The news spread across New York like wildfire.
In Manhattan, office workers gathered around break room televisions, their coffee growing cold as they watched the footage replay.
In Brooklyn, families sat together in living rooms, parents pointing at the screen while children asked endless questions.
In the Bronx, bar patrons abandoned their drinks to crowd around mounted screens, arguments breaking out over whether the footage was real.
Everywhere the story was the same.
Two unknown players had destroyed the combined forces of Crimson Fang and Shadow Halberd.
Inside the headquarters of the Golden Sword Guild, Chad sat frozen in his chair.
The common room was filled with his fellow Guild members, all of them watching the same broadcast.
On screen, Caelus walked calmly toward an army of guild players without a single trace of fear.
Chad's expression twisted with complicated emotions he could not name.
That was his childhood friend.
