Riley heard the word arrears before he tasted the toast.
It bled down the hallway from the living room, wrapped in Mum's tight voice and the crackle of a bad phone speaker.
"I know we're behind," she was saying. "I told you, I've picked up extra shifts. No, I can't just sell them, they're… the kids use them for school—"
Pods.
Riley's stomach clenched.
Across the table, Aria was hunched over her bowl of cereal, hair in a lopsided bun, expression pinched in a way that didn't match her normal morning whining.
Sofia stirred her tea without drinking, eyes tilted toward the doorway, shoulders too still.
The smell of slightly burnt toast and over-buttered scrambled eggs didn't quite cover the sharpness in Mum's tone.
"—yes, I understand the terms. I'm not trying to dodge anything, but you can't just bring the date forward, it was supposed to be twelve months—"
Riley's heart dropped.
Right. Last time, they lost the house almost exactly a year after launch.
Pods. Overtime. Late payments. Stress, stretched out like slowly snapping elastic.
This time, the pods hadn't been bought on sale. This time, the bank was spooked earlier. This time… his interference in the timeline had nudged the wrong domino.
Aria stabbed her cereal. "I hate that voice."
"What voice?" Sofia asked quietly.
"The one where she pretends everything's fine so we don't worry," Aria muttered. "She's bad at it."
Riley put his toast down.
Mum's voice rose, brittle but still polite. "No, I—yes, I am aware of the penalty. I just need a bit more time. I'll make the payment. I always do."
His memories overlapped for a second. Two timelines superimposed:
Mum in a too-small flat, apologising for the noise from upstairs, saying "It's fine, really," with a tired smile.
Mum packing the last box from this kitchen, trying not to let Aria see her cry.
Not this time.
The call ended with a bright, fake, "Thank you, have a good day," that sounded like broken glass.
Mum came into the kitchen a moment later with the face on. The "everything is normal, children, please do not look behind the curtain" smile.
"Morning!" she said, a little too cheerfully. "Eat up. You've got… school work. And… your game thing."
Aria squinted at her. "How dead are we on a scale from 'mildly doomed' to 'I should start selling my organs on the black market'?"
"Aria," Sofia hissed.
Mum laughed. "Don't be dramatic. It's just… bills. They moved a date. I'll sort it."
"How behind?" Riley asked.
The room went quiet.
Mum blinked. "It's not—"
"How behind?" he repeated, gently.
She exhaled.
"Three months," she said finally. "If I don't make a big payment next quarter, they'll start talking about repossession. But I will. I just need more overtime, and—"
"Don't," Riley said.
She frowned. "Don't what?"
"Don't break yourself trying to fix it alone."
Mum tried to smile. "Honey, I'm the adult here. You've got enough on your plate with school and—"
"And Realm Walker," he said.
She hesitated. "That's… not exactly income, Riley."
Not yet.
In his last life, it had been. Sponsorships. Corp-backed league streams. Prize pools. Crafting contracts. People who got in early and smart turned pixels into mortgages.
He'd watched it from the sidelines. Too busy firefighting everything else.
He wasn't doing that again.
"You know how the news keeps talking about Realm Walker and 'the future of interactive economies'?" he said lightly.
Mum made a face. "Endless adverts. Something about 'player creators' and 'brand partnerships.' Sounds like scams."
"It's not," Riley said. "Well. Some of it is. But not all of it."
Aria perked up. "Wait. Are you about to say what I think you're about to say? Because if so—"
"Yes," Riley said. "If we play this right, Realm Walker can pay more than the pods cost. And more than overtime at a supermarket ever will."
Mum opened her mouth, then closed it again.
"Riley," she said quietly. "You're sixteen."
"And I've got a head start," he replied. "We already have a first-clear, a potion monopoly, a Forger, an elite spirit, and a Hidden Weapon. Corporations are going to be sniffing around top parties as soon as city hubs open. Emberton's the first trade city. When it unlocks, there'll be scouting. Early partnerships. We only need one good deal."
Sofia's brows knit. "You're really thinking that far ahead already?"
"I have to," he said.
Because in his head he could still see a notice pinned to their old front door.
Aria squinted at him. "So the plan is: become so disgustingly successful in a video game that real companies throw money at us, and we use it to pay the mortgage?"
"Roughly," Riley said.
"...I am listening."
Mum rubbed her temples. "Sweetheart, I appreciate the thought, but you can't stake—"
"I'm not staking anything," he said. "We're already doing this. I'm just… playing to win harder."
He met her eyes. Steady.
"I know you're scared," he added softly. "I am too. Just… let me try. Please."
Mum's gaze flicked between the three of them: Sofia's calm worry, Aria's fierce defiance, Riley's quiet determination.
She blew out a breath.
"You focus on staying safe and not failing your exams," she said finally. "If you somehow manage to become an esports millionaire on the side, I will… reconsider my position on video games."
Aria gasped. "Is that permission to go pro?"
"No," Mum said immediately. "Eat your eggs."
They did.
Riley finished his breakfast, mind already racing.
Emberton. Edward. Guild offers. Corp scouting.
He didn't have twelve months anymore.
He might have three.
All the more reason to kill the Juggernaut today and take everything it offered.
Dawnview materialised around them in a wash of colour and sound.
Riley arrived in the plaza; Arcial popped out a second later with a crackle of fur and an annoyed huff, as if he'd been replaying the Juggernaut fight all night.
Lumi emerged from his Soulspace in a controlled glow this time. No bouncing. Just a focused, sharp light.
