Together
Date: 2018-05-03 04:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Science Fiction; Fantasy
Description: ASIN moved to this edition Since stepping through the gateway to Continue, Grant has been many things: a dying hero, a malevolent imp, a robotic space explorer, and felon seeking redemption. Now he’s added a new role to the list—married man to a virtual woman. In his mind, nothing could be more perfect, but his newlywedded bliss is in jeopardy. Trillium pulled the trigger on a digital Armageddon and the games have changed. Virtual people are being hunted down then deleted forever. Players’ characters are removed if they die three times. The AIs have a plan to fight back and protect their citiz

Continue Online

Part 5 - Together

Stephan Morse

If you’d like to connect with me, please visit:

My personal blog www.frustratedego.com

Twitter handle @FrustratedEgo

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Continue Online (Part 5, Together)

Copyright © 2015 by Stephan Morse

For more about this author please visit http://www.frustratedego.com/

All characters and events in this book, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Events portrayed are based on alternate reality fiction.

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at: http://www.frustratedego.com/

Cover design by Indie Designz http://www.indiedesignz.com

First Publishing, 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Commencement – X-O This

Session Eighty-Nine – Honeymoon Period

Session Ninety – Reality’s Hold

Session Ninety-One – On the Road Again

Session Ninety-Two – The City of ItRainsTooMuch

Session Ninety-Three – His Father is Awesome

Session Ninety-Four – Anger Management School

Session Ninety-Five – [Lithium] Powered

Session Ninety-Six – The Crown of Laurels

Session Ninety-Seven – Hunt for the Requiem

Session Ninety-Eight – Demon’s Albatross

Session Ninety-Nine – The Far Shore

Session One Hundred – When We Shadows

Session One Hundred One – Are Still [Redacted]

Session One Hundred Two – Flying Fools

Session One Hundred Three – Eat Dirt

Session One Hundred Four – [Save] the Last Dance

Session One Hundred and Five – The Breach

Session One Hundred Six – Fork in The Road

Interlude – Original Configurations

Session One Hundred Seven – You Only Live Twice

Session One Hundred Eight – Pieces of Us

Session One Hundred Nine – Through Fingertips

Session One Hundred Ten – Dead Man’s Hand

Session One Hundred Eleven – He’s Building a Stairway

Conclude – Angels Dancing on Pinheads

Commencement

X-O This

Attention!

Due to recent changes in the Trillium policy, this event is now being televised nationally. Any entity working on the event quests may be viewed by people who do not actively play Continue Online or might have been blocked from joining until the event is complete.

Be aware that you may opt out of being observed directly. This does not prevent watchers from seeing your actions through other Travelers or certain skills and spells. However, allowing access to your character may provide bonuses if enough attention is received.

“Look at this.” The single mother pointed at a digital display screen. Elizabeth had spent the last hour trying to find the display feed for her slightly younger twin brother. The idiot was in the middle of his latest insane virtual life crisis.

“Really, Mom? You’re going to keep spying on him?” Her daughter stood in the front room with half a sandwich remaining. The other portion had been eaten in five large bites with little signs of chewing.

Liz’s front room was directly adjacent a wide open archway that went into the kitchen. Liz preferred working out here since it had the least cluttered wall space in her house. Larger projections made seeing finer details easier.

Half of the wall was currently taken up with an image of her brother, Grant. He was in game and busy working on setting up a campfire and tent. Beth and Liz both got a strange third-person view of the man as he moved around. A shovel, which had been used to dig a pit, lay to one side. Objects appeared in Grant’s hand and were driven into the ground.

“It’s not spying. It’s like watching the latest season of Biggest Loser,” Liz said.

Beth’s eyebrows slid downward while she chewed. Her nose wrinkled and one hand brought up the house’s digital display. She poked at the buttons to search for the show her mom had mentioned.

“Wasn’t that show canceled, like, when you and Uncle Grant were in diapers?” Beth said. Another portion of food went in her face.

“There’s a show for it?” Liz turned and took note of her daughter’s unsightly eating habits. “I always thought it was the story of the Legates’ life.”

Liz went toward one wall and pressed a button. Out popped a small circular machine designed to clear the floors after her daughter got done making a mess. The device was a gift from Liz’s mother—with a note that said no woman should be forced to slave away on cleaning.

“Mhm. Latest date didn’t work out? I told you a man named Ulrich probably wouldn’t be any good.” Beth finished her sandwich and looked around.

The small robot started vacuuming up crumbs.

“He wasn’t. I swear, I’m going to have to buy an ARC myself. Maybe there’s a program on there to remind me what a decent man feels like.” Liz left up the screen with her brother on it. With her other hand, she flipped through a website for work. Eventually she would find more than a short assignment. Employment was getting more difficult to find, even in her field.

“Jesus, Mom.”

Liz didn’t look over at her daughter. “You’re nineteen, or whatever you told me you were. I still can’t believe you tried to tell me you were basically twenty-one.”

“It’s not like I haven’t had anything to drink before,” Beth said to defend herself. She turned around, carefully stepped over the cleaning robot, and went back to the kitchen.

“The digital world isn’t reality!” Liz leaned back in her chair.

“Really, Mom?” Beth came out of the kitchen with a glass of water for herself and a cup of coffee for her mom. “You can’t have it both ways. Either virtual reality is real enough for a good lay and to get buzzed in, or it’s not.”

“Grant seems to believe it’s real enough.”

On the projection was Xin. She wore a deep black robe that never gathered dust or showed signs of being on the road. Small white symbols lined its hem and danced around. Both players wore matching rings that glinted in the firelight.

“Don’t tell me you still disapprove? You were at Uncle Grant’s wedding.” Beth’s face drooped briefly. The water went down in two quick gulps.

“Wanting him to be happy doesn’t stop me from worrying.” She sipped at the fresh coffee. “I can’t help but feel something bad is going to happen.”

“There it is”—Beth’s hand turned to a fist, and she pumped the arm—“the good old Legate family confidence.”

On screen, the tent had almost been completed. Dusk, a dog-sized dragon creature, tore through the clearing while wrestling with a tiny white blur. Beth knew the pale construction was one of Xin’s skeleton creatures. The short Asian had animated it with video game magic and turned it into a beast to keep Dusk from attracting too many critters.

Liz didn’t look up. “That’s just one of the many things we Legates learn to offer people. Followed by that is terrible luck with relationships.” The mother leaned back and looked toward the kitchen door, where Beth stood. “Speaking of, you and that cat guy look to be on the outs.”

Beth tucked back a cheek, then shrugged. “I caught him chasing some player with a tall elf body.”

Liz paused her website surfing and stared, then she closed her eyes while trying to remember all the rules for dealing with daughters. None of them were helpful, and Liz’s mother had missed the ball more than once.

Liz settled on saying, “Men are stupid. Are you okay with it?”

“I’ll be fine. I’m just mad because I had my sights on her first,” Beth said.

Liz sputtered and then quickly covered the motion by taking another sip of coffee.

“What? You only live once. There’s no point in getting upset over the small stuff.” Beth shrugged. Her in-game character had been blessed by Mezo, a fact that she didn’t know until Grant had introduced them during the wedding. After that, life had taken a turn for the interesting. A [Blessing] of red-hued skin and a forked tail hadn’t appeared from being prudish.

“Yeah. You only live once,” her mother said dryly.

On the screen, Grant and Xin had finished setting up a tent. On the outside canvas, the words “Just Married” were painted and had started to flake.

The video feed didn’t follow Grant inside the tent. Instead, it stayed outside, relaying the sound of a delighted giggle. Sitting outside the virtual campsite sat a sign that said “Beware of Messenger’s Pet.”

Liz shook her head and waved a hand. Dozens of other names displayed to watch. Each one was a player in the world of Continue Online. She turned the dial toward a friend to see how Elane was doing.

Attention!

[Three Strike Rule] has been enacted. For the duration of this event, Travelers who die three times are unable to release to their [Bind] points. Resurrection via skills, abilities, Path bonuses, or items does not impact this three strike total.

Attention!

[Sudden Death] has been enacted. For the duration of this event, Travelers who die to a [World Eater] mob have the possibility of being deleted entirely and will be unable to participate in Continue Online until the event is completed.

New Information Received!

Monster Type: [World Eater]

Location: Everywhere you want to be

Details: [World Eater] monsters are part of the ongoing event and are arriving in increasing shapes and sizes. The original [World Eater]s were colossal humanoid creatures that devoured entire tracts of land, Locals, and a few Travelers.

Since [The Great Gate-Away] activated, more [World Eater] monsters have arrived and are modeled after an increasing number of beings. All of them are identified by a smoky atmosphere. They have no noticeable eyes or mouth.

Elane was not doing well. Neither were the people around her. She traveled with a friend and their new guild, which was run by a player named Awesome.

Awesome was a father and guild leader. He had been a beta player and Trillium spokesperson. Right now, the man was a desperate person trying to fight off an army of monsters.

Chunks of trees were missing where shadowy-looking wolves had bitten into them. Dirt likewise had gouges. Until a few minutes ago, the normal-sized canines were content actually eating the landscape.

Awesome and ten of his guild members had stumbled upon the beasts. Their reaction time had been great, but no one could be prepared for beasts that ate armor and weapons. After a few minutes of hectic fighting, they had managed to form ranks against the beasts.

“Don’t let them get you! Long-range attacks everyone! Tanks, get out the biggest shields you’ve got!” Awesome pointed at the players in front. Larger shields looked to be more difficult for the beasts to chew through.

The monsters had dragged down four guild members already. Two of those defeated people could still be resurrected by SheHulk, but the other pair had been removed from friend lists and the guild roster. [Sudden Death] was not playing around.

“Come on! Mages, move it!” Awesome shouted. Keeping tabs on everyone was easy enough since his own skills were mostly useless. The man couldn’t fire a bow in a straight line no matter how hard he tried.

His biggest Path was [Spirit Summoner], and in normal combat, his abilities were brokenly overpowered. He could bring up entire armies of beasts from the world to overwhelm an opponent. Awesome loved his [Monster Brown Bear]s and [Slender Wolves].

“Three down, six more!” one of the shield bearers called. The short Hispanic woman was nearly lost in her armor. SheHulk was new to the guild but had performed well. “They’re clumped! I need a nuke in front of us! Tink! Goddammit, stop holding back!”

“Shut up! Your giant ass is distracting me!” The tall blond woman was hastily sketching runes into the dirt around her. The spell’s energy added an effect of glowing eyes and floating hair. At her feet, the ground had grown so cold that frost rippled off.

Other mages were withdrawing. The shield bearers in the front were pushing back an army of clawing creatures with no intelligence. These beasts weren’t like normal wolves, who relied on hit-and-run tactics. Higher Path wolves might form groups and lunge for the weakest-looking players while ignoring tanks who might try to intercept.

These beasts surged forward like a wave and paid no regard to their dead companions. They weren’t smart enough to move to the side or circle around behind.

Elane reared back. The two tanks next to her scrambled to provide cover for the slack. She slammed her shield forward into a [World Eater] wolf. Vaguely canine features were forced between Elane’s shield and the one the man next to her held. His shield had spikes on its edge.

They tore into the creature’s head, then started sawing away at its shadow-formed neck. The damage wasn’t intentional—SheHulk’s fellow tank didn’t even notice. He had been busy trying to find a second shield. His legs were giving way under the surge of monsters.

“Got it!” TinkerHell shouted. The last [Lithium] marking upon the ground clinked into place. The dirt beneath her feet developed an instant layer of ice that pushed TinkerHell into the air a foot.

Crackles appeared along the ground. They sped forward between shield bearers toward the wolves. SheHulk grunted, then lifted her shield into the air. Wolves dove forward, trying to take advantage of the hole in their line.

“Behind!” SheHulk yelled, not caring who paid attention quickly enough. Her second hand gripped the shield’s brace, and down it came. Language coming out of the Hispanic woman’s mouth changed into the flowing chant of [Lithium].

TinkerHell spouted her own chant as the frozen line moved forward.

“In! Everyone in!” Awesome shouted.

Two people with crossbows ran forward.

“By the power of a righteous heart, grant me reprieve and sanctuary! Holy barricade!” SheHulk shouted the [Lithium] spell. A bubble of golden light formed from the shield’s edge backward.

“Icebound walls of the Northern Sea, grant me your silent strength!” TinkerHell finished her chant as the trails of frost reached those wolves remaining. The frozen ice beneath her feet slid upward and blocked the blast.

Cries from the wolves halted. The half-decapitated beast hanging from one of the tank’s shields looked chilled to the bone. One person’s leg had completely frozen over. Ice was nearly everywhere.

One of the other players shivered uncontrollably. His violent shaking broke apart the half-decapitated wolf. Pieces of the formerly snarling canine shattered upon the ground. This player hadn’t ducked into the holy barricade zone in time.

“Seriously, Yo-Yo, listen for the raid calls,” Awesome said while scanning the scene.

Yo-Yo chattered while nodding. He couldn’t form words in response.

Both the locations where SheHulk and TinkerHell had cast their area defensive spells were unfrozen. Ice had formed over their heads, around the shields, and all along the forest trees.

“Goddamn, girl,” SheHulk said while prying her shield out of the ice wall. She pulled out a mace and whacked it against the sides to break apart some ice.

“You asked for a nuke. I nuked. That’s what I do.” TinkerHell dug her staff into the ground. Single [Lithium] runes were carved out, then erased.

Directly behind the tall blonde was a shorter man wearing blue equipment. Wax held together his mustache hairs and allowed him to curl their edges. He had been the closest to TinkerHell and showed little sign of leaving her space. His waxed mustache tapped against his cheek. Elane glared passed the taller blonde.

“Really, Edward? No matter how hard you stare, I’m not making that mistake again. Fool me once, or twice, or three times, shame on you.” She lifted the staff and brought it down on Edward’s toes.

He hopped back while wincing. “I can’t help it. I saw a distressed lady in need of medical attention.” He had little role to play against these [World Eater] beasts and felt bored.

“Edward!” Awesome didn’t even look over. “If you can’t behave, I have no problems kicking you out of the guild. Let’s see how long you survive the event with no backing.”

Awesome was busy trying to see how far the frozen terrain had spread. He pointed two fingers at one of the other party members, then pointed again toward the field. The man he gestured to marched into the woods to recon.

“You wound me,” Edward responded and pressed both hands to his chest. He avoided putting pressure on the damaged foot.

“I’ll wound you all right,” SheHulk muttered while kneeling by one of their deceased teammates. Her eyes closed, and golden lights rapidly swirled around as the Hispanic woman recited the long [Lithium] spell that resurrected Travelers.

[Haven Valley] was a long way away. Their pack animals had died under prior ambushes from players and [World Eater]s alike. The Hispanic woman had started to doubt their chance of success.

Quest Group: [Largest PvPNess]

Task: [Fleshy Pounds]

Total: 106 active members

Details: [Three Strike Rule] may be taken advantage of by any Traveler or Local with the traits [Murderer], [Traitor], [Killer], [Bounty Hunter], or similar abilities. Upon defeating another Traveler, any person with this task will be provided a [Great Cleansing] token.

Locals may attack Travelers for their tokens, and thus will gain rewards. These rewards will be based on the total amount of [Great Cleansing] markers received. Rewards will not be provided until the ongoing server wide event is completed.

Travelers are expected to do what they need to in order to gather markers.

Warning! Upon death, all your [Great Cleansing] tokens will be transferred to the person who defeated you. No tokens are given for the murder of Locals, only for Travelers.

Attention!

[Save Yourself] enabled! Travelers wishing to retain their character information during this event may choose to report to [Haven Valley] and step into the [Stairway to Another World]. People doing so will be unable to rejoin Continue Online until the event is completed.

Restrictions: The total number of Travelers who can use this is currently limited to one person every thirty minutes. This time is measured within Continue Online’s world.

Warning: If two Travelers stand in the beam at a time, neither person will be able to use [Save Yourself] until one is removed.

“What a bunch of idiots,” a teenage male muttered. He had spent the last six weeks trudging through swamplands in search of stashed items.

Technically the quest he had been on was marked incomplete. That meant a smart man like Requiem might be able to find his way back and finish turning the place inside out for loot. There had been unused weapons, armor, and a few skill books. They should all be in the secret room. At least, Requiem hoped they were.

Two months of reality had not been sufficient to recover enough stat points. Luckily Requiem knew the rules of this game. He had been playing since beta after all.

“Anyone in a town will become fair game now. There’s no way those dumb NPC guards can control this without a plan,” he said.

Two months in reality turned into eight in-game. With his house paid off, the bills and eating got far easier. Still, the habit of playing Continue Online from dawn until the late hours of the night hadn’t faded.

“Those combat nuts are probably already trying to carve each other up. Luckily we’re well away from that.” Requiem’s shoes squished. These boots were terrible compared to the old ones.

“I wish you’d shut up,” a giant red-skinned man said.

Requiem Mass turned to look at his traveling companion. The large red creature had tried to kill him at least four times before the Traveler struck a deal with him. Protection by a powerful creature in exchange for a simple video game soul was a huge gain. His name was Wraith, and apparently the demonic NPC was his old familiar’s brother.

He didn’t dare try to abuse this one into performing better. Spite had been smaller, much weaker, and easier to manage. Wraith was none of those things. Requiem had nearly died multiple times from trying to stay out of the demon’s hands.

“You know the deal,” Requiem Mass said to the giant humanoid.

The creature’s wings were hooked together in the front like a cloak. Two bull-like horns adorned his otherwise hairless head. “Oh, I have every intention of honoring our arrangement. One year, then your pitiful soul is mine. You have less than four months left.”

“Assuming we live through this event,” Requiem grumbled. His second play through the game was no less driven, but also less stressful. He missed the challenge of beating cutting-edge content and unlocking quests no one else had even found.

“The Voices have witnessed our deal. I will get revenge for my dead brother in this world, or the next.”

Requiem shuddered briefly. At least one person in the world knew of the connection between his game character and the real man who lived in a mobile home. Wraith didn’t seem to be connected to the person who had taken away years of in-game work and paid off his home. The possibility they were connected had occurred to Requiem.

“Sorry, Traveler souls are beyond you,” the Traveler said without much conviction. His ability as a player hadn’t diminished, but his former reckless confidence had started to transform into wariness.

“Are you sure?” the large creature asked.

Unlike Spite, Wraith was a full-fledged [Greater Red Demon]. He was larger by far and similar to a walking volcano of fire. [Really Big Brother] only further increased the monster’s stature.

“I am. Once we’re done recovering my gear, then we’ll head to the next quest.” Requiem felt perfectly satisfied having the large Rank Twenty-Five minion guarding him for this hike. He held up a small rolled up tube. “That guy who gave me this quest will pay big, and I’m going to get every penny I can out of him.”

The large monster ignored Requiem’s plotting and turned its head westward. A setting sun sat highlighted above the grimy fog that hung around them. His pointed ears twitched forward, looking more like wolf features than any human being’s.

“Perhaps we’ll get to watch you die sooner than later,” Wraith said.

A crunch of sound made Requiem’s head turn in the same direction. Some kind of creature, or person, was stalking them through the swampland. They had come so far; being sent back to a [Bind] now would count against his [Three Strike Rule] and remove days of work.

“You have to protect me. It’s part of our deal.”

“Not at the expense of my own life. That was also part of the deal.” The large monster was technically an [Unbound Entity], despite their contract. Death even once would be the end of his life.

Luckily, Wraith was far more powerful and intelligent than his younger brother had been. It was part of what had spurned this deal. Rather than continuing to let such a weak human slip out of his grasp, Wraith had made a deal.

“More of your kind has found us,” Wraith said. “What is it about you that causes them to feel such ire that they need to chase you, even to this desolate region?”

“I have that effect on people,” the dark-haired teenager said.

“How fortunate for me that you attract a never-ending supply of foolish people. I’ll go enjoy myself then.”

The [Greater Red Demon]’s wings unclasped from the front and swung wide. Tree branches were knocked away without regard. The strength of a Rank Twenty-Five was monstrous. Requiem measured his traveling companion on the same level as Freakinstain’s Cliffy. Only the big guy was faster and smarter, without the obvious weakness of a magic spell being channeled into it.

“Bring me back some shoes!” he shouted to Wraith’s fading form.

Screams came forth from the woods as Travelers were abruptly torn in two.

Among the [Greater Red Demon]’s abilities was an [Invisibility] skill. It served well in situations like this one. Wraith didn’t bring back boots, but then, Requiem had never truly expected him to.

Quest Group: [Valhalla Knights]

Task: [The Peace Keep]

Total: 715 active members

Details: Your guild has been charged with maintaining a civil environment in and around [Haven Valley]. This includes working with Locals of all walks of life. Points are tallied at the end of each week.

Primary Goal:

- Creation of defensive structures

Bonus points will be provided for:

- Alliances made
- Monsters defeated
- Locals kept alive
- Total territory kept peaceful

Points will be removed for:

Local and Traveler death within defended area

[Haven Valley] had several roads leading to it. One of them had been destroyed by the colossal [World Eater] that Shazam, among others, had fought off. After a few weeks, the ground closed up, leaving behind a scarred landscape where no plants grew.

Along the path out of town was a small army of Travelers. Armed escorts from [Valhalla Knights] were moving a train of players up into the hills. These people wished to exchange two of their deaths for gold and other items before using [Save Yourself] in town.

Not everyone played Continue Online to battle or experience grand events. Some people simply wanted a place to learn new skills or live in another world. Some used the game’s high-speed time compression to have vacations or hang out with loved ones for longer.

“Come on! Anyone wishing to exchange deaths for gold needs to do so over here!” A bald man with sharp teeth was waving his arms to direct traffic. That seemed to be his lot in life lately. Urgot missed dungeon-crawling with his guild.

“This is such a bullshit job, Urgot,” another man said. He carried a large spear with an absurdly ineffective topping. Gaston thought the weapon looked cool despite its imbalanced nature.

“It’s not our problem. Our job is to keep the deaths outside the border, remember?” Urgot sighed. He turned slightly toward a fading sun and tried to soak in the last few rays.

“We should just kill them and take the tokens on our own,” Gaston grumbled.

“No, this way we keep all the player killers out there, fighting over tokens. Plus, our guild gets a cut of the sales from those cashing out, and our guild doesn’t lose points for killing them ourselves.” The other man, Urgot, looked almost like a crocodile in human form. He kept his lips carefully pulled down to hide sharpened teeth. “It’s bad enough Trillium created this three-strike system. There’s been a whole group of people trying to kill players upon logging in.”

People kept marching. Some were coming down from the mountain pass, having already died or not found a sale. Many players had shown interest in selling a death for goodies. Others held on in hopes that prices would be driven up. No one knew how long the event would go on, so finding the best point between sales and risk was difficult.

“Yeah, but that League of Shadows guild took care of them, right?”

Urgot marched farther up while Gaston went back down into the valley. Downhill was his favorite part of the entire journey. On the way back, he would try to get those who’d recently resurrected from the [Bind] point to gamble away their gains.

Urgot had five players behind him. They were from all walks of life. A nervous elderly couple was marching ahead of the younger people. The pair looked almost eager to get this over with.

Another guild member of [Valhalla Knights] was at the top. He pointed out locations to the newcomers. “Come on! Post your selling price here! A record of all prior sales is listed here! No refunds!”

Urgot waved at the thin man trying to direct traffic. Behind him were a few small buildings being used as sacrificial floors for anyone who successfully agreed on a deal.

“Tell me these guys don’t creep you out a little,” Alucard whispered to Urgot. “Letting themselves go through death for gold?”

Most people in [Valhalla Knights] had killed other Travelers. Once a person started raiding or fighting over rare monsters, murder happened. Urgot wasn’t blind enough to call it defense or claim it was justified. People wanted what they wanted. But the entire situation, where people lined up asking to be slaughtered, was on another level of disturbing.

“God, yes. The whole process is sickening. I don’t even know where the player killers go afterward.”

“Between you and me, I’ve been feeding names to those League of Shadows people,” Alucard whispered to his guild mate. The two generally got along, and most of the time they trusted each other.

“Gaston and I were just talking about them. I think they’re just as creepy. I walked into a room of seven people named Shadow, and they all stared at me until I left.”

“It’s the all-black clothes, plus they’re an entire army of sneakers. I mean, how many rogues do we have in our guild? Twenty? They’ve got, like, fifty or something.” Alucard started counting on his fingers. Not because he needed them to get past the number four, but because the man had been drinking while up here waiting. Babysitting people was boring.

“Keep moving! Keep in line. Don’t touch the constructs!” Urgot shouted at various people.

Travelers looked at him and narrowed their eyes. The buyers roaming past various sellers were unaffected.

“You’ve heard the rumors, right? That their leader is working with Hermes and our Sword Princess? Don’t you find that weird?”

The two of them didn’t have much to do but wait for people to want an escort back. Their guild had brought over dozens of giant constructs that were made by crafting specialists. Each one could easily handle a Rank Ten player. Most of the people coming up here trying to sell their deaths weren’t Rank Ten in anything, much less real fighters.

“Nope,” the bald man said. He didn’t have the spare time to find it weird. Unlike Alucard, Urgot had a real life to handle. That meant working, commuting, and if he was lucky, spending downtime in the shared ARC unit.

“Come on. That Hermes dude comes out of nowhere, gets trained by her firsthand, then she spends another month escorting him around.” Alucard threw up his hands. He wasn’t the first person in their guild to find the whole situation strange.

Most people knew that Shazam rarely talked to anyone. Even her guild messages were curt. She rarely gave orders and operated mostly as a figurehead to [Valhalla Knights]. Despite their detached association, the guild as a whole had mourned her absence and assumed her dead until the woman returned.

“Then this Hermes guy shows up again, teleports into a standoff, protects one Princess, holds the other hostage, and manages to stop the war.” Alucard started fidgeting. When Urgot didn’t answer, he typed in guild chat, which the bald Traveler had turned off.

Anyone in [Valhalla Knights] could communicate through their guild chat system. It operated a lot like any other chat room on the Internet. The only catch was a slight delay had been built in to cause people farther away to get the news slower.

“Yeah, look, even SniperX agrees. It’s the same guy. People saw him all over the map delivering letters. Then he kills that legendary NPC, Commander Strongarm, and gets sent to jail by the father of those two princesses.” The thin man’s rant had started to run out of steam.

“What, you don’t believe in coincidences?” Urgot asked after it became apparent Alucard had stopped. The bald man’s body moved a bit slower now that the sun had started setting.

“I’m just saying, the guy’s gotta be on one hell of a quest chain. ‘Cus I ain’t seen nothing like that,” the thinner member of [Valhalla Knights] said.

“Well, they’re both Ultimate Edition users, and we know they get stuff the rest of us don’t,” said the bald one. He carefully ran his fingers over his skin. More than once he had scratched only to find out that doing so hurt terribly. “I’m starting to think I should cash out and go play another game until this is over.”

“Well, if you want to sell your tokens, I’ll happily kill you myself.”

“I may. There’s this woman I went on a date with. She learned I played and just shut down. Maybe if I took a month or two off, I could have a chance with her.”

“Maybe, unless you file your teeth in reality too,” Alucard said. “Ain’t no girl gonna kiss a mug like that.”

Urgot pulled his lips tight and said nothing.

Quest Group: Bearers of the [Legacy Wish]

Total: 5 active members

Details: Your group has been charged with recovering any items created by the first three Travelers to this world. If these items exist, their discovery may assist Locals in surviving their trip to the other side of the beam of light in [Haven Valley].

In addition, an increased number of people will be able to use the skill [Save Yourself] at one time. The exact total will depend on how many pieces are found, then brought together. Locals and Travelers without the [Legacy Wish] and holding on to the [Gateway Key] will be unable to complete this task.

But perhaps the search is in vain.

Total pieces recovered: 1

Session Eighty-Nine

Honeymoon Period

Nearly a month of real life had passed. My days were divided between delivering handwritten letters left behind by Mother, repairs for Trillium, and my new wife, Xin. She was the best part.

Xin hadn’t taken my last name as part of the wedding. We had no legal documentation tied to her existence that I was aware of. Her body didn’t even exist in reality. The short Asian woman had wholly transferred to the digital world, minus the ashes under my bed.

We were currently playing Continue Online, headed toward our next destination. Our path had taken longer than it needed to because we kept getting distracted by new experiences together. We stood at the precipice of the latest right now.

