Chapter 112: No More Home
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
We simply stared at the door.
Someone from Resistance HQ had come all the way to Helios Reach to find us. That alone was strange enough, considering the entire city was practically crawling with Imperial soldiers and bounty hunters.
But why would HQ send someone here?
And how had they even found us?
I felt like my brain was about to give up trying to understand what was happening.
"Wait," I muttered. "HQ sent someone? Why?"
SK turned toward me.
"How are we supposed to verify whether the person on the other side is telling the truth?"
I opened my mouth.
Then I closed it.
Slowly, we both turned toward Volt.
He stared back at us.
For a moment, nobody said anything.
Then Volt sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Why are you looking at me? I don't even work at HQ! Remember? I'm from the Spy Unit stationed at the capital!"
"Oh. Right."
I scratched my cheek.
"I forgot."
"You forgot?"
"It's been a stressful few days!"
"That's your excuse for everything!"
"Can you two stop arguing?" SK interrupted. "The problem remains. We have no way to confirm this person's identity."
She had a point.
The Resistance wasn't exactly an organization that handed out membership cards. Most of its operations were conducted in secret, and many of its members didn't even know one another's real identities. Even among those who fought together, there were things they weren't supposed to know.
For all we knew, the person outside could be an Imperial spy trying to lure us into a trap.
Or worse, a bounty hunter who had somehow discovered our location.
I tightened my grip on my rifle.
"Hey!" SK shouted toward the door. "Can you prove that you're really from the Resistance?"
Silence.
We waited.
One second passed.
Then another.
I glanced at Volt. He had his pistol ready, his expression growing more serious by the moment.
SK stood beside the door with one hand near her weapon. Blaze, meanwhile, remained seated on the bed.
He was watching us.
Actually, he looked more entertained than concerned.
Seriously?
The Empire was hunting us, the city was surrounded, and we had a suspicious stranger standing outside our room. Yet Blaze looked like he was watching a comedy show.
I gave him an irritated look.
He merely raised an eyebrow.
Unbelievable.
Finally, the person outside spoke.
"I'm involved in the Train Incident."
Every trace of amusement vanished from my face.
My fingers tightened around the rifle.
Beside me, SK went completely still.
Even Volt's expression changed.
The Train Incident.
That was not something an ordinary player could simply bring up.
It had been one of the missions that changed everything for us. A mission involving kidnapped players from my home game Countless Star, an operation that dragged the Resistance into a dangerous confrontation, and an incident that had left consequences none of us could easily forget.
Only certain Resistance members knew the full details.
The Empire knew about it, too, but that didn't mean every Imperial soldier had access to the information. Knowledge of the incident was limited to specific individuals and those who had been directly involved.
And now, someone standing outside our door was claiming to be connected to it.
I exchanged a glance with SK.
She was thinking the same thing I was.
Who are you?
I stepped closer to the door, keeping my rifle raised.
"Who exactly are you?!"
"I can explain everything properly if you open the door," the stranger replied. "It would be better than shouting through it."
That was reasonable.
It was also exactly the sort of thing someone trying to ambush us would say.
I looked at SK.
She looked at me.
Neither of us seemed particularly eager to make the first move.
Then I glanced at Volt.
He stared at the door for another moment before letting out a long sigh.
"Fine. On the count of three."
I nodded.
SK adjusted her stance.
Blaze continued watching from the bed.
Volt raised one finger.
"One."
I took a breath and aimed at the door.
"Two."
SK moved her hand toward the handle.
"Three."
The door swung open.
Volt and I immediately pointed our weapons at the figure standing outside.
The stranger wore a long, hooded cloak that concealed most of their body. They stood quietly in the hallway, surrounded by the distant sounds of marching soldiers and the occasional shout from the street below.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then the stranger slowly raised both hands.
"I'm not here to fight."
"Keep your hands where we can see them," I ordered.
"Of course."
The stranger stepped inside carefully.
SK closed the door behind them, but she didn't lower her guard. She moved closer, examining the visitor from head to toe.
Then, without warning, she reached up and pulled back the stranger's hood.
Red hair spilled over the visitor's shoulders.
A young woman looked back at us.
Her face was unfamiliar at first, but something about her features stirred a memory buried beneath years of battles, missions, and things I would rather not remember.
My rifle lowered by a fraction.
"Wait…"
I stared at her.
"That's a girl?"
The moment the words left my mouth, I realized how stupid they sounded.
The girl raised an eyebrow.
"Is that really the first thing you have to say?"
"No! I mean, I thought you were a guy because of the cloak!"
"Ryze," SK said flatly.
"Okay, okay! Sorry!"
I cleared my throat and focused on something more important.
Her presence.
There was something familiar about her aura. It wasn't the same as SkyRealm's, nor did it carry the unmistakable feeling of someone who had spent their entire life fighting within this game.
It felt different.
Familiar.
I studied her more carefully.
"What game are you from?"
The girl smiled.
"I'm Abbyrose. And I'm from Countless Star, just like you."
For a moment, the room seemed to fall silent.
Countless Star.
Abbyrose.
The name struck me like a sudden flash of lightning.
I remembered her.
Not just her name, but her face. The frightened girl we had tried to rescue during the Train Incident. One of the hostages taken by the players responsible for the kidnapping.
Back then, I hadn't known much about her. We had been too busy trying to get everyone out alive.
But she had been there.
She had been one of the people we tried to save.
