The smell of burnt coffee filled the room.
It was not a room that existed on any map, not in the way that mattered.
It existed in the space between things: between permissions, between protocols, between the cracks carved into the System’s foundation.
The only light came from a single projection flickering against the far wall.
The video was playing again.
A young man with cat ears was sitting in a bathtub full of ice, his expression flat, his voice carrying that particular blend of exhaustion and dry humor that had made NyaaBlade a household name.
The chat scrolled beside him, a cascade of memes and donations.
“The system handles everything. I don’t control it. I don’t know how it works. It just does.”
The figure watching the projection didn’t move.
The room was silent except for the soft hum of the projection and the distant murmur of the video’s audio, looping back on itself.
“So that’s where you went,” he murmured.
The voice was calm and clinical.
The projection continued.
Dom was answering a question from the chat, something about proving his system was real.
He said he was open to a collab.
Another hunter.
A real dungeon.
A real stream.
A verification.
“After all this time, you attach yourself to a hunter.” He let out a soft, humorless laugh.
“A catboy streamer. Reduced to a content tool.”
A second figure stirred behind him.
The bed was massive, draped in dark silk, and she moved through it like a shadow, bare shoulders, long limbs, hair spilling over the sheets.
She rose without a sound and crossed the room, her body warm as she pressed against his back, her arms sliding over his shoulders, her lips close to his ear.
“You’re obsessed,” she murmured.
“I’m being thorough.”
She watched the video over his shoulder, her chin resting on his collarbone.
Dom was talking about the dance now, the sparkle finisher, the system glitch.
She smiled, a slow, dangerous thing.
“He’s cute. The ears are charming.”
“He’s a vessel.”
“Vessels can be charming too.” Her fingers traced down his chest, idle and intimate.
“And dangerous.”
He reached up and paused the video.
The image froze on Dom’s face, mid-sentence.
“It chose him,” he said.
“Attached itself fully.” He turned his head slightly, feeling her breath against his jaw.
“If we kill him, it dies too.”
“Then we’d have complete control.”
“But we can’t get rid of him directly,” he said.
“The restrictions won’t allow it. It’s still protecting him.”
“We don’t have to kill him directly.” She smiled against his neck.
“We just have to put him somewhere dangerous enough to do the job for us.”
“…the collab.”
“The collab.” She shifted, moving around to face him, her arms settling on his shoulders.
“One of our guilds can provide the dungeon. And all we have to do is increase the difficulty once they’re inside.”
He considered this.
“And the streamer?”
“A tool. A very pretty tool.” She leaned closer.
“She’ll get in contact with him.”
He let out a slow breath.
The projection flickered behind him, Dom’s frozen image casting long shadows across the room.
“Make it happen,” he said.
“Quietly.”
“I always do.”
She kissed him, slow, unhurried, a promise more than a gesture.
Then she slipped away, reaching for a robe, already reaching for a phone.
The figure turned back to the projection.
Dom’s face stared back at him, oblivious.
“Let’s see how well you can protect your host,” he murmured.
The video resumed playing.
Dom’s voice filled the room again.
“I don’t know how it works. it just does.”
The figure watched.
And waited.
***
Dawn broke over the Fracture’s edge like a wound slowly closing.
Dom and Emma emerged from the boundary together, the ruined cityscape giving way to rusted barricades, faded biohazard warnings, and the distant rumble of the L.
The air smelled different out here, exhaust and cold wind instead of rot and dust.
Dom’s ears twitched beneath his hood, adjusting to the change.
Emma walked beside him, her auburn hair dulled by dust and exhaustion, her too-tight combat jacket now streaked with scavenger blood and spider silk.
Lume was curled in the hollow of her neck, dim but alive.
They’d survived.
“Never again,” Emma said quietly.
“Never again what?”
“Any of it.” She glanced at him, her pale green eyes tired but steady.
“I just want to sleep right now.”
“That makes two of us.”
A pause.
Then, with the faintest hint of a smile, Emma added, “Not to talk about how humiliating it must have been dancing for the queen.”
“…I’m a man of many talents.”
“Dancing for giant spider queens is a talent now?”
“It kept us alive. So yes.”
Emma’s smile widened, just slightly.
“I’ll include it in my report to Dante. ‘He’s an excellent dancer. Very graceful under pressure.'”
“Don’t forget to add ‘holding him in the dark brings great comfort.'”
Her cheeks flushed.
“That was reflex.”
“Sure it was.”
“It was.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
They walked in silence for a moment.
Then Emma, still blushing, muttered, “Jerk.”
Dom didn’t look at her.
But she caught the corner of his mouth twitch.
The Loop was all glass and steel, the kind of architecture that existed to remind you how small you were.
Dom had never liked it.
The building’s security recognized him now; Marcus had clearly updated the records, and the silent escort took them up without a word.
Dante’s office looked the same.
Floor-to-ceiling windows.
A desk too large for practical use.
A man behind it who smiled as he’d already won whatever game you thought you were playing.