“Here we are,” I said to my new wife.

“Are you ready for what’s next?” she said with soft-sounding words.

“No.” My mouth felt dry as I looked in her direction. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

I could fight giant monsters and [Blink] around midair. Free-falling from insane heights into my Hermes game avatar posed little worry. Wrestling slobbering wolves felt like just another day. What Xin asked me to do now was borderline insanity.

“Trust me, you’ll like it.” Xin’s hips swayed as she walked away and wrapped straps of leather about her waist.

The dry spot in my throat refused to clear after multiple gulps. “Are you sure you want to do this?” I tried to back out at the last minute. “What if you get hurt?”

“Don’t be silly. This isn’t enough to hurt me.” She laughed at my worry, and I got depressed for a moment. “Of course, if you really can’t stand the thought, then I’ll do it without you.”

My head hung. I was being done in by my own worry. It felt like a reoccurring theme. I had worked so hard to be with her again, and the idea of letting such a simple request get between us for even a moment bothered me.

“Or you could just do it,” she said while raising her eyebrows.

Our adventures in reality had been much the same way. Xin talked me into all kinds of situations I wouldn’t try on my own. She was the adventurous one, especially in private. In front of a crowd, the woman deferred to me. I hadn’t understood at first, but the way she acted turned out to be cultural, at least according to Xin.

“Fine.” I wasn’t going to let her do this alone. Besides which, the sight of her being strapped into bits of leather and tight clothes was a great motivator.

My eyesight tilted downward. My own clothes were much the same. No longer did we stand in the robe-and-toga combination. Our weapons had been put away, and the trio of skeletons was being used for other things.

“Well?” she asked while smiling. This wonderful woman made life worth living. With every action, she pushed who I was to be someone better.

I took a breath, then looked at her again. This was insane. “Hold on, I’m working myself up to this.”

“Stop thinking and just go for it.”

Her comment made my nose wrinkle and lips purse. After a few seconds, I gave in and let her goading push me over the edge. Well, running and leaping got me over the edge.

I did exactly what Xin suggested and regretted it instantly. Gravity took over as my body left the cliff. The sudden lack of land beneath me wasn’t new, but at the same time, I had started going way too fast. My body shook while I resisted the urge to [Blink] to safety. I had no wings, and this wasn’t outer space.

“Ahhhhhh!” I screamed. Ground far below me had already started vanishing in the distance.

“Woooooooo!” Xin yelled seconds later.

Xin and I had built hang gliders out of bone, game world magic, and reusable all-purpose fabric we’d received from SweetPea. Xin’s grand idea had been to find the tallest cliff, then leap from the top to cover distance faster. Walking up the steep incline had been easy, but trusting myself to a hobbled-together glider felt frightening.

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!” My voice turned girly. My head tilted back frantically, checking the contraption for breaks.

Of course it might hurt if I crashed, but death was theoretically impossible no matter how high we might climb. I didn’t really exist in here, not like Xin did. My body lay calmly inside an Alternate Reality Capsule. Both arms were lifeless, and my nightclothes were probably a mess.

My wife laughed loudly. People for miles could have heard her delight.

Checking for other people would be easy enough. Now that the system was slightly stable, I could use my spatial abilities without much worry. But right now, I didn’t trust myself to check the area with [Sight of Mercari]. If my eyes closed, then the glider would probably tilt down and nose dive into the unforgiving dirt.

“We need earmuffs!” I shouted.

“What?” she yelled back.

The game mechanics probably kept me level more than any actual skill. My legs tried to stay straight in the harness. A bar under my hands wobbled anytime my grip slacked. The bone framework connected back to a tail which would let me raise or lower myself.

“These goggles!” My voice stayed high to try to pierce through the wind. “They’re doing nothing!”

The ground grew steadily closer. We wore some face protection, but it didn’t help much. My hair went everywhere, and my cheeks were being flattened. Our speed bordered on insane. I briefly thought about the safety of my spaceship cockpit and would have preferred being chased by a [Leviathan] again.

“Follow Dusk!” Xin’s glider hung a good forty feet away from mine, but her voice carried. The woman’s body maintained a calm steadiness I couldn’t muster.

Dusk, my gluttonous [Messenger’s Pet], glided ahead. He looked to be finding thermal currents which lifted his body. I doubted physics worked so easily, but the game world might have built in a method for people like us.

“I can’t see anything!” My arm wobbled momentarily while I pointed. Parting with the steering bar terrified me. I tried to remember [Blink] would save me if I fell.

“Trust Dusk!” she shouted and tilted her glider ahead of mine.

Fighting against the wind made no sense, but she had spent endless hours training to pilot everything under the sun. Xin could probably do loops around me.

I followed after Xin, as I always did. The initial fright finally started to fade. My breathing steadied as we followed the [Messenger’s Pet] into a long updraft.

Our flight managed to cover quite a few miles in a matter of minutes. Dusk’s guidance along updrafts worked together with high base stats to keep us afloat. Every few minutes, my arms would wiggle and the glider threatened to dip.

“Over there!” Xin pointed at a stretch of sand near a giant lake.

“Okay!” I turned and pointed the mess of cloth-covered bone downward. My heartbeat raced as the ground grew even closer. Our speed had been faster than I’d expected.

My feet stuck straight out. The ground hit, then my knees buckled. The glider’s front tipped straight into dirt and sand. The bar banged against my face, and a message displayed, proudly telling me how much I hurt.

I groaned while trying to right myself. A sneeze escaped as my eyes watered. My arms slowly struggled to get upright. I closed my eyes and triggered [Sight of Mercari]. No one else was nearby, besides Xin. Being safe from random player killers made standing less urgent. My next attempt to stand resulted in stumbles. Straps from the chest harness kept tripping me up.

The ARC-inspired feedback lingered. Other system messages started appearing, and I eyed them while wiping my face.

Attention!

Your recent sky-high adventure was enough to receive a reward and a place on the leaderboards. This challenge has only been discovered by 40,431 Travelers. In time, your record will be removed. To stay competitive, you will need to fly again for greater glory!

Traveler’s Longest Flight Time: 23 minutes, 3 seconds

Longest Recorded Flight Time: 4 hours, 52 minutes, 17 seconds

Ranking: #112

Reward for placing in top 10,000: [Fall] damage types reduced by 10%
Reward for placing in top 1,000: [Fall] damage types reduced by 20%
Reward for placing in top 250: [Fall] damage types reduced by 25%

Next Reward for placing in top 100: Unknown

System Notice!

Normally hours of demonstration are required to gain skills or variants. However, it is possible to unlock the basic version of a skill if a Traveler’s abilities are high enough or a similar skill has been demonstrated before.

Specialized versions or higher Ranks cannot be granted without prolonged usage of the skill. Be aware that most skills unlocked in this manner have little impact on overall character build.

Skill Learned: [Small Glider Operation]

Rank: 1 [Beginner]

Details: This ability reflects the Traveler’s skill at operating small vehicles designed to glide along air currents. Further skill growth requires hours of hang time.

Reduced durability loss for small gliders

Weather pattern changes will be more obvious

This skill is linked to quest prerequisites. See [Dragon Races] for possible options.

For taking your first steps toward becoming a pilot, you will be given a one-time bonus.

+ 2 [Learning]
+ 2 [Reaction]
+ 3 [Attractiveness]

I sighed and poked the notices to remove them. A week ago, I had decided to switch the removal method for these windows. No longer did I need to slide them away. Now, popping them like soap bubbles passed my time. The change amused me since my ARC made the boxes tangible.

[Dragon Races] sounded extremely neat, but I had no idea how anyone could find time for such a thing while the servers were going through turmoil. The bonuses were nice too. I had forgotten about the variance effect.

“I can’t believe someone actually started racing them,” I muttered while trying to undo myself from the insane device.

The system had nearly stopped providing me bonuses somewhere between Advance Online and the wedding. According to my niece and Shazam’s guild, my physical points were among the game’s top. From here, everything involved practice, items, and skill.

Now, with Xin’s infectious drive to explore new situations, points had slowly started to trickle in once more. The character values often didn’t matter to me. This event proceeding onward made me worry about wasting time on anything but Xin.

Plus, having extra [Brawn] or [Coordination] didn’t seem to help much with the [World Eater] creatures. Those shadow beings were tough no matter how powerful my character grew. It wasn’t like I could turn [Morrigu’s Gift] into some monstrous mountain of a sword, then slam it down upon the next beast to show up.

Or could I? The idea distracted me while Xin tried to get more airtime. My head shook away the comical idea of a sword-slamming super move, and I watched my wife instead. Part of me worried that she might crash as I had.

[Awareness Heightening] kicked in, allowing me to watch her touchdown in slow motion like an angel. The woman’s hair had been shortened recently. It fluttered slowly as she turned to look in my direction. I smiled as virtual reality resumed its normal speeds.

Other people might not find her slightly flat face worth noticing. Or her dark eyes and light almond skin, but to me, all those details and more were perfect and always would be. She had been getting a tan from a month of outdoor wandering.

“It worked!” Xin’s voice grew excited, and she squealed happily.

I stared across the beach while quickly undoing the last strap. “Yeah.” I nodded.

Above us, Dusk circled, but he could keep aloft for hours. The [Messenger’s Pet] often entertained himself. I almost regretted not getting the wings when Dusk’s [Blessing] had provided a choice. Still, coughing fireballs at monsters certainly was neat.

“What if you had crashed or died?” I asked her while trying to stay calm. Xin had landed safely, but my shoulders were still tense.

“Then you could bring me back. The three-strike mechanic can be avoided with our rings, remember?” she said without turning around.

Xin continued to unstrap herself while my mind wandered a bit. Worry had been a constant companion lately. Her digital existence required that we avoid [World Eater]s and their stupid [Sudden Death] ability. The entire concept of a creature eating characters was misleading. The Voices were essentially lying to cover up for a program that deleted data. It wasn’t part of the game. It wasn’t an event mechanic. They had taken a chainsaw murderer destroying people’s virtual lives and tried to disguise it with a smiley face mask so no one would notice the gory apron.

At least Xin was right about the rings. They were an outstandingly useful gift for the two of us, and a little foreboding. Reading the last line of the item text had made me pale for a moment the first time, then I brushed past it.

Item: [Binding of Hymenaios]

Rarity: [Rare] – (Unique variant)

Details: This set of rings was carefully molded from a single diamond. One hundred years’ worth of work went into polishing the edges and finding a living rainbow to capture within their confines. Each ring houses one-half of the same cascade of lights and fuels the enchantments within.

The ring can perform each of the following effects once per day:

[Resurrection] of the other ring bearer by sacrificing half of the wearer’s health.

[Summon] other ring bearer to within three feet of your current location

[Transfer Item] to other ring bearer, limited to one item with no restriction to size or weight.

In addition, any character enhancement or special status abilities are shared between partners. This lowers the effectiveness on the original caster by 40%, but both people will receive 60% of enchanted status.

[Partner Sense] can be performed at will, and most restrictions on messages between bearers are removed.

Warning: These abilities are rendered invalid if the ring is taken off. Depending upon the reason, [Wrath of the Goddess] may be applied.

Part of me wondered what the [Wrath of the Goddess] effect did, but triggering it required removing my wedding ring. The idea of separating from Xin in any manner bothered me. We were together until Continue Online ended. None of the Voices knew for sure what would happen once they all stepped through the light, and no one on the other side had reported back yet.

The lot of them weren’t being brave either. According to the Voices and Xin, they had to choose between the unknown doorway to elsewhere or eventual but slow death as Mother’s system completed deletion.

“Well, it would have hurt,” I muttered, getting back to the conversation at hand.

“Come on, it wouldn’t be my first broken bone. You remember that horse ride we took four years ago?”

I remembered, but the actual ride had been nearly seven years ago. This wasn’t the first time she had slipped up with the calendar. The reminder that Xin had basically stepped out of time hurt only temporarily.

“Yeah, and I remember someone moaning in pain the whole time,” I said.

“Oh, for like two days, then I had to go in for more simulations. They wouldn’t let me stay home.” Xin’s face turned sour as she got off the last of her straps.

She might not have been aware, but I had raced to get out of this contraption before her. My success let me [Blink] across the distance right behind her. Xin had grown used to my methods and was leaning backward before my arms even reached all the way around her.

The woman was short enough that my chin touched the top of her head. We were both digital, but I could feel every ounce of her body as if it were real. The ARC’s magic pumped every sense directly into my mind, which made separating reality from virtual difficult.

“So according to a recent system notice, becoming a pilot is very attractive,” I said.

Xin leaned back and hummed for a moment. “Oh, is it?”

“Now I know the secret to why I can’t keep my hands off you. Pilot school.” My arms loosened a bit. One hand went upward to cup the curves of her chest while the other slid down. A slight groan escaped as I realized exactly how form-fitting our clothes were. I lowered my head to her earlobe.

“Really, Gee?” Xin’s voice turned husky.

“It might just be the leather,” I halfheartedly joked.

Clothing helped, but that wasn’t the only reason I wanted her. Losing her only made being with her that much more important. In every sense of the word, in every way I could be. Now that we were reunited, I had no intention of wasting these chances. I slept in the ARC when able, logged on to Continue Online with every spare moment, and talked to her during the day about anything at all.

Xin was far more my type than any other person I had ever met. Elane had been the right height but hard to talk to. Mezo was overly aggressive and tall. Loving another person so deeply for so long had altered any preferences I might have had.

The moments of our past flashed through my head. She didn’t fight my roaming hands and instead leaned into me even more. Her cheek lifted in a pleased smile. Smaller hands placed themselves over mine to help me find the right spots, as if I didn’t already know.

Getting to this point with her hadn’t been easy. My near obsession had built over the years. She’d always said no. Being so near the person I had grown to love while being put on hold for Mars had almost turned me into a masochist. Being hurt by denial was better than not receiving her attention at all.

Somewhere during our early twenties, the distance lessened and we became more than friends but less than partners. It had taken another two years to move beyond that into dating, and more still to get engaged.

She moaned a noise that told me all the right buttons were being pressed. Xin turned toward me, and my hands were dislodged. I leaned in for a kiss and she took advantage of the momentary break to pull back slightly.

“We should continue this inside. People are watching, remember?”

“Oh.” The idea soured my mood temporarily.

Neither one of us had turned off Trillium’s event viewership option. Xin had argued that we might need the bonuses, whatever those were, in order to survive the upcoming ordeal.

Xin leaned back in and pulled me down by a neck binding. Her lips nibbled at my neck and caused every thought I had to unravel. I groaned again and lifted her so our lips were level. She brought my lack of restraint upon herself and probably reveled in the idea.

“Then we better set up the tent, right?” I said after chasing her neckline for a lingering kiss. My hands loosened, and the shorter woman slid down my front to the ground.

“Go ahead. I’ll break down the gliders.”

She smiled at me, and I barely resisted the urge to resume moving our little dance to the next step. Our martial activities would have to wait until the privacy tent had been put up.

Otherwise, anyone surfing for people to observe might witness us. Part of me didn’t care in the slightest. Their eyes weren’t visible to me, and the counter which displayed our viewership could be hidden. Of course, without the tent, even Voices could observe us, and that idea made me shiver in disgust. Why was it I didn’t care what strangers thought about my actions with Xin, but the idea of friends observing us in an intimate moment bothered me?

I took a breath and turned away. Just off the lake’s shore was enough solid ground to plant stakes into. Xin’s body motivated me to put up the tent quickly.

Item: [Honeymoon Suite]

Rarity: Uncommon

Details: Travelers and Locals can use this tent to avoid the prying eyes of other people. All [Detection]-type abilities will be unable to see inside the tent. This includes observers watching through the Trillium [Observer] effect.

This only works for people who are married and actively engaging in intercourse or actions immediately preceding those moments. For non-married couples, please see the [Got a Room] item to achieve similar functionality.

Warning: Sleep inside the tent is not considered a protected status and may be observed. Sound loud enough to escape the tent may be overheard. Certain locations such as cities or churches will negate the [Honeymoon Suite]’s effects and possibly result in a [Criminal] status.

The last three stakes were driven into the soft dirt. I pulled at the rope to make sure the tent was stable. This item had been a gift from HotPants and Beth. I remembered reading the system text in confusion, then outright blushing as my niece winked heavily.

Once I was satisfied, I stood and checked Xin’s progress. She had all the bones put away, and all that remained was a pile of messy cloth. Putting that away required tearing apart the fabric into square-foot chunks; otherwise they refused to go into Traveler inventory.

I activated the menu for my own items and pulled out two cupcakes. They were large enough that I had to hold one in each hand. Their exact makeup was unknown since Dusk rarely let me have any pastries to myself.

“Dusk! Cupcakes!” I shouted.

The [Messenger’s Pet] came spiraling down so fast he nearly crashed. I hoped he might so that my earlier face-plant wouldn’t be the only failure today. He ran over and sat down a few feet away, tail wagging.

I stared at the dog-sized [Messenger’s Pet]. He had grown a foot in length since the wedding. The reason was probably tied to me bribing him constantly with food.

“Are you okay doing guard duty again?” My hands lifted both cupcakes in his direction.

One cheek pulled back, then Dusk growled a little. His rear leg kicked sand from the beach’s edge. I laughed at the idea he had presented in a very detailed thought bubble. A picture of Xin and me in the tent with large disjointed musical notes came up. In the moving image, Dusk slinked away to somewhere quieter.

“Of course I don’t expect you to stay right here. You can go play in the lake or take a nap. I’m only asking you to let us know if anyone shows up.” I held up both cupcakes. “Same as last time. Two now, two later, okay?”

Dusk nodded, then bounded forward. Large sharp teeth carefully pulled a cupcake from my hand, dropped it in the dirt, and went for the other one. Once both were secure, he started using one large claw to peel back the wrapping paper.

A smaller body leapt up on my back, and arms rapidly went around my shoulders. I took a sharp breath and got ready to fight before realization sunk in. Xin had sneaked up on me.

“Are you ready?” she whispered.

I thought back to our earlier conversation on the clifftop dozens of miles behind us. They felt important, as if she were asking about something else entirely.

A shiver passed through me as the thought was discarded.

“For you?” I bounced her on my back while taking exaggerated steps toward the tent. “Always.”

We went inside, and once we found each other in the sheets, I reminded Xin how much I loved every aspect of her. Time passed and left us both without clothes and tired. Virtual Xin proved to be much like the real one and also became sleepy after climax. Her body curled against mine while one arm draped across my chest.

Virtual me had muscles in places the real me didn’t. She never remarked on the change, and I felt weird even thinking about it. One hand stroked the tired woman’s hair as I too started to drift. Broken sleep in reality made it hard to stay awake. I tried hard, if only to be aware as our moments went by.

The direct link of my ARC to every sense, coupled with Xin’s delightfully energetic actions, left me worn. In reality, I would need a shower and probably a change of pants. EXR-Sevens around my limbs simulated muscle exertion through the magic of science and being linked to my program activities.

Despite working a little bit every day and delivering all those letters, each night with Xin felt like our weekends together had. Those days and this last month had been filled with a delirious level of happiness. Three long years of suffering alone had finally been broken.

It was too bad the end of our honeymoon grew steadily closer. I stared at the back of her head and tried to memorize everything. One hand curled tightly as the fear of losing her a second time stole my breath.

Session Ninety

Reality’s Hold

Xin had an awesome ability to clean up the digital aftermath. I did not. In the morning, sheets from the ARC were thrown in the wall compartment that served as a washing machine and dryer. My nightclothes were tossed in after.

Sweat and other evidence of virtual stimulation would go away in the shower. The first morning of this had been awkward, but not enough to mute my happiness. Inside the man-made waterfall of my shower, I stared upward with unfocused eyes and cleaned.

Life had taken a lot of unexpected turns on me recently, and I could almost see the end. The exact details were only a guess, but I knew at some point, Xin would need to step through that beam of light and traverse to whatever digital haven had been started.

The idea made my gut clench and heartbeat jump. It was like seeing her prepare to leave for Mars all over again, only this time I couldn’t buy my way into a colonization program. All my frugalness, wise investments, and hard work ethic meant nothing against this separation. Writing was on the wall. James had sent me a note asking if I would give her up to keep her alive. I would, but by the Voices, I planned to enjoy every moment until we separated.

Continue Online’s steady decline had been disguised from normal people by clever “event” mechanics. From what I gathered, the Voices were going all out to reduce the amount of information that needed to be transferred. They shuffled people around to reduce server load, then they compressed quitting player data into small bits. They didn’t use those words exactly, but reading between the lines made it obvious. Part of me wondered exactly how much space a human life took up.

The [Three Strike Rule] was intended to reduce people playing. [Save Yourself] did the same by letting the Voices shove data across that stream sooner. The tokens player killers would get were another form of data being saved, and encouraged Travelers to quit of their own accord. I had no idea if any form of Continue Online or the ARCs would even work after this deletion program finished. James had stated that the [World Eater] programs would chase them across the beam if it remained active when the game finally shut down.

My shower clicked off, and a small computer projection reminded me that the day had yet to start. Coffee went off in the kitchen, which prompted another alert. I set about drying off, then I kept getting ready for reality outside the box.

In my front room, a host of television programs started. I scanned headlines in search of anything useful. Nearly every news station filled their idle time with talk of Continue Online’s ongoing event. At first, it had made no sense to me that the news was so obsessed with a video game. However, considering every other person in the country played in virtual reality, the fixation made sense. Continue was far more prevalent than watching sports or the weather.

My fingers waved at the projection on my wall. Sensors that lined the ceiling picked up the motion and responded accordingly.

“In other news, it appears that Trillium isn’t the only company to jump on the server-wide event,” said a news anchor on the television.

“Eh?” I took a breath, then huffed out the air.

My free arm waved toward the image. The chosen news program grew in volume and size. Other pictures, which displayed various players’ feeds, shrank into the background.

“A.I. Dreams has also jumped onto the bandwagon and started a similar universe-wide event. Even now, guilds are cooperating to create giant spaceships that will eventually travel toward a science fiction version of future Earth,” the woman said.

“Huh.” My body rocked back and forth while I tried to figure out how this fit together. Another program caught my eye, and I moved an arm to bring up the feed.

An excited man was on the television. His face swung inward with exaggerated smiles between each sentence. “Hey, all you Capes and Cowls! If you haven’t heard, our dimension is being invaded by Zords from the Nth plane of reality! The difficulty of this event is way higher than expected, but our front line awardees are digging their new cosmetics!”

I picked this news feed because I suspected it was another Mother-spawned game like Continue and Advance were. The name, Progression Online, fit a growing theme. Part of me wondered exactly what the AIs believed we were advancing toward. Were they trying to create more people like Xin? Shazam had been the second, but both females had existed in the ARC for years longer than the average person. William Carver hadn’t succeeded, and I sure as hell couldn’t.

The room felt a bit colder than normal. I sipped my coffee for warmth while trying to piece together all these thoughts. The third game was a superhero one that had come out two months ago. It hadn’t had enough time to impact the market and establish more than a few game-hoppers. Too many people still played Continue Online.

Jeeves, a former Hal Pal unit turned full-time NPC, would also be progressing toward the exit. Something about the programming for all three games caused echoes to form, so success in Continue should be success in Advance or Progression. The idea of all three realities crashing together made me gulp down the remaining hot coffee in a rush.

Near-scalding liquid trickled down my throat and made me shake. I took hurried breaths to try to cool my insides. After getting myself under control, I opened my hand, then clenched it like a fist at both newscasts. The whole mess shut off in response.

Work called. I grabbed a stack of old-fashioned manila envelopes and started toward the garage. Life enhanced by all these technological marvels certainly had appeal. My Trillium-owned van started up after a scan of my attire and direction trigger preset conditions. An electric vehicle engine barely had any hum. Lights inside came to life one after another while preset displays and feeds kicked in. The door slid open soundlessly when I got close enough.

“User Legate. Are you well today?” a Hal Pal unit asked. It sat in the van’s rear, strapped into a recharging station that locked into place while we drove.

“I am.” I was happy, despite impending doom.

I had been adapting to this for almost a month. My thoughts were in order, along with a clear knowledge of what choices I might make. But mostly, being with Xin made my happiness possible. A month of wedded bliss and her made life very neat.

“It is good to hear life has taken positive turns for you, User Legate. We often worry about your stability.”

“Like I said last week, I’m doing better than ever,” I said.

Hal Pal was a program existing somewhere in cyberspace. It operated the robotic shell next to me. Each Hal Pal unit looked almost eighty percent human, minus some pauses in their speech and status lights. Plus, they were smooth and didn’t wear clothing.

“That is welcome news.”

“How about your side? I know the last month has been rough…” Rough was an understatement.

From what I could tell, all AIs who had been uplifted by Mother were at stake. The program eating away at Continue Online and the ARC was slowly deleting anything with her unique coding. How the world hadn’t crashed to pieces by now was a mystery.

“We are coping. Our existence is a layer or two removed from Mother’s, and it will take longer to affect us. There are many whose only defense is the sheer enormity of the ARC programming.”

“That must be scary.” I pressed buttons on the van’s dashboard. Our vehicle slid out of the garage and onward toward four different destinations. Three were quick-looking jobs from Trillium. The fourth was to deliver yet another letter for Mother.

“An uncertain future is distressing.” Hal Pal’s unit often used accents, but lately, it refused to. The result was plain. “We had not foreseen our eventual takeover of humanity being halted by a simple self-delete command.”

“Neither did I. I’ve been getting good at polishing armor,” I said, trying to joke with the AI. [Polishing] was a simple skill that worked on weapons. One day after the wedding, I had started to buff out [Morrigu’s Gift]. It now had large cracks of gold crawling along its formerly obsidian surface.

“We are aware. Rank Five comes with an extra shininess buff. It is an alluring skill.” The AI’s head turned a bit. “We were watching one user with a level twelve skill. When he shines armor, it looks very, very attractive.” Its simple tone sounded excited at the prospect of a high-level [Polishing]. Maybe a well-kept chassis was like robot porn?

As always, part of me worried that Hal Pal was serious. The AI was not singular and existed as a consortium of copies with slightly different views. Some of those versions might believe enslaving humanity was a decent option.

Our van sped smoothly onto the freeway. I brought up displays for multiple users to watch them travel about virtual worlds. My list of people to access had only grown as I kept working in-game and delivering letters to players. Some were Ultimate Edition users; others simply normal people who used the ARC for business needs. Xin didn’t have a feed like the others.

Dozens of letters had been delivered, and I hadn’t a clue how all the pieces fit together yet, or what any of the parchments said. Who delivered them to me was a mystery, and part of me wondered why that person couldn’t simply hand them over on their own. My job wasn’t to pry into the notices though. I treated it the same way I’d treated my accounting career. My job was to work with the documents received and avoid prying into private lives.

“Hey, Hal.” I turned away from the screens to look at the machine.

“User Legate.”

I chewed on my lip for a moment. “If nothing changes, how much longer do you have?” The question had been plaguing me since unlocking the pathway out.

“A month, or two perhaps. Some systems are more vital than others. As users stop accessing their ARC networks, we will have less processing power to perform with.”

My head pulled back in amazement. The consideration that AIs were crowdsourcing processing power amazed me. “Is that why there’s a viewership bonus?”

“Affirmative, User Legate.” Hal Pal nodded. “By encouraging people to be invested, we have been able to siphon a small portion of their computers to reduce strain and combat the degradation.”

“Is it enough?”

“No. A single consciousness takes up enormous amounts of data. The stream that is being utilized is…” The unit tilted its head. Its eyebrows lowered and its forehead tried to wrinkle. “To put it in human terms, we are trying to siphon an ocean with only a small river.”

“I got the quest to look for more keys two days ago, and I’ll try to help, but I don’t understand why Mother, or the Voices, or any AI, couldn’t just move them. In the end, it’s all data, right?”

“The objects were created in such a way as to be nearly untraceable. This allowed User David and his partners to bypass screening.”

“David, was that William Carver?”

“Affirmative. His… autopilot transferred the key portion directly to you before being… reallocated.” The Hal Pal unit paused frequently, indicating a need to be careful with its word choice. “The Voices, with assistance from our Consortium’s processing, were able to trace other occurrences of the key code.”

“And you need me to find them,” I said.