> STORMFRONT UPDATE: Your party has significantly weakened a roaming alpha-beast. Dawnview thanks you.
A soft chime.
System mail.
Riley opened it.
> REWARD: DAWNVIEW STORMFRONT COMMENDATION (Bronze)
• +400 Dawnview Reputation
• Stormfront Repair Discount (5%)
• Passive: +4% Storm Resistance while in Dawnview Region •
Title Unlocked: "Stormfront Tested" (cosmetic)
"Nice," Aria said over his shoulder. "Discounts and clout. We take those."
Another message popped up.
> PARTY BONUS: Because your group is registered as a stable team, all members receive this reward.
Aria punched the air. "CLAN DISCOUNT, BABY—"
Ether drifted up beside Sofia in a shower of soft light, wings flaring briefly as the buff settled over her.
Even Frostwing and the Fire Gecko shimmered weakly in their Soulspace, reacting to the small resistance bump.
More importantly, a new marker blinked on the map — the same faint storm icon as last night, only brighter, clearer.
Stormback Regeneration Zone.
Timer: 03:42:19
Hayes jogged up, armour already polished, Terror the golem (he refused to rename him) thudding along behind like a walking boulder.
"Timer's under four hours now," Hayes said. "We leaving early?"
"Soon as everyone's on," Riley answered.
One by one, the rest phased in around the fountain.
Hayley, stretching her shoulders. Bramble yawning like a mossy bear. Jonathan with Tiger at his heel and Stoneback peeking out like a small granite barnacle. Rezion with Frostwing perched on his head. Kalyani with the Fire Gecko wrapped around her wrist, tail smouldering. Aria with Dot in her hair. Sofia with Ether glowing at her shoulder.
Notably staying in Soulspace for now: Echo, Les, Moggy, Mossling, Husky, Fire Cat and a few of the squishier support spirits — benched for this particular fight.
Wrong affinities.
Wrong roles.
The Juggernaut didn't care about cute.
It cared about force.
Riley clapped his hands together.
"Same as last time," he said. "Hayes, Terror, Jonathan, Stoneback and Bramble are the wall. We do not eat a full-charge horn. Sofia and Ether ration cooldowns for the big hits. Rezion, Frostwing — keep its legs bothered. Kalyani, Gecko — eyes and exposed gaps. Aria and Dot, carve when Lumi marks. Arcial and I handle bursting down weak spots."
Aria leaned toward Sofia. "Translation: 'do not die, please and thank you.'"
Ether gave her a look.
Aria held up her hands. "I will attempt to honour the 'do not die' clause, okay?"
Dot patted her forehead, as if to seal the contract.
Riley checked his potion belt — storm resist, health, one emergency Ether-boost flasks Kipp had brewed that smelled like regret.
He thought briefly of Mum at the kitchen table, pinning a smile in place.
Then of Edward's last message about Emberton.
Then of the bank's word: arrears.
"Let's go," he said quietly.
The Regeneration Zone wasn't a cave, like Jonathan's Stoneback den.
It was a scar.
Lightning-blasted trees ringed a crater full of smouldering earth and jagged obsidian plates. Storm clouds hung low enough to touch, pouring down slow rain that sizzled when it hit the ground.
At the centre of the crater, half-curled like a wounded animal and half-coiled like a spring:
The Stormback Juggernaut.
It wasn't full health yet.
Patches of its armour still glowed where their hits had cracked it. New plates had grown in Strange overlapping patterns, thicker around previously exposed joints. Lightning flowed more evenly now, pulsing in steady waves.
Its level tag still read 15.
But its nameplate now glowed with a faint silver border.
> STORMBACK JUGGERNAUT — PHASE TWO Regenerating Alpha-Beast Aggression: EXTREME New Traits: Storm Pulse / Adaptive Hide
Kalyani whispered, "We broke it and made it worse."
"Welcome to Stormfront," Riley murmured.
The Juggernaut's eyes opened.
Yellow-white light burned in its gaze.
It saw them.
Recognized them.
And got up.
No roar this time.
Just a low, grinding rumble that made stones dance.
Riley rolled his shoulders.
"Positions," he said.
They moved.
Hayes and Terror at the front. Jonathan and Stoneback locking to their flanks. Bramble just behind, Verdant aura already coiling. Hayley poised to slip through gaps. The backline fanning out — Sofia, Rezion, Kalyani, Aria, Riley.
Lumi floated high overhead, glow tight and sharp.
Ether lifted her wings, and this time, instead of waiting, she flung three thin threads of light forward — linking Hayes, Jonathan, and Bramble.
> Thread of Life: Regeneration tethered. Damage shared in small amounts, regen shared evenly.
"Nice," Hayes grunted.
Terror stomped once, stone feet anchoring.
> Terror: Ground Lock — Activated. Knockback resistance increased in a small radius.
Bramble slammed his paws down.
> Verdant Rampart — online.
"Ready," Jonathan said, voice steadier than last time.
Riley drew Dawnstring, the storm humming in his palm.
"Arcial," he whispered. "We crack it open."
The lynx's fur rose, eyes burning.
He crouched, muscles coiling.
The Juggernaut lowered its head.
Lightning built along its plates, but this time it didn't bolt straight away. It shuddered, and a ripple of electricity pulsed outward along the ground.
Storm Pulse.
Small arcs crawled across the crater, testing, tasting.
When the pulse licked at the front line, Hayes' storm-resist potion icon flared. Damage numbers popped up—small, manageable nicks instead of chunks.
"Potions are working," Sofia breathed.
"Then let's make them worth it," Riley said.
"Here it comes!"