As the ground trembled and the distant, grinding sound of stone scraping against stone rolled out from the cave, his mind glanced inward, searching for the media platformās statistics.
Live view count: 38,742... 39,018... 39,261...
Engagement metrics spiked hard enough that the interface highlighted itself in gold. Comments were flooding in so fast they stacked in translucent layers, scrolling upward in a chaotic cascade of text, emotes, and clipped reactions.
Kaiden snorted inwardly.
... Yep. Theyād become quite popular. These numbers were nothing to scoff at, especially considering that they were nowhere near the cream of the crop when it came to being awakened combatants. Others were having more flashy fights on larger scales, providing a true cinematic experience to the viewers. Yet many such awakened superstars were now being left behind in the dust by Valhallaās Sinners, who did not have a single level 100 member among their ranks.
They did not even have a level 50, aside from Alice.
Many strong awakened felt extreme jealousy and anger when they saw the numbers Kai and the girls pulled, saying it was due to how shameless they were.
Indeed, inside most awakened conversations, the success of Valhallaās Sinners was scoffed at and said to be due to their adult content.
āThey will not get it,ā Kaiden grinned inwardly. āI bet Ash doesnāt get it either. What made us successful isnāt the porn, not at all. Itās our approach to being awakened streamers.ā
Amused at the dismissive thoughts of his fellow awakened, Kaiden brought the stream chat into his peripheral view and skimmed a few comments.
The tone difference was immediate.
- xX_TruckKun_Reborn_Xx: BRO, that thing is HUGE
- BenchPressBoi: Luna lost the drone already?? LMAOOO
- SteelDad69: hope Luna doesnāt have a driverās license š
- Lapdog of the Empress: Itās not the Supreme Empressās fault! Shut up, losers! The monster moved too quickly for the car to back out! In fact, itās the accursed Handsome Emperorās fault for not buying a better drone car!! The Empress did nothing wrong! The Empress can do no wrong!
- SteelDad69: Arenāt you a pathetic one, dude... So you would happily sit next to her if she were behind the wheel?
- Lapdog of the Empress: N-next to her?! Even if she drives me straight off a cliff, Iād scream with joy!
- SteelDad69: Didnāt you just say she can do no wrong? How does she drive off a cliff then?
- Lapdog of the Empress: Mods!
- Lapdog of the Empress: Mods!
- Lapdog of the Empress: Mods!
- Lapdog of the Empress: Ban this vile creature for speaking ill of the Supreme Empress right now!
Moderator Lady Leia has muted the user Lapdog of the Empress for two hours.
Reason given: Shut the fuck up, nerd. Stop spamming
"..." It was good to see that this weirdo was still watching, even if he was a bit of a hate watcher toward anyone but Luna.
He came from Lunaās gaming streams, being one of her earliest supporters. Kaiden had to admit it, this loser had good taste. He found Luna among the sea of sweaty dudes and titty streamers, even when she averaged like 15 viewers.
Then, as he read more comments...
Right on cue.
Kaidenās mouth twitched.
Then the other side of the chat surged up, unmistakable even without reading names.
- LilyRose: DID YOU SEE HIM CUT THROUGH THOSE PROWLERS??? EVEN BENEATH THE ARMOR, I SAW THE MUSCLES FLEXING!!! OMG
- Mina_Star: I swear every time Kaiden swings that sword, I forget how to breathe
- SoftPeach: He and Calypso fighting back-to-back was illegal!
- Snowdrop: The way he smiled while bleeding??? Hello???
- JadeMoon: Luna yelling orders is cute, but Kai in front of his princesses, taking the hits so they can deal damage is just... wow
He didnāt even need to check the usernames to tell.
Guys joked. Trolled. Threw bait and memes at Luna and each other like it was their sacred duty.
Girls analyzed. Gushed. Replayed his best moments in their heads frame by frame, like it was a highlight reel burned into muscle memory.
Kaiden felt a quiet, amused warmth settle in his chest.
āThey really are easy to tell apart,ā he thought, suppressing a chuckle.
The view counter ticked past 40,000.
Kaiden exhaled once.
"Alright. Before we start, I just wanted to say thanks to all of you. Whether youāre here to cheer us on, troll my gamer girlās questionable driving skills-"
"Hey?!" Luna cried, not able to believe her boyfriend threw her under the bus just like that.
But her shout was ignored as Kaiden continued, "... Hate-watch, or just kill time, I appreciate the support. You are all amazing."
The comments exploded instantly.
He didnāt wait for them to settle.
"And I hope," he continued, tone sharpening just a touch, "you enjoy the current event. Itās the biggest undertaking of Valhallaās Sinners as a group of awakened fighters to date. You are watching us at a pivotal moment of our journey. We will either rise higher than most of you can even imagine, or fall. Whichever happens, you are going to see it."
The girls watched their lover easily rile the chat up, getting them all fully engaged in the current battle and the event as if it was nothing. They knew that this month-long competition could become boring to watch, but Kaidenās framing of it made it seem like a paramount event no one should miss.
They smiled tenderly, having fun seeing the content creator at work.
With his statement done, Kaiden turned his wrist. The \Blood Monarchās Gauntlet flared to life. Crimson light bled outward in thick, molten lines, wrapping around his forearm as reality itself seemed to tense. The air groaned, pressure compressing inward as something answered his call.
A massive greatsword tore itself free from the blood, blackened steel veined with glowing crimson channels.
The ground shuddered again.
Closer now.
From within the cave came the sound of stone cracking under colossal weight. Heat rolled outward in waves.
The girls moved with himāno chatter, no wasted motion.
Stormlight crawled along Lunaās arm as her Stormblade condensed with a sharp crack of thunder. Bastetās aura intensified, solar radiance coiling tighter around her frame as sand lifted and spiraled at her feet. Calypso rolled her shoulders once while her axe settled into her grip with familiar ease. Nyxās body became enveloped with her Telekinetic powers, while Ariaās staff began vibrating with lunar energies.
Kaiden glanced back at the chat once more.
"Princess," he said evenly, addressing his moderator. "Start a bet. Will we suffer an injury in this battle?"
The response was instant.
Princeless Princess: š«”
A translucent banner unfurled across the stream overlay.
BET STARTED: WILL VALHALLAāS SINNERS SUFFER AN INJURY THIS FIGHT?
YES / NO
A sidebar expanded beneath it, explaining the rules in clean, efficient text. Viewers could wager channel points accumulated through watch time, engagement, and streaks, or boost their bet instantly by donating, converting currency directly into weighted votes.
The numbers began to climb.
Fast.
Votes poured in by the thousands, the bar graph shifting violently as opinions slammed into it from both sides. For a few seconds, it hovered close.
Then it tipped.
Hard.
YES ā 78%
NO ā 22%
Kaidenās lips curved into a slow, dangerous grin as he saw the final tally lock in.
"Well," he said, tilting his greatsword slightly as the monsterās silhouette began to fill the cave mouth behind him, molten eyes burning through shadow. "Girls... it appears our fans are voting against us."
The chat erupted.
Luna snorted, stormlight crackling louder as she rolled her neck. "Heh. I knew we had a bunch of haters, but to this degree?"
Bastet let out a low, amused purr, golden eyes sliding sideways as she regarded Calypso. "I mean... we do have Miss āI face-tank everythingā in our midst. She gets injured all the time."