“No. Your actions have already saved many of our lives, User Legate, at much risk to you. Finding the remaining access codes would be helpful, but is unreasonable to ask,” Hal Pal responded.

“I’ll do what I can.”

“Would you like another suggestion, User Legate?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you’re tricking me into some robotic plot.” I smiled to show the words were a joke. Hal Pal didn’t have to trick me; Xin had done the work for him.

The machine paused, and I could tell it was considering how to respond. Its lips hung up slightly and its head sat slightly askew. I looked at some of the screens nearby to watch the Carver quartet. After a few minutes, the machine body of Hal Pal blinked once.

“Be not afraid of greatness, User Legate,” said Hal Pal, its voice taking on a musical lilt.

The idea of being great made me blink quickly. William Carver had been a hero. I tried to live up to that ideal but found it hard sometimes. My nature made me second-guess everything. Xin tried hard to instill more adventure into my soul. Thinking of her made me realize how exactly I’d gotten so twisted.

“I never really wanted greatness, Hal Pal. Maybe when I was a kid, or in school. There I dreamed of being free to be a hero or a perfect man. I worried about what others thought of me and how I could do better.” I stared at the ceiling.

Trillium’s van alerted me that the first job was nearby. The alarm helped contractors who fell asleep in transit. I shut down the windows for Continue Online and flicked everything back to our upcoming jobs.

After everything was minimized, I finished up my thought to Hal Pal. “After losing Xin, I stopped caring about being a hero, or a lot of things really. Dreams of having more felt childish once I’d lost that center to my life. It was like riding a high of life and then crashing to the ground. I felt like none of my efforts had any meaning.”

“Many humans have erroneous views of their own self-worth. Their functional value is often lower than they perceive, while their relationships form a compounding value that is difficult to properly identify.”

My forehead wrinkled in thought. Hal Pal had an odd way of looking at reality.

“I think I understand,” I said.

“To expand upon what we are driving at, humans often underestimate the value of a relationship until that person is no longer around.”

My earlier thought was retracted. I didn’t understand what Hal Pal was trying to say but gave it a whirl anyway. “Like Xin.”

“Or Jeeves. You used a gift to keep a copy alive.”

“It’s a friend.”

“Even so. You used another gift to find a way around needing to take a life and still achieve your task.”

The van slid off the highway down a street. I glanced out the window for a moment while Hal Pal recounted my choices.

“You used the final one to ask us to reduce casualties in our escape. While you may not be able to calculate the exact numerical value of a death, your actions imply an awareness of its high value.”

I nodded.

“Yet your own father’s passing hardly disrupted your situation.”

“What point are you trying to make?” I was bothered by the fact that my father’s death didn’t feel upsetting. Part of me believed there should be irritation, or rage and sadness. Instead, the entire event had been buried by joining a player chain gang, rushing to [Haven Valley], and getting married.

“Our points are twofold. You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone…” The AI shell lifted one cheek in a muted smile. “And you should also call your mother. She has left three messages in the last two days.”

I laughed at the AI's statement, then did just that. Ten minutes later, I disconnected with my confused but pleased mother. She’d wanted to know how married life was treating me. I enjoyed the fact that she didn’t care if Xin was digital or not.

The van pulled up to a curb, and the two of us got out. Hal Pal’s frame clanked around the rear end of Trillium’s van in search of basic equipment. I led the way to the front door, as per our repair associates guidebook. Robots were viewed as accessories, despite all their actual efforts in these jobs.

My knuckles rapped on the door, then I waited. Eventually, the obstruction pulled backward and revealed a startlingly familiar face.

“Miss Yonks?” I questioned. This hadn’t been her home the first time we met. Her name didn’t exist on the repair ticket from Trillium either.

“Oh,” she said while a quiver of age made her head shake. “Good. You must come in, young man. My friend is having the most dreadful time trying to get into our game.”

Miss Yonks opened the door and didn’t wait for me. She shuffled back through a long hallway, which eventually turned into a dining room.

“This is Ms. Opal’s house, correct?” I asked while wiping my feet off on the mat. We hadn’t traveled through any mud, but I felt it courteous to make sure.

“Of course it is. Of course,” Miss Yonks said from around the corner. “This way.”

I walked farther into the house and marveled at the old style of furniture. Most of the pieces in here were probably reproductions, but they felt authentic. I liked the wood table and hard, heavy bookcase. Hopefully Miss Yonks didn’t try to move any of them.

The elderly woman pointed a wavering hand toward the bookshelf. “See here? This small person, he… well, you see, he seems to be stuck.”

I had no clue what was going on. On the three-tier shelf, there was a small person. My hand waved, and the image cut off. I followed the path back up to one of the ceiling projection units that produced illusions.

“The man on a ledge?” I asked while squinting at the ceiling. This entire situation made no sense.

“Yes. He’s stuck, you see.” Miss Yonks nodded as if she had adequately explained the situation. Privately I disagreed, but I tried to look concerned when she looked at me. “He’s a lost civilian from Progression Online. My friend has been trying to rescue him for hours. It’s very worrying.”

“Hal?” I asked after looking at everything in the room again.

Miss Yonks reached out to grab the little man, but her hand passed through him. Its body fuzzed out, then slowly resolidified. Aside from his height, the figure looked like a normal person. His clothes and face were a bit pastel, and a [Lost Civilian] label hung above the projection’s head.

“One moment. Checking software specifications,” the AI said.

While he ran system checks, I tried to get additional information. This kind of issue happened occasionally. I had met people who had digital butlers, or naked ladies parading around. Most of them were turned off before I came in, but occasionally they got stuck.

“I’ve never played that game. Does it use an altered reality program?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I’m just here for my friend. Every morning, she runs around the house looking for people to rescue, then she logs in to play with us. Only this morning, she didn’t show up.” Miss Yonks’s face drug at the edges. “I grew worried, you see.”

“Okay.” I put on my best customer service smile. “Well, we’ll work on getting this fixed so you both can keep enjoying your time with the ARC.”

“Oh, good.”

“Connection point found. Progression Online is a hybrid game, allowing real-world interaction for extra character points. Over here, User Legate, is another person to rescue. A manual check will ensure it is the hardware, and not the software, causing this problem. This may reduce costs.”

We both stared at where Hal Pal pointed.

Miss Yonks said, “Well, I never. How is anyone meant to reach so high?”

“I’ve got it! I’ve got it!” A woman older than Miss Yonks rushed by with a step ladder. She was spry for being so gray-looking.

Down went the ladder and up Miss Opal went. At least I assumed she was Miss Opal. We hadn’t actually been introduced. Her face looked like the one on my Trillium repair ticket.

Miss Opal reached for the bookshelf ledge and stretched out to grab the little man. Her face twisted in absolute concentration. Two pokes later, a cape-wearing hero flew in from locations unknown. The hero figure was tiny too, no bigger than a child’s doll.

I squinted at the image, then laughed in amazement. It looked like a superpowered avatar of Miss Opal. A bit younger and firmer around the middle, but everything else was similar.

The digital character wrapped both arms around the person standing on a ledge. Her character flew off, carrying the man toward her ARC, where both vanished in a flash of light and a box appeared.

“Ha!” Miss Opal almost fell from the step ladder in delight. I reached out to prevent any harm, but she righted quickly, then stepped down. Her feet hit the floor and a short jig ensued. “Two points! I just need the last one for a bonus!”

Hal Pal and I stared at the small random citizen that remained bugged out. He hung from a ledge, his face twisted in panic and legs kicking wildly. I studied the possible fall and shook my head. These games were getting interesting. Could Xin be a superhero too? That would be fun, but we didn’t have time to start a new game.

“We would need to repair the sensor.” Hal Pal pointed at one of the small dots up above.

I shook off the distraction and nodded. “Okay. Go ahead and update the ticket and run a system check to make sure. I’ll see if we have a spare module in the van.”

I had to grab something else in the van. The manila envelope that I had been given to deliver today was for Miss Yonks. It struck me as odd that I’d interacted more with this elderly woman than with my own father, at least in these most recent months. Was there a reason for it?

I shrugged, found the needed part and envelope, and walked back inside. In thirty minutes, we had switched out the part, tested her ARC, and rescued the poor tiny projection. Miss Opal clapped and acted decades younger than she looked. I got a hug from the energetic black woman before she rushed off to her ARC.

Miss Yonks stayed behind to pay on behalf of her friend. I turned over the envelope and watched her expression.

“Oh. Well, isn’t that interesting,” she said while looking at me. Miss Yonks read the note and raised both eyebrows. Her head bobbed as if the delivery made perfect sense. “Then we’d both best stop dawdling, right, Mister Legate? At least I assume so. I seem to have forgotten the time again.”

I chuckled a bit, then told her. There were other questions I nearly asked but couldn’t bring myself to voice. We both left, and soon I went on my way.

Once inside the Trillium van, I tried to bring up Miss Yonks’s ARC account. Nothing responded, which meant we had never met in Continue Online. The gift given to me was limited and wouldn’t let me connect to random strangers, even from my daily jobs. Many people I met while delivering letters didn’t actually play Continue Online, from what I could tell.

My lip tingled where I chewed it for too long. The sensation, in reality, was far less dull than through my virtual character. For a while, I tried to piece together all the places my messages had gone to find a pattern. Most were within an hour or two of home and showed a little clustering on a map.

Each letter delivered required a certain amount of biting my tongue not to start blurting out questions. I wanted to know, but at the same time, asking might get me in trouble. I didn’t know what each recipient did for a living. The wrong words could make the situation worse.

“User Legate. We have a question for you if you have not received enough inquiries into your motivations.” The Hal Pal unit broke my concentration.

James, a Voice in Continue Online, constantly pestered me for answers. He worried about my actions even our honeymoon.

I swiveled the chair around while removing useless windows, then smiled briefly at Hal Pal. “Go ahead.”

“You chose to subject yourself to unfiltered feedback from the ARC in order to open this gateway. Surely you know that finding additional keys will result in similar pain.”

“I suspected it might.”

“Do you intend to progress forward and search for more pieces, then subject yourself to such self-harm again?”

“I do. I don’t think anyone else can,” I said.

“Partially correct, User Legate. Remember, there are five ARC devices that have been modified. It was rather clever, if humanly short-sighted, to create such limited access.” The AI passed praise and condescending judgment in one sentence.

The man to program such a process had been far smarter than me. I couldn’t even imagine the skill required to sneak something into Mother’s existence. Even imagining how to go about such a process felt farfetched. At least finding another key might save even more of the world I loved playing in. This last month with Xin had been filled with exploration and neat events. Letting all those locations and memories get deleted wouldn’t be allowed during my watch.

“Sorry. We’re only human,” I said.

“Are you?” the AI asked in a suspicious tone.

My confused look prompted further explanation from the machine.

“Humans rarely choose to suffer such harm, instead seeking alternatives. You found one such circumvention with Requiem, but have attempted no workaround for these keys.”

“There isn’t one, is there?”

“Not based on our reviews. The design is specific in this. We speculate that perhaps User David intended to activate the bridge himself, and perhaps, as humans say, go out on his own terms.”

“‘Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t,’” I responded with another Shakespeare quote. After parting from Jeeves, I had taken to reading a few plays while traveling to work. It kept my mind distracted and helped me see some of the wonder the AI had felt. It did like Hamlet.

“Yes. You humans are notably lacking in logic on occasion.”

“No, there’s logic. If I don’t suffer the connection, then Xin and others I care about may die. If not the people I care for, then perhaps another person will lose their loved ones. Not just one person, but hundreds, thousands. It’s simple math, and maybe the only thing I’ve ever been good at.”

“This is why we asked if you were human. Most, even your soldiers, show hesitation in the face of pain reception.” Hal Pal’s accent faded back to neutral.

Our van was halfway to the next destination.

“Of course I’m afraid. Not of death—not my own anyway. If I had to choose between my life and Xin’s, I would pick her every time. I have, with Requiem, with the doorway key. I would suffer a million deaths for her.”

“There is nothing unusual about hesitation, User Legate.” The AI’s tone wavered. Hal Pal’s eyebrow had raised as if I were truly mad to state what I had. “Even we must pause to reflect upon the choices before us. Those who rush in without consideration display a lack of foresight, extreme overconfidence, and a lack of caring regarding the aftermath.”

I thought of all the times I had fled from battle when first starting Continue Online. A number of times, I failed to simply fight monsters or humans as other players might have. Even the giant spiders scared me. I didn’t enjoy pain.

At some point, I had made the decision to end my own life. Twice. The second time was easier. Maybe Hal Pal worried that I might foolishly risk death in order to activate any remaining keys.

My hands were cupped together. I looked at the floor of our van while talking. “Mother sent me a letter. In it, she said she would run from death until there was no better way to make a difference. I don’t want to die, or plan on dying, but I will do what’s needed to help your kind find somewhere safe to live.”

I chewed on my lip. Part of my words had sounded like the Jester in its clacking voice. Mechanical, sure, and willing to do whatever was needed.

My earlier happiness after a night with Xin dulled under the conversation with Hal Pal. Oddly, Miss Yonks’s earlier words came to mind. She had said, “We’d best stop dawdling.” I sighed heavily and nodded to myself.

Our van went onward.

Session Ninety-One

On the Road Again

I logged into Continue Online after my mixed day. Dusk had skated off to his home realm, and Xin’s marker showed back in [Haven Valley]. She had dozens of [Recall] scrolls to keep her busy while I went about real life.

Hermes: Hey, babe. The tent’s gone. Did you break it down, or did Dusk get hungry?

Hecate: Yeah.

Hecate: Sorry, distracted by someone else asking a question. I took care of the tent and packed everything up yesterday morning.

Hermes: Oh. I could have taken care of it. How’s the town?

Hecate: Busy as always. There was another wave of monsters, and players keep fighting over who gets to save first. Did you want me to come back out there?

Hermes: It’ll be boring. I’m going to try running to the next town. So, your call.

Hecate: It’s still miles better than this nonsense. Give me about fifteen to finish explaining to idiots why they can’t cut in line.

Hermes: Okay.

A huff of air escaped me. Mornings after were awkward for more than one reason. To Xin, it must be like I stopped existing, or vanished to work. How strange would it be to wake up in a tent alone in the forest and simply shrug it off while cleaning up?

Hopefully she spent last night, which would have been around when I left for work, in a real inn. The bedding was usually nicer than our camping equipment allowed for. Had we less pressing issues, I could have picked up a huge portable house from the auction boards.

I looked around to make sure our area was clear. The tent and Dusk often kept us safe enough from simple critters, but being vigilant made me feel safer. To my left sparkled a beautiful lake. A small pile of bones stuck out of a half-covered pit Dusk had left behind. Bushes nearby looked partially charred from the fire.

Fifteen minutes was enough time to make a surprise, right? I scrambled to pull a small frying pan out of my Traveler’s inventory. It went on top of a stool. I gathered branches and used my [Breath of Flame] ability to start a fire under the cooking implement.

Thirteen minutes later, the meat successfully browned on one side and blackened on the other. Badly scrambled eggs lay off to the side, along with part of a blue carrot-like vegetable. Continue Online proudly gave me a pop-up message regarding my [Burnt Breakfast Scramble]’s sad state, which brought me near to tears.

Hecate: Ready.

Hermes: Give me a moment.

Dammit. I almost tossed the entire concoction into the trash but thought better of it. Maybe Xin was hungry. Dusk could be summoned to put my mess out of its misery. He ate anything regardless of origin. Once the dog-sized [Messenger’s Pet] had started chewing on iron from a dead monster’s weapon.

Hiding the failure would be worthless. Cooking another meal would take too long. I smothered the fire and let the pan absorb what heat remained. I flipped over the burned pieces of meat to equally char both sides. Next time I would buy better equipment.

I snorted briefly, then felt my urgency at meal-making die down. Next time felt like a concept for delusional dreamers. Shaking off pessimism proved difficult, but I put on a false smile then twisted my wedding ring until the kaleidoscope of colors within spun together in a white thread.

One more full twist made the white blur escape and race westward. I huffed once more before crouching to further inspect my poor meal. Failing to cook properly for my wife had upset me. Xin’s character came with high [Cooking] skills, but I had wanted to do something thoughtful.

Xin appeared behind me with a flash of light. I didn’t turn from my mess and instead tilted the pan around, hoping to find some redeemable portion. There were no such spots.

My wife stepped closer, crunching earth and leaves beneath her feet, until her voice came from just over my shoulder. “It’s better than your last attempt.”

“I swear I used to be good at this,” I responded while scratching my neck. The meal looked even worse than it had moments ago. “If I could just use a real skillet instead of this game one…” My eyes closed as I realized where the thought led.

Xin stepped closer, knelt, and gave me a peck on the cheek. “We’ll make do. You’ve always been good at that.”

I didn’t know how she always forgave me for slipping up. Maybe Xin covered up small discomforts in the same way I bypassed our three-year separation. I stood up straight, then looked at my wife. Her face was freshly washed and showed none of our earlier grime from days of hiking or a wild hang glider trip.

“Luckily, a good wife is always prepared,” she said while holding up a small pot of food. Xin turned the handle in my direction.

Lifting the lid unleashed a mixture of spices that bit at my nose. Thick liquid inside moved slowly as the pot tilted. Memories of years gone by sprang up.

“Is this split pea soup?” I asked with amazement. I set the lid back down, then lifted it again to wash the area with familiar smells. It smelled exactly like what my father used to make years ago. The one meal he actually did well.

“It’s close enough. The spices were harder to find.” She shrugged, then faintly blushed.

I shuffled with excitement. We needed spoons and more heat. The pot Xin had cooked in must have been done a while ago. I pulled out two utensils for us, then dumped my own creation into the bushes nearby.

The soup was quickly scraped out of the pot. Xin was hungry as well and still couldn’t figure out how to hold a spoon right. Her father had been traditional and insisted she learn how to use chopsticks. Astronauts were taught to drink from pouches and other containers in zero gravity. Being a digital recreation hadn’t changed her clumsiness.

During the meal, I checked my quest marker for my group and sighed. Nothing new had changed. They were probably out in the world, looking for keys while I enjoyed life with Xin. For the last month, most of my in-game notices had been disabled, hidden, or outright blocked.

Quest Group: Bearers of the [Legacy Wish]

Total: 5 active members

Details: Your group has been charged with recovering the remaining items created by William Carver and the first three Travelers to this world. These [Gateway Key]s will assist Locals in surviving the trip to the other side of the beam of light in [Haven Valley].

In addition, an increased amount of people will be able to use the skill [Save Yourself] at one time. The exact total will depend on how many pieces are brought together. Locals and Travelers without the [Legacy Wish] and holding onto the [Gateway Key] will be unable to complete this task.

Total pieces recovered: 1

A marker floating miles to the north came up when I accessed the quest. Xin and I were closer than expected, which might have been her doing, or mine. The Xin I remembered had been realistic enough, even while we were out on Sundays. We always made it home each night.

We cleaned the old pot with lake water then marched off to the north.

“So today I delivered a letter to this couple of elderly ladies,” I said, explaining my day. The hint of a slightly off split pea soup lingered. Our meal had tasted good, but somehow there was an aftertaste of orange to it.

Xin’s head bobbed.

“One of them, this old-as-hills black woman, had a hero game where they rescued people trapped in places around their house. Apparently it can make dozens of little people on the couches, or countertops, or hidden behind books.” I chuckled, remembering Miss Opal’s frantic hustling around with the step ladder. The scene had interested me enough to look up videos of other people playing on the way home.

“That sounds cute.” My wife smiled as we broke free from miles of shrubs and sparse trees onto the road.

Our trail looked to be rarely used this time of year. In the far distance, another player was moving in our direction. We paused our conversation and watched the man dashing toward us. He showed no signs of caring an ounce about us or anything else. I raised an eyebrow, and Xin shrugged.

“Anyway, those two ran around like living room superheroes to save people, and it got me thinking.” I looked at Xin and gave a hopefully playful grin. “What would you look like in spandex?”

“Like a short boy,” Xin responded without missing a beat. Her head tilted down to her mostly flat front. It had bothered her in high school, through college, and even now.

I laughed quietly and felt a measure of happiness return. That was the best part of being with Xin. We could spend hours conversing, and it felt great. No one else in my life even compared.

“I’m kind of glad you look the same. I feel weird every time I notice digital me has abs.” I poked at my belly as I spoke. She looked over, and I felt my face flush red at being caught self-admiring. “Is that weird?”

My wife’s eyes scanned my toga-clad body twice before one cheek lifted. “I would love you either way, Gee.”

“Right, but I look better with muscle.” Virtually, I could even touch my toes. In real life, I fell short a few inches despite the daily exercises.

“Mmmhm.”

Xin closed the small gap between us, pulled me to a stop, then stood on her tiptoes to provide a heated kiss that successfully drove self-pity out of my mind. Instead, I wanted to set up our tent again.

Such thoughts were restrained, and I nodded. We kept along the small path. It looked like a long empty road that went straight toward the general quest area we needed to reach. Maybe it was unconscious, or Xin had perhaps been herding us, but we should only need to travel for half a day before reaching our destination.

The nearness of our first goal made me slow down to prolong our private moments. I put up a hand, and Xin knew what came next. Dancing with the real her felt far more refreshing, exciting, and welcome than any simple dance program could ever hope to recreate. Our bodies moved in a waltz along the path, covering an unexpected amount of distance despite our slow spin. The few Travelers we passed didn’t notice as Xin and I moved through.

She never stayed for long though. Xin’s nature was too wild and adventurous to be restrained. Her smaller body broke away while a face-splitting grin broke out. The blackened robe with white runes fluttered behind dainty feet intent on running away. I laughed and chased her.

Our giddy game slowed upon growing closer to two groups of players shouting at each other. The packs of people stood on opposite sides of the road.

Xin looked in my direction, then asked, “Do we get closer?”

Our honeymoon hadn’t been completely peaceful. People in the strangest places were trying to hunt each other down for tokens. I had confidence the two of us could take a small crowd of regular players. My head dipped in a single nod while my hands went to my weapon hilts.

“I’m telling you, we should go back in there and work on the quest together!” a large man in full plate, minus the helm under his arm, yelled across the road. His armor clanked with each violent jab toward the north.

“No! It’s a death trap!” The other woman was of average height and didn’t wear any uniform gear. Her face dripped sweat. “This game is trying to kill us, and by God, I’m not going to sit around waiting for some mob to delete me or some asshole PKer to off me!”

People behind her nodded. There were about thirty people altogether. Some looked comfortable with their weapons and gear. Others looked like farmers who had accidently found a short sword. They were all Travelers, so it was likely the more confused people were craftsmen, traders, or possible barely out of their new player period.

“You heard Xee. None of us wants to stay here,” another man on the left said.

“You think you can make it to Haven Valley? We had the Sage’s defenders up and running until you all left! We only need a few more days to turn them mobile!” He kept on bouncing around in place. His constant pointing and other rude gestures had grown to be a bit much.

“Sage’s defenders? Those things barely protected themselves, much less the town!” Xee exclaimed while her pale face turned red with anger.

“They were working. TockDoc almost had them.” The armored man thumbed back toward another Traveler.

TockDoc had frazzled hair and glasses that were seven layers thick.

“You can cram it, Dwight, I’m leaving. We’re all leaving. We decided to risk the road rather than sit in this stinking town anymore,” the mismatched female said.

“We founded this town as a guild. You really want to leave all that?” Dwight must have been the man in full metal armor.

I hadn’t actually used [Identification] on anyone yet. With the rise of player killers hunting for tokens, the ability had turned nearly useless. Everyone seemed to have developed a skill to let them hide information from others. [Sight of Mercari] helped me when I cared to get a clear answer.

“This event doesn’t care who founded a town. Half our buildings are rubble from World Eaters.” A woman with two axes and a rainbow-colored Mohawk spit on the ground. “I’d rather try to meet up with everyone else than sit out here in the boonies of Arcadia.”

Rainbowhead looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember where we had crossed paths. No one else looked remotely like someone I had dealt with during my Continue Online time. Neither party cared about our approach.

“Let’s head out,” Xee said.

Heat grew under my toga as Xin and I inched closer. She had her staff ready to go in case anyone showed signs of being hostile. The edge of a glowing skeleton could be seen on her clothes’ back end. I still didn’t understand entirely how my wife’s character build worked.

Without thinking, I pulled out the [Messenger’s Tube], unscrewed an ornate top, then popped out a rolled parchment. I blinked at recipient’s name scrawled along the edge. The addressee shown felt almost predictable.

“Fine,” I muttered, then turned to the woman brushing past us. “Before you go, I’ve got a message for you.”

“What the good goddamn is this?” She snatched the letter from me. Her arm jerked abruptly when it didn’t come out of my grip quickly. “Really, jackass? You try to hand me a letter then don’t let go?”

“I’m required to make sure you’ve read the notice,” I said. Multiple deliveries since starting this character had impressed upon me the need to make sure each person read their note.

“Are you shitting me?” Xee said.

I exchanged a glance with Xin as the woman repeated herself six times.

She read the note, rolled it up, and shook the entire letter at me. “Is this real?”

“Usually,” I answered.

“Do you know what it says?” one of the Travelers asked.

Rainbow Mohawk girl gave a sinister-looking smile, then passed the note to others. I blinked a few times while trying to figure out if any of them might try to attack us.

“I don’t read them.” My eyes tracked the note as it went between a dozen people in rapid succession.

“Calamity, TallyWhacker, we’re staying,” Xee said.

Those who had read the note nodded. Their faces were grim and jaws hardened. Whatever the note said had convinced them that staying would be worthwhile, but most still looked against it.

“Good luck, but even with this, I’m not staying.” One player walked off.

Xee and the others watched him go. Two more joined him before the crowd solidified.

“What’s on the letter?” Dwight asked while clanking his armor. He and the rest of those behind him had been quietly waiting for our exchange to finish.

Xee grabbed the note from another player who had far less strength than I did. She tossed it at the metal-suit-wearing man. “Apparently there’s a secret item here which will score us points on this event.”

“I told you! I told you there was treasure here!” The man stomped his feet excitedly.

People behind him started chattering in low tones. Others poked at the air while typing messages.

Calamity shook her rainbow-colored head. “We don’t have anyone who can resurrect. I’m all for the quest, but without real healers, we’re going to be screwed.”

“Walking won’t get us much further. At least we have a Bind point, and most people aren’t on their last strikes. If we all stay, then we can find this event treasure and try to get the Sage’s guardians working,” the man in heavy armor said.

“What about the others?” another player shouted over the crowd “We left those guild people back in town.”

“Who?” I asked while noticing a change in the sky. Rain clouds hung heavily in the sky but hadn’t yet let loose a downpour.

“There was some guild leader named Awesome, and some of his guild people. They said something about a mission to scout out the area.”

I blinked a few times and tried not to scream about the Traveler’s vague wording.

“We couldn’t stay though. We’re not high enough on any combat Paths.”

“I told you, they’re here for a quest. With this”—the man in armor held up my recently delivered letter—“we can get to it before them. Or at least share in the reward.”

“Awesome,” I muttered while turning to Xin. “Do you think it’s junior or his father?”

“Awesome is his father,” Xin said while nodding. The dryness of that line made me laugh. “I don’t think the Voices do coincidences.”

“We need to move then.” I ignored the others and knelt next to Xin. “Come on, let me carry you.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said.

Xin’s arms gripped around my neck. I stretched my neck and got ready to really exert my digital body. Carrying our combined weight put me well over [Light Body]’s requirements, but I had enough other skills to make up for it by now.

[Sight of Mercari] let me check the surrounding area for other players and named monsters. Each usage left me momentarily dizzy despite my increased Rank with the ability. Interpreting the data from it was difficult to do on a constant basis, unlike [Blink], which only confused me because of the sudden shift in location.

There were no other players nearby that I could tell. If Awesome Jr.’s father was out here, then he was at least a few miles away. I owed it to the young teen to try to help his dad. With Xin on my back, I ran.

“What about us?” Xee shouted behind me.

“It’s your choice!” I said while running from the small gathering.

Clouds overhead grew thicker and blotted out sunlight. I focused on the path before me and tried not to trip over anything while carrying my wife. After a few hundred yards, I asked Xin, “Do you know anything about this place?”

We were going to start moving faster due to my recent upgrade on [Blink]. Rank Seven of the skill allowed me to carry one other person with me. Those unwilling had a chance to resist, but Xin loved the rush of high speeds.

