Vince laid on the bed and let the implants in his mind work their magic. The room grew hazy, colors mixing together before settling back in place, altered.

Vin blinked and found himself in Asohan, the capital of the Hallowed. The city's buildings loomed massive over the wide roads, fashioned out of white stone and decorated with marble. A cold wind hit Vin's back and he shivered. Being built atop a levelled mountaintop meant the city enjoyed a full twelve hours of sun each day, but also made the evening chill so much more piercing. Vin pulled on his clothes a little tighter and made for the edge of the city. There, huge chunks of land and stone would rip themselves free of the ground and carry merchants, materials and troops through the clouds to the base of the mountain. Players flocked to the platform that carried an arched portal to the gray forest, where the battle would take place. Vin got in line behind them.

"I heard that Darkness has amassed a huge force this time around," one of them said, worry surfacing in his voice.

"No matter how many dogs they gather, they can't beat us." Another player wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "I doubt they'll get even one area this time around."

Vin wished he could share the man's optimism.

Securing areas was the whole purpose of PvP. Those who had chosen the Light played during the day, while those who had chosen Darkness could only play at night. The two forces met each Dusk and Dawn to secure better leveling areas, or to defend them from invasion. It was an unending cycle of battles that followed the sun and the moon. Vin breathed in deep as he neared the portal. His vision shifted, the surroundings blending together and reforming anew. The cityscape was replaced by a vast and open field. The Plains of Absolution was the contested area that served as the border this time around. Most players had begun forming into groups, with a few already in formation.

He glanced to his right, at the largest force present. The players of ‘Sunlight,’ the best guild in the game, had already formed into a perfect triangle. A name painted in gold stood out among the rest. Asire. Guild leader of Sunlight and number one in all rankings. As always, the players he led comprised the main attack force. Vin’s guild, on the other hand, was tasked with protecting the eastern flank. His ‘Glimmering Shield’ was the third largest guild, yet their numbers were nowhere near Sunlight’s.

He spotted the guild banner and approached. The players of his guild fell silent when they saw him. Vin moved to the front and breathed in deep. He cast away all that made the game his job. The sponsors, the media. Even Sophia. It was time to become his real self again. The paladin that led his guild to victory. The man that carried the lives of thousands on his shoulders.

The hero.

“In position!” Vin yelled and the men fell in order, lining up to face him. He cast his gaze across the endless ranks before him. In the face of war, even his guild’s most unruly men stood completely still, spears clutched to their sides in trepid preparation. Soldiers formed lines. Lines formed units. Units formed battalions. All in order to defend their territory. The sun lay low on the horizon, daylight slowly dwindling.

[Twenty minutes until Dusk.]

An all familiar system message appeared on the edges of his vision. The soldiers stirred. They were always nervous before the battle, but he trusted in their skills. Time and time again, they had proven themselves and survived. That’s what Vin emphasized above all else in his instruction. Survival.

In Twilight, dying to monsters or NPCs only cost a level, but dying to enemy player characters was much more severe, costing up to several levels and powerful items. Vin himself had one more burden to carry. The only way to keep up with all the other players who didn’t have to manage a guild and waste time with sponsors was to risk even more. He called forth a prompt that made his heartbeat quicken.

[ Do you wish to surrender your soul to the Gods? If you do, for the remainder of the day, you will reap increased rewards, but also suffer additional penalties. Warning: This may lead to permanent debilitating changes to your character. ]

It wasn’t just for the greatly increased experience. Vin lived for the thrill of it. Just one single death could cost him months of progress. It was irresponsible of him, sure, but he needed it. Both to keep up, and to force himself to excel. Besides, nobody from his guild had to know. He enabled the option and shook off the weird tingle that always followed it. The feeling that someone -or something- was watching.

[Ten minutes until Dusk.]

Vin circled the players like he always did, making sure they were geared up and ready for the battle. He stood in their middle and held up his hand. “Look here!” he yelled, and every head turned in his direction. He reached for the dagger strapped to his waist and made a shallow cut on his palm, before turning it around for everyone to see.

“See this? This is your blessing. You feel no pain! You fear no enemy!” He patted the shoulder plate of a man, leaving behind a bloody mark. “We will be victorious tonight!” The players hurrahed in unison and raised their weapons in the air.

Content with the morale boost, Vin began to don his own armor. It was an arduous process, even with the system’s corrective function at work.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

[Five minutes until Dusk.]