"Wait a second," I said, stepping closer. "You're that girl, aren't you? The one from the Train Incident?"
Abbyrose nodded.
"That's right."
I stared at her in disbelief.
"You joined the Resistance?"
"I did."
She glanced around the room before her eyes settled on me.
Then her expression softened.
"And now I understand why you joined, too."
I blinked.
"What?"
"Thank you, Ryze."
Her voice was quiet, but there was a sincerity in it that made me stop talking.
"For saving me back then. You and your team risked everything to get us out. Your sacrifice helped save us."
I didn't know what to say.
I had never considered myself a hero. I had simply done what I thought was right, even when things had gone horribly wrong.
Hearing someone thank me for it after all this time felt strange.
Before I could respond, Abbyrose turned toward SK.
"And you…"
Her smile faded slightly.
SK's expression stiffened.
"I remember you, too," Abbyrose continued. "You were on the other side back then."
The atmosphere in the room changed.
I glanced at SK.
She looked away.
"That was in the past," SK said. "I'm no longer working for the Empire."
Abbyrose watched her for a moment.
Then she smiled again.
"I know. That's why I wanted to meet you."
SK didn't answer immediately.
There was something uncomfortable in the way she stood, as though she wasn't sure what to do with Abbyrose's gratitude.
Finally, she crossed her arms.
"The person you knew back then, the one who fought for the Empire and defended the people responsible for that incident, isn't the person standing in front of you now."
"Hey," I interrupted, pointing at SK. "She's right."
SK glanced at me.
I continued before she could object.
"The SK you remember, the one who tried to kill me, is now this thing right here, same team"
I gestured toward her white armor.
SK's head snapped toward me.
"Hey!"
"What? It's true!"
"I never said I was joining the Resistance!"
"You're literally standing in a room with us while the Empire is hunting you!"
"That's completely different!"
"Sure it is."
Volt let out a short laugh.
Even Blaze's lips curved into a faint smile.
For a brief moment, the tension in the room disappeared. SK continued arguing with me, insisting that cooperating with us didn't mean she had officially joined anything, while I pointed out that her definition of cooperation was becoming increasingly suspicious.
Abbyrose watched us quietly.
But she wasn't laughing.
I noticed it first.
Her smile had disappeared, and she was looking down at the floor.
Something was wrong.
The argument slowly died out as Volt noticed her expression, too.
"Hey," he said. "What's wrong?"
Abbyrose didn't answer immediately.
She took a breath, then looked at us one by one.
When her eyes met mine, I felt a cold knot form in my stomach.
"I came here because I needed to tell you something."
Her voice was different now.
No warmth.
No relief.
Only exhaustion.
I lowered my rifle completely.
"What happened?"
Abbyrose swallowed.
"The Resistance HQ…"
She paused.
For a moment, it seemed as though she was struggling to find the right words.
Then she finally said it.
"It's been destroyed."
Nobody moved.
I stared at her.
"What?"
"The Resistance Headquarters is gone," she repeated. "There's nothing left."
My mind refused to accept the words.
The Resistance HQ was more than a building. It was our base of operations, our source of information, our connection to the people still fighting against the Empire. It was where missions were planned, where wounded players were treated, and where people who had nowhere else to go could find a place among others who understood their situation.
It was the closest thing many of us had to a home.
Including me.
I took a step toward Abbyrose.
"Wait. What do you mean there's nothing left? What happened to everyone there? What about the command staff? The other members?"
"I don't know everything," she admitted. "By the time woke up, it was already over."
"Already over?"
My voice sounded strangely distant to my own ears.
Abbyrose nodded slowly.
"There was no army. No siege. No battle between factions."
She looked directly at me.
"One player did it."
My heart seemed to stop.
"One player?" Volt repeated.
Abbyrose nodded.
"A single player destroyed the Resistance HQ."
The room fell silent.
I couldn't understand it.
The Resistance HQ wasn't some small outpost that a random player could destroy on a whim. It had defenses, experienced fighters, and people who had survived fifteen years in this world.
And yet, according to Abbyrose, one player had brought the entire headquarters down.
I shook my head.
"No. That doesn't make sense. Who could possibly do that?"
Abbyrose's eyes met mine.
"I don't know why they attacked us," she said. "I don't know what they wanted, or whether anyone managed to escape."
She paused.
"But I know what this means for you."
My stomach tightened.
"Ryze…"
For the first time since entering the room, Abbyrose looked genuinely afraid.
"You can't go home anymore."
I stared at her.
"What are you talking about?"
"Your home is gone, Ryze."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"The Resistance HQ has been destroyed."
She took another breath.
"And the player who did it…"
Abbyrose looked around the room, making sure we were all listening.
"…is still out there."
End of Chapter 112
*****
Author's Note:
Hey guys, Nirron111 here!
First off, I want to sincerely apologize for the slow updates lately. I am very, very sorry! The past few months have been extremely busy—college stuff took up a lot of my time, and to make matters worse, my PC got hacked a couple of weeks ago. All of my accounts were compromised, which caused a huge setback and led to all these delays.
But fear not! We are currently in Volume 3. As a quick refresher:
Volume 1: The Void Arc
Volume 2: The Empire Arc
Volume 3: The Long Journey
Volume 3 is by far the longest part of the novel so far, but my plan is to wrap it up by late November or early December. Once Volume 3 is complete, I'll be taking a short break from December through January to recharge and prepare for what's next.
Thank you all so much for your patience, understanding, and continued support! Stay tuned!