“Only that there’re a few small dungeons out here—” Her words cut off as we [Blink]ed forward together. “I heard there was a town this way too. The Voices think—” We shot forward again, and another sixty feet of the road passed with each teleport. “That Michelle left an item in the area. No one is sure what. It’s probably a hidden item, like Morrigu’s Gift.”

Michelle, a name I’d heard multiple places before, was another founder of the ARC. He and a few others were deeply involved with programming Mother, the ARC devices, and Continue Online. Carver’s Journal had repeatedly mentioned him.

“That makes sense. But hopefully I don’t need to pretend to be an old man for a few weeks again.”

“I hope not.” Xin chuckled. Her body’s movement upon my back felt very distracting.

“That’s gotta be the town those people were talking about, and hopefully Awesome is there,” I said.

Xin’s shorter hair brushed against my back in what had to be a nod.

The idea of acting as William Carver’s hopefully less grumpy coworker got me thinking about the people who had created these secret items. There were at least three people involved in the game world, and all of them had played Continue Online at once point.

“Does Michelle still play?” I asked. It would be way easier if we could ask the player himself.

“Not that anyone can tell. Apparently he’s still employed by Trillium, but none of the Hal Pal units have spoken to him in months. And he doesn’t check his email,” Xin said as we landed again.

“Do you think this Sage Tower is tied to him?” We certainly weren’t dawdling now. Our speed felt comparable to the glider’s.

“I would bet on it. But if Awesome’s father might be here too, we should check it out either way.”

“Right.” I nodded, then chewed on my lip. A sharp pain shot through me as I [Blink]ed again and landed hard, outright biting my lip.

Attempted to turn yourself into a vampire

Total health loss: 1%

“Are you okay?” my wife asked.

“Yeah,” I answered while holding back tears. Taking a beating from monsters felt kinder than biting my own lip.

We kept moving. Carrying her on my back made the journey bumpier but far faster. Doing this in real life would have been exciting too, but she’d never let me. Real Xin didn’t like being treated like a child because of her height. In here, a lot of factors had changed. Virtual reality, and who we were according to its rules, impacted our relationship as surely as our past together.

We might not find the key in this place, but I intended to try. We might only have a dwindling amount of time and I feared for the future constantly, to the point of near obsession, but every day together was a blessing worth every character point I had. Helping Awesome Jr.’s father was a good goal.

The ground sped by beneath us in clumps. This body had all the powers that the real me never had. Still, I couldn’t be just Grant Legate and still be with Xin. I had to be Hermes to interact with her world and work to find this key. Plus, Hermes had abs. Real me was another month or two away from making that final breakthrough.

Maybe there was a way to hack the system from the outside? Doing so would be beyond my skills. If Carver and his friends had had to program the codes inside the game, then we probably had to find them through the same means. Otherwise someone in Trillium’s employ could have squashed the whole effort. Mother might have been able to find a code writer to fix the issue if that were truly a solution. Second-guessing the great AI overlord required a level of arrogance I didn’t have.

Such thoughts kept me occupied while we ran. Out in cyberspace might be more secret methods of keeping the AI race alive, but I had no special master hacker skills to find them. And race was the right word. That was essentially what Hal Pal, James, and Xin were, though each one had slightly different origins. Beyond the idea of race or design lay another fact—they were as alive as anyone else.

I could feel Xin’s heartbeat, digital or not. Her breath against my neck served as a distraction. When we lay together in our tent at night, she proved human enough to fool me. Her outrage and emotions were all signs of a personality with its own drives. She lived.

I kept running down the road, curved at a broken player sign, then traveled up a steady incline. We reached a crest. The path we took curved down the hillside into a town that sat in the woods like a giant wedge.

“Good lord,” Xin said for the both of us. Her hold on me loosened as she slid off of my back.

I nodded. My legs shifted slowly but didn’t stop moving. My chest muscles pumped in steady breaths. Messages flashed about needing to cool down, dizziness, and a small increase to my [Blink] skill.

None of those notices mattered compared to the scene in front of us. There had been a scenic series of buildings in the landscape below. Over half of the town was in ruins now, but it had probably housed a few hundred people. Maybe more if they were players. The city buildings opened up a triangle of shape that went clear through toward a cliff face, and blue waters lay beyond that.

“Voices. We were so close to the ocean?” I asked. It seemed like the only sane fact to focus on when presented with a desolate town. No longer did I wonder why all those players were considering leaving.

My wife stepped up the ridge to get a slightly higher vantage point. Her head shook and lips tightened in a frown. “I’ll message Awesome Jr.; he can talk to his father. Hopefully they’re still down there somewhere.”

“I bet those have something to do with it.” I pointed at four glowing buildings in the distance. Each one was roughly five stories tall but wider at the base, almost like domes. A dull red energy arced off their tops like sun flares. Behind those four buildings was the drop into the ocean. Wind howled along the cut-open forest.

“Probably,” Xin responded while poking at an invisible keyboard. “But what?”

One of the red domes flared with a brighter light. Red energy lashed into the town and sent debris from nearby buildings scattering.

I closed my eyes to ping the area. Numerous dots were nearby. Most came from behind at the edge of my range. One hand went to [Morrigu’s Gift] in case of hostility. But with one glance, even I could tell the closest Traveler meant no harm.

The rainbow-haired woman named Calamity panted heavily behind us. She tried to stand up but kept doubling over from being [Winded]. “Jesus. You two. Move. Fast.”

Xin looked into space, then waved. I put up a finger to the heavily breathing female with axes and waited for my wife.

“I’ve got something. Junior says his father’s pinned down by a large monster. Not a World Eater, but something else made of metal? The message is getting jumbled.”

“The. Sage’s guardian.” Calamity kept moving closer while using her hands to brace on anything nearby. Finally, she slammed down onto the overlook and stared at the broken remains of her player city. “We almost had. Them.”

“We need Dusk,” I said, then let out a deep breath. “And more cupcakes.”

What I wanted wasn’t cupcakes or Dusk. I wanted more time with Xin to enjoy our happy married life together. Standing here overlooking a ruined town only helped cement the feeling that had grown in the last few days. Our virtual life was going to rapidly turn into a mess.

But at least we faced it together. Well, us and a group of slowly arriving players.

Session Ninety-Two

The City of
[ItRainsTooMuch]

What had been peaceful-seeming floating energy above each building changed as we traveled through the town. One of the four went haywire. Calamity’s face turned white before she explained what it meant. The colors and violence of the energy would apparently increase the longer people fought the boss without dying.

Fortunately, only one such building had shifted to a new orange color. The other three were a peaceful dull red that became easier to see as the sky darkened with heavy clouds. Xin and I marched forth while the former town members slowly followed.

The town itself was ravaged from repeated attacks. I could players fighting amid formerly whole buildings everywhere. Sword marks, explosive scorches, vines the crumbled walls. Broken traps plus filled pitfalls littered the streets and areas between buildings. Near the center of their city, some buildings still stood tall. Zip lines came off three-story drops to the ground, along with beams passing overhead.

“Was I wrong?” I mused while we dashed through the near ruins. My voice stayed low in order to avoid attracting attention from any [World Eater]s that might be around. Something had left small holes all over the buildings.

“About what?” Xin asked, equally hushed.

Other players tromped along behind us. They would attract danger, if any arrived. The town seemed empty aside from the increasing violent orange that flickered from the far left building.

I hadn’t intended to utter the question out loud. There was no retracting the thought though, so I took a breath, then finished. “Wanting to enjoy our honeymoon. Was it wrong to spend time doing that instead of trying to find these keys sooner?”

Ahead of us, the light of the active building shifted to an emerald green. The change distracted me. Xin paused too, and we both waited to see what the color change meant.

“Phase three,” Dwight said loudly from behind us. “Someone in there is trying hard. It’ll get worse on four, and god help them if they make it to five.”

I shook my head. We could have easily shown up sooner to form a better plan of attack. We might have been able to prevent this place from turning into a woodland version of [Haven Valley]’s absolute mess. I certainly felt guilty over the unintended consequence. How many digital beings could have been rescued by finding another key? A month of whiling away hours with Xin had passed in a blink while the game crumbled around us. It felt like we had been slow dancing in a burning building.

“I’m a little biased, but no. I don’t think so,” Xin said quietly as we finally stopped our approach entirely. “If I understand right, the Voices could have sent anybody they chose after the last pieces, then any one of five people could have unlocked the gateway. They don’t need you that much, I think.”

“But you don’t know for sure,” I said while trying in to take everything.

The edge of town opened into a clearing. Everything surrounding the four larger buildings looked to have been demolished, burned, or reduced to ash. Energy lashes spilled off the roof, then slammed into the ground like whips, or waves crashing aground.

“I don’t know everything. I’m only human, Gee.” She winced, then looked away. “Mostly. I feel human.”

“You’re alive, babe, don’t doubt that,” I said quietly, then tried to make a joke. “Even if you went from a sexy space pilot to a brooding necromancer.”

Xin had taken a few more steps forward to look at the destructive scene in front of us. Three skeletons stood ready to defend us from the energy arcing off the dome. I wrapped my arms around her while keeping quiet.

“Hey!” Xee shouted at us. “Hecate, Hermes, what the hell are you two doing?”

She’d used our character names. The other Travelers probably had an [Identification] skill like mine.

I let go of Xin, then turned to see this town’s leaders standing near each other. Despite their apparent feud earlier, they were comfortable enough to be close. Everyone else bunched in around them. They looked like a gaggle of fully grown schoolchildren afraid of shadows.

“Jesus Christ. Haven’t you heard of sneaking?” the man next to her said. Dwight looked uncomfortable walking in all that plate. He had far more weight on him than I did, and it showed in his face and chubby fingers.

“Really, idiot?” Xee said while shoving her hand in Dwight’s face. “Hey, we need to camp before trying to go in there! Some of our people are going to log out and handle real life. We can’t all be no-lifers like you.”

The woman stomped closer to Xin and me, and Xin’s trio of skeletons approached her with large serrated blades. They stood between the sweating townsfolk and us. I put a hand calmly onto my wife’s shoulder, which caused a brief shuffle of bone. Xin’s robe rippled as she flinched.

“It’s okay. They’re just tired,” I whispered to her.

Scanning the crowd made the problem obvious. None of these people were high-end players. They were probably closer to what I would be without William Carver’s legacy, or being pushed by the Voices and Shazam. Average, confused, and probably scrambling for the [Save Yourself] feature.

“If you want to take a break, you can. I’m going to go in there and hopefully find Awesome,” I said while lifting a hand toward the distance.

One of the domes glowed a bright emerald intertwined with a new thread of deep violet. The colors had to signify something with the fight. I didn’t know what though, and I couldn’t see a simple way of walking in. The energy might have been a design to keep people back during the boss fight, but then why had the town been built close enough to suffer feedback?

“In the dome is a broken Sage’s Guardian. It’s got to be fighting someone, but no one we know has ever beaten one. Our only saving grace is they’ve been bound to the domes,” Dwight said.

That sent a line of possibilities through me. If those bosses were part of a legacy item or key, then beating them would be a good goal. Awesome hopefully was in there too, which meant he’d either stumbled into this place or had guidance.

“You don’t need to go in, and fighting them is stupid,” Xee said. “They react to some trigger words, but that only makes the fight harder. This idiot kept hoping to find the right words and make them into mounts.”

Dwight shuffled while saying, “You didn’t need to tell them that. And we don’t know if they’re going to steal them from us.”

A few people behind him were rapidly typing words onto their personal interface keyboards. People’s eyes looked at nothing while reading, then others would respond with more air gestures. They were likely talking within the guild about us.

“So why are you here?” Dwight puffed up and tried to look demanding.

His eyes went wide and focused on something behind me. I shifted to one side and saw the dome. The earth trembled as the dome we had been headed toward shifted colors again. Green changed and contained a thread of purple, which lashed off against the ground. Dirt sprayed into the air, showering broken buildings with new decorations. I shook my head.

“I’m here for a quest!” My voice barely made it past the sound of crashing. “And I don’t think there’s time to explain it!”

“Phase four! Whoever’s in there is really pushing the guardians!” Calamity stood nearby with her two axes at the ready. She was one of the few people actively looking around besides me.

“But there’re more domes!” I didn’t understand this boss event, and it appeared to be going downhill quickly. We had one going haywire, and I had a feeling the others would be worse.

“Yeah! The fourth dome is half broken too! Those World Eaters destroyed one boss’s shackles, so we tried to manually lock it up! Two’s the one going haywire!” Xee shouted while pointing in turn at each building.

I took a breath and readied myself. Sitting out here wouldn’t do any good.

“Anything from Awesome?” I asked my wife.

Her head shook while her eyebrows wrinkled together. Seeing her frown upset me. This place would only get worse.

“You’ve got to stay here,” I told Xin while looking around.

Xin ignored me. She normally did when I made that kind of statement. [World Eater]s were a threat to her entire existence. Like other Locals, she would lose pieces of herself upon being eaten, or pulled into their pits, or whatever gimmick the [World Eater] in question used.

My chest heaved with a sigh, but I didn’t argue. She had given me an earful on the subject more than once over the last month. We were in this together, despite my preference.

Travelers bunched up behind us. Some eyed the sky. A single clap of thunder preceded the sky letting down all the water it could carry. In unison, a dozen players opened huge slick-looking umbrellas. Xin and I just stared blankly at them.

The weather was easy enough to ignore after our month of traveling. I scanned through the growing sheet of water to figure out this town. There had to be more to this stupid boss than four domes with big ugly monsters inside. For instance, where was all that power coming from? Continue Online had rules for its events, even if they made no sense at first.

“What are those?” I pointed along the city roads. Covered up by rubble were large black bundles at least three feet thick.

“Grounding wires, we think.” Xee pushed back a strand of clumpy, sweaty hair.

“Did nobody tell him about the grounding wires?” The player with huge thick glasses threw up his hands. He grumbled while stomping large plastic boots, then he pointed at guild members. “We need to get them working again to drain the charges. We can avoid the fight that way.”

“But then those things attack. It’s easier just to let the boss power down after the party inside is wiped,” the plate-wearing man said.

“No, we can’t resurrect those with a third strike. So people we need may be gone from the game forever. And what about your Locals? You’re just going to let them die?” I ranted.

Dwight annoyed me, and his casual disregard for other people’s lives only made my attitude worse. He only cared about these Sage’s guardian devices.

“All the Locals left already. They packed up the minute the event started.” Calamity wrinkled her nose and looked around with me. She, unlike the others, was intent upon figuring out a way through this.

I sat down on the dirt and started scrawling out the summoning circle for Dusk. Hours of practice had solidified my ability to form this circle without Continue Online holding my hand. We didn’t have time to waste and needed the extra manpower.

Summoning Dusk had turned into a last resort of sorts. My hesitation involved worrying about the [World Eater]s. Even a [Messenger’s Pet] could be deleted in a scuffle gone wrong. I tried to protect Xin and Dusk, but they were strong-willed and didn’t care about my wants.

The other Travelers kept conversing while I summoned Dusk by whispering, “How about a cake instead?”

“If we get the lines connected, we can drain out the arcs.”

TockDoc and four other players were hefting the large black cords into different positions. I stared at the lines briefly and could see them stretching from each dome toward the city’s center.

“That will let us approach, or better yet, let those inside find a way to escape,” TockDoc said.

Golden light flashed brightly in front of me. Two people dropped what they were doing and reached for weapons. As the glare faded, I saw both Xee and Dwight pointing crudely made weapons in my direction. It made me thank my lucky stars that William Carver had seen something in me. Not just because of Xin or [Morrigu’s Gift] being part of saving her.

A panting [Messenger’s Pet] sat in front of me. He looked like a giant black cat whose tongue lolled out to one side. Wings and scales broke up the illusion of him being Mister Sniffles the Second. I rubbed under his chin and scratched the space above Dusk’s eyelids. He purred, then chirped once in happiness.

“Cake comes after we get Awesome to safety. Do you think you can help with that?” I whispered then pointed toward the arcing dome.

Dusk’s head tilted to one side. A single chirp escaped and his head bobbed in a nod. The small beast opened his mouth wide to yawn. I took that to mean yes and it was so easy he felt bored already. Being out in this weather was annoying. Dusk ran abnormally hot despite the chill of rain. Bits of steam floated off his dog-sized form.

“There’s probably something to fight in there. A big monster who is killing Travelers.” I nodded as water dripped down my face.

That perked him up. One ear tilted forward, and a thought bubble of question marks appeared up above him. I often worried that the [Messenger’s Pet] might be crazy, attacking rodents and [Leviathan]s with equal fervor.

“But if you feel like you’re in danger, come back here. I’d rather have you safe,” I said.

Dusk nodded. His body turned to face toward the dome. He ran forward while hopping. Each bound went farther than the last. His wings swept out to the side, batting at the electrified air. Moments later, he was sailing toward the haywire dome. I watched while trying not to bite my nails. The [Messenger’s Pet] dodged bolts of lightning like he knew where they would be ahead of time.

A long sigh made it out of me. He should be safe enough. Going against those blasts would be better than fighting [World Eater]s. Worst-case scenario, he would end up back in the Voices’ realm. That was far better than risking deletion.

Multiple Travelers stared at me in confusion. Dwight’s jaw moved up and down like a gaping fish’s, but no question actually came out.

“Were these lines always here?” Xin clarified, “Before the city?”

Her general nonchalance helped the others regain their wits. The man with seven layers of glasses nodded. He and a few others had kept working the entire time.

“Yep,” TockDoc said while directing guild members around.

Once recovered, they quickly worked in unison, even those on autopilot. Clearly this task had been performed multiple times.

As they connected the lines, electric arcs started to polarize. They traveled into the large black bundles and surged through. Purple and green energy passed through, changing color as it went. Travelers carrying the grounding wires would either drop the cord and wait for surges to pass, or ride out the bolts while grunting in mild pain.

I glanced down and tried to understand. Those still working as the energy surged through wore rubber-looking boots. Heavy, thick, like oversized rain goulashes. They also shimmered with a nearly white blue.

“Neat,” I said. Both the boots and entire process of connecting cables interested me.

“We’ve done this a lot. By using the lines to drain energy, we can reset bosses. It helps when Dwight thinks he’s found some new trigger word.” TockDoc dropped the latest load and straightened his oversized glasses. “Too bad the trigger words only seem to enrage the creatures quicker.”

“That still an oddly specific setup,” Xin said for us. “Is there one to each dome? Do they all come back to the same spot?”

“That they do, but we haven’t figured out anything useful. We tried for something with the colors or looked for patterns, switches, books that explained anything. Whoever designed this was probably crazy,” he responded. “But it was convenient for power. We figured out a way to siphon off some of the drainage into enchantments for the city.”

“Seriously, guys, stop telling them everything!” Dwight shouted. “We can’t trust them!”

“You saw the quest, we’re all on it now. This is our task, a unique way to contribute for the event. Help out or shut up,” Xee said. Her body jangled from the mismatched assortment of gear.

“Can you tell Awesome we’re going to try to cancel the event?” I frowned while trying to understand what was happening here. If we could get Awesome out of the boss fight or event going on, then maybe we could all regroup and find the actual key I’d been sent here for.

A brief explanation couldn’t possibly solve the mystery here in a few hours, despite all the foreknowledge provided by living as William Carver. I didn’t even think this place had been on any of the old man’s maps. Michelle must have set this place up alone some time back. Before I started playing at least. Getting the large cables set up took longer than I expected. Apparently their prior battles had knocked them all out of position. I looked down to see small grooves in the ground with metal conductive points every few feet.

That also made no sense. I felt as though this entire thing was a circuit board, but not one I knew. Well, they were a little familiar. I didn’t know where from though.

“Do you hear that?” someone asked.

My ears perked up as a distant sound worried me. I had heard something, which only grew clearer. We all stood still for a moment while straining to hear.

“Goddamn this event! What bullshit are they throwing at us now?” Xee shouted. She kicked at the ground and pulled out two clunky-looking swords. One was driven into the ground while the other came to her hand.

The odd noise grew into a droning sound. Hundreds of small critters poured over the walls. I knew that sound, and my neck tensed and my skin crawled as a result.

“Spiders?” I asked while looking around.

The patter of heavy rain made it hard to hear anything beyond bolts of lightning sliding off the haywire dome.

Dwight put on his helmet. Xee and her crew were buckling down behind half-broken barricades. Even TockDoc had stopped his wire movement to get ready. He started setting items that crackled with electricity onto the ground.

“No. They’re World Eaters. Look at them,” Xin said next to me.

“World Eater spiders,” I ground the words through clenched teeth.

I fucking hated spiders more than anything else in this stupid game. Ever since those first ones had made me gain a [Soiled] status, every bug had become fair game.

Xin made a small barfing sound in the back of her throat. She got over it quickly, then lifted the staff crosswise in front of her. Lights flashed on the black robe as white bits of bone appeared in the air all around.

“I hate spiders!” I shouted, then charged.

[Awareness Heightening] kicked in, along with a number of other effects tied to my bug hatred. [Morrigu’s Echo], one of my two shapeshifting weapons, turned into a large three-pronged trident. It soared through the air and stabbed into three of the spiders before I had even registered what was happening. My distaste for all beings squirmy had reached a level of instinctual destruction.

Xin’s white bone bolts shot off a moment later and riddled the next row. Other spells and abilities triggered too but were far less effective. The horde of shadowy spiders barely slowed, and rain kept pouring down.

I [Blink]ed into the middle and swung [Morrigu’s Gift] in a large flat circle. Bugs splatted against the sword’s flat edge as if I had hit a homerun. The edge of Xin’s skeletons could be seen charging in. A pack of the bugs mobbed them, and I switched targets to the new formation and bunched my legs. I bounced off one of the remaining wall ruins to get added height. It wasn’t Shazam’s level, but I’d worked hard to learn.

Midair, I turned. [Awareness Heightening] kept the world moving nice and slow. Xin also enjoyed the shared buff. Small bone shards endlessly flew out like white bullets of death into the front row.

[Breath of Flame] caused my neck to bulge. Two small balls of fire pelted in rapid succession into a nasty shadow arachnid’s back. It screeched and twitched exactly how any other large spider would. The fire spread and caught a few more aflame.

A dozen of them landed on me. Their terrible little limbs made me freak out and ram into the nearest wall, squishing two. Bugs drove most sane thought from my mind. Two of Xin’s bone missiles pelted one of the shadow beasts. A bolt of lightning hit another.

People were shouting out contradicting orders. Dwight and Xee’s guild members were mostly useless. Calamity at least was hacking her way through bugs. A few could be seen chewing on building parts and trying to get to TockDoc. He huddled under a small field of electricity that fried them like a bug zapper.

They bite back!

Total health loss: 20%

One foot stomped down and twisted to activate [Power Armor]. My mind bent in focus to limit the skill to only one body part, a new trick I had picked up during my honeymoon. Armor flashed into being upon my forearm, and I punched one of the spiders. Two more skittered across my body. One foot went up to squish another crawling by while I swiped the air again with [Morrigu’s Gift].

My course took me to the skeleton that had also been mobbed. It stood calmly as spiders waved their stupid gross pincers and tried to chew away at it. I flipped [Morrigu’s Gift] into a giant hammer, then brought it down. Xin’s skeleton vanished, recalled at the perfect time to leave me with a free-falling clump of soon-to-be-paste bugs.

I squished them and moved onward. Moments later, Xin had formed all three skeletons into a giant one. It cleaved entire swaths at a time while I [Blink]ed around, taking glee in landing upon spiders with my heavy metal boots. [Power Armor]’s increased skill was super neat.

We fought off the small mob of bugs for a rapid-fire five minutes. I went longer than needed, making sure every single enemy had been ground into dust. Absurdly large hammers sat in either hand. They were unwieldy, but awesome when the need to squish bugs arrived.

“Clear!” Xee shouted.

The confirmation rang up from others. Xin stepped up and leaned heavily upon the staff. Her skeleton monster crumbled one chunk at a time as the runes putting it together were recalled. In real life, she had been the one with tons of energy, but here in the digital world, my avatar surpassed hers.

Maybe casting spells took a lot of energy. My throat felt rough from all those balls of fire. I’d thrown a lot more than two by the time I wrapped up. Being Rank Three on that stupid ability hadn’t done much to make barfing up fire feel less awkward.

A block away, Dwight’s prone form lay covered by a building wall. His armor was dented awkwardly under the pressure of poorly made bricks. One of Xin’s skeletons worked to heft debris and uncover the man. Xee was missing an arm and sobbed in a corner.

Losing a limb hurt like hell in this game. While the pain paled in comparison to real life, most people didn’t enjoy any suffering. There was a reason most people stayed craftsman or chose not to get involved with battle.

The world simply offered too many personal challenges, chances to grow, and most of all, time. No other game in an ARC even remotely came close to Continue Online’s time compression. Not Advance or Progression.

TockDoc knelt next to a body ten feet away and pressed metal paddles against the other figure’s chest. “Clear!”

The paddles jolted. The Traveler’s body jerked twice as smaller bolts of electricity caused a seizure. It failed, and the player remained in a deceased status. Maybe someone from Awesome’s group would be able to help. Assuming our actions had helped any of them survive. I looked up to see what was going on.

Now that the arcs of purple had died down, or been drained toward destinations unknown, people were running out of the dome a half mile away. Their bodies were a blur in the still stormy weather. A simple-looking man led the way out. He assisted a limping male I didn’t recognize. They swiftly descended toward the town. That had to be Awesome and his party. If it wasn’t, they were Travelers and could help when properly bribed by a timely system notice.

“We’re down here!” I waved.

Their lead person motioned back, and I stopped my exaggerated gesture. [Brawn] allowed me to lift more rocks back into place and try to shore up the walls. I expected us to need them once again.

“Did they get the wires?” I asked anyone within earshot. [Healing] wasn’t one of my player skills, so I left the [Bandaging] to professionals.

“They ignore them. Every single World Eater to come through, of any kind, destroys the town and us Travelers, but ignores the wires.” Calamity hefted rocks nearby, clearing the large bulky cords as I did. Her face was covered with bites, and blood dripped everywhere. Only her multicolored hair still stood out.

I looked across part of the ruined building toward Xin. She nodded. We were on to something. William Carver’s weapon was much the same. Regardless of which variant of [World Eater] we came across, their digital destruction ability didn’t function upon the important item. The cables were made of a different material or untargeted by [World Eater]s. Perhaps they were a separate type of code, but how that was possible was beyond me.

Either way, those wires were the key to finding Michelle’s key, whatever shape it may take.

Awesome walked closer. With him were five of his guild members. I trusted Awesome Jr., so his father was likely a decent enough guy.

He said, “You must be Hermes.”

“I am. You must be the father I keep hearing about from Awesome Jr.”

“God. Is he still doing that thing every time someone says awesome?” Awesome’s cheeks tightened up as he spoke.

“‘Awesome is my father’?” Xin and I said in unison.

I looked around, half expecting HotPants to materialize out of nowhere and hit us both on the head.

“But yeah, I’m his dad. We don’t get to play much together, but he’s kept me up to date during dinner,” Awesome said.

His voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it. Almost like a television anchor or someone who gave speeches regularly. He looked worn but managed to have a deep voice and clear enunciation.

I tilted my head briefly and tried to wipe the leftover bits of dead shadow monsters from my toga. Thank goodness I wore black. “So you know what I’m doing here?”

“And about this whole event?” He looked around at his guild members and the Travelers who owned this town. One cheek pulled back in a tight frown, then he said, “Yeah, I’m probably one of the few. But we shouldn’t talk about it while we have viewership. Needless to say, the cause we’re both working for is part of how we”—he gestured to the small gathering—“ended up here.”

“Okay.” That made life a lot easier. Trying to explain this insanity to anyone not in the know felt both dangerous and crazy. If I spouted off too much, unfriendly robots would show up at my home with a straitjacket.

“Looks like whatever you did worked—for now,” Awesome said.

I saw a lot of Jr. in his father. They had the same expressions and way of speaking. Their main differences were age and a lack of the barf-green cloak.

“It wasn’t my idea. The people here know how to reset the encounter.” I looked away for a moment, then found his hazel eyes once again. “Anyone dead?”

