1 Beginning of a Tragedy

Bustling crowds filled the stands of the Los Angeles Esports Arena, their eyes glued to the LED video display screens as they watched two teams compete for supremacy in the famous RLCS tournament.

Within the stands, one kid looked around in boredom.

"What is RLCS? I'm so bored! I wanna go home already!" he whined.

"Heh. Dumbass kid," an old man with a long beard snickered off to the side, "RLCS, for the pitifully ignorant such as yourself, stands for Rocket League Championship Series. It is perhaps one of the most famous of all Esports tournaments. Way better than your dipshit kid games at home."

The kid wanted to refute, but his small voice was drowned out by the dawning cheers of the audience. As their shouts reverberated throughout the arena, planting themselves in the child's brain like an eerily brainwashing chant, he slowly found himself hypnotized.

It was a mystical sensation, listening to two different sides clashing against one another with the volume of their words as they spoke two distinct names.

"The Three Fiends! Take it! Take it all the way!" one side shouted out in excitement, nearly standing on their toes in anticipation.

"Mandinga! Steal their souls and win this for us like the devils you are!" the other side shouted as they raised their hands anxiously.

The boy trembled and unknowingly said aloud, "Perhaps… RLCS is better than everything I've ever known…"

Nodding approvingly, the older man suddenly felt his body tremble as he looked upon the screen.

Not just him, everyone in the arena felt a sudden discharge throughout their body and both sides looked at the other with hostile glares, their eyes darting back and forth between the scoreboard and the actual gameplay.

This current match wasn't just another game—it was the RLCS finale. And the two teams were currently tied with a score of 4–4, about to enter into a vicious match of overtime.

One of the teams was The Three Fiends, a team from the United States representing North America. They were composed of the trio of Mandrew Acclintock, Delexi, and Hoah Nill. They were three good friends that transitioned from casually enjoying the game into the competitive scene.

Opposing them was Mandinga, a team from Colombia representing South America. Making up this team were Bergio Borshnero, Bolonso Borshnero, and Ivan Rodriguez.

It was the Borshnero brothers who had started this team, and they had long since formed a feud with The Three Fiends. Bergio Borshnero stood out the most among his companions, with his starkly long aquiline nose protruding outwards and marking him like the villainous leader he was.

A pair of voices abruptly sounded from the speakers. It was the esports casters: Jack Johnson and Bobby Hendrith.

"Well, Bobby, this match is quite the exciting one! Who would've guessed that The Three Fiends and Mandinga, two teams which have long since grudged with one another, would go tire-to-tire in the finale of RLCS?"

"Haha! You know, Jack, if there are any teams that deserve to be in the finale—its those two! Just imagine all the painstaking effort they've put into training!"

Jack Johnson nodded before letting out a sigh in disgrace.

"Certainly. I'm just afraid that no other teams will stand a chance in the following RLCS tournament either. It's like… watching a pebble hit a mountain. If they want a chance against these demonic teams, they need to work much harder."

Bobby shook his head, "They have to rewatch their matches and just realize what they're doing wrong. How many of these players keep repeating the same mistakes? Look at the Mandrew and Bergio, just take a second and admire their fast kickoffs. Now compare theirs to the teams that have already been knocked out."

He continued, "One is a master and the other is just barely qualified to be considered a novice. It doesn't matter if they practice that skill a thousand times a day if their foundation is wrong. Hear me out: these players need to rewatch these matches and learn from Mandinga and The Three Fiends. Give us some entertainment in the next tournament!"

The crowds feverishly cried out in agreement, feeling their disappointment was immeasurable. If not for the two seeded teams, this entire RLCS would've been mediocre garbage.

With the continuation of their commentary, the perspectives swapped between teams with their face cams included, eventually centering on the blue team's Mandrew. Currently tied at 4–4 and playing on the map known as Champion's Field, the viewer's could see the tenseness in his eyes as sweat trickled down his face.

Mandrew was currently locked into Ball Cam. His starting position was left off center, his teammate Delexi was center back, and Hoah Nill was left far side. Each one of their cars was the Octane, one of the three most popular body types used in competitive plays.

Taking a deep breath, Mandrew said, "Hoah, set it up for me on the left side. I'll take it off the wall with an aerial."

"Left side? I'll go for it. Delexi, hold center for now."

The Rocket League announcement started.

"3, 2, 1, GO!"

Hoah immediately burst forward, boosting in a straight line before launching a diagonal flip into the ball with a fast kickoff, taking Bolonso by surprise.

"Great!" Mandrew exclaimed, his car already in position as he shot off the wall, sending the ball onto the right field of the orange team's side.

With a perfect read, Delexi was already on route, sending it along the curved wall of Champion Field—

"Not good!" he shouted in worry.

Orange team's Ivan Rodriguez interfered at the worst possible moment, clearing the ball back down field.

