Taylor fiddles with the webcam to make, checking with the camera app to make sure he got the right angle. Taylor smiles at the camera and moves his face around for different angles while trying to peek at his face from the camera app.

“You know we can see you, right? People have already joined the meeting.” A voice says from the computer speakers.

“Ugh.” Taylor says, feeling a little dumb. He minimizes the app and sees there were people in the meeting. Not everyone was there, but they were slowly trickling in.

“Awesome.” Taylor says with a straight face. “We’ll wait a few minutes to see who else joins then we’ll just start.” He says with a sigh before tapping on the desk as he waits it out.

“Please mute your mic.” Another voice says, sounding a little annoyed.

“Sorry.” Taylor says, a little embarrassed. He puts his mic on mute and continues to wait.

After a few minutes, there were at least a hundred people on the call.

“Okay, that should be good to start this off.” Taylor says with a smile. “So, why would our bitter and glorious opponent be calling us today, you may ask. Simple. I’ve come to extend and invitation.” He says confidently.

A text box pops up in the chat, distracting Taylor from his speech.

Sorry, could we hold on for a moment? I can’t seem to hear. Your mouth’s moving but I can’t hear anything.

Taylor sighs. “Is the IT guy on the call? Can someone help this dude.” He says, a little impatiently.

Hi, could you try restarting your computer? A fresh start might be necessary.

Okay, I’ll be back in a moment.

…

…

Okay, he’s gone. You can continue.

Taylor lets out a bitter smile. “As I was saying, I’m here to extend an invitation. As you know, we’re about to reach the climax for this war, and yes, it seems you guys are about to win, but don’t you guys feel it?” He asks like a slimy businessman.

“Feel what?” Someone asks.

“That you know… It’s been kind of boring.” Taylor says, looking unimpressed. “A tribulation should be more than a little boring, don’t you think? I mean, there’s definitely a few people who have broken through to the seventh stage from the pressure, but no one’s made the leap to the eighth stage yet. The Blood Moon’s about to fade and no one has achieved what this tribulation was for in the first place!” He says, sounding a little preachy, like he was either about to scam you or sell you something. Or convert you…

Taylor was greeted with silence.

“Anyways, that’s why I’m here. If you feel you haven’t achieved your best in this tribulation, it isn’t too late. The last bit of the war has yet to be fought, and if you switch sides today, it could be the push you need to break through to the next stage. The final battle is coming; why don’t we make it a banger?” Taylor says with a big smile.

He was once again greeted with silence.

“Alright, well–” Taylor tries to say but was cut off.

“Hey guys, I was able to connect. I have no idea why it’s working now or what the problem even was. Can you guys hear me alright?” A voice says, sounding satisfied.

“Okay, well, I’ve extended my invitation. There’s no need to respond here. We wouldn’t want the others to hear, right? I’ll talk to you guys later.” Taylor says with a chuckle, ignoring the other dude. He exits the meeting and smiles. Now to wait… He thinks, like an experienced fisherman.