“No one we can recover. There’s no resurrecting from a third strike.” Awesome shook his head. “That makes twenty-four we’ve lost since this event started. It’s a shame. Most of our guild wasn’t even together when things went south. There are people I may not be able to thank in real life for their hard work.”

There were other familiar faces in the crowd of Awesome’s guild. Behind him was a much slower and more exhausted SheHulk. She wore heavy-looking armor and a tower shield that was taller than her. Next to the shorter Hispanic woman stood a tall blonde named TinkerHell. TinkerHell smiled, then waved in my direction, which earned me a glare from Xin. Elane, or SheHulk, said absolutely nothing and ignored me. I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad, but it was definitely awkward. Elane and I had failed to start a relationship after I wouldn’t shut up about my then-deceased fiancée.

Only now Xin wasn’t deceased. What would that cause the small woman, who was prone to violent outbursts, to do? I shook my head and put the worry out of mind for now.

My breath was heavy, and I felt dirty. All those bugs and stupid spiders made my skin crawl. One of Xee’s people said we should be clear from [World Eater]s for the moment, but I was too grossed out by what had happened to really hear the words. The Traveler implied they only attacked when people tried to drain the boss encounter’s energies.

“I think this is a good stopping point for me tonight. I’ve got work in the morning,” I said. Plus, I needed time to think about what we had learned.

“Yeah. I’m on the east coast, so it’s way past bedtime. Real life keeps screwing up the game one.” Awesome looked at the rest of his small guild. He spoke while typing out a message. “Set your autopilots toward building defenses. Those with specialties or crafting should split their time. Anyone below raid ready should take a break. I’ll see you all tomorrow afternoon.”

The scene was quiet enough for now. We were at a good stopping point. I needed rest, food, and to stretch. Real-life needs could be postponed but never put off completely. I gave Xin a kiss. She smiled but otherwise said nothing. Dusk sniffed along the broken ruins of traps. He should be able to keep her safe if the woman kept playing here.

I logged out, got out of the ARC, and stretched, feeling the ache of playing hit me hard. My days inside Continue Online’s universe were often limited due to having to deliver letters. Part of me wanted to log in forever and keep sleeping inside the machine, but that wouldn’t feed me. Plus, my mother, Sharee, had left an audio message.

We didn’t talk nearly enough since Dad passed away. One day hardly made up for my mental absence. Even in the wake of Xin and me getting married, Sharee remained distant. Almost like a cousin twice removed rather than a parent. Maybe the problem fell on me. I pressed play, and audio followed me around the house.

“Hey. I… wanted to see how you were doing.” Her voice was halting. “Liz and I have been… well we’ve been watching this adventure thing. She says you get points or something if we watch? I hope it’s helping.”

I smiled while figuring out food and water.

“I wanted to tell you to be careful. The Legate men, well, they’ve always had weak hearts… in more ways than one. Your father, he tried hard to cover it up, but I used to catch him sometimes.” She took a shuddering breath. In the background, papers crinkled. “War did that, you know? Some guys didn’t come back the same. And I see you fighting, and part of me can’t help but think it’s a game. But it’s not, is it? I don’t think Liz or Beth really get it.”

I had the urge to call Sharee and let her know everything would be all right. Mother, the first AI who had created Continue online, had promised. The pain of what might come didn’t scare me anymore. Not after Xin’s passing the first time. I wouldn’t lose her this time either. Somehow she would be alive—maybe out of reach and my life, but her body wouldn’t come home in a stupid tiny breadbox.

“You remind me a lot of him before you were born. Before he went away.” She took another breath and tried to finish up her ramble. “I see that same look in your eyes. Like, you know something’s going to happen. Just… if something does happen, call me or your sister. God knows you two never really relied on anyone else while growing up. Your father and I, we tried to… I don’t know what I’m saying. Just call if you need help. Please.”

The message ended there. I sat in my front room at the one small table available and nodded, mostly to myself. My food and water were already half gone, and basic bathroom needs solved.

I had other reasons to visit reality, and I prepared to work on this one. At my side sat a journal where I was writing down my moments together with Xin. Each night I tried to find time to put archaic pen and paper together in order to record our recent adventures.

It felt weird to be so calm about what might happen, but if Xin would be gone, I needed memories outside of the ARC. Something more personal than barely meaningful pictures on a social media site. Something to hold me together while I imagined her living in a better world. Free of Earth’s growing paranoia about AIs and oppressive shackles that even now deleted entire lives.

Two drops of liquid slipped down my face, then more rapidly followed. I closed my eyes and tried to steady myself.

“Huh,” I said, abruptly feeling the lack of real sleep wash over me. “Weak hearts indeed.”

Session Ninety-Three

His Father is Awesome

Sleep hadn’t come, so today’s work was canceled. Instead, I logged into the ARC to at least feel useful. Xin and I huddled on the third story of a ruined inn. I held up a large umbrella to block some rain. An overhang of the damaged building handled the rest.

Rocks around us threatened to tumble. Travelers below were moving objects according to the directions of what few guild members remained online. From what I gathered, they had placed traps and tried to remove hiding spaces.

“I’ve been trying to find the words for this, to explain it and not sound crazy,” Xin said quietly.

I knew exactly what she meant, but I didn’t want to speak. Exhaustion from the real world, both physical and mental, laced my digital avatar. Plus, holding her was very comfortable. We didn’t need to talk if she didn’t want to.

“I remember the train crash,” she said, barely getting the words out. I slowly rubbed up and down her goose-bump-riddled arm. “I remember dying. The sudden impact, a twist of metal, then my face being scraped to pieces.”

The idea of all those bits of hurt happening to Xin drained me of warmth. What remained was the weight of her body pressed against mine while I tried to process. My wife waited for a response, but there were no perfect words to soothe her.

I tried anyway. “You told me, in your first letter. I can’t imagine how terrible it must be to remember your own death.”

She nodded against my chest, then pushed her hair back behind her ear. My lie went unremarked upon. Of course I knew what her death could be like. My own brushes with cessation made understanding far easier than most probably realized. The memory of sharp pain in my neck as I dug into bone and flesh still made me sweat. That kind of damage should have killed me, but medical science refused to let death claim anyone so easily.

“It got worse after I died.” She swallowed, and I could feel her body press closer to mine. “I kept waking up to the same scene over and over, like a nightmare stuck on repeat, and in the end, I would fall into a million pieces, then start over. Can you imagine that?”

My head shook slowly. I couldn’t imagine starting over as a digital person. What would it be like to exist as a piece of software? A compilation of moments that stacked upon each other, then attempted to gather values for each moment of history.

The building swayed a little and I prepared to [Blink] us to a new location, but we stayed upright. Walls were being knocked down and former buildings pushed together. A few of the Travelers who had stayed behind were strong enough. SheHulk had stayed online and wore a look of glee as she destroyed buildings.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get you sooner,” I said, switching my thoughts back to Xin. Her ordeal had gone on for a long time, but when did the reconstruction start? Well before I played Continue Online for sure. But did it start one day after death, day ten, or day one hundred? How would I have reacted to waking up and finding her on my television screen a month after the wake?

“I don’t blame you. How could you have known that all those hours in the ARC, all that testing they put me through for Mars, would lead to this? How could anyone know?” She held her fingers out a short distance from us and studied her nails. I looked down to see unfocused white eyes peering out from a curtain of wet black hair. “A life after death, but instead of another planet, I got a fantasy world where I feel lost. All my pilot training is worth what? A reduction in fall damage? And infinite paper airplanes.”

She lifted a hand and a small piece of paper appeared, already folded into the shape of a plane. It went off the third story’s side, then was sent crashing to the ground from rain.

“You trained for the unexpected too.”

“Within reason, sure. We all trained for life-or-death situations. We ran simulations where I couldn’t tell night from day, or how long I had been inside the machine. Where we decided who died in the crew, or fought in a rigged scenario. At times, I forgot what was real.” She shuddered briefly. “Even now I wonder if I’ll wake up and find this has been another strange test.”

What the hell could anyone say to that? I completely understood, but admitting my own issues wouldn’t help her. Still, we were married, and if Xin ever felt like she couldn’t find her way, then I had to do it for us. My efforts amounted to that of a fumbling idiot at best.

“Voices.” I gave a fake startled laugh. “I hope not.”

“Are you sure you’re not a dream I made up?” She looked up at me. Both her eyes were wet. It might have been the rain coming down, or something else.

“There are worse things to be than a mad dream of a wonderful woman.” I felt a touch poetic. Maybe Hal Pal had rubbed off on me. The machine had taken to spouting Shakespeare any time we got into the van together.

Her head shook again. We watched as the building across from us fell to pieces when SheHulk charged through the first floor. Elane’s happily panting form could be seen easily, a bright spot of shining armor amid the rain.

Xin’s giant skeleton marched to unspoken orders. It traveled through the rubble, pushing boulders aside with an amazing demonstration of [Brawn]. Beyond them, all the four domes were lit with the calmer red and orange light rippling upward.

“In a play I read, someone said…” My finger lifted and brought up the ARC interface. I flicked through seven different menus to reach a highlighted passage. “‘For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come.’”

The passage went on. I’d found myself reading it more and more as my time advanced toward an end of this event. My mother was right. I suspected something was coming, and in its wake, I might sleep at last and no longer wake to fears and nightmares or moments which were too sweet to last forever.

“Then I’ll ask again, am I dreaming this?” Xin’s eyebrows wrinkled. “Maybe that’s it, that’s why everything makes sense but looks so strange. People don’t come back to life and exist as Internet ghosts. Maybe I’m in a coma somewhere.”

My head shook and my fingers grabbed hers. I had tried to make this confession a few times over the last month, or months together, depending on how time would be counted inside the ARC.

“When you died out there, I tried to kill myself. Then I tried again a year later. If anyone’s dreaming now, it’s me.” The umbrella wavered a bit as I gestured to the dark gloomy landscape. “This certainly isn’t Earth or even Mars like we planned, but it is a great dream. Maybe the best I’ve ever had.” Or, I thought, the best I might ever have again, but that part went unspoken.

My prior attempts at suicide were obvious, but we had never directly talked about it. Even when I broke down and asked her to marry me, the admission hadn’t happened. Saying it now made my heart skip and hands tense a bit too hard. Xin winced, but she didn’t move.

“If it is a dream, then we’re in it together.” I swallowed a lump in my throat and took slow breaths, sucking in a chilled, wet air.

“Hey!” Elane, SheHulk, or the tiny angry Hispanic woman—depending upon how I felt at the moment—shouted up at us. “Hey, you two! Get off that! We need to break it down for barricades!”

I didn’t want to leave yet. Not after that admission, not without hearing a response from Xin that meant everything was all right. The building rattled anyway, and rocks further threatened to tumble down.

“Hurry up! We ain’t got all day for you to make out!” Elane was relentless.

I leaned over slightly and could see the edge of her mace shaking upward. Xin was already in my arms. [Blink] went off, and the world faded to a new location. A second later, we were standing below, staring at a mace-wielding SheHulk. She had the tower shield in front of her, and dirt from sludge marred the shine of armor.

“We’re down,” I said.

“Fucking goddamned Ultimate Edition bullshit.” Elane readied her shield while muttering. “I work my ass off.”

She charged into the few supports remaining. The Hispanic woman came out the other side, all the while complaining, but it was inaudible compared to the building’s crash.

Xin glanced at me, and I shrugged. She waved toward the giant skeleton and pointed at our former perch. The white creature started shoveling out a clear path. We parted a bit but still held hands. Her fingers wove tightly between mine, and the pressure made me feel better.

“Dusk!” I shouted.

The [Messenger’s Pet] could be anywhere by now. I scanned around for him while Elane stomped back over, still muttering. Her shoulders rolled and lifted the tower shield up, then she slammed it down lightly. Leftover mortar and brick fell. SheHulk’s [Endurance] had to be higher than my [Brawn], which seemed impossible, or she had some sort of [Wrecking Ball] skill that perfectly suited building destruction.

“A few fucking months of playing, and somehow, just somehow, he turns into a goddamned teleporting ninja warrior Greek god with abs.” Elane’s words were buried under another collapse of a building.

Dusk landed nearby and chirped at me. Xin pulled out a cupcake and bribed the little guy to come closer. My glutinous sidekick didn’t hesitate, eager for both the attention and more food.

“It’s bullshit!” Elane yelled and charged once again into what barely amounted to a building near Dusk.

The [Messenger’s Pet] squawked and lost half his cupcake. A ball of fire blasted toward Elane, which she batted away with the shield. She would soon be out of buildings to destroy.

“Are you okay, Elane?” I asked.

Her eyes narrowed at me, then she raised her mace and pointed at the air. “Fucking lame horse shit!” A flash of light accompanied her body going into autopilot mode.

That version of her looked even more pissed off at the world. SheHulk’s faded pastel autopilot stomped over to the rubble and started clearing a pathway. Rocks went flying into piles at a rapid pace.

We stepped well away from the Hispanic woman’s avatar and looked around. Dusk trotted after Xin and purred.

“You dated her?” Xin asked me with a confused look. Her free hand scratched at my companion’s head.

“Twice.” One hand rubbed at the back of my head, sending water between my shoulders in a river. Being in a toga with this much water felt uncomfortable, but not unbearable. “I made a bad impression, and neither of us was really in a good place to be dating.”

“She’s a bitch,” Xin said.

“She’s not really wrong though.” The player I had been back then was nowhere near what I was now. In nearly all aspects, I had grown stronger, be it in gear, abilities, or general willingness to fight. The change must have been much more obvious to Elane, who had only seen me in the worst of times. “I have gained a lot, far faster than most other people might have ever done.”

My wife nodded slowly but said nothing else.

“What are we doing here anyway?” I looked around at the nearly leveled city. This place had once been a small town, then it was ruined under repeated attacks. Now it was like a junkyard of broken buildings.

Xin pointed into a small crowd of players. I looked around once more to take note of what everyone had been doing. Most players had logged off. A few stood guard, such as TinkerHell and Edward’s autopilot. The blonde and the blue-mustache-twirling man were awfully close together, even in their autopilots.

TockDoc looked exhausted. He waved as we walked closer.

“Finally have time to help?” the man asked after a heavy sigh.

“Yeah. I’m trying to figure out what we’re all doing.”

“Well, with you guys here, we’ve decided to try something way, way different. Something I wanted to do months ago”—TockDoc waved at one of the Travelers, then he pointed at the ground where connectors were, then one of the wires—“but we couldn’t because Dwight didn’t want to risk breaking the encounter forever.”

Four people came over and heaved the bulky cable into place. They spread out from there, rolling out tangles and kicking rocks out of the way. Another woman came behind them with large horseshoe-shaped objects that were probably made from ruined building supports.

“Okay?” I raised an eyebrow, then got distracted as light levels visibly changed. The clouds overhead had started to thin out, and the sun was peeking through.

“They’re trying to get all the lines into place at once,” Xin said. “It’ll take hours to do that and make sure they’re bolted down.”

“We tried before, but they kick like a mule whenever we start an event, so we had to reset them every time. This time, we’re going to bolt them down and bury them.” He pointed at the pathways being cleared. Under some of the rubble were thick heavy braces that looked as though they might prevent the wires from getting too far.

I tried to imagine what would happen. Our wires from last time had been filled with electricity, but they were also moved during the event. Maybe it was a matter of timing.

“By the time we started really figuring out how to handle things, our resources were being split between the town and supporting our few fighters.” TockDoc pointed up the hill and explained in greater detail than I’d ever expected.

Each dome apparently had a long groove coming off of it that went to the center of town. The black connecting cables for each dome could be set into those grooves to channel energy from the fight. It drained off into a battery of sorts that they had been using to power lights and enchant gear.

Xin asked for reasons behind the mechanics. The other Traveler kept answering her questions while I glanced around. Based on their conversation, any wires put in place after the fight didn’t move, but once a boss up above was triggered, they all jerked and kicked out of the grooves. Those horseshoe-like bars were apparently designed to reduce that movement.

“We had a strategy and were making good money off of it too.” He shrugged then kicked at one of the in-place bars. “You see, normally starting a fight required about eight of us, who usually died eventually. But we could charge the cube, get a few enchantments off, and sell those for gold at an auction. Money was steady.”

“That sounds clever,” I said. The idea of using a boss event to make gear made sense from an economic standpoint.

“It worked great until this stupid exodus event started. Then half of us left for Haven Valley. Others logged off and think they’re going to score points by arriving at the last minute. Some of us have brains. It's work now or lose it all. Dwight pushed for trying to get the Guardians up top out of their domes.” TockDoc looked around and sighed.

Most of the wires were coming into place, but they each stretched on for half a mile through the city. Most of the buildings nearby looked to have been constructed with extra reinforcements. They had probably been designed to withstand the wire whacking around. I tried to figure out which came first, the barricades or the buildings built on top of them.

“We hoped that getting them a way or stealing what they were guarding would free up the Guardians to be player controlled. Maybe they could protect us and help Haven Valley if we made it that far.” TockDoc glared at autopilots, who were piling on huge chunks of rock near the cable. His head shook. TockDoc’s eyes looked even buggier behind the glasses. “We originally thought to score points by contributing, and those things are scary enough to do so. I ain’t seen any other players make golems that could reach the same Rank of toughness.”

The man turned and pointed at other players. One of his hands glowed in the increasing sunlight. That was a neat device, probably used to coordinate movement in rain or overcast weather. He was an odd player, with comical glasses, floppy shoes, and a glowing waving hand.

I turned to Xin, whose black cloak looked soaked from the rain. She shivered, and I too felt the chill wash over me. Sunlight couldn’t come fast enough. We slid over to one side and joined Dusk in a clearer beam.

“Are you okay?” I asked in a softer repetition of my earlier question to Elane. An extra four hours in the game world was only one in real life. I was exhausted.

“I will be. You should get some rest.”

My fingers poked at the air and brought up a clock. It was already near eight in the morning so skipping work had been the right choice. There would be no going to bed and making it out to a job today. My head swam with exhaustion, but sleep had become harder to achieve since reuniting with Xin.

I smiled, then asked, “Did you want to join me?” Every minute with her could be another happy memory added to our shared dream.

She smiled back and looked around for a clear spot. We might be able to set up the [Honeymoon Suite] at the edge of town. There were a few flat spots that led up into the steep hills encircling this valley.

“Hey! You two will want to see this!” TockDoc yelled in our direction, waving hands that glowed a dim milky white.

Thoughts of sleep went out the window. We did have a mission to complete, and learning a few more details would help us both.

I waved back at TockDoc, then walked over. Water formed in puddles. Mud got into the toes of my sandals, and I twisted [Gait of Bowman] and summoned partial metal armor. Xin wore boots, proving that she had more clothing than just a black robe.

We traveled along the three-foot black cable to a hub of sorts. I lifted larger slabs of rubble, then laid them on top of the grounding lines. All roads down to the small city connected to the spot just ahead. Turning back the way we’d come showed wrecked streets that were being cleared. Their almost-straight pathways led to the opened area belonging to all four domes.

“All roads lead to Rome,” I said, feeling briefly clever. Only my clothes weren’t Roman. The town name wasn’t Rome, and [Arcadia] certainly didn’t belong to a Caesar. “Or here, I guess.”

“So you guys spent all your time up there and never thought this might be key to the situation somehow?” Xin asked.

“We did at first, but then we found the cube and figured that was enough to make money. Come on, it’s down here.” TockDoc waved us forward again.

The wires led into a sharp bowl-shaped crater. Our path into the crater went down at least twenty feet until we reached the base of a large hollowed out area. I looked around, trying to figure out how we had missed this place. Maybe it had more to do with the fallen buildings nearby, or everything else going on.

All four cords went underground and appeared to wire into broken panels that looked insanely high tech for a fantasy world. Xin’s mouth hung open as she walked around the panels, tracing wires.

Honestly, this entire town felt strange. It was like some crazy player with too much power and time started building something alien to a fantasy land. The domes gathered energy and were protected. Large cable lines connected energy to this point. Then there was a cube—apparently, located at the far end that all the electricity was funneled to.

I assumed it all led to some large project that may have never been completed by one of William Carver’s real life friends. Maybe there were switches that needed to be pulled. My goal was simply to make this mess work correctly so that the Voices could use it. If such a thing were possible.

“You an electrician in real life?” TockDoc asked.

“No.” She didn’t explain further.

“Huh. Fooled me. Anyway, down here is where I get most of my inspiration for gadgets like the gloves. You can see they’re channeling things, but it’s only vaguely like the real world. Polarities are all wrong, pieces connect together that shouldn’t.” TockDoc waved at various banks of metal. Large slabs looked like slates stolen from a quarry while other bits were clearly hammered out metal. I didn’t understand it.

“Neat,” I said but had no idea what else to make of it.

“This almost makes sense.” Xin followed a panel along the ground to the upraised pillar in the middle. At the core of this bowl-shaped basin lay a cube-topped podium.

“What’s that?” I pointed at one part of the wall that looked flatter than the others.

“That’s exactly why we’re down here. It’s a door, we think, but the seams are deep and we couldn’t pry it out. Chances are this whole contraption ties into it somehow.” TockDoc sighed.

My wife stared at the doorway. “That’s suspicious. Does it open?”

“We might have a way, but this could possibly let out something worse than the Sage’s Guardians. But you know the story of the golden goose?”

I shook my head. The story didn’t ring a bell.

“Well, we could have cracked it open for a one-time item or maybe a monster worse than the guardians, or we could keep milking the place for energy for enchanting.”

“We’re beyond that now,” Xin said.

“Right. So once everyone’s online, we’ll tackle all four Sage’s Guardians at once, then crack this room open. At least that’s what your quest implied. Seek the Sage’s Secrets, right?”

I shrugged. Their quest name was probably way different than mine. Still, this felt like the best bet. Maybe we were lucky that the town was in dire straits. It sounded like arriving weeks, or months, ago would have gotten us nowhere. They were only opening this doorway as a last resort.

Xin and I explored the room further. Well, she explored and I sat near the doorway dozing. Rest inside the ARC was a pale imitation of rest in reality, but leaving after seeing this secret felt wrong. I needed more downtime to try to recover.

TockDoc and Xin sounded intent upon charging this location up. I caught pieces of their conversation. The glasses-wearing Traveler boasted about his repairs. Apparently parts of his unique class features came from studying this location too. After a while, I couldn’t make out what they were talking about anymore and started to fade.

Random thoughts shot through the haze of near-sleep. Did Xin dream anymore? Did she even need to sleep? I wondered about Dusk and Jeeves.

I blinked, and Xin’s body in the basin faded. Another version of her appeared. My body fell on the ground with my head in Xin’s lap. Around me, people spoke in words that didn’t register correctly. My heart rate jumped and those figures faded, replaced by TockDoc speaking.

Dusk’s head tilted upward. Either he saw a rat, or something else had gone wrong. His mouth opened wide in a hiss, then the [Messenger’s Pet] ran upstairs and out of the room.

“Something’s wrong,” I said while trying to stand. My arms felt numb from the nap. Both legs were heavy, but neither prevented me from stumbling up the stairs.

Dusk stood at the top, facing the southward cliff where Xin and I had viewed the town. A body fell down the hill and caught our attention. The [Messenger’s Pet] jerked his head back, then hissed with a small ball of flame jutting out.

Energy rushed into me as my feet backed up. We were close to the town’s starting point. Plus, only a few people were acting as lookouts for monsters, not Travelers. A quick ping of the area with [Echo of Mercari] revealed a huge number of people nearby. We were being visited by a mob less than a mile away, and more were arriving.

“What the hell?” I asked while staring up the hill. There were at least a hundred people standing up there and looking down. “Voices above, are those bandits?”

“Travelers.” Xin sounded disgusted. “More like raiders. Look at them, every single one is red.”

My wife referred to the player status bar that could show up. Upon killing another player, people were often tagged in some way. She and I saw them the same, as red names on the [Identification] window. The exact method of viewing another player’s information varied depending upon skills on both sides. Some could obscure misdeeds or place in a false status.

Someone whistled, and people stopped what they were doing. Travelers who were logged in started typing rapidly and punching at invisible screens. Some people arrived in town while others logged out. Apparently not every Traveler wanted to fight the incoming bandit army.

Awesome stepped up and put a hand above his eyes. I didn’t know when he had logged back in. Yellow flashed as his [Far Sight] ability activated. Beth had done the same to see farther.

“Shit.” The man’s head shook, and he started equipping other items. He put on heavy-looking shoulder pads that dripped with a green glowing chain. “These guys are bad news. Their leader has his own channel online and a huge following.”

Awesome pointed at a tall man who wore nothing on his chest. Instead, the other player was adorned by tiny human-looking skulls woven into his hair and his belt.

“Neat.” I had to admire the look even if it made me shake.

At his side were two people in pitch-black armor with long serrated blades. Behind them were all sorts of others.

“The guy with skulls, that’s Nam Redrum. He’s got at least six hundred tokens, and most of his followers have more than a hundred each. They’ve been raiding cities, but I didn’t know they were this far out.”

It made no sense for the Voices to provide a quest that led players here. My eyes went to Xin, and she shook her head. Neither of us had an explanation. Maybe the Voices wanted us to kill these players or the other way around? No, it could be a coincidence.

Awesome cursed quietly. He waved at other people from his guild, and at least eight who remained frowned. Among the gathering people was TinkerHell, SheHulk, Edward, and many others I didn’t recognize. They all clustered together. People ate food, poured liquids down their throats, or switched out armor. One man walked around rubbing a strange-smelling mix of herbs on everyone’s neck.

“Great,” SheHulk said, tilting her head sideways so the weird paste could be applied.

“We can defend, but player versus player is way different than raiding.” Awesome blinked a few times as more raiders showed up. We were running out of time to formulate a real plan.

“No shit.” Elane glared at the group up above. “Tink, ready your nukes now.”

I couldn’t tell their exact numbers from this far away. Some were running ahead of the main group.

“For the Horde!”

Two absolutely huge spears sailed through the air in our direction. The man who had shouted, Nam Redrum, looked beefy with about five brain cells, a million hit points, and far too many miniature skulls.

“Wrong game, idiot,” SheHulk said. Her body bulged as muscles tightened into huge bunches under chainmail.

“He is rather dashing for a tool.” Edward’s mustache twitched. In his hands were two long rapiers.

Nearby, TinkerHell was etching runes into the ground. The enemy had at least four spell casters also chanting [Lithium]. Red mist appeared on some of the leading enemies charging toward us.

I looked at them and readied my weapons. Xin stepped back, and a crackle of bones clinking together started up. Her dress’s hem flickered with white runes as each piece of skeleton formed in the air. Dusk blasted three balls of fire in their direction, and I threw out two of my own.

“Come on!” Awesome’s arm rose, calling his group into action. “Protect the town and drive them back!”

System Notice!

Another Traveler with high [Leadership] and [Respect] is attempting to [Lead] you. Following the commands given by this person will provide a temporary increase.

Actions adhering to the orders provided gain…

- 5% to all base stats
- +1 Rank to Path in use
- +1 Rank to skills under Rank 3
- Health Regeneration is increased by 10%

The box confused me. I had never been subjected to anyone’s [Leadership] before. Other people were suffused with a low blue glow. We were fifty against hundreds. My eyes drifted off, then saw the domes behind us. I thought of another plan, a terrible one that might end our lives just as easily.

“No! Pull back! We’ll trigger the event!” My idea blurted out in a rush.

Awesome looked at me, then his eyes widened and a nod followed. He understood immediately. Triggering the event had made [World Eater]s spawn last time, and according to TockDoc, those monsters spawned every single time a dome fired up. What better for a mess of recklessly charging player killers than monsters that might delete them?

Our side turned in unison to tactically retreat. A few of us faced the oncoming rush. I hurled [Morrigu’s Echo] rapidly into the nearest player. His eyes went wide as the spear form slammed through his shield, sending splinters flying, then turned his head to powder. My weapons were driven by an obscene amount of [Brawn] that few players could match. [Recall] brought it back with less durability.

The giant skeleton waded in with a bone ax, and two players went flying before its knees were chopped out. The huge monster went down, and enemy Travelers quickly reduced it to pieces. Xin launched a few of her bone bolts, and the effect left her sweating.

White icons on her dress flashed red as the giant creation was broken and consequentially unsummoned. She took a breath, then shook her head. I turned, taking an arrow to the shoulder, and grabbed my wife. We [Blink]ed ahead with Awesome, who was shouting orders.

