Willow 'The Phoenix' Gagné knows hardship and victory, and she's ready to know victory again. After taking an injury while competing for a U.S. Olympic team five years ago, she's back. Not as a gymnast this time, but as a fighter competing in the world's first Olympic MMA competition. Moments from a resounding victory in the world's largest arena, seconds from the completion of a tale of failure and rebirth through dedication and struggle - Willow's view fades to darkness. The darkness is broken moments later by strokes of red resolving to letters written slowly across her view, "You died." While still taking in the unexpected message, her eyes are assaulted by light as a semi-transparent neon blue box explodes into view. New lines popped dramatically into the box, the first line in an eye-searing green  "START", the following in shifting shades of purple, "Replay Tutorial", and a small sub-text, "Run Stats". As it turns out, death is very much not the end. Not for her. Not for anyone. Life on Earth is nothing more than a tutorial, an introduction to the very basics. The real competition begins now; and Willow is ready to start the next round. Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge Updated Monday EST Bonus Chapters will be posted each week dependent on how far ahead I am. I'm doing my best be maintaining a backlog of 10 chapters in case something dramatic comes up and stops me from working for a bit. However, that backlog is available for all patrons  if you'd like to skip ahead!