New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

***Bellemare family residence, Westmount, Montreal***

"Honey, I've already told you this a million times! I don't have time to spend with her!"

"How can you even consider yourself her father?! You haven't spent a second with her since Tommy died!"

"Again, I don't have time! I fell behind so much on work, because of Tommy's funeral, the shareholders are hounding me! If I don't catch up, I'll lose the company!"

"Who cares about your stupid company?! Our daughter should be your priority!"

"She's young! She'll get over it with time! Time that I don't have! I have to go now!"

*Slam!*

*soft sobbing*

"Mother?" A soft girl's voice called out.

*Sniff*

"Oh, sweetheart… You heard us, didn't you?" Mrs. Bellemare asked her daughter, her eyes all puffy from crying.

"Yes, mother. Why is dad never home? Does he hate me?" Violette Bellemare asked.

"Oh, darling. Of course not. Your father is just still processing his emotions. Your brother's death was a tragedy for all of us, but it affected your father the most." Mrs. Bellemare said.

"Does he think it's my fault?" Violette asked, tears pooling in her eyes.

"No one thinks it's your fault, sweetheart. You couldn't have done anything in that situation." Mrs. Bellemare said, almost choking on her words.

In the mother's mind, she didn't want to blame her only remaining child for the death of the other. But a small part of her did indeed blame her.

Even if it had been an accident, the fact remained that it was Violette that had insisted they play near the pool. None of this would have happened if they played in the yard.

Now, her son was gone, and her family was falling apart. But she refused to blame her daughter.

What was done, was done. The past couldn't be changed.

Mrs. Bellemare and her daughter sat in the portico, softly sobbing together. They quietly mourned the boy, silently hoping for this to be a nightmare.

Mr. Bellemare came back that night, tired and inebriated. His breath smelled of scotch and cigars, and his clothes were messy.

His wife knew better than to confront him when he was drunk, but she silently resented him. Their marriage was falling apart because he refused to mourn his son, and instead fell into liquor.

Mr. Bellemare went to bed, half-dressed and fully drunk, falling asleep instantly.

The next morning, he woke up groggy, his head thumping and ears ringing. He brushed it off as he headed to the dinner table to eat breakfast.

Their chef had prepared a special plate for him, with food that would help with his hangover. He ate in silence as his wife and daughter held their heads down.

Eventually, Mr. Bellemare broke the silence.

"Violette."

"Yes, father?" The daughter responded, keeping her head low.

"I saw news of the new game that came out recently. New Eden, I think it is called. I will buy you a gaming pod. Play it. It will help you pass time and keep out of trouble." He said, his tone final.

"Yes, father." Violette responded.

After breakfast, they all went about their day, avoiding each other. The pod arrived later that day, and was installed promptly.

Violette had watched a few videos from the game, some of which were live feeds from a tournament currently happening. Although the game was enticing, her heart was still weeping.

Violette wasn't in the mood to play today, so she went to bed early after dinner and slept until the next day.

***Back to the tournament***

Astaroth was calmly having a conversation with I'die, Athena, and Phoenix, who had eventually come back to sit with them. They were practically ignoring the current fights happening down below.

Of the five bouts left in this round, two happened relatively quickly. The other three were against more cautious and experienced players, which dragged things out.

Two of those three fights lasted a little over five minutes, and the last one lasted well over ten minutes. This gave plenty of time to Astaroth and the gang to discuss their next opponents.

Astaroth had little to say about Killi, since he had already fought him once. As for the others, I'die was ultra nervous, since his next opponent was Phoenix.

Phoenix had only told him to do his best, and she would do the same. Athena had elbowed Phoenix and gave her the stink eye.

Phoenix had then coughed and said she would make it quick, earning an even more vicious glare from the Elven woman. To which Phoenix had raised her shoulders, not knowing what else to say.

Astaroth had watched the exchange silently, trying his best not to laugh. Athena had stomped his foot discreetly, and he had to keep himself from yelping in pain.

The players that weren't far from this group could only watch in envy, as they were nervous wrecks. Anyone would be, in this situation, and they couldn't understand why most of them were so collected.

The only one that was showing normal behaviour was the scrawny Elf Druid. And they could easily relate to him, since they knew who he was fighting next.

Even if everyone here was confident about their strength, they couldn't help but gulp when they remembered the blazing tornado Phoenix had conjured earlier.

That did not look like a level thirty player's spell. It was like she was harnessing powers way above her level.

Athena knew about her opponent, only what she saw from his fight. Which wasn't much, since he won relatively rapidly.

But she had been less attentive to their conversation during his fight, trying to catch any details that could help her. But even though the information was lacking, she still seemed confident.

Their discussion came to an end when the last combat was finished. Chairwoman Constantine's face appeared in the sky again, gathering everyone's attention.

"The first round of this last phase has concluded. All around you are currently the sixteen strongest and most skilled players." Constantine said, smiling warmly.

"The next round will further reduce your numbers to eight players before starting the quarter-finals. I hope all of you that have been holding on to their aces, start using them, as the fighting will only get more intense." She added.

"I hope you are all enjoying yourselves, because the world is enjoying the show. With the popularity the tournament has garnered, some sponsors have chipped in, so more rewards are given."

"With their help, we now have a bigger first prize, and three other prizes, for the semi-finalists and the runner-up. I hope you all give your one hundred percent to attain these prizes."

"So, without further ado, let us start the second round of the final phase!"

Greed struck the players.

'More Prizes!' They all thought.