Platinum did not slow Nightwalker down.
It slowed everyone else.
The difference became apparent within the first few matches. The pace tightened. Decisions carried weight. Mistakes no longer came from ignorance—but from limits.
Nightwalker kept moving forward.
Others began to strain.
The first Platinum match after promotion felt familiar to Daniel.
Clean rotations. Controlled pressure. No wasted motion.
They won.
The second match took longer.
The third required patience.
Still, the result never truly wavered.
VICTORY.
Starguard leaned back in her chair afterward, exhaling slowly.
"…That one was hard," she admitted.
"Yes," Daniel replied. "It should be."
She hesitated.
"I felt late," she said. "On the second fight."
Daniel didn't correct her.
She was right.
The next few games confirmed it.
Starguard didn't play badly.
She played almost well enough.
Her reads were still sharp. Her positioning was still disciplined. But Platinum punished hesitation measured in fractions of a second.
A heal that arrived slightly late.A shield cast half a step too far back.
Small things.
Things Silver and Gold forgave.
Platinum did not.
Daniel adjusted without comment.
He positioned more conservatively. Took fewer risks. Absorbed more pressure himself.
They kept winning.
But the effort shifted.
World Chat continued to move.
"He's climbing again.""Platinum Crusader, still no losses.""That support can't keep up forever."
Daniel closed the panel.
He already knew.
One match ended narrowly.
Closer than any before.
Afterward, Starguard stayed silent longer than usual.
"…You don't slow down," she said finally.
Daniel considered his response.
"No," he said. "I don't."
She smiled faintly.
"That's what makes it scary."
The queue took longer again.
Platinum players checked histories carefully now. Some dodged outright.
Others entered with intent sharpened to a point.
The next match was brutal.
The enemy team pressured Starguard relentlessly. Vision denial. Flanks timed perfectly. No wasted engages.
Starguard held as long as she could.
Then slipped.
Once.
Daniel covered it.
They still won.
But afterward, Starguard spoke quietly.
"…You didn't need me that game."
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
"That won't always be true," he said eventually. "But the gap is real."
She nodded.
She had felt it too.
By the time Nightwalker reached Platinum II, the pattern was undeniable.
Daniel was accelerating.
Starguard was improving—
But not at the same rate.
Not anymore.
During one long queue, she finally asked the question she had been circling.
"…When you keep climbing," she said carefully,"what happens to the people who can't follow?"
Daniel looked at the queue timer.
"They keep playing," he said. "Just not beside you."
There was no cruelty in his voice.
Only truth.
She smiled, a little sadly.
"I thought so."
The next win pushed Daniel closer again.
Another clean performance.
Another quiet lobby.
Starguard sent a party message afterward.
Starguard:I think… I should slow down a bit.Not stop. Just—catch my breath.
Daniel read it.
Then replied.
Nightwalker:That's the right choice.
A pause.
Starguard:We'll meet again, right?
Daniel answered without hesitation.
Nightwalker:On the same ladder.Just different steps.
He queued alone that night.
The matches felt lighter.
Faster.
Platinum no longer resisted him.
It yielded.
Above him, Diamond waited.
And Diamond did not care who kept up.