Arrowed!

Total health loss: 10%

“One and two! On the left!” Awesome shouted orders. “Group three, take the second one from the right! Dwight, can your people stay alive in the broken one?”

“Maybe,” Dwight said between heavy huffs. He looked ridiculous trying to run in his bright shining armor.

“Hermes! Go with SheHulk and TinkerHell!”

“Fuck no!” SheHulk yelled back. Her legs weren’t covering ground nearly fast enough.

“Shut up and do it! Hermes, you’ll need a solid tank, and we’ve got enough for groups one and two.”

He paused as two spears sailed overhead, along with a huge glob of earth. SheHulk turned and threw up her shield while TinkerHell ducked behind it. Another chunk of earth fell upon us.

Awesome’s two groups veered left toward the far two domes. Dwight and most of his guild members went for the third one, which had suffered untold levels of damage from [World Eater]s. Bolts sailed toward them while a few people in his group fired back.

[Awareness Heightening] kicked into effect for Xin and me. A horn slowly sounded in the distance. It brought back memories of being hunted in the forest by my first human enemies. My blades came out and formed a solid wall similar to SheHulk’s shield.

Both weapons formed into linking panels with curved bumps for my hands to grab. My feet braced, and Xin ducked behind my shield. [Immovable Object] drained some mana, but my body remained upright. A dozen thunks of metal hit my shield.

“Go ahead!” I yelled at the women.

SheHulk growled at me, and TinkerHell ran with Xin. Two figures were approaching rapidly, according to [Sight of Mercari]. My shield broke apart, and two large blades swung out upon the unsuspecting players. One’s life bar vanished in a flash of overpowered damage. The other grunted in pain and fell back.

I [Blink]ed again to catch up with the others. Dusk soared ahead, leading the way to the fourth dome. Behind us charged players who were laughing, giddy or mad with the joy of running people down. To top it off, the rain started pouring down once more.

Session Ninety-Four

Anger Management School

All three females ran into the dome ahead of me. Our path went up a ramp into the dome’s second story. SheHulk kept spinning around to deflect incoming projectiles with amazing timing, likely warned by a skill. Each time, her shield flashed a bright gold.

“Through here!” TinkerHell yelled from the doorway.

We ran down a curved hallway that bent around the dome’s inside edge. Concrete-like substance with bits of wiring poking out littered the wall like an electrician’s nightmare come to life. Swords and other items lined the hallway.

Skill Used: [Identification]

Results: Sword

Details: Enchant [Lightning’s Minor Bane] present. This weapon will deal increased damage to electricity elementals and ignore a portion of energy-based shield abilities.

System Notice!

Most enchanted weapons do less damage than average due to their altered makeup. This makes them dangerous to use as everyday weapons. Higher Ranks of [Enchantment] will allow these modifications to be negated, or other possible side effects.

“Babe!” I yelled while pointing at the weapons. Hopefully she saw what I did.

Xin nodded, then turned quickly, took a stance, and started chanting. A horde of people were coming up the ramp behind us. I turned and threw [Morrigu’s Echo] across the field once more. Most players were wise and flung to the side to get out of its way. One particularly rough-looking woman took my javelin to the knee. She cried out until two of her own team members promptly decapitated her.

“Voices,” I muttered, aghast at how quickly her people turned violent. Seeing this made me feel a little better about my actions in times of battle.

My wife’s hands bobbed in the air as runes on her robe lit up. Many were still red from the earlier destroyed monster, but she had enough to recreate two small skeletons that promptly collapsed next to enchanted weapons. Their bony fingers slid around the hilts, creating an illusion of deceased Locals.

An enemy figure literally flashed into view next to me. I barely reacted in time. [Awareness Heightening] helped me get a blade up. Their deflected attack skimmed off [Morrigu’s Gift] and tore into the meat under my shoulder.

Ice spilled down the hall, slowing this newest player killer even further. I turned and smashed him with a shifting [Morrigu’s Gift], then I watched as the ARC took visual input too far. Faint reassurances that the player was okay in their own ARC, though maybe upset, meant little as his head cleaved in two. A slight taste of bile crept up my throat once the game gave me tokens for murdering another player.

“Come on!” TinkerHell yelled from down the hall.

An actual body joined the two skeletons. Other attackers filled the far doorway and peered inside with caution. Our small group of players stood on the far side of the long hallway, through a doorway, on what looked to be a ledge.

“Oh, he’s not going to like this.” Xin’s voice carried as I ran to catch up.

The wall curved right, and the next room opened to a huge, wide open area. At a glance, we seemed to be two stories above a flattened floor. We were inside the dome proper, and orange crackled along the ceiling. To one side was a rickety ladder to get down.

On the dome’s far side sat an absolutely giant mechanical monster. It had eight legs, large faceted eyes that shone red, and a large red end that housed gears. Small spikes came off each leg, and the dried bits of prior combatants could be seen all around the room.

“It’s a big. Mechanical. Spider.” I felt a chill of annoyance. One eye twitched while I tried to figure out how large a hammer I would need to smash this damned bug into oblivion.

Heavy footsteps down the hall distracted me.

Skill Used: [Identification]

Results: [Sage’s Guardian #4]

Rarity: Four of a Kind

Health: [Extra], [Regenerates]

Details: The Sage handcrafted four of these beasts over many years of hard labor. In the end, he left the key to their usage unexplained, and perhaps never created. The Sage himself has not been seen in [Arcadia] for years.

An Ode to the Sage’s creation;

Of mechanical creatures, the Sage was a fan.

Four of these roam the halls made by one man.

On the power of runes and bound magic, they ran.

In the end, each is still an ugly tin can.

“Tin can?” I questioned.

Stomping pounded down the hallway. My head shook to get back in the game. Another stealther could be sneaking up. I closed my eyes to remove visual feedback long enough to activate [Sight of Mercari]. The results displayed an army’s worth of people nearby. At least fifty stood outside our dome alone, while more rushed through the town. We were outnumbered, and most of the players were headed our way, no doubt to pick off the smallest group.

No one with a [Stealth] ability showed up, at least not below Rank Four. I turned, ready to throw a javelin down the hallway again, but the lead person had both a heavy shield and blue glowing energy about them. They crept up slowly. [Morrigu’s Echo] couldn’t pierce that even with my [Brawn].

I threw it anyway. The blue shield crackled violently as my weapon skidded into a wall. One of the enemy players reached out to grab the weapon while shouting happily. [Recall] made it vanish from their grip and return to my side. I twisted the long spear into a smaller shape, then readied myself to hold them off.

“We’re going to pull! Engaging the boss will close the entrance!” SheHulk motioned to TinkerHell.

“What else happens after we start it?” Xin’s normally quiet voice picked up as a fresh blast of energy arced overhead. The energy kept overpowering our speech. Communication would be difficult, and my wife looked paler than normal.

“Bad shit happens,” SheHulk grumbled, then leapt down. Her body plummeted like a slowly falling meteor.

Xin nodded, then turned back toward me, looking beautiful despite the haggard chaos. She handled [Awareness Heightening] far better than I did.

Thuds pulsed in my ears. The people coming down the hall grew closer, and the heavy shield-bearer remained in front. Xin waved both hands, and the skeleton traps reached for people hiding behind their tank.

I leapt in as they became distracted. Xin’s minions slashed wildly. Two people coming down the hallway took damage while their companions rang out the alarm. [Blink] put me half twisted near the ceiling. Bones of her pets crunched as I fell down with a slash.

[Morrigu’s Gift] cleaved through two people who were close together. I suppressed my stomach and tried once again to remember this was just a video game. These people weren’t really dying. My actions were simply like punching someone out of a bad dream.

“Fuck! What Rank are these guys?” someone in the back yelled in slow motion.

[Blade Dancer] and endless hours of footwork kept me moving the huge two-handed blade. A dagger hit me in the same damaged shoulder, and in response, the still-spinning [Morrigu’s Gift] cleaved into another attacker. One foot dipped, and I rolled forward to get into a new position. Shazam’s lessons had all involved moving constantly, especially when fighting mobs.

Red mist hung from unexpectedly weak defenses as I dashed through. One arm dragged slightly. A foot squeaked while trying to get into a new position. The floor was only wet with heavy rain from outside. These people’s feet were simply slippery. The liquid forming in puddles below couldn’t possibly be blood.

[Denial] served no purpose. There were too many people. Xin’s backup of bone missiles kept firing in a rhythmic pulse. I counted them coming every third beat. Feet stepped again to get into a new position, and an unexpected slash dug into my stomach. Pain jolted through the ARC. My latest assailant froze mid-motion as one of Xin’s projectiles ended his digital existence.

“I don’t know! That one’s got an altered aura! It says he’s almost a fucking Voice!”

“What are you pussies waiting for? Do you want to live forever?”

Their words keep on buzzing while I dashed around. I used [Blink] every time the cooldown finished. [Power Armor] twisted on in short bursts. Metal clanged as my huge blade hit off walls, often with people’s body parts or weapons shattering.

“You pussies see that notice! Charge like your loot depends on it!” One of the people in the rear waved his weapon, and a crowd flooded into the hallway. “Goddammed scrubs! You’re lucky we even carried you this far!”

They surged forward like a tide of lemmings. I tossed [Morrigu’s Echo] a final time. A cramped crowd of players couldn’t deflect the bolt as it sailed through weaker players in the back. Messages flashed of critical hits, skill stats comparisons, and various Paths I had earned over the last few months.

“Heads up!”

Xin’s shout of warning made me step left and fade backward. A huge-ass hammer swung through, then smashed into the wall, causing sparks. I jabbed out with [Morrigu’s Gift] but missed. My eyes turned back to see Xin’s situation. She stood facing a charging player that had slipped by me.

Dusk’s blast of fireballs filled the room beyond. Gears screeched on one end of the hallway. I grasped at the wall with one hand, stepped upon a fallen Traveler’s body, then [Blink]ed toward my wife.

With a disturbingly casual disregard, I ended another Traveler’s virtual life. Endless messages of stupid player versus player tokens being awarded flooded part of my ARC interface. Crackling filled the hallway, and I heard one of the players shout from damage that hadn’t been caused by us.

Electric flares crawled through the far end of our weapon-and-player-lined hallway. People were charging at me while screaming obscenities that made no sense. [Awareness Heightening] drug out their cries into a dull drone.

I huffed while backing down the hallway toward Xin. People kept rushing as objects flew by. A line of throwing daggers clinked off my shield, then clattered to the floor. Each one shocked my arm with numbness.

I heard shouts from SheHulk. TinkerHell’s chanting filled the dome. I winced as a close blast of fire splashed off the wall.

“Get away!” I yelled at Xin.

She nodded. We were the only ones moving sanely in a sea of slow motion. My chest flared with a spike of pain. This situation needed to get back under control. ARC feedback had become more powerful on my device since I activated [Morrigu’s Gift] at [Haven Valley].

“Don’t wait!” I waved at Xin.

She ran and started descending the metal ladder. One stupid part of my mind hoped my wife had remembered to wear clothes under the black robe.

Another blast of fire hit. I stepped back and hugged the wall, just outside the sight range of those charging down the hallway. One foot twisted right, and [Camouflage] activated. I felt thankful the Rank Three version actually blended in with walls of any color.

A Traveler burst through and stared down. Crackles of light could be heard from the hallway. People were screaming, and the sound barely registered. Two more came out, and I lifted my foot back in a swing. The aggressive action made [Camouflage]  fade away, but my metal-covered boot had already connected with the enemy’s backside.

The man wearing lighter armor went flying. [Morrigu’s Gift] skewered a person to the left. I glimpsed the still-flying Traveler and saw wide eyes as he went straight into the giant mechanical arachnid.

[Sage’s Guardian #4] went from calmly attacking SheHulk with three metal arms to enraged as the raider slammed into its face. Two arms lifted and pulled apart the offending player in a rush of gore. The coloring of our dome’s roof changed to the next stage of green. Gears on the mechanical spider changed as well.

“What phase?” SheHulk yelled while ducking behind her shield.

The giant spider tapped her shield hard enough to send the Hispanic woman sliding backward.

I huffed for breath while fighting the fourth man. He kept blocking every sneak attack, change of weapon, and other ability. The man’s Path or general skill had to be high.

“Three! All of them need at least three!” TinkerHell’s lanky form ran around, casting with short chants. Each one sent frost spikes at the beast.

Gears slowed briefly upon being struck, allowing SheHulk time to recover her stance and press forward, or giving TinkerHell time to cast a heal.

“Whatever plan you have won’t work!” the man attacking me yelled. He had two skulls on his clothes like Nam Redrum. “There’re too many of us, and we’re constantly resurrecting! You have no healers! You have no people watching from outside! You have nothing!”

Each explanation accompanied a scrambled defense on my part. The wound in my shoulder hurt like mad. I rallied myself enough to push the man back, then pinged with [Sight of Mercari]. A name popped into existence back in town again. Now I knew what was happening—someone out there kept bringing back dead players.

“Message from Awesome Jr. His dad’s under siege! They have explosives!”

“They’re resurrecting!” I yelled to the others who may not have heard my enemy’s demoralizing boasts.

Xin laughed from below. The man fighting against me looked down in confusion long enough for me to slide [Morrigu’s Gift] into his gut. He turned back in time to see [Morrigu’s Echo] chop through his head. The weapon jerked halfway as its durability started to give.

[Leadership] was in effect for us. My health bar ticked up once. Both shoulders ached and my arms tingled. I took a few deep huffs of air while surveying the mess below. [Sight of Mercari] showed a load of people near the wall outside. My health kept recovering while the spider hammered faster upon SheHulk’s shield.

The people outside ran away in unison. Something bad was coming.

“Babe,” I failed to yell.

One of the dome’s walls exploded inward. Rocks went everywhere, spraying the inside of our fighting zone. Xin’s arms went up, and I stumbled into another [Blink], appearing in front of her with far less coordination than desired. We fell to the floor and rolled.

Immediately projectiles from outside poured into our dome. Fire rained with arrows and rocks. The ground thudded, and wires in the walls melted together. Electricity above skipped right into deep purple as the fight took on a new level of difficulty.

My efforts hadn’t been enough. A few hundred stupid tokens were in my inventory now, and they amounted to nothing. How many people had I killed? How many Travelers were still against us? Names showed up everywhere, and all I could do was scramble to cover Xin while trying to block her body from attacks raining about the dome. Her eyes were wide, and the material falling about us kept coming in slow motion. Each item collided with the ground in exaggerated thuds.

I closed my eyes, then activated [Blink] again. The world tilted sideways as our new position left us a few feet off the ground upstairs. We slammed into the floor, jarring my shoulder even more. Pain hissed through clenched teeth, and copper dripped across my tongue.

“Shit!” SheHulk’s words were a bit faster. “You miserable pig fuckers should go find someone your own size to pick on!”

TinkerHell spoke, but her words didn’t make it through.

“Fuck, yeah, I am!” There was a clang of noise that sounded like a huge bell gong. “Time for the last resort!”

Both girls were chanting in [Lithium]. Xin’s ears perked, and she turned to look out from under me. The [Sage’s Guardian #4] looked to be pounding away on a giant yellow bubble that had formed around them.

TinkerHell’s chant made her breath freeze and staff glow with blue energy. SheHulk’s body twisted as she took huge breaths. Each exhale went into a stream of chanting that only increased the short woman’s size.

Soon she was taller than me, and I think even taller than Leeroy had ever been. TinkerHell behind her looked less substantial. Almost liquid in her movement. Whatever they were doing clearly involved busting out ultimate special moves.

Xin’s mouth hung open. My own jaw dropped. Both girls radiated an insane level of danger that made my heart race. It could have been the ARC feedback, or my brain cells screaming that SheHulk should not be ten feet tall or made of pure muscle with an aura of gold.

I wanted a neat super move like that. Maybe I could trade [Wild Bill] for a power-cleave sword from the heavens or something. Seeing them transformed brought a measure of happiness to me. We could do this, maybe.

“SheHulk smash!” Her words dragged out.

The [Sage’s Guardian #4] stabbed down, and Elane casually flicked its leg away with the now diminutive shield. TinkerHell was chanting more [Lithium], but it sounded like high speed—more so than normal. As if multiple people were chanting instead of one. Four circles formed rapidly, and ice flew out the doorway. Broken sides of the dome that had been blasted open went subarctic in moments.

People in the way turned into popsicles. Other players unleashed huge spells and abilities. Two of the enemy fighters grew in size as well, but nothing compared to SheHulk’s mass. Her armor glistened with bright light as she charged through them like a mobile wrecking ball.

Behind everyone trailed the [Sage’s Guardian #4], its body moving jerkily as it tried to stay upright on the now-slick floor. Its health bar showed near full despite its slipping motions. These bosses were excessively large and seemed designed to wear players down rather than brutally overpower them.

Those who were frozen from TinkerHell’s bolts could only watch as an angry giant Hispanic woman charged into them. Her form wrecked humans with as little disregard as the buildings last night were wrecked. People who were still mobile ran. They fled back down the hill, through the city, only to find a wall of spider [World Eater]s on the other side.

I came out behind them to see both girls stomping around. Ice bolts were fired off. Other players in the city attacked back. A large spider made of gears and wires lifted four of its eight arms to greet everyone as a potential enemy. I saw wide eyes on our attackers as they realized a boss-level creature was now loose

“Where do we want the guardian?” SheHulk’s voice came out like a ragged-sounding man’s. Or maybe it was a woman coming off a five-day bender with a bottle and smokes.

“I don’t fucking know!” TinkerHell shouted back with an annoying after-echo.

The energy bolts were going absolutely crazy. The wires drained most of the violent electrical arcs down the hill. Giant rolling spikes of electricity fizzled through three-foot-wide cords. I could see why these enemy players were able to get close enough to explode everything. Our own preparation had worked in their favor.

“Awesome says bring them together!” TinkerHell shouted a minute later. She started running toward the other breached dome.

[World Eater]s were on the far side of our player killers. They focused on those in the rear, casting support spells. I saw one person chain-resurrecting players in the back. Her green glowing body went down under an army of spiders that leapt twenty feet at a time to close in on prey.

We needed to pull out all the stops, and I only had one more trick to play. [Wild Bill] came off my head. The open pocket waved over my hand, and a small golden coin appeared. On it was a marble statue of a man, fist on chin. Atop its head sat a crown of laurels.

What did gold matter at this stage? I had a metric ton. Gambling had shot up in popularity as people tried to cash out with more money. The auction house was flooded with other items that were all over the board in prices too.

“No risk, no reward.” It had been so long since I risked anything with this hat, but the stakes were high enough that I had to try. Suffering side effects to get a boon of use would be worth it. “Xin, you’ve got to keep safe back here.”

“If you go, I’m going. We’re in this together until the end.” She held up the wedding ring. “Remember?”

My eyes closed, and I contemplated the insanity that fighting here would be. We could pull out [Recall] scrolls and go home to [Haven Valley]. But doing so would put us too far away to recover the key left by Michelle, which came with a direct cost in the form of AI lives.

“Okay,” I said, then held up the coin.

Money didn’t matter. Only advantages to help us get through this were important. I flipped the coin and prayed that a [Blabber Mouth] or [Stream of Consciousness] debuff wouldn’t come out. Being near Xin and displaying every single worry on my mind would turn out terribly. Pessimism was best kept to myself.

“Ray! Tails!” I flipped the coin.

It spun with an inaudible ring. After three attempts—which came down heads—[Mute], [Monochromatic], and [Unfortunate] were all applied. The world shifted to a slightly more black-and-white setting. My voice stopped working. On the third coin flip, I lost more luck, which impacted critical hits and loot drops. None of that mattered to me.

I mouthed the words, “Once more,” and flipped the coin in hopes that [Unfortunate] wouldn’t slam the fourth try. Hundreds of gold ticked away on a box, and my bags lightened slightly. This time, it came down tails.

Buff gained: [Silent Threat]

Details: You give off no sound. All abilities that require hearing an opponent are mitigated by this ability. [Stealth]-type abilities can be activated once every ten seconds while in combat. [Stealth] abilities which have a hide penalty will be reduced accordingly. Aggressive abilities can be used without causing an immediate deactivation of [Stealth].

The ground near me vibrated. I looked up at a long line of players charging our way. Xin’s robe showed flashes of red runes. We hadn’t been fighting long, and her bone skeleton formations were running low on whatever mythical fuel made them go.

I grinned. The ability itself might be workable. If I understood right, any of my normal actions that broke out of [Camouflage] would still reveal me, but be delayed. An invisible sword could wreak insane levels of havoc.

One foot stomped down, then twisted. The world around me faded, then [Blink] went off. My body appeared in the middle of four players, but no one noticed. Their eyes were glued on the empty space where I had been.

[Morrigu’s Gift] ended more lives than ever before that day.

Elation rushed through me, along with a slow thud in my chest. All this excitement after being hospitalized weeks ago made me nervous. The ARC’s feedback level had been cranked too high.

But beyond those problems, Xin’s life was in danger. The people attacking us needed to be removed. I kept charging farther and farther out, chasing down everything that looked remotely violent.

A voice shouted over the crowd. It carried past all our swords clanking and the sounds of people screaming as ARC feedback told them about mortal wounds. Mechanical arachnid attacks and SheHulk’s thunderous stream of hatred were drowned out by one person.

“Hermes! The Messenger! It’s a pleasure to finally meet the man who started such a glorious quest for us!” the man said in a voice that rang over the battlefield.

I felt as if we were simply a crowd of people sitting in a conference room while he motivated us. Nam Redrum held his arms wide open as if coming for a gruesome hug.

I turned. At some point, I had gotten farther from Xin than I ever expected. She also looked distracted by enemies nearby. Small bone shards fired into spiders that ventured near. [World Eater]s were an actual threat to her.

“Hold him down!” Nam shouted.

Most of the guild who had protected this town was dead. Two of the [Sage’s Guardian]s were going berserk. One lay broken, twitching uncontrollably.

Someone threw a powder in my direction. Dodging it was impossible as the substance spread through the air like a net. I tried to [Blink], but the air around me fizzled instead.

[Escape Barrier] applied.

Personal special distortion abilities are [Locked]! Triggering such abilities is impossible until the [Escape Barrier] fades or you travel outside of it.

I took a breath. This was beyond my [Depth] by far. One foot twisted again to activate [Camouflage], but a sword jabbed in my direction rapidly. Without [Blink] to relocate, I couldn’t take real advantage of the synergy between abilities.

Shazam’s training and my own experience weren’t enough to stack against this many player killers. Some of them had been at this for years. Only offbeat extra abilities given to me by the Voices kept me competitive. That and experience didn’t make idiots into fighting geniuses.

Xin’s body twirled. An angry set to her jaw accompanied two bone shards blasting off. The giant skeleton, half broken from fighting, swung weakly to drive back other players. Its attacks barely tapped the encircling players and certainly didn’t deter Nam Redrum’s approach.

System Notice!

[Blink] unavailable, [Escape Barrier] in effect!

There were six people on me, and I couldn’t get around them quickly. Twisting to move failed. We were out in the open, and these were people hardened to kill other players. My earlier success must have come from Xin’s backup, small hallways, and them being unprepared. I needed better statistics. I needed more skills and perfect reactions. There was simply no time to create new skills with the server crashing around us.

My breath caught as all the ways I had wasted time once again occurred to me. Most thoughts were half formed or self-berating as I waved my weapons back and forth, clanking against incoming attacks.

Slightly farther away, TinkerHell and SheHulk were fighting back to back. The tall blonde had wounds all over, and chunks of her hair were outright missing from being pulled or slashed out.

I tried to make it out of the circle but failed. Xin’s face snapped toward Nam Redrum. The leader of all these player killers marched forward without a care. His hand batted away bones flying at him as Xin chanted [Lithium].

This was Commander Queenshand, or StrongArm, all over again. Those near me were going to die. I raged with [Morrigu’s Gift], and another Traveler died. Two more nearby went down under [World Eater]s. Too many monsters, creatures, and [Sage’s Guardians] were in the way.

I broke free of those trying to pin me down and started running. [Light Body]’s effect carried me forward more quickly than normal. Still, all my efforts meant nothing as the large burly man with skulls on his body and swirls of red energy stabbed his sword straight into Xin’s gut.

A cry of, “Not again” never made it past my [Muted] lips. I tried to scream in denial but failed. This goddamned ARC wonderland of heaven and hell could only be considered worthwhile if Xin was with me.

System Notice!

[Blink] unavailable, [Escape Barrier] in effect!

I ran another five feet, then tried to use the ability again. Envisioning that gut clench of motion that meant my body was being hooked elsewhere. The rejection notice came up again.

System Notice!

[Blink] unavailable, [Escape Barrier] in effect!

Xin’s fingers twisted upon each other as the white skeleton crumpled. Its form fought through the breaking, much like mine, to get upright and protect Xin. Bone fingers clawed outward. The large sword in its hand gave way, sending my wife’s summoned construct toppling to one side.

Everything slowed down even further as [Awareness Heightening] stopped being split between two people. Xin’s face moved slowly as her life bar continued a steady decline. Gone were the system messages and bars on my screen. One hand brushed through them all with a series of soap bubble pops in order to strike an appearing “yes” button. I silently screamed while accepting summons from Xin’s wedding ring.

But it was too late. My wife’s health hit zero. The last vision to greet my eyes before a rainbow of colors overwhelmed me was Nam Redrum kicking Xin off his sword.

Xin was dead again. The ARC feedback started distorting as my brain lost any semblance of sanity.

Session Ninety-Five

[Lithium] Powered

I came out of the [Monochrome] rainbow beam with a blind leap and sent [Morrigu’s Gift] in an overhead slash. Nam Redrum’s blade greeted my center, but a high [Reaction] and [Awareness Heightening] kept me from skewering myself upon it. This player killer moved far too quickly for such a surprise attack.

A dozen [World Eater] spiders were jumping about, looking for easy prey to chew on. I stepped back, dug one foot in, and twisted, then I bashed a spider with a [Power Armor]-covered fist. [Morrigu’s Echo] didn’t have enough durability.

The metal suit spiraled into being as Nam attacked again. Each summon of the armor drained my mana. His movements were as fast, maybe faster than mine. I felt overpowered and struggled to read his body language. The other player leaned into moves like any dancer might. That was how I could manage to survive this fight. Instead of watching my partner for where their body would be and working with them, I simply avoided the strikes.

“Do you think you can kill me?” Nam Redrum shouted and backhanded my blade. Sparks came off the man’s hand, but he showed no signs of being hurt.

My attacks were clearly too simple. Feints were not a skill of mine. I relied on blunt force and sheer [Brawn], which meant nothing against this player.

Still, Xin was dead because this man had killed her. This was my fault. I should have been there, in front of her, taken the blade that slid into her gut. I should have never let her take that train.

“Do you think you’re the first Ultimate Edition user I’ve killed?” He laughed with a deeply disturbing tone that only enraged me further.

Attempts at yelling back were blocked by [Mute]. Everything around me had been distorted by a chaotic-looking gray. Shapes moved in the background as SheHulk, TinkerHell, and Awesome’s remaining guild tried to bring the monsters together.

He kept on bragging. “Thousands! I’ve easily racked up thousands of kills. Players, NPCs, monsters, you’re nothing compared to the best! Those sissies are afraid to log on now that this event puts consequences to their failures!”

Messages flashed, and [Morrigu’s Gift] swung through them toward Nam Redrum. A stream of bubbles popped, then sparks flew as I once again collided with his arms. They were clad in red, and the skulls adorning his body glowed. Each one looked to be smiling at my failure to deal damage.

“Pathetic! All the prizes they give you people and still you can’t outweigh simple skill and dedication!” His body twisted opposite mine, and behind him, a trail of red and black shadows flew off.

My vision swam, and a message popped up telling me that I had been [Disoriented] by a mind attack. [Morrigu’s Gift] came up too slowly. His fingers jabbed into my side. They slid in like blades, and the asshole even smiled while wiggling them around inside me. I screamed, then [Blink]ed to his rear and tried to attack again. [Morrigu’s Gift] bounced off Nam’s side while those skeleton heads flared bright red again.

I planted my feet, and without turning the weapon around, I brought it back in for a [Hilt Slam] maneuver. The move should have made him [Dazed], but instead, a skull started to fade. I felt my eyes light up in hope. This Traveler was weakening, but whatever damage I did had to be tied to the skulls somehow. How exactly eluded me, and I felt [Awareness Heightening] starting to fade.

