Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

Chapter 644 Pier

Klaus felt a sense of relief as he moved away from the crowd and got into the van. The buzz of the press still echoed in his ears, but now he could finally relax a little.

As the van began to move through the busy streets of Los Angeles towards the hotel, Klaus settled into the seat with a deep sigh and his cell phone began to vibrate frantically. Klaus took his cell phone out of his pocket and noticed that there were several unread messages. The most recent caught his eye:

'Ashley' flashed on the display.

He smiled, remembering his girlfriend, who had been incredibly understanding throughout the tournament, giving him space to concentrate on the competition. Immediately, he pressed the call button to make a call to her.

"Hello, love." He said as he answered the call, trying to sound calmer than he felt.

"Hi, Klaus." Ashley's voice sounded a little tense and shaky on the other end of the line. "I know you're busy with all this tournament madness, but we need to talk. It's something important."

Klaus felt a tightness in his chest. He knew that he had avoided many serious conversations in recent weeks, focusing exclusively on preparing for the tournament.

"Of course, Ash," he replied, keeping his voice soft. "What's going on? You know you can tell me anything."

"It's not something I want to discuss over the phone, Klaus." Ashley said seriously. "We need to meet in person. Could it be at the North Jetty Light Pier? It's pretty close to where you are and it's pretty empty."

"Of course, love. I'll be there as soon as I can."

He hung up the phone and looked at Isabella, who was sitting next to him in the van. "Isabella, would you mind dropping me off at the North Jetty Light Pier? I need to sort out something personal with Ashley."

The coordinator nodded understandingly. "Of course, Klaus. I'll ask the driver to make a stop there."

Klaus looked out of the van's window as it drove through the busy streets of Los Angeles towards the North Jetty Light Pier. The urban landscape soon gave way to a more tranquil view of the ocean. The sun had already set, and the night was a full moon, slowly rising in the sky. As the van approached the pier, Klaus felt a chill in his stomach for the first time in a long time. For some reason, he wasn't feeling well. From the conversation he'd had with Ashley on the phone, he knew that something was worrying her.

Soon, the van finally stopped at the almost empty pier, where the refreshing sea breeze contrasted with the heat of the city.

Klaus got out of the van and said goodbye to Isabella with a heartfelt thank you. He walked to the end of the pier, where he found Ashley staring out at the ocean.

Ashley was as beautiful as ever, with her glorious black hair and eyes as green as two pairs of emeralds. She turned when she heard Klaus' footsteps approaching, and her eyes met his. There was something different about Ashley's expression, something he couldn't immediately decipher.

"Thank you for coming, Klaus," she said, her voice sounding soft but charged with emotion.

"Of course, Ash," he replied, concerned. "What's going on? You seem... different."

"I... have to find out from you, Klaus. Is everything they're saying about you true? Everything that's on the internet?"

Klaus felt the ground open up under his feet. He hadn't expected the conversation to take this turn so quickly. In fact, when it came to confessing that he was Kaizen, he didn't even think for a minute about how it would affect the person closest to him who still didn't know anything about it, his girlfriend. Klaus stared at Ashley, her eyes searching theirs for answers, and he could see the confusion and pain in her eyes.

"I... I wanted to tell you." Klaus began hesitantly, choosing his words carefully. "But I didn't know how."

Ashley looked at him with tear-filled eyes, and she seemed stunned for a moment.

The sea breeze whispered around them, creating a tense silence that seemed to stretch until the next wave broke on the shore.

"So, are you really him?" Ashley asked, his voice breaking. "Kaizen? That player from Rise Online?"

Klaus nodded, feeling the weight of the confession weigh on him as much as it had on telling it in front of dozens of cameras and strangers. "Yes, it's me. But I didn't want to hide it from you, Ash."

Ashley turned her face away and looked at the ocean to hide her face.

At that moment, Klaus stepped forward to approach her, but she turned suddenly, took a breath and looked deeply into his eyes.

"Klaus, I understand why you kept this a secret..." She said, her voice trembling. "But it's hard, you know? Finding out that the person you're sharing your life with, the one you're planning to make so many dreams come true with, isn't actually who you think they are."

Looking at her, Klaus said:

"When I'm with you, I'm not that man, I'm Klaus, you know me."

Ashley gave a small smile, but there was sadness in her eyes. "I know, Klaus. And I love you, every part of your being, your petulant personality and no matter who you are, but all of this is too big a change for me... Deep down, I always knew that you were destined for great things, from the moment you defeated me in Dagger Fight barely knowing how to play, but I thought we would achieve all this together, not that you already had a history... You'd think I didn't know you."

Her words sounded like multiple arrowheads, because deep down he already knew what was coming in the end.

"If you hid all this from me, what else could you be hiding?" She said, turning on her back and running her hands through the black strands of her hair. "I don't know... I think I'd better listen to my parents, we'd better break up." Finally, she said, turning and looking into his eyes.