Chapter 25: The Ghost Player

’This is the life.’

Marcus felt like the king of the world. On his left, Amber was practically hanging off his arm, chattering a mile a minute. On his right, the elegant and quiet Lily kept glancing at him with a soft, affectionate look. Their little trio was turning heads. The guys they passed stared with pure, undiluted envy, and the women shot looks of sharp appraisal. It was understandable; Amber and Lily were both knockout gorgeous. Any guy would be lucky to be with one of them, and here he was, walking with both.

Marcus’s ego swelled to epic proportions. He had to admit, the public jealousy felt pretty damn good.

Looking at the two women beside him, a wave of possessive happiness washed over him. He slowly reached out with his right hand and, for the first time, laced his fingers intimately through Lily’s, holding on tight.

Lily wasn’t expecting such a public move. It was the first time a guy had ever held her hand just walking down the street, and her first instinct was to pull away. But his grip was firm; she couldn’t budge an inch.

Then she remembered the man holding her hand was the one she was head-over-heels for. A sweet warmth flooded her chest, and she let the shameless man have his way. She let herself be drawn a step closer, their fingers locking even tighter together.

That simple act not only closed the physical gap but sent another blush spreading across Lily’s shy face, making her look even more captivating. Which, of course, drew even more envious stares from everyone around them.

’You have got to be kidding me.’

Marcus stared at the scene in front of the electronics store. Dominion had been in public beta for four days, and the line for the VR headsets still stretched down the block and around the corner. It was even longer than the line he’d suffered through just a few days ago.

Marcus had no choice but to wait patiently. While standing in line, he overheard a surprising amount of chatter about Dominion.

"No kidding," the first guy in line, a man in a worn jacket, said. "They’re saying Dominion hit three hundred million players in under four days, and it’s adding tens of millions more every day. It’s bleeding every other game dry; some smaller studios are apparently already folding."

"No doubt," the second person, a woman with a tablet, replied. "My feed is full of pro players and big guilds from other games jumping ship, saying they’re going all-in on Dominion. The hype is unreal. I heard some of the guilds that waited are seriously regretting it, missed the whole first wave."

"Oh, the guild wars are gonna be insane," the first guy agreed.

A third person, a young man with a backpack, scoffed. "Pfft, that’s just the start. You know what’s really going on? Dominion is going global. Huge corporations in Japan, India, China, Germany, and the UK all cut deals with Dragonfly Corp. A billion bucks upfront plus twenty percent of their annual profits, just for the regional rights. They’ll host their own servers, and eventually, it’ll all link up. Can you imagine the world-vs-world battles when those borders come down?"

The woman with the tablet looked skeptical. "Get out of here. I haven’t seen a single headline about that. You’re full of it."

"Of course you haven’t," the young man said with a smug look. "This is top-tier info. My cousin’s company is handling the German side. The contract was literally signed yesterday; the public announcement hasn’t even been drafted. Just wait. You’ll see."

"Man, I could see it," the first guy mused. "If that’s true, it’s about time we showed those guys what’s what."

"Hell yeah! Let’s go!" a fourth person chimed in, pumping his fist.

A couple of bystanders were discussing a different topic.

"Hey, you see this?" Bystander A said to his friend. "There’s some ghost player in Dominion who’s completely taken over the leaderboards. They’re a full two levels ahead of the number two spot. It’s all anyone in the forums is talking about."

"Tell me about it," Bystander B sighed. "The whole community is losing their minds trying to figure out who it is, what they look like, their whole deal. I’ve seen clips of girls on social media literally proposing to the ghost player. Even the top guilds are trying to dox this guy to recruit him."

"Who do you think it is?" Bystander C wondered aloud. "My money’s on a Dragonfly Corp exec’s kid or maybe a dev. You’d have to know the game’s code to be that far ahead."

"You’re so behind," Bystander B corrected. "Everyone knows Dominion is run by that AI, ’Skynet.’ The whole thing’s procedurally generated. Nobody gets a head start; it’s a level playing field."

"I heard it’s some crypto billionaire’s son," Bystander A suggested. "Who else could have those kinds of resources?"

"Nah, that doesn’t track," Bystander C countered. "If it was some trust fund baby, they’d be plastering their name all over the place for clout. Why hide it?"

"Alright, listen up," Bystander D interjected, lowering his voice. "The top player is a legit gangster from the city. He’s got a whole crew under him, a real tough guy with a record. It’s already confirmed online."

