In the days before we initiated a pacifist match, our two teams had finalized the logistics and rules.

First off, the 3v3 arena, which were entering, had the exact same layout as the 5v5 arena. Usually you'd send a single player into each lane, but of course that wasn't the case here, since we wouldn't be fighting at all.

In fact, the first and foremost rule was to never go near any of the lanes, and never interact with any of the golems marching down our lanes. Those were, as Saber occasionally called them, our "minions". On their own, the golems from either side would fight along the midline of the map, locked in perpetual stalemate. Killing even a single one would upset that delicate balance.

"In theory, it shouldn't be too disastrous," Saber had explained to us. "Worst case, the golems on one side wipe out the golems on the other, but then they march to the opposing tower and die to the tower's laser attacks. And then the golems will reset to stalemating in the middle. It's like a self-repairing system, kind of."

The second rule was to meet the opposing team only near the river. Traveling to the opposing base was out of question; laser-firing towers guarded each of the three entrances. They fired automatically at any "enemies" within range, and they didn't care that we had no plans to fight.

The third rule was to only forage on our side of the river, unless given explicit permission otherwise. Pretty straightforward; we didn't want anyone hoarding all the food. That being said, we did plan to start a shared, communal farm by the riverside once we settled down. And we could create a common area, between the lanes and near the river, where all of us could live together.

image [https://imgur.com/5paHVTA.png]

In the first hour or so after we arrived in the arena, Saber and I kept ourselves busy setting up shelter. For now, the tent we brought would have to do. We began to pitch it in the back corner of our base, near the vending machine. There, the walls of the arena blocked the winds.

"We should build a log cabin soon," I told Saber and Tanin. "Saber's pretty strong, so she can probably carry logs around without much trouble."

"I can also Smite down some trees," she added.

I wondered what the three players on the other team could do. Did they have any skills that would be useful for construction? But those would only help us if we wanted to build something in the common area. They wouldn't be able to contribute to any projects inside our base.

I began to break a slight sweat as I worked. The sun felt wonderful on my skin; I had spent way too many days within the nondescript, numbing fog of the infinite suburbs. I took off my pointy hat and strapped it on my back. The wind ruffled my hair.

It felt good. To have mornings again. To see the sky. And somewhere near, there were birds chirping their cadences. I took a quick break from work and strolled to the gate of our base. A line of our golems – green ones – marched down the lane. I waved at them. One waved back with its stubby stone arm.

"Stay safe out there, OK?" I said, then chuckled to myself. Poor things. They didn't know we no longer had to fight anymore.

Outside the base was the forest. There, the pines bore pine-melons. The earthy fragrance of the wilderness blew over me. A cloud lazily drifted, casting its shadow across distant fields and trees.

During this first week, perhaps I could make Tanin a prosthetic leg. It didn't have to be fancy or anything. Heck, a wooden peg-leg would do. Just something to help him get back on his feet again, literally.

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I might as well start early. A sturdy, oak-like tree grew nearby. I shot off one of its branches with a Frost Missile, then dragged the branch back into our base. It was a thick, heavy branch, certainly large enough to make a leg out of.

Before noon, I finished setting up the tent with Saber.

Our team laid out our supplies. Between us we had bedrolls, clothes, cookware, rations, and some seeds. Tanin also brought along a large plastic storage box with wheels, which we'd use for storing water.

For lunch today, we'd forage for pine-melons. I could also try my hand at fishing.

I helped check on Tanin's leg inside our tent. The wounds had already closed, and he hadn't the slightest sign of an infection. Even though our HP regeneration wasn't capable of restoring limbs, it still did a great job of healing up injuries nonetheless.

"Sophia, be real with me," Tanin said in a low, measured tone. "You really feel OK about all this?"

I sat cross-legged on the tarp flooring of the tent. Frankly, that question hadn't really crossed my mind since we arrived in the arena.

I combed my hair behind my ear. "Remember when you gave Saber an interview, way back? About how to play this game. And when I asked you what the correct answer is, you told me. The victors are those that live."

Tanin glanced aside. "Is that so?"

"I mean, I don't really feel victorious now. Not after everything I had lost. And…everyone."

I stopped. If I said another word, I'd break into tears again. I had grown so accustomed to crying over these past weeks.

"But in the end, you still made it," Tanin finished my thought for me. "And so did I."

I gave him a nod. Before my feelings became overwhelming, I crawled back out of the tent.

Tanin's plastic crate sat nearby. I decided to go to the river to fill it up. Possibly bring back a couple fishes as well.

By this point, I knew the layout of the arena well. From challenge to challenge, some minor details would change, such as the exact number of branches on a tree. But most things were consistent, from the shape of the river, to the locations of tree-groves and clearings, to even the size and shape of boulders across the arena. So I had no trouble navigating to the river. It shimmered with beautiful shades of teal in the light of midday.

To my surprise, Brandon called my name from upstream.

"What are you doing here?" I shouted across the river at him.

"Check this out," he said. He made a thrusting motion with his palm down at the river. A thread of web shot out of his wrist into the waters. Then it retracted, carrying a fish back into his grasp.

"Bruh," I said. "Spiderman?!"

"That's what I picked as my power," he said. "And…oh yeah! Before I forget."

Brandon clumsily waded across the river to me. At several points he looked like he should've fallen over, but didn't. I guess he had sticky feet like Spiderman, too.

"Here," he said, offering me a burlap sack he had slung across his back. "This is for Saber."

I cautiously opened it up. Inside was a pair of small, live rabbits. They seemed panicked out of their minds, but were otherwise fine.

I stared at the little critters, then back at Brandon. "...Eeeehhhh?!"

"She, uh." Brandon scratched the back of his head. "We were talking, and, uh, she mentioned she was thinking of getting a rabbit farm. I thought that was pretty cool. The rabbits are for her. And for you too, I guess. Do what you wanna with them. Just let her know she can't milk the rabbits. That's what she asked me, if rabbits can be milked. I already told her no, but make sure she doesn't, just in case. That's not how rabbits work."

I opened up the mouth of the sack, then lowered it into my plastic box-cart. That seemed to have calmed the rabbits down a bit. Water and fishes would need to wait until my next trip.

"Sure thing Brandon," I said with a grin. "I'll let Saber know you got these for her."

With that, I started on my journey back to our base.

Over the past days, I had thought of this pacifist match as an ending. But really, it was a beginning. Of a new life, of new relationships. It was a chance to put our bloodied pasts behind.

Of course, we'd never forget the ones we had lost along the way. And the ones still fighting out there for the right to live. And the ones whose fate we didn't know.

We'd always keep our dear comrades in our hearts. The ones we had entrusted our lives to. The ones we had fought to protect. The ones who were there to see us smile.

To every one of them –

Thank you.