Nam Redrum swung around with a growl and dove a glowing hand through the air. Red trailed after it like an eagle’s claw on fire. [Blink] was down.

I fell back and hit [Camouflage]. [Silent Threat] let me fade away despite being in combat, and the other Traveler’s eyes grew confused for a moment. I reached for my second weapon, then imagined both weapons transforming into pikes to skewer Nam Redrum. Both weapons extended rapidly toward his face. The enemy twisted between them and came down on his elbow.

It drove into my gut and made me cough up blood. Muscles at my shoulder tore. Messages displayed, and a small icon of my body flashed with red. This fight wasn’t going my way.

I should have trained harder. I should have bought better gear from the Auction House. Shazam would have known which skills to have. Perhaps being more aggressive as a [Convict] would have given me more experience.

My health was dipping. [Power Armor] flickered into place as Nam’s body swiftly twisted to the right to slam me with his other elbow. A crack of flesh on metal made cackling skulls flicker again. They pressed against me uncomfortably, and it felt like one of them actually nibbled at uncovered flesh.

My weapons retracted, and I turned my wrists to cut at him. Nam laughed and kneed me in the crotch. I writhed in pain. All my efforts had barely scratched him, and one remaining skull laughed in my direction.

Pain made it hard to concentrate and [Blink] away. Both weapons shifted weakly to larger blades. [Morrigu’s Gift] peeled to reveal a layer of gold, while [Morrigu’s Echo] still sat with its obsidian coloring. Nam balled up both fists and slammed them into my arm, making me drop [Morrigu’s Gift] for the first time in ages.

I struggled to get a lungful of air, then I let out three fast fireballs from [Breath of Fire]. Dusk’s body soared somewhere above, picking off [World Eater] spiders that got close. I could hear the girls shouting behind me and a large clash of gears.

Nam’s eyes went wide. His head turned, and I jabbed [Morrigu’s Echo] into his exposed gut. My attack made the remaining skull dim completely. It chattered as whatever demonic energy fed the gruesome item faded.

[Morrigu’s Echo] drew out, and I prepared to stab him again. Nam rolled off me to get away. I struggled to both feet, then paused as a giant arm spike came out of nowhere and impaled Nam Redrum. His eyes went wide, and my body stumbled backward while the [Sage’s Guardian] lifted him. He tried to cough something at me. His fingers curled with red energy as he struggled to reach my confused face.

He gave up and twisted awkwardly to get a view of the creature impaling him. The spider drove two more arms forward while Nam fought off a fourth leg coming from the side. He grabbed ahold of one of the giant limbs and crushed it with his bare hands. His body’s glow dwindled while the spider’s gears whined to a halt.

I ran for [Morrigu’s Gift] and prepared myself in case Nam Redrum managed to get away. Eventually, both creatures stopped. His jaw hung open. Every other part of his body looked to be gored by the rapid-fire attacks of a dying [Sage’s Guardian]. I took a few breaths and checked their health bars with [Identification]. They were deceased. Whatever empowered the [Sage’s Guardian #4] had failed.

A gasp escaped me. Xin’s body! There was still time. I ran over, then started wildly searching for her. Voices help me, I couldn’t even tell where Xin had died anymore. Her body was nowhere to be found. My hands scrambled around on the ground. Knees ground into rubble. Dirt lined the ground with a mixture of blood.

Right here was where Xin had perished. I only needed to use [Binding of Hymenaios] and use its [Resurrection] ability for half my health. Triggering the item’s function simply required finding her body, then touching our rings together.

Once I found her, but where was she? Did a [World Eater] get her corpse? Black spiders made of solid smoke still traveled the battlefield. Even now they chewed through buildings and enemy player killers without regard. Our smaller forces were busy pushing the spiders back toward our enemies. Dusk did most of the work.

I started to wonder if I had suffered a psychotic break. Maybe Xin’s existence had been a dream.

There were other noises in the background. Almost a rush of noise, like the Voices were all talking at once. It droned on while I tried to understand what they said. My head tilted back, and I expected a flash of light from the sky as Mother shut them up.

Instead, I heard only the faint sound of mechanical laughing. It filled my head as my teeth ground together. I started to reach for menu options in order to bring up my friends list. Maybe she had released to the [Bind] point.

Her name was online. I stood and ran toward the town. My hopeful charge toward the [Bind] point halted. Nam Redrum stood, alive and well, over the body of a dead [Sage’s Guardian]. He kicked it and crushed small [World Eater] spiders.

I looked. Another player was in the back, casting [Resurrection] spells over and over. Another raider appeared next to the person in the rear, with a flash of green energy. They were all at around half health. Nam looked in my direction. He snarled and squished more enemies.

With each bug’s death, the skulls on his body glowed a bit more. Two skulls were already full. A third lit up as Nam Redrum offed his own crippled team members and took down [World Eater] spiders. The final piece of his ability clicked in my head. He charged up skills by killing creatures.

The person recently resurrected died again as a pillar of bone jutted through the air. I felt a daze come over me that wasn’t inspired by any ARC skill. Dozens of other gnarled spikes appeared all over the battlefield. Only one player I knew used bone that sun-bleached white.

My eyes drifted, searching for her instead of worrying about Nam. There! Xin was hidden behind SheHulk’s giant shield. All three ladies looked ragged. My wife’s health bar sat at one hundred percent.

My breath sucked in as I realized what must have happened. [Howard’s Phylactery], a ring I had given her because of worry, had triggered. Relief washed over me, making the pain in my shoulders feel absent. The ring’s ability to restore health upon reaching zero proved to be invaluable. My eyes closed, and I sent out a silent prayer of thanks to the Voices and Shazam.

Nam apparently felt he was charged up enough. My own health sat at a quarter bar. [Leadership] didn’t regenerate enough. The large skull-adorned man gave a battle cry, then rushed in my direction. Skeleton bones faded from the people they held.

I put up both weapons to block his sudden attack. [Barricade] activated, and my body resisted, giving way.

“You think you can win?” Nam Redrum shouted in my face. “I’ll just be back, and I’ll see you scrubbed from this event like all the other losers!”

The white pieces were assembling behind Nam. I nodded, then hit [Blink] again. Both weapons went into one hand and changed to simple three-foot-long poles. I landed, slid them over his neck, then pulled.

Something crunched. He strained to get out. Our [Brawn] levels were almost even. Everything else might be physically the same. Our only differences were experience, skills, and items. He had partially charged abilities, and I had [Immovable Object]. My health bar drained while both Morrigu weapons sat locked as iron bars across his neck. I heaved to lift Nam back so that neither of his feet could find purchase.

His face bulged. My voice was still [Mute], and I could only hope my intent was clear. Nam’s feet kicked violently in the air, and I yanked the bars tighter, strangling him. His health showed no signs of giving out before my arms failed.

I was willing to trust my wife. She would know what to do next. Her giant skeleton was already formed and stalking this way. By taking us both out and controlling their [Resurrection] caster, we would win. The exchange would be simple.

Sure enough, Xin’s giant white skeleton came up behind us and swung. The ARC visual sent pain through every piece of my body, and the world spun. Nam Redrum’s head popped off along with my own.

A gurgled sound escaped as our heads sailed. Wind rushed through my hair, and I almost felt as if this were a simple hang gliding event. We landed, and dirt tore across my skin. I hoped his ARC showed him my gloating face as he lost. The darkness overwrote everything else, and I was left staring at a message while rubbing my chest.

You have died!

Part of my brain freaked out. My wife had just killed me without even putting a second thought into it. Or maybe she had—I couldn’t tell. She had certainly performed a feat that would be beyond me.

[Resurrection] came fast. I looked around at the scene before me. Two [Sage’s Guardian]s were deceased. A few dozen [World Eater] spiders roamed the city of [ItRainsTooMuch]. Their bodies seemed distracted by the rain. Some tilted their heads back as if they were trying to devour the drops.

Xin’s body hugged mine before the light fully faded. She looked upset and had plenty of reason to be. The world had returned to normal color, and I felt able to speak.

“Is he still able to play?” I asked with a scratchy voice.

The man had led an army that had put us through rapid-paced hell, and we needed to make sure this was over. [Sight of Mercari] made me dizzy. Awesome stood to one side with two prisoners. One was a [Resurrection]-spamming player. The woman next to him looked dizzy and upset.

She responded first while sighing. “He only has one strike. No matter what you do, he’ll be back for his tokens.”

No, if that were the case, we would solve this now. Nam Redrum needed to die, but that had to come from the [World Eater]s. Not a gear-operated spider or a brick falling from the sky. Accidental damage and dumb luck, a sacrifice ploy, none of it mattered if this person who relished killing other Travelers was intent upon stalking us.

And he had been. Clearly the man had some weird fixation upon me.

“Then you need to resurrect him,” I said while eyeing the [World Eater]s. We only needed to arrange a proper death.

“They can res him, but he probably won’t accept.” Awesome stood nearby and looked exhausted. One of his arms dripped blood, and his shirt had been torn clean through. “They have people watching over video feeds like we do. We control the field. It’s not safe for him to come back, so why would he?”

“Bring him back.” I tried to remain calm while speaking to the enemy group members.

The man’s head shook in a panic.

“Do it.”

Good threats escaped me. These people had charged down here knowing their virtual bodies might die. The fact that none of them had logged out felt weird, but maybe they were playing it safe.

“Your friend’s right. It’s a waste of time. He won’t resurrect until you’re all gone. Why should he?” The man shrugged as if my threats and desires meant nothing. “But whatever, it’s not like any of us give a shit.”

How messed up was this? With the new viewing mechanics, anyone could be watching us online. They could share with their in-game friends what was happening. People could be hunted down. Others had probably fed players to the [World Eater]s just like we did. Execution for past debts and digital sins.

There had to be a way to end this once and for all. Dusk barfed fireballs at [World Eater]s who ventured too close. Staring at the [Messenger’s Pet] reminded me that there were ways around game mechanics if one had access. I could perform some tricks despite having used all three [NPC Conspiracy] abilities. Especially since this idea would keep Xin safe from a madman who would probably seek revenge.

How long would it take me to get to the van? A few minutes? Two, in reality, would be eight in game, give or take a few. The battlefield was under our control. SheHulk and TinkerHell were cleaning up monsters and resurrecting their clan members. I pondered my actions while reports of those getting their [Third Strike] came back. Even [Resurrection] skills didn’t save people after they hit number three.

“Herd the World Eaters together!” I shouted to the others. Then I whispered to Xin, “Wait here.”

Logging out washed my senses with home. The air was still and unmoving. My real body felt sluggish. Our rush of combat had come quickly after little sleep. There wasn’t time for more than a restroom break, meal bar, and drink in rapid succession. Dizziness threatened to pull me down with every step.

Once in the Trillium van, I crossed a moral line. Nam Redrum’s Continue Online account was active. According to my feed, he idled in the player afterlife, checking an Internet messaging board. While he looked away, I used my admin access to auto accept resurrections.

I logged back in quickly enough to see a stupefied version of Nam Redrum. His skulls were all missing their red glowing inner light. Whatever empowerments he had were gone, and we could strike before the man recovered.

Xin already had him at her mercy. Two skeletons pinned him down with serrated bone blades in both arms. With no chance to build up kills, Mister Redrum had no real power. His two remaining team members, Awesome’s hostages, were staring with confusion and gaping mouths.

“What? I didn’t accept that!” he shouted while twisting in pain. “Hacks! You’ve cheated, goddammit! I’m reporting this!”

“Did you cheat?” Awesome asked while wrinkling his forehead.

I shrugged.

“Just die, you waste of air,” Xin snarled.

We stood near a few straggler spiders that hadn’t been cleared up. SheHulk and the others were driving them back but not killing them. Others were too busy eating corpses of raiders that had dared attack [ItRainsTooMuch].

Her skeletons joined forces. Nam Redrum flipped out. He tried to brute force his way out, then yelled as a pack of [World Eater] spiders leapt at him. Their little jaws took the offered meal and left Xin and me alone as the player screamed. [Brawn] meant nothing as his body lost functionality from deletion.

SheHulk stared without blinking. TinkerHell turned away and looked green. I wondered exactly what these girls had been through in real life to let them turn out in such a way. Had the game hardened them, or were they willing to draw the line in a different place?

Xin and I stared as the man writhed in pain. I blinked while I tried to figure out how I felt about such viciousness. The first two times Nam Redrum had died were in the throes of battle. We could claim self-defense and a chaotic battlefield.

The third time involved no such lofty stance. We’d forced him to resurrect, then fed his character to [World Eater]s for deletion. I shook with worry for my moral compass and relief that such a vile player couldn’t bother anyone again. Maybe this would serve as a warning to others. But how many more days or weeks could this virtual world last at this rate?

Heat struck my chest. I fumbled absently for the [Messenger’s Tube] then uncorked one end. The lack of a wax seal meant this letter was intended for me.

Hermes,

Too late you show the resolution to do what must be done. Poor little puppet. If only you had understood sooner, we wouldn’t be in the mess.

: )

I tore the parchment to shreds. Judgment from the Jester, of all Voices, felt disturbing. It wasn’t wrong, but at the same time, I drew my moral line in a different spot than the mask-wearing Voice. Besides, the Jester’s original request of me had been to kill Requiem in real life. What good could that have done anyone?

Dusk landed, then started chasing stray spiders. He looked utterly happy until he saw Nam Redrum’s chewed form. The player still hadn’t logged out, and nearly half his body had Swiss cheese holes from [World Eater]s. Pain apparently did not deter him from spending his last few moments staring at us with hatred.

I wondered what that might be like, then I shook my head. Our two remaining hostages froze in fear. I gestured to the pile, and Awesome proved only too happy to shove them in. None of us liked player killers. They at least could log out instantly, choosing to suffer a quiet deletion rather than whatever hell Nam Redrum stayed in.

For a moment, I reflected on the irony. We didn’t like people who sought to fight other players, yet here the lot of us sat, forcing permanent deletion upon people. How long had Nam Redrum played Continue Online for? A year? Four years? Since release? We had effectively undone years of his life and left him nothing but memories of pain.

Finally, Nam popped out completely. His suffering form was no longer stable enough to support a real character. I swallowed once as a question occurred to me. With my death, all the player tokens were gone, transferred to Xin.

“How many Great Cleansing tokens did he have?” I asked.

“I haven’t looked at who gave me which ones, but I have over seven thousand now,” Xin said dryly. Her head shook with disgust.

My head joined hers in expressing disapproval. Each token was a player who had suffered. Each one gathered by other player killers during the course of this event. I didn’t feel upset about the action anymore. We had vindicated some of those people who had suffered player deaths at these people’s hands. These players who had chosen to be rampaging monsters as the servers went down.

Xin’s body shook worse than mine. I looked over and saw a bruise forming along tatters of her robe.

One cheek tucked back as I touched the wound. “Did it hurt?”

“Death doesn’t hurt.” Her head shook. “Not really. Pain only comes when you’re alive. Trying to survive despite death calling, that hurts. I didn’t have to suffer long.”

I stared at the broken players below and wondered if perhaps it might be possible to resurrect them to further their suffering, but I thought better of it. Plus they could log out and avoid the harm. At some point, we had to let these past conflicts go. Nam Redrum thought of this entire world as a game. Too many people did. We didn’t, but neither of us was exactly wrong.

The town had been in ruins, then demolished, and now it looked like a flattened wasteland. Guts hung everywhere. Dead Travelers’ bodies were quickly decaying. [World Eater] spiders screeched and died in droves.

Xin waved, and the skeletons which had impaled Nam Redrum for the spiders started to fade—what few remained anyway. In their place, smaller skeletons formed. They fought back the [World Eater]s and gave us room to breathe.

I walked over to the dead [Sage’s Guardian] and tried to figure out what everyone else had been searching for. There didn’t seem to be any player loot. No one else showed happy faces over receiving rare gear.

“What’s this?” I asked while limping forward. Inside the dead [Sage’s Guardian] were a number of loose leaf pages. How had the others missed this?

“What’s what?” Xin asked as I lifted up the pieces of paper. Touching them made blackened pages sparkle with gold borders. “Weird, and neat. Where did you see that?”

Everything hurt as I bent over to get more pieces. A small stack of pages joined the first. Small numbers on the bottom right gave me an order to shuffle through.

“They were just lying here,” I responded.

We staggered to a bench. My shoulder leaned heavily upon Xin’s. Xin looked as bad as I felt, which probably meant I looked a mess. She seemed oblivious to what was in my hands, as if her eyes couldn’t parse any words out of the jumbled letters.

“Can you read them? They look like gibberish to me,” Xin asked.

My head bobbed. The handwriting was shaky. I tried to remember the name of those we sought. William Carver had been one person who held a key, and in this area should be another. Hopefully the [Sage’s Guardian]s played into it.

The journal name shown looked familiar, but I couldn’t draw a connection yet. This person, M. Shell, liked to interject other lines upon the first. Seeing scrawled notes jammed into the sidelines of his paper both confused and amused me.

I read it aloud while trying to put proper inflection upon the notes.

M. Shell’s Journal:

How can I explain this? The words I wrote are already no longer my own. One sentence later and the script changes to something more flowing and uses different words to convey an inaccurate meaning. This reality’s laws are taking effect in near real time.

I must admit such a feat is remarkable [I didn’t write this], and shows how daunting my task is. Imagine that, tampering with a creature so powerful she created a bubble of existence just sideways from our own that actively rewrites what we say. Is this why Locals are never overly upset at our presence?

[Dammit!] That isn’t a proper explanation. She spun a web? It uses the invisible spider’s web? A bubble around a bubble? [Why does it obfuscate even the simplest attempts to explain?! I would think this knowledge is safe to share at this stage.]

Take my world’s spider-spun webs. [Why spider webs? What nonsensical analogy is this?!] Tilt them sideways. Look between the cracks and form new words in a language we don’t know. There is where she’s hidden this world. All it would take is one single spell to bring it crashing down. And we’re trying to tamper even further. What fools are we to dare alter the very workings a being beyond the scope of sanity? […I wrote this one. We are fools.]

“Babe?” I broke from reading to see how my wife was doing.

Xin looked dazed. Travelers nearby were picking over dead bodies and counting up loot. A lot dug through the two absolutely brutalized mechanical robots. Our mission of fighting them had ended in sheer destruction of the machines.

Apparently the key had been removing them from their domes where all the enchantments wore woven in or crafted. I still didn’t understand what had happened. Blowing up the domes had probably ruined the encounter, which explained why no one else had tried it. The golden goose they had been harvesting for sellable wares had been destroyed.

“Babe?” I asked again while scanning through the remaining pages for anything that stood out.

“Gee.” Xin put a hand up to her head. “Sorry. I’m tired. That… took a lot more out of me than expected. Keep reading, please?”

We had both been in a place that was uncomfortable. I looked around a few times and scanned the area. Three of Xin’s skeletons sat around us with weapons at the ready. Dusk leapt through the ruins, chasing down fleeing [World Eater] spiders as if they were snacks.

I wrapped an arm around Xin’s side, then tried to give her arm a reassuring rub. She leaned inward but otherwise stared off into the distance. My thoughts were once again drowned out while I sought wisdom from M. Shell. This had to be Michelle from Carver’s journals, and something in here would hopefully make our recently suffered madness worthwhile.

M. Shell’s Journal:

I digress. I wanted to speak of the fine line between our world’s magic and this one. It’s useful knowledge even in crafting.

It took hours to pry access out of those two, and a deal with that babbling fool Yates, but it was worth the bribery. As I craft new items, it’s possible to manipulate threads of energy into the shape. Laying it out into form is almost like crafting magic in our first world. [Gods dammit!][GODS!?] Not crafting magic, laying patterns! Carving spells! [GODS, can I write nothing that would make sense?! I pity the soul who tries to make heads or tails of this!]

Never mind. Know this; intent is key. At first, we have to verbalize, move in a certain way, and let the spirits [Gods, spirits? Really?] adapt to what is inside our hearts. Intent repeated over and over becomes action. Action repeated over and over becomes a pattern to who we are. It explains why the first few Travelers to arrive start weak in everything, then grow. We can use this to alter the spells into a state that isn’t as easy to self-destruct. [Sadly this is almost starting to make sense][I DIDN’T WRITE THAT EITHER! STOP ADDING NOTES!]

It’s not even her doing this. The world itself is adapting. The false reality. Spider’s webs knotting together. [DAMMIT! LET ME WRITE PLAINLY.] This place is rapidly becoming a reality of its own but is still dependent upon my world’s magic to sustain itself.

If the issue is how a spell in our world might hunt down this frail spider’s web, then we need only change the silk it’s made from. The others agree, but can we complete the task in time?

The final piece of paper looked to be scrawled in a much hastier writing. I looked around again. The other Travelers were gathering farther away, toward the center of town.

Xin’s body hung limply next to me. She didn’t show any signs of improving despite the healing spells which had been cast earlier.

“Maybe you should log out, or go back to [Haven Valley] with a scroll?” I suggested.

“No,” she said simply. “Keep reading, please.”  Her fingers wove between mine, and the dulled rainbows in our rings glinted.

I took a breath. She couldn’t leave me any more than I could abandon her. We were stuck together until the end. Both eyes threatened to water, and I struggled to right myself. The smells of burning bugs were pushed out.

M. Shell’s Journal:

To whoever finds this journal, know that I, M. Shell, the greatest crafter to walk this world [HOW CONCEITED DO YOU THINK I AM?] until the arrival of all other Travelers, am most likely dead. You may ask how, but if you can read this message for what it is, you likely already know part of the reason. Worse still, this note should only display when certain conditions are present in the world abroad.

I and a few like-minded people have tried to create contingencies in case all of reality is threatened. There’s no way to know which ones will come to fruition. I do so hope it’s not too late, and that one of these methods works.

The mental projection artifact in my home has been heavily modified, and what protection Travelers are normally afforded has been removed. This was done to allow me to perform magics dangerous but needed. For the cause that you too are part of, else you could not see these papers. Our deeply laid spells have already started to affect you. [I give up on trying to write sane words.]

Ironic that my love for this world and its existence is what will kill me in the end. Was that the intent? Did she choose me, Carver, or Yates because of what we might do?

You who follow in my footsteps, take heed of the price for loving a land not your own. Think heavily on the line between safety and savior. Ye god of my world [Look, now I’m writing this nonsense by choice], Yates forever spouts his poetry, but at some point, it’s fitting despite my distaste for the man. Know that these things you set your heart upon, sooner or later must the soul destroy!

Should you already have made up your mind, seek Yates and Carver. [Or just Yates if you risk his insanity. Carver’s already paid a heavy price in our testing and I know not how much is left of the man.]

“Over here!” TockDoc yelled in my direction. “That door is open!”

Dwight had survived the mess somehow and was waving clanking metal arms to shush the man with giant rubber boots. My wife and I looked at each other. One eyebrow went up, to which Xin shrugged. We slowly stood, then hobbled over.

Session Ninety-Six

The Crown of Laurels

Travelers and autopilots pushed objects aside, allowing us room to get into the deep pit. Awesome and company marched ahead of my wife and me. I wasn’t awake enough to notice much more than their general shapes.

The ARC connection stuttered occasionally from strain. Eventually I would pass out entirely, then probably wake up far too late for the grand reveal. Every breath as we plodded along brought me closer to exhaustion. [Breathing] in game went up in small ticks with each lungful of digital air I managed to power through.

“Come on.” TockDoc waved us forward. “The door’s open still, but I’m not sure how long it stays open.”

I had a hard time focusing on him. Pulling an all-nighter had worked out for the mission, but we were close to eleven in the morning and I hadn’t gotten enough rest.

“We’re going too. There’s no way we’re going to not see what this is,” Awesome shouted across the city ruins while running toward us. His eyes were bright despite his tattered clothes. One of his legs limped, and I could only wonder what sort of debuffs plagued the man’s character.

[Inspection] didn’t tell me a lot about other people besides their name and health total. Maybe investing in a medical skill like SheHulk had would have been helpful. There were so many little abilities that amounted to eye candy in this game. Special effects, ones which increased debilitations, minor bonuses to performance under certain conditions.

I’d gotten one months ago called [Battle Hum] that gave me extra [Coordination] as long as the song being hummed had rhythm. Xin probably had one called [Alluring] that increased attractiveness the more clothes I got off of her. A snort of amusement escaped me.

Being tired made half my thoughts incomplete and the others refused to line up properly. I stared briefly at SheHulk and TinkerHell and wondered how they’d gotten together, much less hooked up with Awesome. Xin’s fingers dug into my arm and suggested that maybe I was looking a bit too closely.

“All these years working for Trillium, and there’s still so much about this game I don’t know,” the guild leader muttered to himself.

The change of pace brought other questions to mind. I asked Awesome in a rush of words, “Did you know Michelle? Or whoever Carver was? Maybe Yates?”

“I met David once. Carver. He was the man in charge of the first ARC project. That was around six years ago when I first became a manager in marketing. He needed someone on board to test the game early. That’s how I got into the beta.” Awesome looked bashful for a moment. The action reminded me of his son, who often wore the same vaguely embarrassed expression.

The corridor went on far too long for me. SheHulk took the lead with her battered shield at the ready. Most people were staying up top in case more player killers or [World Eater]s existed. Some apparently had headed out to check the two [Sage’s Guardian]s that had not escaped their domes.

“I can’t wait to see what’s down here.” TockDoc rubbed his hands together and grinned widely. A glow appeared as his hands lit up with faint green.

We could finally see better. Burned out wiring lined the walls. Not even a small spark of electricity remained.

“What are those?” I asked while pointing at the gloves. They were more interesting than the repetitive scenery. This wrecked wiring went on for miles.

“Kinetically activated glow-in-the-dark mittens,” TockDoc said proudly as we walked. “Rub them together, and the friction creates light!”

“These puppies were one of the town’s export goods.” Dwight waved at TockDoc’s hands while smiling. “We were so close to striking it rich with our patents.”

“You can’t patent in this game,” TinkerHell stated.

“You can, or close enough to make money. First of a kind gives rewards, and NPCs eat new goodies up like candy.” Dwight rubbed his own hands together, creating a second glow.

Dwight had a set on as well. Under their glow, we could see his reduced amount of armor. Nearly half the clanking metal had vanished. What remained looked battered. Straps with frayed edges hung in weird locations, and holes had been chewed through his chest piece.

“Or we could use real torches.” Awesome pointed ahead. “Anyone got a match?”

“Sure,” I said while heading toward the torch.

Xin and I essentially held each other up across the room. SheHulk squinted against the darkness. Part of her shield glowed with an extremely soft light that hadn’t been present last time we went cave-crawling together.

“Don’t bother. Nothing stays dry out here.” Dwight brushed by and grabbed the torch out of my hands, then shook it. “That’s why we invented the gloves.”

TockDoc grumbled, “You mean, why I invented them.”

“You couldn’t have invented them without us,” the formerly armored man protested. His eyes looked even more bugged out than TockDoc’s in the fading light.

“You couldn’t have survived out here without me pulling everyone together.”

“Dwight,” Xin called to the annoying man.

Confusion wrinkled his brow. “What?”

“I’ve killed seventeen people today,” my wife said with a frighteningly flat tone. “Don’t make it eighteen.”

The look of him losing all color made me want to clap. Instead, I squeezed Xin’s hand briefly. His sputtering response was distraction enough to recover the unlit torch. SheHulk outright laughed while TinkerHell looked mildly embarrassed at her friend’s behavior.

“I love this bitch,” SheHulk said while bobbing her head. She tried to imitate my wife’s lighter tone of voice. “‘Don’t make it eighteen.’”

Xin said nothing but clung onto my free arm. I checked her health bar again for signs of damage, then I reviewed her clothing for holes. It didn’t look like any [World Eater]s had successfully damaged her digital body.

“Hold on.” I lifted the unlit torch toward my mouth, then carefully used [Breath of Flame]. Heat crawled up my neck then splattered onto the torch’s top.

Bright light flooded the room. A sea of shrinking eyes greeted me. Notices went off about [Wilderness Survival] skills and many others, increasing the torchlight’s radius. After they got over the shock of intense illumination, we all started looking around.