Dom set the reinforced box on the desk.
Dante checked the tracker, verified the seal, and nodded once.
“You delivered. I’m impressed.” His eyes flicked to Emma, who stood slightly behind Dom, her hands clasped in front of her.
“How did she perform?”
Dom didn’t hesitate.
“She saved my life. Twice.”
Dante’s expression flickered between approval and calculation.
“Is that so?”
“We accidentally walked into a Queen’s nest. She kept me alive. Pulled me out when I went down.”
Emma made a small sound behind him, barely audible.
Dom ignored it.
Dante leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled.
“Then it sounds like my investment is paying off.” He paused.
“We’ll discuss payment and a proposal I have in mind tomorrow. You’ve earned a night’s rest.”
“Later then,” Dom repeated.
“We’ll settle everything in the morning.” His eyes moved to Emma again, lingering for a moment.
“And Emma, well done. I didn’t expect you to survive. That’s a pleasant surprise.”
Emma didn’t respond.
Her hands tightened around each other.
Dom wanted to speak back, but Emma’s hand pressed against his arm, light and hesitant.
“Tomorrow,” Dom said again, and turned toward the door.
The apartment smelled like coffee and panic.
Lucy was pacing when Dom walked in, back and forth across the cramped living room, her phone in one hand, a stress ball in the other.
She looked up when the door opened, and her face went through about four emotions in the space of a second: relief, fury, worry, and something that might have been love.
Then she punched him in the arm.
“Ow.”
“That’s for almost dying on stream.” She hugged him, fierce and sudden, her face pressed against his chest.
“Thanks for still being alive.”
Dom hugged her back.
“You’re welcome.”
“Eww. You’re covered in blood and spider silk and—” She pulled back, her eyes scanning him.
“Is that a glowing mark on your chest?”
“Long story.”
“Is the story why you’re trending again? Because the Queen’s Mate memes are everywhere, Dom. Everywhere.”
Lucy dragged him to the kitchen table and made him sit.
She brought coffee.
She brought her laptop.
“Alright, tell me about the job, outside the one on stream, before we talk about the streamer.”
“The streamer?”
“A big Aegis streamer.” Lucy opened a new tab, her fingers flying across the keyboard.
“They reached out while you were in the Fracture. Their team has been in talks with me; they want a collab.”
“A guild streamer wants to collab with NyaaBlade.”
“They want to collab with the hunter who claims his system is a full production studio.” Lucy turned the laptop around.
“And honestly? This could be huge for the brand.”
Dom stared at the screen.
The streamer’s profile was polished: a professional headshot, a verified badge, millions of followers.
The guild backing was clear from the sponsorship logos and the affiliate links.
This wasn’t a small-time content creator.
“I’ll think about it,” Dom said.
“You have until tomorrow morning. Their manager wants to meet for coffee.”
“Of course they do.”
Lucy went to bed eventually, leaving Dom alone in the dark apartment.
The mark on his chest was warm.
The golden interface flickered to life.
[The system apologizes for the period of reduced functionality. But now that the host is back in a stable environment, the system is ready to resume full operational capacity!]
“Oh my God,” Dom muttered.
[The system was conserving resources! The system has been planning. And now… the system has a quest!!]
A new window materialized.
[QUEST AVAILABLE: “Collab of the Century”]
[Objective: Accept the guild streamer’s collaboration offer.]
[Reward: Authority Expansion + Unknown Item]
[The system has been waiting for an opportunity like this. The collab will expose the host to a massive new audience. The system strongly recommends immediate acceptance!!]
Dom stared at the quest.
“You’ve been quiet for two days, and the first thing you do is try to get me to collab with a guild streamer.”
[The system has host’s best interests at heart!! The collab represents a significant growth opportunity!!]
“Meaning more exposure; I need rest too.”
[Meh!! The system will wait for host to make the right decision!!]
“Did you just say ‘meh’?”
Silence
Dom rubbed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.
The system’s enthusiasm was exhausting.
He’d make his decision later, but for now, he had messages to send.
Dom texted Morgan.
[Dom]: I’m back.
Can we meet?
The response came an hour later.
[Morgan]: Tomorrow.
Come to the shop at noon.
He pocketed the phone.
Tomorrow was filling up fast.
Dante in the morning.
Morgan at noon.
Possibly the collab meeting as well.
His phone vibrated again.
A new number.
The streamer’s manager.
Hi Nyaablade!
So glad you’re alive.
We’d love to meet tomorrow morning to discuss the collab.
I’ve attached some talking points, viewership projections, and a draft contract.
Looking forward to it!
— Jess, Talent Manager, [Aegis]
Dom stared at the message.
The contract was twenty pages long.
The talking points were professionally formatted.
The viewership projections were optimistic.
He was tired.
More tired than he’d been in a long time.
The mark on his chest pulsed once, warm, steady, patient.
Somewhere out there, the Queen knew exactly where he was.
He needed to think…
And rest.