A Collision of Hearts and Heroes

Chapter 30

Warning: This chapter consists of content that may be distressing to some readers—including graphic depictions of violence—such as references to knives and blood. Please, read with caution!

Clarissa's POV

Blood

We've been in Cambodia for the MSC tournament for two months and one week now. This tournament is the Southeast Asia Cup, where the first and second-place finishers in the MPL compete for one another.

Obienna reached the finals and is now the defending champion. At this moment, Astral and Lunatix from the Malaysian team are battling it out against each other. The winner of this match will be our next opponent in the championship.

The crowd erupted into a wild roar, their excitement is evident. Some fans waved their long balloons with enthusiasm that added the splashes of color to the sea of anticipation. All eyes were glued to the massive screen—hearts pounding in unison as the game reached a high point—every play magnifying the intensity.

"Hindi makaka-tiyempo si Reyv," Byron said beside me.

"Lugi kasi sila sa picking pa lang," I spoke.

Game five na ito at parehas patas ang points. I was actually worried because Lunatix is currently taking the lead. Their core's exceptional performance on Alpha in this match was critical—in which he effectively disabled Lyle's Fanny pick.

Sayang talaga at na counter pick pa ang Fanny ni Lyle. Tapos ang dami pang crowd control ng Lunatix—may Minautor at Terizla—dahilan kung bakit nahihirapan sila kapag team fight. The draft phase heavily influences the outcome, and in this case, Astral's choices didn't align well with their game plan.

In professional tournaments, if a team starts off at a disadvantage during the picking and banning of heroes, there's no miracle that can turn things around. Hindi ito kagaya sa normal na rank game na kahit tatlong mages pa kayo ay makakaya niyo pang manalo.

"Lunatix, paved the way!!" The caster exclaimed as Astral failed to defend their base any longer.

Napasapo sa mukha si Dave at si Alejandro, halatang nanghiginayang sa kanilang laro. Si Lyle naman ay napadukdok sa lamesa na agad tinapik ni Vince sa balikat nang marahan na para bang pinapakalma niya ito. Gasper, on the other hand, removed his headphones and briefly covered his face with both hands. He appeared calmer than the rest of his team, but I know that he was really hurt.

Astral take their final bows, and watching them go through this is truly heartbreaking. Losing is incredibly tough for all players. Having experienced many losses myself, I understand the deep pain they must be feeling.

I wanna hug my boyfriend right away.

"Puntahan mo na si Yew," Adrian mentioned to me when Astral left the stage.

I stood up and went to Astral's waiting area. Nauna akong nakarating sakanila kaya naghintay ako ng ilang segundo. Bagsak ang mga balikat nila nang pumasok at kahit si Coach Eddie ay parang ang tamlay-tamlay.

Gasper rushed to me as soon as our eyes met, and pulled me into a tight embrace as he buried his face in my neck. Ramdam ko ang panghihinayang at pagkabigo niya habang nakapulupot ang braso sa akin.

"Sayang," the only word that escaped his lips.

"At least you're in third place, right? Not everyone gets that honor," pampalubag loob ko sakaniya.

"I just needed to recharge. Nakakapanghina, e," aniya.

"Get some of my energy if you want," I softly spoke.