(S1) Chapter 5 – The Leap

  Bang!

  Bang!

  Each punch Ava drove into the heavy bag sent it swinging violently on its chain.

  Her dark hair was tied into a tight bun, white boxing gloves flashing as she shifted between combinations.

  Fists. Elbows. A sharp kick that rattled the metal hook above the bag.

  She moved like someone who knew how to fight. But her mind wasn’t on the bag.

  Memories kept slipping through the rhythm of her strikes.

  Her parents arguing. Her mother shouting that Henry should want more from life.

  Her father insisting he was happy.

  No…

  Not happy.

  Comfortable.

  Comfortable letting fear keep him from dreaming.

  Her punches grew harder. The bag groaned under the impact, another memory surging forward.

  She had come home late that night to find Henry passed out on the couch, empty beer bottles scattered across the floor around him.

  A letter rested loosely in his hand.

  The letter her mother had left, addressing both of them.

  Saying she was leaving. Saying she needed to live her own life. Some bullshit about finding herself.

  Ava’s jaw tightened as she spun into a high kick.

  THUD.

  The chain rattled violently, making the bag swing back and forth.

  Breathing hard, she caught the bag with both hands, stopping its sway. Her forehead rested against the worn leather as she forced the memories away.

  “Looks like you’ve got a lot on your mind,” a voice said from behind her.

  Ava turned sharply.

  An elderly man limped toward her, leaning heavily on a wooden cane. His gray hair was cropped short, his skin a warm golden-brown. Despite the limp, his eyes were sharp.

  Her expression softened immediately.

  “Morning, Coach Pierce,” she said. “Yeah… I guess I do.”

  Coach Pierce nodded and made his slow way to the bench against the wall, lowering himself onto it with a quiet grunt.

  He grabbed the towel hanging from the bag and tossed it toward her.

  Ava caught it easily with one hand and draped it over her head before walking over to sit beside him.

  “How’s your old man doing?” Pierce asked.

  Ava raised an eyebrow.

  “I don’t think a seventy-five-year-old man should be calling anyone else old.”

  Pierce chuckled.

  “That’s a fair point.”

  Ava took a bottle from her bag and drank deeply before leaning back on the bench.

  She glanced at the old man beside her with quiet gratitude.

  While her father had been drinking… or escaping into Horizon’s End, she had found this place — a cramped gym hidden behind an abandoned warehouse.

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  Officially it taught MMA. But it had become something more for her. Coach Pierce had been there for her when Henry hadn’t.

  Not just teaching her how to fight.

  Helping her survive everything happening at home.

  She capped the bottle and set it aside.

  “He’s been… acting weird lately.”

  Pierce tilted his head.

  “Weird how?”

  “He’s on the phone a lot more,” Ava said. “Talking to someone. He hasn’t gone to work all week. And he keeps ordering expensive VR equipment.”

  She frowned.

  “I have no idea what he’s doing.”

  Pierce rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

  “I’ve heard people can make good money playing that game… Horizon’s End.”

  Ava snorted.

  “Yeah. If you’re one of the top one percent.”

  Pierce shrugged.

  “People say a lot of things are impossible… until someone does them.”

  Ava didn’t look convinced, but she let the conversation drop.

  Pierce pushed himself upright with a grunt.

  “Well,” he said with a small grin, “now that you’ve gotten the anger out… how about we practice hitting the bag with some skill?”

  Ava couldn’t help smiling.

  She stood, tightened her gloves, and stepped back toward the bag.

  ?

  Henry stood near the staircase, watching nervously as a group of workers carried the final pieces of his VR capsule upstairs.

  “Don’t break… don’t break… don’t break…” he muttered under his breath.

  The old wooden steps creaked loudly beneath the weight of the machinery.

  After several tense minutes, the workers finally began filing out of the house.

  Soon only one remained, holding out a datapad.

  “All set, sir,” the man said. “Just need your signature.”

  He signed the datapad. The worker thanked him and left, closing the front door behind him.

  Moments later, Ava stepped inside, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

  Henry clenched his fists, inhaled deeply, and forced himself to relax.

  This conversation had to happen.

  “Ava,” he said carefully. “Can you come here for a minute?”

  She walked over slowly but didn’t sit when he gestured to the couch. Instead, she crossed her arms and stared at him.

  Henry cleared his throat.

  “I know you’ve noticed the equipment being delivered.”

  She nodded.

  “Well… I guess I should start from the beginning. Uncle George is retiring. He’s selling the shop at the end of the week.”

  Ava’s eyes widened slightly, but Henry quickly continued.

