The next match began almost immediately, and Zack leaned forward in his seat with renewed determination. His earlier defeat seemed to have been completely erased from his memory, as though the previous several deaths had never happened. He tightened his grip on the controller and stared intently at the screen, his expression unusually serious.
"This time, nobody does anything stupid," he declared.
Zoey turned her head and looked at him with an expression of mild disbelief. "You're included in that rule, right?"
"Obviously," Zack replied without hesitation.
Camilla adjusted her headset and settled more comfortably into her chair. Stan glanced in her direction, noticing how calm she remained despite the increasingly competitive atmosphere around them.
"You ready?" he asked.
"Yes," Camilla answered simply.
Zack scoffed from beside them. "She says that like she's going into an actual battle."