"Forget the billionaires and the wannabe gangsters," Bystander E declared, puffing out his chest. "I know the guy. Me and him were hanging out last night. He’s a buddy of mine."

"No way! Dude, here, hit this. You gotta put in a good word for me!"

’What in the world?’ Marcus thought, shaking his head. You hear some crazy stuff when you stop to listen. The sheer volume of wild rumors was astounding. It was clear that Dominion was already a cultural phenomenon, more than just a game.

Marcus couldn’t help but feel a quiet surge of pride. He was glad he’d had the foresight to get in early, and he certainly hadn’t expected to become the subject of so much speculation.

The wait was long and drawn out, but Marcus was happy. He chatted easily with Lily and his sister, Amber. Looking at their beautiful faces right in front of him, catching their subtle, sweet scent, and feeling their intimate closeness, with their eyes fixed only on him, made him the envy of everyone around. Could life get any better than this?

"Excuse me, I need two Core VR Headsets."

Finally, it was their turn. Time to buy the headsets and go home.

"Lily, you should move in with me."

On the way home, Marcus held Lily’s hand, looking right at her as he said what he’d been thinking. It came out sounding less like a question and more like a statement of fact.

"Okay." Lily nodded, her voice soft.

Lily’s devotion to him over the past three years was undeniable. For all that time, Lily, one of Crestwood University’s most stunning girls, had her pick of any guy on campus. Yet, she had quietly loved him, even when he was with Snow, and even when it seemed impossible for her to ever be with him. Her quiet strength was incredible, and Marcus felt a powerful mix of gratitude and love for her.

Seeing Lily’s shy smile filled Marcus with a sudden, overwhelming happiness. Right there, he wrapped his arms around her waist, lifted her up, and spun her around, yelling out, "Lily, I love you!"

Since they were in the middle of a busy public square, his shout turned heads immediately. People stopped and started murmuring.

"Wow, that lady is so pretty! They look like a movie couple," a little girl playing nearby said.

"That is so romantic," a young woman waiting for her friends sighed, starting to daydream. "I wish a guy would proclaim his love for me like that in the middle of everything."

"Look at that! I want a public declaration too!"

"I don’t know, seems kinda cringe..."

"Do you even love me or not!"

A couple nearby started bickering because of them.

"Frank, look at these kids. So bold, just putting it all out there like that."

"You’re right, Martha. I’m sorry I never gave you a grand gesture like that back in the day. Thank you for walking this long road with me."

"Oh, you old man, you’re still so sweet. Stop it before you make me blush."

An elderly couple in their seventies shared a sweet moment because of Marcus and Lily.

"Marcus, what are you doing?" Lily whispered, her voice flustered as she buried her face in his shoulder. "Everyone’s staring!"

Lily hadn’t expected a scene. Under the gaze of the crowd, her usual composure broke into a flustered, charming embarrassment that Marcus absolutely adored.

"I love you," Marcus said, doubling down without a hint of shame, because he meant every word. "I’m not going to hide it."

Girls love romance, and even the quiet, undemanding Lily was no exception. Despite her shyness, she was filled with a blissful satisfaction, and she gave him a radiant, angelic smile.

"You smooth operator," Amber said, her voice tinged with envy. "I didn’t know you had that in you. That was seriously romantic. Lily, you’re a lucky girl. No one could say no to that."

"What do you know, kiddo?" Marcus teased, delighted. He affectionately booped her on the nose.

"I am not a kiddo!" Amber protested immediately.

Next, Marcus moved Lily’s computer from her dorm room to his place. He got both her and Amber’s computers hooked up to the new Core VR Headsets. Now, they could all play together.

"Alright, here’s the game plan," Marcus instructed. "Once you hit Level 10 and leave the starter zone, you can’t go back. I’m in a different area, so just focus on leveling up. Once you hit 10 and pick your class, I can start running you through some dungeons."

"My character name is Stonehaven. If you get stuck, just send me a direct message."

After walking Lily and Amber through the basics, he watched them log in. Now it was his turn.

’Heh’, he thought. The Black Rock Spire quest was waiting. At Level 20, he was definitely ready for it. Checking the time, he saw that moving Lily’s stuff had taken until past nine. No way he was finishing that quest tonight. He’d just scope out the second floor of the Spire and test his new gear.

Ring-Ring... "Big bro, phone..." His ringtone, a recording of Amber’s voice, sounded.