On the other side of the plains, the armies of darkness began to form up. They possessed neither the order nor the discipline of Vin’s army, however. Like packs of hungry wolves, their players huddled in circles, some groups even walking up to the barrier to shout profanities and make obscene gestures. Vin laughed to himself. When the sun touched the mountain and the barrier fell, those groups would be the first to fall.

[Three minutes until Dusk. The countdown will begin.]

Even if the guilds were antagonistic when in peace, they’d always band together to fight the forces of darkness. Vin believed that without union and cooperation, they could never survive.

“Toshimir,” Vin called for one of his Marshalls. He knew each of them by name. All two hundred of them. A man clad in lustrous armor rushed to his side, the metal of his plate clanking as he walked.

“Yes, Lord?” he asked with a voice muffled by his helmet.

“How is the new squad faring? Will they survive?”

“They’re anxious,” Toshimir glanced in their direction. “But they won’t die today. We’ve trained them well.”

Vin scanned him over. “What about you? Feeling the pressure?”

“Me?” Toshimir laughed. “Always.”

[One minute until Dusk.]

Vin grabbed Toshimir by the shoulder and pulled him close until their helmets touched. “Go. Bring us victory.”

“Yes, my Lord!” Toshimir replied, loud enough for the surrounding soldiers to hear. He slammed his visor down and ran back to the front of his unit.

Vin took his place at the frontline and raised the guild’s banner. “Remember! Shields hold the front, spearmen guard the flanks and casters stay in the rear. If the heals aren’t coming through, communicate with your squad before retreating to safety.”

[Thirty seconds until Dusk.]

Vin put his own helmet on. The metal plates of his armor glittered, illuminated by the first orange rays of the setting sun. Screams and yells sounded from the opposing forces. Asire rose his sword to the sky, and the armies behind him bellowed back a defiant roar. For a brief moment, the battlefield stilled. Vin’s heart thumped wildly in his chest as the countdown neared zero. He breathed in.

[Dusk has fallen. Barrier downtime: Eighty minutes.]

“Attack!” Asire led the charge forward and the entire army moved as one. The opposing forces were advancing as well, players charging down the open plains with no semblance of order. Vin glanced to his sides, then up front. They were entering the range of the enemy mages. Sparks of colored magic lit up in the distance.

“Paladins, at the ready!” Vin angled his shield up to the sky.

Flashes of light shot out of the enemy ranks, lighting up the darkening sky with a myriad of colors. They arced and fell, dropping like comets

“Light shield!” Vin screamed at the top of his lungs. The players to his sides did the same, and a veil of white formed over the guild’s forces. Just thinking of a skill’s name was usually enough to activate it, but Vin found it useful to yell them to his guildmates instead. It helped coordinate them.

[Skill link successful.]

Enemy spells aimed for Vin’s forces crushed against the shield with resounding booms. Vin glanced over his shoulder, still running. None had made it through. If the paladins missed the time window to use their skill, there would have been casualties. Vin breathed a sigh of relief and reached for the warhammer strapped to his waist.

He could hear the enemy soldiers bellowing war cries, could make out their faces. His men lowered their long-spears between the shields as the enemy bore down on them. The charging foes used no careful formation; they all just ran forward, yelling in a frenzy.

The clashing of metal rang in the air as the armies engaged one another. A group of enemies rushed up to Vin’s squad, four dozen attackers with no cohesion. They seemed determined to make up for their lack of order with passion. They bellowed and screamed in fury, rushing Vin’s line. The two forces met with a crash of metal on metal, shields slamming together.

It was over in a few heartbeats. Paladins swung their hammers, spearmen thrust forth and mages used targeted spells. The enemy squad pulled back, leaving half their players dead on the ground. Vin lost no one. With a motion of his hand, the guild squad packed tightly again. He scoured the battlefield for Asire and his breath caught in his chest. Sunlight had advanced too far, leaving them behind. Enemies had already spilled over their sides, threatening to encircle them.

“Asire! Retreat!” Vin screamed, but the disarray of battle drowned out his voice.

The last rays of the sunset lingered for a brief moment, only to be dissolved by the rapidly falling night in the next. Like every third night in Twilight, it was moonless. Vin lost sight of the other squads as the once red and purple sky transformed into a vast expanse of black that engulfed the battlefield. He felt the fear that followed every dark, dark night. What if Asire lost? They’d never know when to retreat.

Garish lights lit up the night sky, shocking him out of his reverie. He raised his shield up and called, “Barrier!”

[Skill link successful.]

The second wave of spells hit the barrier, fizzling into harmless sparks. In their brief illumination, he saw the outline of a figure next to him. Then a mace hit his head and he was sent tumbling, body crushed between heavy boots and the ground. He blacked out.