They didn't scrim the next day.
That, more than the losses, unsettled everyone.
WildZone arrived early, sat down, stood up again, paced once around the room, then finally dropped into his chair with a frustrated sigh. CrystalFeather reread her notes twice without really seeing the words. Blackstone leaned back, arms crossed, gaze unfocused. Ironwall watched them all in silence.
Daniel arrived last.
He didn't apologize.
"Custom," he said. "No opponents."
WildZone blinked. "What?"
Daniel powered on his station. "Empty map."
They loaded in.
Five players. No enemies.
Just terrain, fog of war, lanes stretching forward without resistance.
"This isn't practice," WildZone muttered.
"It is," Daniel replied. "Just not the kind you're used to."
Daniel moved first.
Not aggressively. Not defensively.
He walked into the river and stopped.
"Everyone," he said, "tell me where you think the fight starts."
There was a pause.
CrystalFeather spoke first. "When pressure meets resistance."
WildZone shook his head. "When you invade and they answer."
Blackstone said calmly, "When a lane can't hold anymore."
Ironwall added, "Before any of that. When information disappears."
Daniel nodded.
"All correct," he said. "All incomplete."
He pinged the map.
"This," Daniel continued, "is the moment before the fight."
He moved one step forward.
"And this," he said, "is the moment you decide whether the fight even exists."
They watched his character stand there, unmoving.
No damage. No spells.
Just presence.
"WildZone," Daniel said. "You don't start fights. You force responses."
WildZone frowned slightly, then nodded.
"CrystalFeather," Daniel continued. "You don't follow fights. You create outcomes."
She straightened unconsciously.
"Blackstone," Daniel said, turning. "You don't hold lanes. You buy permission."
Blackstone's eyes narrowed, thoughtful.
"Ironwall," Daniel finished. "You don't stop fights. You delay decisions."
Ironwall inclined his head once.
Daniel took a breath.
"And me?" WildZone asked.
Daniel smiled faintly.
"I make sure all of that happens in the same place."
They didn't move for a long moment.
Then Daniel said, "Again. This time, imagine the enemy."
They walked the map slowly.
WildZone traced invade paths without committing. CrystalFeather positioned where follow-up would land, not where pressure started. Blackstone rotated early, not late. Ironwall shadowed vision denial rather than reacting to it.
For the first time, they weren't five players sharing space.
They were five roles shaping it.
"Okay," Zhou said from the doorway, arms crossed. "Now scrim."
The opponent this time was the same coordinated team from the night before.
The early game looked identical.
That was intentional.
At twelve minutes, the enemy forced the same awkward fight.
WildZone stepped forward—
—and stopped.
CrystalFeather didn't follow.
Blackstone rotated early.
Ironwall cut vision.
Daniel moved sideways.
The enemy hesitated.
That hesitation was new.
Daniel engaged.
The fight didn't explode.
It collapsed.
One enemy mispositioned.
Then another.
The team disengaged cleanly.
No wipe.
No chase.
Just control.
The match tilted.
By twenty minutes, the enemy team was reacting instead of dictating.
They tried again.
And again.
Each time, the response was cleaner.
Not faster.
Clearer.
When the scrim ended, no one cheered.
WildZone leaned back slowly. "…That felt different."
CrystalFeather nodded. "Like the fight waited for us."
Blackstone said simply, "I knew where to stand."
Ironwall exhaled. "That's new."
Daniel closed the client.
"Yes," he said. "That's a team."
Zhou entered fully now.
"City League won't be easier," he said. "But it won't confuse you anymore."
Daniel nodded.
"One more thing," Zhou added. "Registration deadline's in ten days."
Silence followed.
Daniel looked around at the room.
"Then," he said, "we need a name."
The words settled in the air.
Not dramatic.
Inevitable.
Outside, the city moved as always.
Inside, something had finally aligned.
And somewhere else—
A familiar organization was no longer just watching.
They were preparing.