash blinded him again.Harry tripped—hit a root— And fell flat on his back. Aria screamed,"HE FELL LIKE A CHAIR WITH THREE LEGS!" Dot clicked aggressively at him like she was demanding an apology. Lumi hopped onto Riley's head in triumph. Eight of Harry's ten players were down or fled.Two remained and looked terrified. Riley lowered his bow. "This isn't your loot.It never was." Harry staggered to his feet, face bright red with fury. "This isn't over!" he spat. "I'll—" Lumi hissed, tail crackling with light. Harry backed up— And ran. The forest fell quiet. For a moment, only heavy breathing echoed around the clearing. Aria collapsed onto the ground. "WE WON. WE ACTUALLY WON." Sofia hugged Echo tightly. Hayley leaned against a tree, panting. Hayes bent over, hands on knees. Riley breathed out slowly. Lumi climbed into his palm, glowing softly… proudly. Riley stroked his head."Good job, buddy." He looked at his team—shaking, sweaty, scratched—but victorious. Riley smiled. "Nice work, everyone."
