Rise

Lightless sat behind his computer in Dark Glory’s gaming room, streaming CN•HOOK2’s ascent of the Korean Challenger Ladder to over a million viewers. But the last few minutes had been tense. After two losses, CN•HOOK2 didn’t immediately jump into another game. There was a long pause during which Lightless didn’t breathe. Or say much. In which his viewers barely dared to type! Everyone was waiting to see what would happen next. And then, it did. CN•HOOK2’s name turned yellow again, and in small letters under his name it read ‘in queue’. Lightless smiled at the camera and said, “He had me worried there for a second, not gonna lie. Thought he might give up… But was I wrong! Look at that! He’s in queue again! I’m thinking he went to grab some water to clear his head, maybe throw some on his face, and he’s going right back at it! Let’s watch him win again!”

「WOWZERS! AGAIN! DUDES MY NEW HEROOOOO」「11 games…. this is his 11th game… wtf. he a robot?」「AT LEAST A CHINESE ROBOT! CHINESE RULEEZZZZZZZZ」「Here’s to hoping his teammates ain’t dogshit this game.」「no way! cant be that unlucky! NORMAL TEAMMATES PLEASEEEEEEE」「i really hope he wins!!!」

Lightless laughed and said to his viewers, “You guys are the weirdest people ever. First you’re all screaming about how he got tilted and gave up. I think I even saw someone claiming they heard from sources…” He narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “... that CN•HOOK2 threw his computer out of the window! So ridiculous! He just needed a little break. We all do after a few bad losses. Take a step back, breathe deeply, and get right back to it! And that’s what we’re seeing here!”

「lol knew that guy was full of shit! I told you guys he was a stupid troll saying he knows CN•HOOK2」「but like CN•HOOK2 never said anything! how were we to know?????」「He played 10 games already! This is his 11th! You see LPL pros do that shit? Of course you dont! Only crazies do!」「TONIGHT IS A LONG AND BITTER BATTLE! MAY THE BEST CN•HOOK2 WIN!」「maybe he should take a longer break… is five mins really enough?」「yeah….. five mins is like nothing!!! TAKE A FEW MORE MINUTES BUD! WE BELIEVE IN YOU!!」

“Yep,” Lightless said, frowning. “Five minutes is very short. Hardly enough for most people. But look at the clock. He’s got less than three hours to go to get all the way up to wherever he’s aiming for! If he starts now, he can play a few more games. That’d be enough to reach the Top 5! Honestly...?” He briefly paused and looked straight at the camera. “Honestly, I think that’s his aim here.”

「Top 5 his aim……...」「How is that even possible??? Hesonly got a few more games left at the TOP OF KOREAN CHALLENGER!!!!!」「it’s not gonna happen. It can’t…. no one is that good….」「TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT! BAN THE DOWNERS! HOOKS GOT THIS!!!!!」「fuck me… I really wanted….. less than 3 hours just isn’t enough. Maybe if he started sooner…. next season...」「SCREW THAT! HE CAN DO THIS! HE CAN FUCKING DO THIS! GOOOOOOOOO HOOK!!!」

Lightless read through the chat and smiled. He glanced at his monitor which showed that CN•HOOK2 was currently in Champion Select. If there’s anyone that can do this, it’s One. He smiled and said to his viewers, “It’s going to be really tough. But I’ve got a feeling here. This little twinkle in my chest. I think that he might have what it takes. I think… that he just might… PULL IT OFF!”

✹

Su Xue was back in Shanghai, inside her apartment, reading through the forums on one screen while watching Lightless’ stream on the other. She’d considered streaming herself. Lin Feng would’ve happily added her to his friends list. But her viewers didn’t know Lin Feng was CN•HOOK2 and she felt that rather than trying to explain it to hundreds of thousands of people, it would be less stressful to host Lightless and watch his stream instead.