  “I didn’t know what we were going to do. But then Colin visited me in the game.”

  That surprised her even more.

  “Uncle Colin?” she asked.

  Henry nodded.

  “He gave me an idea.”

  Ava’s eyes narrowed.

  “What kind of idea?”

  Henry hesitated.

  “Well… I’m going to start playing Horizon’s End seriously.”

  Her expression hardened instantly.

  “Like a streamer?”

  Henry’s voice dropped to a near whisper.

  “…Yes, but a little more than just that.”

  The house fell silent, with only the soft hum of the new VR capsule being heard.

  Then Ava exploded.

  “Are you serious?! You lose your job and now you just want to play games all day?!”

  “I know how it sounds—”

  “Do you?” she snapped. “Because it sounds insane!”

  Henry raised both hands.

  “If I can build a channel… if I can become a known player—”

  “That’s a lot of ifs, Dad!”

  She paced the room.

  “Do you know how many people try to do that?”

  Henry swallowed.

  “I know. And don’t worry, I saved enough money for us to live on for two months,” he said quietly. “After that… we will have to figure it out together.”

  Ava stared at him in disbelief.

  Then she threw her hands up and stormed upstairs, her bedroom door slamming.

  Henry sighed in relief.

  That had gone… slightly better than expected, he thought as he made his way up the stairs—

  CRACK.

  One of the steps gave way beneath his foot. His leg punched straight through the wood.

  “Damn it!”

  Carefully pulling himself free, he climbed the rest of the stairs.

  When he reached his room, the new VR capsule sat in the corner where his desk once stood.

  It hummed softly, ready to power on.

  Henry stared at it, excitement and fear twisted together in his chest.

  But instead of climbing inside, he picked up his old VR helmet from the bed.

  “One last time,” he murmured.

  He lay down and pulled the visor over his eyes.

  “Login.”

  The world dissolved.

  ?

  Bram stood once again inside his blacksmith shop.

  Weapons lined the walls.

  Armor gleamed in polished rows.

  He remembered how long it had taken to earn enough coin to buy this shop.

  He started to walk around the shop, his legs lagging behind slightly as the calibration adjusted.

  “I won’t miss that,” he muttered.

  He walked to the forge and lit the fire, heat washing over him. He lifted the hammer with a smile.

  “I knew you’d log in one last time.”

  Bram turned to see Colin leaning casually in the doorway, arms crossed.

  Henry smiled faintly.

  “Yeah… this place has been my home for a long time. I needed to see it one last time.”

  Colin nodded in understanding as they left the shop and began walking to Tiffany’s Tavern together.

  Inside was mostly empty because it was still the middle of the day. They sat at a quiet table in the back.

  “Did all your equipment arrive?” Colin asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “And Ava?”

  Bram groaned and slumped into his chair.

  “She took it about as well as expected.”

  Colin placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

  “Give her time.”

  Henry nodded slowly.

  Colin leaned forward, lowering his voice.

  “I did some research.”

  “Oh?”

  “There’s something we should do before choosing our classes.”

  Bram frowned.

  “What do you mean?”

  “When you arrive at the castle,” Colin said, “there’s a silver door behind the throne room.”

  “A hidden door?”

  “Exactly. If you go through it, you enter a combat trial.”

  Bram raised an eyebrow.

  “What kind of trial?”

  “The longer you survive, the more bonus stats you gain before starting the game.”

  Bram leaned back.

  “If that’s true, why isn’t everyone doing it?”

  “Because it only works on Adventure Mode,” Colin said. “And by the time people discovered it, most players were already too invested in their characters.”

  “And nobody wants to delete their progress,” Bram finished.

  “Exactly.”

  Bram scratched his beard.

  “And Real Mode?”

  Colin shrugged.

  “Some players think the trial still exists. But almost nobody has tested it.”

  “Because of the pain sync,” Bram muttered.

  “Yeah. And again, they don’t want to delete their character to try something that might not work.”

  Bram swallowed.

  “People who tried Real Mode usually quit within hours. You know?”

  “I know,” Colin said somberly.

  Silence settled over the table like a thick fog. Bram tilted his chair back, staring at the ceiling.

  “We’re really doing this.”

  Colin smiled confidently.

  “Sometimes you have to take a risk.”

  Henry sighed.

  “Well… I better do it before I change my mind.”

  He opened the system menu and went to the Character Deletion tab.

  Warning: A character deleted can never come back.

  Are you sure you want to delete this character?

  YES / NO

  His hands trembled.

  He looked around the tavern one last time as Bram before closing his eyes.

  “Yes.”