CrystalFeather didn't go home after leaving the café.
She walked.
Past the station. Past the convenience store on the corner. Past the places where she usually stopped without thinking. The city felt louder than usual, as if every sound was competing for her attention.
She replayed the conversation again and again—not the words themselves, but the pauses between them.
No safety leash.
That was the line that stayed.
Back in her apartment, she powered on her PC but didn't log in immediately. The client sat open on the screen, familiar and heavy at the same time.
Her current team's training schedule was still pinned to the corner of her monitor.
Clean. Efficient. Predictable.
She had followed it for months.
She had improved.
And yet—
She opened a replay instead.
Not her best game.
The one Daniel had pointed out.
The moment where she had advantage—and let it go.
She watched herself hesitate.
Watched the window close.
The fight that never happened.
Her fingers tightened unconsciously on the mouse.
"Safe," she muttered.
Her phone buzzed.
A message from her team's group chat.
Coach:Tomorrow's scrim moved up to 10 a.m.Be ready.
She stared at it for a long moment.
Didn't reply.
Across the city, Daniel was still awake.
Not queuing.
Not practicing.
He sat at his desk, the roster document open again.
ADC: Chen XingyuMid: —Support: —Jungle: —Top: —
He didn't fill anything in.
Instead, he opened a new file.
Training Philosophy
He wrote a single line.
No one plays safe.
He stopped there.
Near midnight, Daniel queued one last Master match.
The game was sharp. Focused. Forgettable.
A win.
He logged out immediately afterward.
This wasn't the night for grinding.
CrystalFeather finally logged in after midnight.
Not to rank.
To practice.
Custom lobby. No bots. Just movement.
She practiced aggressive spacing—stepping forward, canceling, stepping again. She deliberately overextended once. Died. Reset.
Again.
Again.
By the fourth attempt, her timing changed.
Not perfect.
But closer.
She smiled faintly.
Her phone buzzed again.
A message from Daniel.
Nightwalker:No pressure tonight.Sleep.
She stared at it.
Then typed back.
CrystalFeather:I know.
A pause.
Then—
CrystalFeather:But if I say yes…I want to earn my place.
Daniel replied immediately.
Nightwalker:That's the only kind of yes I'm waiting for.
She leaned back in her chair.
Closed her eyes.
The city hummed outside her window.
Tomorrow, she would have to choose between a path that was laid out—and one that wasn't.
The second path scared her more.
That was probably why she wanted it.
When Daniel finally shut down his PC, the roster was still incomplete.
But it no longer felt empty.
It felt patient.