REPAYING x OLD x FAVORS
⟢───── Ashes × Aether ─────⟣
X’OMNERA — UCL PLAYER LOBBY
The trio stepped back into the lobby and walked straight into another kind of battlefield.
Teams crowded the room. Some staring. Some stepping aside like Triple Kill was carrying a plague.
A trio with grey Vharon national jackets glared murder across the room.
Another player slapped Set on the back as they passed:
“Crazy shit out there, man.”
“Those guys will be alright… mostly.”
The rest weren’t mincing words.
“You’re dead next round.”
“Hope you got your wills written.”
“You don’t do that to Remi."
Chaos was everywhere. Bets flying, medics rushing, half-rallies forming around the screens replaying Set’s panther-fist fatality. The highlight loop was already going viral on the floor.
Then the registration staffer shoved through the crowd like he’d been hunting them.
Same cracked tablet. Same dead eyes.
“Impressive,” he said, breathless. “UCL hasn’t seen one-sided brutality like that in years. It’s always a great time when it happens organically.”
He swept his hand toward the madness. Fights breaking out, payouts flashing, arguments erupting.
“But this is a respected league,” he added, tone sharpening. “Not a back-country bloodfest. I know our whole schtick is ‘no rules,’ but even chaos needs structure. There has to be balance"
He flicked through his tablet.
“So you’re moving up. Platinum bracket.”
Talla blinked. “Wait — bracket? You mean—”
“Exactly,” he cut in. “We can’t have you slaughtering all the newcomers; it’s bad for business. Platinum bracket. Advancement round. Next match in three days.”
Riven frowned. “Three days?”
“Bigger payouts too,” the staffer continued, ignoring him. “Which reminds me.”
He slapped a stack of YoYos into Riven’s hand.
“Three hundred seventy-five. Would’ve been millionaires if you’d bet on yourselves.”
He vanished into the crowd like clockwork.
Triple Kill froze.
Three hundred seventy-five YoYos.
For one match.
Their eyes lit up at the same time.
“If we do that twice—” Riven started.
“We’re covered,” Talla finished.
“Tonight,” Set said, calculating fast. “We could clear seven hundred tonight.”
They felt like kids again, after-school energy, first paycheck from the summer jobs down at the harbor energy.
For a brief moment, the nightmare of their refuge felt almost survivable.
Then the noise in the room changed.
Footsteps. Heavy ones.
Otto walked in flanked by six Hagg cartel members. None of them were competing.
He wore the same half-amused expression he’d worn in Lilly’s but this time nothing about it felt friendly.
“Well,” Otto said, hands in his pockets, “look at you. Rising stars.”
Riven smirked. “You watch the game?”
“Wouldn't have missed it for anything in the world.” Otto replied. “Real spectacle.”
His tone didn’t match the praise.
Triple Kill stilled.
Otto stepped closer not threatening, but close enough they saw the cartel tattoos around his neck peeking from his collar.
“See, we have a lot invested in those boys.”
A slow smile. Not warm. “Had.”
Set’s eyes retracted into slits.
Talla’s tail stiffened.
Riven’s fingers hovered near invisible strings.
Otto noticed all of it.
“Relax,” he said. “I don’t blame you. They lost. That’s life. That’s the UCL.”
Then his tone shifted. Lighter but colder underneath.
“But since I covered your little arm problem,” he said, tapping Set’s forearm lightly, “and since you cost us money tonight… you’ll make it right when the time comes.”
The cartel behind him didn’t move, didn’t speak.
Otto adjusted his jacket.
“Enjoy the win,” he said. “Platinum bracket isn’t a playground. Real deal.”
He stepped back, raising two fingers in a lazy salute.
“When the time comes.”
Otto and his crew disappeared into the lower hallway with the quiet efficiency of people used to getting what they want.
Triple Kill stayed frozen until they were gone.
Then Riven exhaled hard.
“Dude… I hate that guy.”
Talla rubbed her face. “We didn't ask him to pay for the big guys arm thingy”
Set didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
He just stared at the empty hallway Otto vanished into.
“I have a better idea” Set said.
“What?” Riven asked.
Set looked at the YoYos in his hand.
“He just became Triple Kills official sponsor."
Riven didn't miss a beat. "Told you guys, we got motion"
⟢───── Ashes × Aether ─────⟣