"Hmph! I'll go for it!" Hoah said as he was already moving on rotation, ready to send it back across with Mandrew just behind him for a follow-up.

At a closer distance, Bergio immediately pressured, popping the ball off the roof of his car in the midfield… but Mandrew saw an opportunity.

"I'm going for the aerial!" he exclaimed, his palms sweaty and heart feeling like it might just beat out of his chest.

"No! Not yet!" Hoah Nill shouted in alarm, with Delexi's own cries of distress following.

Mandrew ignored them, having just collected a 100% boost pad. Using his first jump, he soared into the sky. Following that was a string of boosting to reach even higher heights and his second jump as he right about touched the ball—

But he failed to take into account Bolonso's position, having stayed in Ball Cam the entire time… and Bolonso beat him to the ball before taking it into an air dribble and shooting his shot.

The ball shot towards Mandrew's goal much to his chagrin, and Rodriguez rapidly enclosed it from the wall, hitting it off the backboard and setting up a perfect rebound for Bergio.

The casters stood up in dismay, the fans of The Three Fiends crying out in anguish, and the Mandinga fans laughing devilishly at their misfortune as they watched Bergio tap in the rebound.

"GOAL!"

"5–4"

"Winner - Orange!"

Mandrew froze as he looked at his screen, and he felt as if his heat had stopped, losing grip of his controller.

Chrik!

The controller crashed on the ground, his mic disconnecting. All of the surrounding spectators aligned their gaze on him, some whispering their mockery while others blatantly yelled their insults.

"How can he be that stupid? He's supposed to be the best!"

"Heh. Even those mediocre teams wouldn't lose in such a pathetic way."

"This has to be a fixed match. If that wasn't an intentional throw, then I don't know what is."

"I wasted so much money on this event. Hmph. I'm already emailing customer service for a refund."

Mandrew felt his breathing quicken. Looking to his sides, even Hoah and Delexi were looking at him with disappointment apparent in their eyes, though they remained silent.

Perhaps they were holding in their anger, or maybe their disappointment overshadowed all else. To Mandrew, he felt like he was hit by a train. This was their chance… but he screwed it up.

He adamantly stood up from his chair before walking to the exit. There was nothing else for him here, and he had no interest in making a mockery of himself in the interviews to come.

Mandrew went backstage, quickly finding a secluded area.

"Dammit!" he punched the wall in anger.

He tried to calm himself and thought. 'It's one thing to screw up in a match, but it's another to make such a mistake in the RLCS finale. People are gonna haunt me with this, dammit!'

He waited quietly for a few minutes, but no one showed up after him. Neither Hoah nor Delexi bothered to go after him.

"Whatever, I guess I'll just go home… let things blow over."

And so he returned home, closing his eyes to the moon which seemed much more daunting tonight than ever.

◆◆◆

The burning rays of the sun beamed through Mandrew's window, the warmth prompting him to open his eyes, albeit unwillingly.

Reaching to his side, he grabbed his phone. The screen flashed on to reveal several notifications, among which were many unread messages.

[Hoah Nill] [7 Unread Messages]

[Mandrew… this is a pretty difficult thing for me to say… but some things change in life….]

[I'm sorry man, I really am, but things aren't working out with our team.]

[Y'know, like, we started out for fun! Not competitive play…]

[Anyways, my girlfriend spoke with me, and uh—well—she really likes the Colombian Team, Mandinga (aka the devil who steals souls, rad name….)]

[And uh, dude, they actually messaged me! They want to recruit me to their team! I know they are our rivals, and we've had grudges with them for so long, but like, this is my chance!]

[What are the odds my girlfriend talks about this with me, and then they invite me? This has to be, like, the inner workings of fate! I can't turn down this offer! This opportunity! I might be able to achieve something!]

[I'm sorry, man, I'm really sorry… but I need this. Whatever you decide to do from here on out, I wish the best for you.]

Mandrew felt his body grow cold as he read the messages, uttering in disbelief, "No way… No fucking way! One mistake and you're gonna abandon the team like that! It must be that bitch's doing."

Breathing heavily like a wolf who was ready to hunt, Mandrew wanted to go beat the shit out of someone.

[Delexi] [1 Unread Message]

"Huh?"

Another phone notification popped up, breaking his dangerous train of thought. He clicked open Delexi's message and froze.

[Mandrew, with Hoah leaving the team, I quit. I'm sorry bro, but why even continue at this point? Sigh. It's easier this way and I've got other games to grind anyway.]

Mandrew knelt down, feeling both distraught and angry, "This is unfucking believable! After everything I've done for the both of them, they actually split off like this? With text messages? They don't even have the nerve to face me in person or leave a voice message? And Delexi even dares to type 'sigh,' what the actual fuck is wrong with you two!"

Tossing his phone off to the side, he crawled back under the blanket as tears welled up in his eyes.

Little did Mandrew know, the separation of his esports team, The Three Fiends, was just the beginning of his distress.