Aftermath

Rei sat in front of his screen, the soft glow of the monitor casting faint shadows in the dark room. His hands rested limply on the keyboard, though he hadn't typed a word in over an hour. The accusation hung heavy in the air, a constant reminder of how quickly things had spiraled out of control.

It had been a full day since the match had ended in chaos, since the officials had accused him of running a cheating program on his VR setup. All the officials cared about was that the program had been found on his system.

He couldn't get Darren's words out of his head—the smug, satisfied tone as he pretended to be shocked by the accusation, as if he hadn't been the one to plant the program in the first place. Rei's hands clenched into fists. He had known something was off with Darren for weeks, but he had never imagined it would come to this.

And now, his teammates were turning on him.

Leo and Jenna hadn't responded to his messages. They had logged off right after the match and had stayed silent ever since. Their doubts were clear during the confrontation. They didn't believe him, or at least, they didn't want to risk defending him and being dragged down with him. The silence from them now felt like an even deeper betrayal than the accusations themselves.

Rei tried to take a deep breath, but it felt like his chest was being crushed under the weight of everything that had happened. Team Titan—his team, the group he had led and fought alongside for years—was falling apart, and it was all Darren's doing.

He glanced at his phone, which sat on the edge of his desk, buzzing every few minutes with notifications. He didn't have to check to know what they were. The news had spread like wildfire across the Ancient Arena Online community. The forums were filled with posts and speculation, with some defending him and others already branding him as a cheater.

Rei reached for his phone, reluctantly opening one of the forum threads.

"Rei caught cheating? Say it ain't so, Titan fans!"

The thread was already packed with comments, people who had once praised him now questioning his integrity. His eyes skimmed the messages, his heart sinking with each one.

"If they found the program on his system, then it's his fault, no?"

"Sad to see a legend fall like this, but it happens."

"I always thought Darren should have been the leader. Maybe now he'll get his chance."

Rei's chest tightened, and he tossed the phone back onto the desk, disgusted by what he had just read. The community was turning on him, just like his teammates. His reputation was in shambles, and if the officials didn't clear his name soon, he knew it would be over for him—not just as the leader of Team Titan, but as a player.

His gaze drifted to his VR headset, still sitting on his desk. He had built his entire life around Ancient Arena Online. It wasn't just a game to him—it was his home, his identity. The thought of losing it all, of being exiled from the community he had given everything to, was unbearable.

A message pinged on his screen, breaking the silence. It was from Alex.

"You doing okay?"

Rei stared at the message for a moment before typing a reply.

"No. I'm not."

A moment later, Alex's response came through.

"Can we talk?"

Rei hesitated, his fingers hovering over the keys. He didn't know what there was left to say. But Alex had been the only one to stand by him when the accusation came down. The only one who hadn't turned on him.

"Yeah. I'll log in."

Rei pulled on his VR headset, his vision filling with the familiar sight of the virtual hub. When his avatar materialized, he found Alex already waiting in their usual meeting spot. The space felt eerily empty without the rest of the team there.

Alex looked up as Rei approached, his avatar's face showing the same calm expression that Alex always carried in real life. "Hey."

"Hey," Rei replied, his voice hollow.

There was a long pause before Alex spoke again. "I've been thinking about everything that happened yesterday. About Darren."

Rei clenched his fists at the mention of Darren's name, the frustration building up inside him again. "He set me up. I know it. But how do I prove it? The officials found the program on my system, Alex. That's all they care about."

Alex nodded. "We'll find a way to clear your name. We just need time."

Time. That was the one thing Rei wasn't sure he had. The investigation was still ongoing, and if the officials didn't find anything to exonerate him soon, it wouldn't matter what he and Alex uncovered. The community was already turning on him, and if the ban came down, there'd be no coming back.

But for now, at least, Alex was still with him. That was something.

Later that night, Rei sat back at his desk, the events of the past few days replaying in his mind. He felt exhausted, drained from the constant pressure and uncertainty. His eyes drifted to his phone again, which had gone silent after the initial flood of notifications. No messages from Jenna or Leo. No attempts to check in, to see how he was doing.

They had abandoned him.

Rei couldn't help but think about how different things had been only a few weeks ago. Team Titan had been united, a force to be reckoned with in the competitive scene. They had trusted each other, believed in each other. But all it took was one loss, one crack in the foundation, and Darren had been there to widen the gap.

He had played them all perfectly—manipulated their doubts, their frustrations—and now Rei was paying the price. Leo and Jenna were falling in line behind Darren, whether they realized it or not. They didn't want to believe that Darren was capable of something like this, and it was easier to believe that Rei had made a desperate mistake.

Rei closed his eyes, leaning back in his chair. He had always known the pressure of leadership, but this was something else. The weight of the accusations, the isolation, the sense that everything was slipping away—it was suffocating.

For the first time since the accusations had come down, Rei wondered if it was all over. If maybe he should just walk away, let Darren have the team, and leave Ancient Arena behind.

But no. He couldn't let Darren win. He couldn't just give up everything he had worked for. He had to fight back, even if it felt like the entire world was against him.

With a heavy sigh, Rei reached for his keyboard, opening up the team's shared files. If there was any chance of proving his innocence, he had to find it. And with Alex at his side, maybe—just maybe—there was still hope.