The notifications appeared on the lower left of his vision again. Something pulled him ever upwards, until his vision blurred. When he blinked next he was laying in his bed. He took a deep breath and stretched his muscles. How had it all gone so wrong? The thought of dying lingered still, as did the cold.

Vince stood with a grunt and stumbled into the bathroom to wash his face. Very few people modelled their avatar in Twilight after themselves. The game was realistic enough in its own right. Not to mention the blood and gore. It was no wonder most players wanted to disassociate from their characters as much as possible. Vince sought the opposite. His game avatar shared his messy blonde hair, the stubble and even the small scar over his lip. For him, Twilight was a second reality. A reality in which he was someone. A reality in which he had failed. Today had been a total disaster. The fiasco was probably all over the news already. He checked his phone and sure enough, articles were already popping up.

'The Hallowed just got obliterated by the Darkblessed!'

'Asire keeps his life despite the carnage!'

Vince sighed. It wasn't that rare for the Darkblessed to win, but the media would blow everything up if it meant more clicks. Now it was up to the guild to control the damage to their image.

The guild’s executives would be waiting for him at their usual meeting place. What would he tell them? The PvP force would suffer a huge loss, and those that died would be forced to PvE until they built up enough levels and items to fight again. He decided not to think about it. Improvisation was never his strong suit, but it’d at least save him the stress for now.

After choosing a black jacket and a pair of sunglasses, Vince left through the back door. Being a celebrity was a 24 hour job, and this was simply another part of it. The last thing he wanted was for paparazzi to start bombarding him with questions. Thankfully, none saw through his makeshift disguise today.

A bell rang as Vince walked through the doors of “Glimmering Coffee.” The guild had used the shop for so long that the owner decided to name it after them. It was a brilliant marketing scheme, seeing how the cafe was always full. Well, almost always. In return for using their name, the guild could host their meetings without being pestered by fans and other customers.

“Why are you even here, Toshimir? You’re not part of the attack force anymore.”

“I’m still part of the guild!” Toshimir yelled back.

Vince sighed inwardly as he moved to the back of the coffee shop. The fighting had already begun in his absence. Still, the other members fell silent the moment he sat down. He took the time to look at the holographic projection of each guild officer in the eyes.

“Is this how I've taught you to face a crisis?” he asked. “By arguing among yourselves?.”

Toshimir shifted in his seat. “Leader, I should have protected you. I should have--”

“What's done is done.” Shill, the vice guild master, cut him off. “For now we need to find a way to minimise our losses and recuperate.”

“I agree,” Vince said. “Toshimir, you’re being shifted to the PvE squad, as usual. You will follow Shill until you can lead a party of your own.”

“With all due respect, guild leader, but I’ve been fighting alongside you on the frontlines for three years.”

“You know the rules.” Vince wore his strict face. “Your first death means you’re no longer suited to face players for now. Don’t forget that you’re a valuable asset to this guild. One we can’t risk losing.”

Toshimir nodded and inched back in his seat.

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Vince could see his eyes glazing over as he realised he wouldn’t be fighting for glory from now on, but for gold and items. The waitress came over, bringing Vince the lemonade named after him.

“What about our sponsors?” A man on the far left spoke up next. Tommy, they called him, head of marketing and a guild trader in game.

“What about them?” Vince scoffed. “Sunlight is advancing to the east, but we’ve made significant progress on exploring the forests and kingdoms of the west. Promise them exclusivity of the new raids and they won’t even mention today’s incident.”

Tommy typed away at his laptop furiously, and the projection lagged behind. Vince had never seen anyone else fast enough to do that. He sipped away at his signature drink. “Is there anything else?”

“Well,” Toshimir spoke up. “We can’t keep avoiding the elephant in the room.”

Another voice was heard through the projection, somewhat distorted by the distance. “What did you say to me, Toshi? How dare you call me that after ten years of marriage?”

“Not you, Barbara!” Toshimir screamed back. “I’m in a meeting!”

Vince almost choked on his drink.

“As I was saying before being interrupted by my lovely and extremely shapely wife, we have to talk about your replacement.”

Vince blinked. Toshimir’s projection was staring at him. Had it lagged as well? “Who died?” he asked.

“Guild leader,” Shill interjected. “Don’t play games with us. You’re the one who created the rule. If any guild member dies in PvP, they get transferred for some time.”

“I survived,” Vince said. “That’s why I’m late to the meeting.”

“You lived through that massacre?” Cecilia, the chief of personnel, finally spoke up. “I won’t believe it until I see it in game.”

She had been with the guild since its inception and Vince had developed a liking for her due to her straightforward attitude.

“You will see it first hand in tomorrow's raid then.”

The rest of the meeting was spent discussing mundane matters relating to funds and member allocation. Vince kept thinking back to the necromancer all the while. Why hadn’t she ended his life when she had the chance? Not to mention that once she saw his face she began flirting with him. Perhaps she was a fan?

“Vince?” Shill waved a virtual hand in his direction. “You seemed lost in thought.”

Vince finally noticed that everyone else had already logged off. “I’m fine,” he said. “You don’t have to worry.”

“That makes me worry all the more.” Shill gave him a look full of concern. “You can’t keep going on like this. When was the last time you slept properly?”

Vince pinned a five dollar note under his glass. “Define properly.”

“You’re falling apart, Vince.” Shill shook his head. “What about the money I’ve lent you? You haven’t even told me what it’s for.”

That brought Vince pause. His mind snapped back to the last time he saw Sophia and he had to hold back tears. “It’s for a good cause…” Vince stood hurriedly. He wouldn’t make Shill shoulder even more than he already was. He could deal with it himself. “I’ll pay you back, I promise.”

“If you have problems you should discuss them with me,” Shill said. “I don’t care about the money.”

“Not problems. Just obligations.” Vince looked at the ice cube floating just below the lemonade’s surface. “Lots of things on my mind.” He had to do better. If not for himself, then for Sophia’s sake. Even the best treatment–

“Well it’s not just about you any more.” Shill interrupted his thoughts. “As it stands, when you underperform it reflects badly on the guild as well . There’s hundreds of people depending on you, Vince.”

“You think I don’t know?” Vince snapped back. “How much do you think I’ve sacrificed to strengthen the guild and all its people? How much of my own life I’ve given up? ”

“I didn’t mean for it to come off that way,” Shill sighed. “What I mean is that I’m with you on this. You can let me share some of the burdens.”

Vince just shook his head. “Focus on the expedition for now. We’ll make it up there. I can handle the rest alone.” He reached under the table to turn off the projection.

“Vince! Talk to--”

Shill’s projection vanished, and Vince was suddenly all alone in the cafe. He sighed and put on his jacket. This was another battle he had to fight by himself.