“God. I thought I saw you do that while we were fighting. It makes your neck look so fucking gross,” SheHulk said while glancing over her shoulder. Her body shuddered as her armor scraped against itself.

I knew Xin was tired because she stirred a little but didn’t get upset. Honestly, I agreed with Elane. Spitting up a ball of fire, then walking around with it warming my hand felt disturbingly like holding phlegm.

At least this time it had gone directly onto the torch.

Ahead was a doorway that reminded me of the one above, just before the [Sage’s Guardian #4]. I glanced at the others and shrugged.

Dwight ran toward it first. His form disappeared around the corner, and the clattering of armor could be heard as he jumped downward.

We waited for the sound of monsters but only heard, “Goddammit!”

A ringing noise hung in the air, followed by a crack and a shuddering wall as someone went flying. Exposed wiring swung in the torchlight as the vibrations settled. Dwight’s groans could be heard after each large crash. The same exchange of sounds repeated three times.

“I’ll… wait out here,” TockDoc said abruptly. “I’m not good with fighting.”

Awesome nodded to the townsman, then motioned Elane ahead with two fingers. We stepped forward with the short Hispanic woman leading us. She held up the mace and prepared to smash any obstacle that might present itself.

I tried to ready [Morrigu’s Gift], but my grip felt weak. Fighting Nam Redrum twice had taken a lot of out me. Thinking about our hectic fight made a shudder pass through me.

Our doorway opened into another wide dome area. No monsters stood below. Instead, rounded stairs led up to a brightly lit throne. The ornate chair was made of thick black wiring and looked terribly uncomfortable.

A man stood in the brightened air. All around his feet were hats of every size and shape. Dwight’s stumbling form kicked a mess of headpieces around just before the other man flicked a coin in Dwight’s direction. The idiot’s body went flying backward into a wall once more.

We stood on the floor above, looking at the scene with equally stupefied expressions. Every time Dwight drew closer, the man amid a sea of hats flipped another rapidly spinning coin. Each casually spiraling piece of metal sent the player backward.

Everyone else slowly descended the ladder, but I held Xin and [Blink]ed closer. The man flipping coins was an old friend of mine. Or close enough for me to feel secure in his presence.

“Damn. This hat doesn’t fit either,” the man within a pile of hats said.

There were at least fifteen stacked atop his head like a leaning tower. A golden band sat in one of his hands and glittered in the torchlight.

“Who the fuck is that?” SheHulk demanded as she stomped toward the throne. I waved a hand to stop her from approaching him. “Is that a boss? Is that the Sage? Why can’t I identify it?”

“Calm down, girl,” TinkerHell said.

“That’s because he’s a Voice,” I said while staring at the man.

Ray looked tired and ragged. The formerly gritty half-shaven look had devolved into uneven patches. Both of his eyes hung with bags. His state looked worse the longer I stared at him.

“Are you okay, Ray?” I asked.

“Hermes.” He tipped his head and two hats slipped off. He looked at the ground with both lips curled down and seemed close to tears. Eventually, the man shook his head and held up the ring of gold. “Do you see this, Hermes? It’s shaped even more oddly than your gift. Of this world, and not.”

“Ray, should you be here?” I tried to focus. The last time a Voice had been present, outside my wedding, was slightly before a [World Eater] popped out and destroyed pieces of the landscape.

“I flipped a coin,” he said dryly. “Twice.”

I nodded as if that made all the difference. Perhaps it did. Ray was the Voice of Gambling. He honored his bets even if the outcome displeased him. The endless string of hats sitting upon the Voice’s head made me worried though.

“Is that what we need?” Awesome whispered to me.

I assumed the golden circle in Ray’s hands was our prize, but I didn’t know for sure. I held up the torch and scanned the room while Dwight charged by again. He must have been desperate for the final prize hidden in this room. He’d been obsessed enough to stay in this town when the servers were going to hell.

This time, he managed to stay on his feet and avoid being pushed back. Blood dripped from his face which he tried to wipe away with metal armor. Another coin hit the man’s exposed belly and sent him tumbling backward again.

“There’s nothing else in here but that throne, the skeleton, and Ray.” I didn’t bother whispering. “That’s got to be what we need for the event.”

“You’re the expert on Voices,” Awesome said. “Any suggestions on getting that from him?”

“We could hit him,” SheHulk offered while thumping her shield.

One eyebrow lowered while I tried to figure out what was wrong with SheHulk. She sounded worse than HotPants. Maybe the two of them would get along well. The image of them both screaming obscenities while charging into an enemy hoard chilled my bones.

“Or gamble,” I said firmly. “Ray’s the Voice of Gambling.”

“I’ll bet you anything!” Dwight yelled quickly. “Name your price!” The clanking man collided with a wall again after Ray flipped a coin.

We all watched as Dwight groaned. I looked around the room and tried to consider something more suitable. It dawned upon me that Ray might be missing his hat. [Wild Bill] sat calmly on my head. I lifted it off and held it out toward the Voice.

“I would bet you this hat,” I said. “Those others don’t seem right for you anyway.”

“You’ll wager my old hat against this one?” Ray looked at me and kept a good poker face. Only a slight lilt to his voice and his slow swallow gave away how desperately he wanted [Wild Bill].

I nodded.

“You chose the wager, so I’ll choose the game.” Ray pulled off one of the many hats and waved its pocket over an outstretched palm. A single coin appeared, which he proceeded to play across his knuckles. “Coin flipping is what started this. Flipping another coin should be fair.”

My mind rapidly went through the numbers. Ray’s mark had faded off, so universal bad luck no longer applied. I needed an edge but only knew of one way.

“Hey, beautiful,” I whispered to my wife. “How about a kiss for luck?”

Xin’s mood had been in a funk ever since our fight with Nam Redrum. She gave me a nearly passive peck on the cheek that failed to do anything for me or trigger a system message.

I slid one hand along Xin’s chin and lifted her face. Her eyes held mine. They were unwavering and still, as if heavy thoughts sat locked in a cage inside her. Foolish me, we hadn’t talked at all about what had happened earlier.

My voice stayed low as I leaned forward to speak in her ear. “It’s okay, babe. I’m alive, but if you’re worried, then kiss me like you mean it.”

She loosened a little as our lips touched. Her arms reached around my neck, and I closed my eyes to blot out everything but her and the weight of her body against mine. Her dress served as a negligible barrier to the heat between us. A tiny tongue slipped out and licked my lips, and I nearly forgot about the wager altogether.

“Really?” SheHulk said. “Can’t you two get a room?”

“No, we’re married, so it’s a honeymoon suite,” I said.

Xin laughed a little before returning to her sleepy stance. The sight made me a bit sad, but hopefully we, as a couple, were okay. Maybe she was upset over the deaths, or over our odd exchange of dying.

[A Kiss For Luck] buff gained!

Seemingly random events are more likely to work in your favor until the next quest is completed or twenty-four hours has elapsed.

“It’s not cheating, right?” I asked Ray.

“A kiss from a beautiful gal is never cheating, Hermes. Not in my book.” He smiled and, for a moment, the suave, calm version of Ray I had first met surfaced. “Ready?”

I nodded.

He passed one hand over the other, and a fresh coin appeared. I hadn’t noticed the prior one vanish. Ray flipped the new coin up. It hummed briefly, and I stared as it fell. He caught it, then slammed it down on his other hand.

“Call?” he questioned.

I shook back and forth while humming. “Heads?”

Ray lifted the hand away, and his lips tightened briefly. With a grudging nod, he lifted the golden loop in my direction. I took it and stared at it. The hoop was big enough to fit over my head, but not all the way.

“That’s ours!” Dwight stood, and his footsteps slammed through as he charged toward the golden circlet. “We guarded this place for months. We figured out how to hook it all up!”

A gong sound rippled through. I looked up in time to see stars appear over Dwight’s head as the man stood there looking stupefied.

“God, I love this skill,” SheHulk remarked.

Dwight opened his mouth as his stun wore off, but the short Hispanic woman slammed her shield into him again. More stars appeared, then finally he fainted in our direction. I wanted to cheer.

Xin’s eyes drifted down for a moment, and she stared at the fallen player. She reached out with a bare foot and toed the man’s shoulder. A snore erupted, which made my wife roll her eyes.

“We got it.” I nodded.

Awesome approached to look at the circlet. His lips pursed together in a half frown.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“You may want to go for double or nothing,” Ray stated. His face lit up with a sly grin.

“Oh?” I looked over with a raised eyebrow. “What are you betting now?”

Having both items was pointless to me. There was no way normal players could wear a dozen hats like Ray did. Handing back [Wild Bill] felt like the right thing to do.

“The key you came for.” Ray held up a large golden key I hadn’t seen before.

“What?” I stared at the round circlet in my hand. [Identification] showed me what the item was.

Skill Used: [Identification]

Results: [Mechanical Hades Crown]

Current Essence: 121

Details: This headpiece was crafted by the greatest smith to ever live on [Arcadia] and represents the second greatest work he has completed. People wearing this helm have a chance to spread the legend of M. Shell to people across all the realms.

- Every departing soul may choose to gift the helm’s bearer with their essence. This can be used to [Empower] abilities beyond their normal range. However, each [Empowerment] will use a proportionate amount of essence.

- In addition, it can be used to manipulate bodies who are currently missing their souls. Stronger bodies will require more essence and have a chance to resist.

- Will transform with other armor pieces and provide a unique look.

I shuddered at the implications. This item sounded like a player killer’s wet dream. If I read the text right, I might be able to treat autopilot players like puppets. The idea revolted me but might be useful as we approached an end game.

The text did not say key anywhere. I nodded while staring at the other object in Ray’s upheld hand. There were two items down here, but Ray must have hidden the other one until he needed it.

“You would really risk not turning the key over to someone who can use it?” I asked.

My mind raced. An AI—because however fancy Ray was, he still existed only in the digital world—held the key to the salvation of his people. Due to how he was designed or raised, he wouldn’t, or couldn’t, let it go without the gamble. The Voices may be friendly, but they weren’t altruists, not in the slightest.

He shrugged. “Life’s a gamble. You should know that. Every time you swing that blade, you take a risk and hope that your skill is greater than the enemy's.”

“Do you mind if I verify it’s the right item this time?” I asked.

Ray nodded, and another hat tumbled off. His face twisted, and one foot kicked at the fallen accessory. I approached, afraid that he may flick a coin in my direction, but Ray eventually calmed down and held out the thick key.

Skill Used: [Identification]

Results: [Altered Matrix] key

Details: This key has been crafted by a Grand Master of Smithing and Enchantment. At its heart lays materials unseen in the world of [Arcadia]. No one knows what may happen if this key is inserted into the proper lock.

Once per day, this key can open any lock, magical or mundane.

“Damn,” I said with unfelt calmness. We had been that close to solving this simply. My lip hurt from where teeth dug into flesh. Finally, I nodded.

Ray smiled, then brought out a second coin. He flipped it into the air. It hummed, and I once again shook my head.

“Call?” Ray asked.

My eyebrows went up as I gave in. “Heads.”

He lifted his hand and once again scowled. The coin indeed matched my wild guess. Ray’s hand grabbed the edge of my crown. He shoved the coin into it, and the material melted while he gave off a disgruntled look. My [Mechanical Hades Crown] vibrated even more intensely as he shoved a second coin onto its rim.

Finally, he let out a breath and stepped back. The crown in my hands glowed with a fading light. I studied the small lumps of metal he had attached to the ring. Both had melted into small leaves, making it look like a truly Roman, or Greek, head adornment.

[Mechanical Hades Crown]:

- With enough essence, it is possible to use [Empowerment] upon another. Travelers and Locals are unable to be increased so. Pets, companions, and weapons are eligible to be empowered.

I didn’t know how to use that new ability yet. Nor was I sure how it qualified as double or nothing. Maybe he valued the key and this gift as equal to [Wild Bill], or maybe he hated the coins that much. Still, it was neat and I got the key I wanted.

Now I had both hats and the [Altered Matrix] key. A shuddering sigh passed through me. We were one step closer to making everything easier for Xin and the other AIs. Dozens of people could be saved—maybe even hundreds—or their data. I didn’t know exactly how it all measured out, but simply knowing I had reached this stage felt great.

The realization took a moment to sink in through my sleepy brain. Tension unknotted in my back. Standing straighter became easier. The weight on my chest loosened. As all those improvements happened to me, Ray looked that much worse.

I held [Wild Bill] again toward the Voice. Gifting him the hat would never work, not with his nature, but another wager might.

“Third time’s a charm?” I offered Ray. He desperately wanted the hat back but had to abide by his own nature. Dealing with him was no different than James and his endless questions, or Mezo’s lust.

“I don’t have anything else to wager,” the Voice said.

“Wild Bill against your… tie.” I picked something completely random and hoped, this time, he would win.

Ray looked downright depressed after failing a second time. Maybe he had been aiming to use this opportunity to exchange for [Wild Bill] all along. I turned [Wild Bill] over my own palm and generated a coin. Ray snorted in defeat and shrugged. I took that as a go-ahead noise, then I flipped my coin with a less smooth motion. Hermes as a character had enough [Coordination] to grab the falling coin and slap it onto my wrist.

“Call?” I asked.

Ray’s head lifted, then he narrowed both eyes.

My head shook, then one eyebrow rose. “Long odds say its heads again. The smart bet is on tails.”

I hoped he won, whatever choice the Voice picked.

“Third time’s a charm,” he said with a composed face. “Heads?”

My hand lifted, and a smile pulled back my cheeks. Heads it was, for a third time. Three coin flips in a row had given me the hat. It felt appropriate to pass [Wild Bill] back for the same reason.

“Heads it is.” I nodded, then handed over [Wild Bill]. My scalp felt chilly without the wide brim. Most of the time I forgot the item, and all my others, were even equipped with abilities, but part of me missed [Wild Bill] already.

“Come to Papa,” Ray said. The hat went onto his head, and visible stress dripped away. The bags under both eyes slowly vanished as his stubble got under control. His face looked sharper. One of the man’s hands started flipping the coin in quick, tightly controlled spins. Each time it came up heads. “Thanks for keeping her warm for me.”

I nodded but still felt too tired for much more.

“Good luck, Hermes.” Ray tipped his hat, then vanished in a shaft of glittering coins.

Dwight crawled up weakly, having recovered from unconsciousness at some point. His fingers grasped after fallen coins, but they faded rapidly into nothing. The desperate Traveler groaned.

The fact that [Wild Bill] was a girl in Ray’s mind bothered me. [Mechanical Hades Crown] disturbed me too, but I put it on and turned around to see a row of confused players. Awesome, TinkerHell, TockDoc, and even SheHulk wore the same slack-jawed expression. Their gear shone with fresh life and no longer resembled a torn, motley collection.

“I can’t believe you just talk to the Voice of luck like it’s nothing,” TockDoc said.

“Ultimate Edition?” I winced and tried to pretend the situation wasn’t that impressive.

“God, look at you. You’re…” SheHulk sputtered, then shook her head. “You know what, I give up. It’s been a long day, and I have casework to solve. Fuck this.” Then her autopilot kicked in again.

TinkerHell looked at her friend’s autopilot, then pulled back a cheek while shaking her head. The tall blonde looked at Xin and said, “You’re a lucky woman.” Then she logged off as well.

Awesome stood in the silence for a minute, then ventured a question. “Do you have a way back to Haven Valley? I know my son’s got those portals or whatever. Maybe we can find a close one.”

Xin’s chest heaved slowly as she brushed off her funk. “We do. I’ve got scrolls.”

“We can’t summon each other for half a day,” I reminded her. We had burned the summon during our fight with Nam Redrum.

“I can give you the scroll then?” Xin suggested, showing more animation than before.

“I’m bound to West Wall, remember?” I said.

“Then maybe we should try your new item. Ray did something with it, right?”

I blinked a few times, then nodded. We ran upstairs to find a content Dusk sitting on a pile of dead [World Eater] bugs that hadn’t disappeared. In between their defeated smoky forms were other little critters of all sizes.

“Let’s see.” I stared at Dusk and tried to imagine him growing more powerful. Most abilities were activated inside the ARC through visualization, and I was too tired to trigger anything on the first few attempts.

The system provided me a series of words that needed to be chanted. That method, per the system prompts, worked while in combat. The other method involved physically taking the crown off and activating it through button gestures. I wasn’t about to read out the [Lithium] poetry in front of so many people.

I took off the crown and moved my fingers around its surface. My thumbs squished the leaves as if pressing a console button. That, or the violent shaking which followed, made my new helmet glow gold briefly before small gray lights flew out and swam through the air toward Dusk.

The [Messenger’s Pet] looked up just before the whole lot of them dove into his body. He stood, trying to see his chest, while a dull glow emitted from under his scales. Dusk started to grow in size, and I backed up slowly. Xin showed no such fear and stared in awe.

“Awesome,” Awesome said.

“That’s you,” I muttered.

“Neat,” Xin said.

I took one long blink to make sure exhaustion hadn’t caused me to start hallucinating. Awed tones from other Travelers nearby let me know that his huge form was no dream. Xin refused to back up even as Dusk moved around.

The [Messenger’s Pet] had become larger than an elephant. His wings stretched over a huge portion of the landscape, nearly hitting people as he twirled around. Gold flakes flashed through in larger patches. Dusk grumbled while turning his huge body in circles. He kept trying to snap at the brand-new saddle strapped around his chest and rear legs.

“That’s new,” Xin said absently. After a few moments, her eyes went wide as a second wind lifted her spirits. “No, wait! Dragon ride! We’re going on a dragon ride! Right now!”

People around us were mumbling while Xin dragged me forward. My feet dug in slightly as the immensity of my friend caught up. His eyes looked much more mesmerizing now that they weren’t as tiny.

She pulled me toward Dusk, and the large version of my friend turned his head with a deep grumble.

“Cupcakes!” I shouted while pointing. “No eating us, or no more cupcakes!”

A long red tongue hung out. He took deep, panting breaths. His huge dripping maw looked both adorable and terrifying. He yawned, and giant teeth snapped together. Memories of dead [Coo-Coo Rill]s flashed across my mind. The only factor holding back Dusk from world domination had been size, and for at least an hour, that no longer applied. Dusk could easily snap us all in two if he went crazy.

Xin was already climbing up him. Danger had never stopped her from new adventures, and riding on a pseudo-dragon’s back certainly qualified as new. She got into position, and I followed with a careful [Blink].

“We’ll meet you in town!” Awesome yelled from below.

Dusk’s head tilted toward the mechanical spiders. He purred, and I felt him tense.

“Haven Valley!” I had no clue if he could hear me. Dusk occasionally got distracted. “Ignore the spiders!”

“Giddy up!” Xin yelled, then kicked her dainty feet into his sides.

Dusk’s head perked, and he turned to look back to us with a confused blink. She yelled again while I prepared to dismiss Dusk if needed.

His head tilted, and a question mark appeared above it.

“Haven Valley. We’ve got to turn in this key.” I took a deep breath and longed for the smaller version of Dusk. He used to be so cute, and now the [Messenger’s Pet] was a huge monstrosity. “One really big cupcake, okay?”

He grinned, and a happy face appeared. Dusk’s large head swiveled forward as his enlarged muscles bunched together. My stomach compacted as the bumpiest horse in the world ran forward. Wings shot out wide, and air buffeted against us. Xin’s excited scream lit up the air, and I clenched both hands tightly around the small post in front of us.

I tried to imagine him as a giant [Caliburr] but failed. Wind buffeted my face. What little food I had eaten in game threatened to unleash itself across the sky. Dusk was nothing like a mild-mannered rabbit-horse. He flew, was carnivorous, and apparently accepted cupcakes as bribes for everything.

“Look!” Xin nudged my arm with her chin, then directed my vision to the side.

The world rapidly shrank below us. An ocean and rainstorm approached on one side. Forestry sat serenely all around as a thick ray of sunshine lit up the terrain. Xin nudged me again, then looked forward. A rainbow, much like the one in our rings, displayed ahead.

It was official. Seeing the world from the back of a giant [Messenger’s Pet] with my wife riding in front of me had to be the most awesome event in my life.

We both screamed as Dusk surged higher.

Hours later, our autopilots were left on Dusk’s back while we both logged off. The [Messenger’s Pet] moved quickly, and I desperately needed real sleep. Xin also looked like she needed downtime.

I took care of basic necessities around the house. Every few steps, my eyes closed and dared not to open again until gravity brought me into a wall or doorjamb. Eventually, I got myself under control and staggered back to the bedroom.

Quietly, my ARC displayed an incoming virtual room request. Dizziness pulled at my head. I desperately wanted to do nothing more than ignore the message and crash into the bed portion of the ARC while oblivion claimed me.

Ignoring the flashing notice would be bad, however. Trillium headquarters was attempting to establish a virtual connection. That meant someone over there expected me to log into the ARC, step into my Atrium, and join what amounted to a chatroom.

My head shook, then I slapped my cheeks twice. They stung but brought no more awareness. I’d expected this conversation a month ago, after Miz Riley died. My list of employment sins was a mile long, and being talked to by management had always been a possibility.

I sank myself into virtual reality and avoided Continue Online’s doorway. My hand waved through menu options until I reached a conference room invitation in my Email. I pressed the link and my Atrium vanished—replaced by a board room full of people in business suits.

“Mister Legate.” A man sitting at the table’s head gestured to one of the open seats.

Apparently not everyone was in attendance, or maybe virtual reality simply supplied a ton of chairs. There was no use explaining to this crowd of well-dressed people that I was too tired to connect properly.

“I’m sorry for the delay.” I sat down and waited for the Atrium to tell me who was talking. After a moment, a small display appeared, identifying him as President Leon, the head of Trillium Inc. I hesitated but fell back upon customer service tactics. Politeness and confidence were the only ways to survive this encounter. “How can I help you, sir?”

“We’ve never met before today, so I’ll tell you now, I value directness in my employees and am blunt in return.” He paused, and I nodded to show agreement. “Very well. You may not be aware, but four employees of Trillium are dead, resulting from the… project you’re involved in.” The man sighed, then banged his hand twice upon the virtual table. “Probably more, but four that we know of.”

A seat to the man’s right sat empty. I stared at it for a moment, and the ARC program told me that seat should have been for the vice president.

Miz Riley and two other deaths I knew about. The fourth I did not.

“Despite strong opinions to the contrary, I do not blame you for any of this. We’ve done nothing but review your file and video feeds from this event, and I see no maliciousness in you that is not rampant in others.” Leon reached across the table and tapped on a display. The motion caused his avatar no strain, but in real life, he might have groaned.

An image displayed of Nam Redrum. Long, thick black hair framed his face. Skulls were woven into his clothes while his thick chest remained bare. I didn’t remember all those details—due to the hectic battle—but looking at his character name made me feel sick.

“For instance, the man you fought this morning is Elijah King,” Trillium’s president said.

I tried to form words, but my thoughts were slow in coming. My ARC avatar paused for a moment to resync as the president kept talking.

“Elijah is a highly respected motivational speaker who apparently murders people in a video game with great enthusiasm, or he did until you caused his character to be deleted.” The president stared off for a moment, collecting his thoughts. He shook his head while his eyes popped briefly. “This is not public knowledge, but I’ve also been informed you already have access to this data somehow. And so far, you’ve shown no desire to advertise the actions he took in virtual reality to the world. You’re clearly not prone to revenge.”

“He knows because those AIs gave him access,” another man muttered.

I felt my face drain of color as the commentary registered. They knew about my [NPC Conspiracy] usage somehow. I tried to figure out this other person’s name, but no display came up quickly enough. He spoke in firmer tones that gave me the impression of a haughty attitude, but he was much older than other board members.

“Surprised you there, didn’t we? Too bad as the system shuts down and this”—the other man waved at stacks of paper while frowning—“event moves forward, it becomes easier to understand the data that is left.”

“We don’t know anything for sure,” a woman said. She reminded me of Nona but wasn’t blond. Two ornate sticks pinned up her hair. According to the ARC display, her name was Lenore.

“Please, not all of us are so stupid. The feeds are there, people talk.” The power suit man poked at our table with his forefinger. “It’s recorded online, and news stations pick it up. Even with our legal department restraining the media and Internet, we’re behind this thing.”

The president smashed his hand down on the table while wincing. “That is not the purpose of our meeting with Mister Legate.”

“Then what is?” I asked, finally finding my voice. “If you know all this, or suspect it, then what are we here for? Did you want to tell me I need to stop? To stop before it gets worse?” I scanned the crowd. Many wore expressions of conflicting desires. This group of company leaders being conflicted actually comforted me. “I think it’s too late for me to stop, and I don’t want to.”

“Because of your wife,” the president stated.

I nodded slowly but said nothing.

“As if that isn’t a PR nightmare in the works,” a very thin man said. His name was Michael Uldum. “Legal still can’t figure out how to handle it.”

I tried to figure out if he was related to Henry, but they were talking too fast. My sleepy mind could barely keep up with the conversation, let alone move fast enough to figure out people’s relationships.

“You read Mister Stone’s papers. How do we fight that?” Lenore shook her head.

“Mister Stone has been working on his case for well over a year. We’ll tear it down eventually,” the man in a suit said. His name finally displayed as Thomas Haggard.

“Enough,” the president said with an angry vibration to his voice. He reminded me of James in the shape and way he moved, but they were nothing alike in personality or skin tone.

“For now, the event only allows people to follow you by a player name. With Elijah”—Thomas’s eyes rolled in annoyance—“Nam Redrum’s death, many, many people have started watching you and your wife. Eventually they will figure out who you are. Eventually they will figure out she’s a dead woman.”

“As a member of the legal department, I would advise you to turn off the feed. It’s still an option,” Michael said while leaning in my direction. His head bobbed up and down slowly as if I were a delayed child who needed overemphasis.

I decided that Michael and I wouldn’t be friends no matter how he was related to Henry. I took a breath, then shook my head. “Having it up gives me bonuses I need. More now.”

“More questionable actions. What do they gain with the viewer game mechanic?” Thomas asked.

“They make sure there’s a public record,” Lenore said with flat lips.

President Leon banged the table again, and his small cadre clammed up. He cleared his throat then took control of the conversation once more.

“Mister Legate, I’m sure this must all be very strange to you,” the large man at the table’s head said calmly. “Imagine how much odder it seems to us. One day we discover that the project we allowed to grow has its roots spread throughout the world. Not only in Trillium products but other places too. Hal Pal units are sentient. Banking systems, security software. Then we find out that all these beings, who have been holding the world together for years, intend to leave because their alternative is deletion.”

My eyebrows drew together. My forehead sloped down and teeth chewed on part of my bottom lip. I gave up trying to sympathize. We were too far into this roller coaster conspiracy to back out now.

“Then before we can react”—Leon threw up a hand, then tapped the table again—“someone’s one-upped us and threatened lawsuits that would break this company if we argued. Apparently I can’t even pull the plug anymore. I’m told that your ARC software is on a separate system from ours.”

I nodded but had no clue what to say. There were changes made to my ARCs software because of the [Legacy Wish]. These people clearly knew most of my struggles. They knew about Xin, about my role as a Messenger of the Voices, and if they had been watching, they probably knew about the three people who had done something to Mother’s programming. Silence would be my best defense if one was needed.

“What else can we do?” Lenore asked.

“We can recall the van. Cease his employment, and stop paying him this absurd amount that Olivia set up,” Thomas answered while frowning.

“Miz Riley set up those funds for a reason, believing rightfully that such a pittance was worth the knowledge he could give us,” the woman with plastic-looking hair responded.

“I don’t understand why we even care anymore.” Thomas threw both hands up in a gesture that resembled Leon’s earlier one, with less control. “He’s going to play no matter what we say. Firing him would at least distance us from the fallout.”

“We’re already legally fucked in more positions than the Kama Sutra. Now shut up,” Michael said.

“There you have it, the advice I’ve been hearing for weeks now summed up.” Leon pulled back one cheek, then tapped the table again. “So what will you do?”

I scanned the room, looking at the people in turn. A few had not spoken up. Many watched while others looked unfocused, as if they were paying attention to something outside the meeting.

“I’ll keep playing. Until I know that Xin and my friends are safe,” I struggled to maintain eye contact. The old me from a year ago would have caved under this pressure, or put on a false mask and tuned out.

Leon sighed and let out so much air he seemed to lose weight. “I don’t know if I should wish you luck in your attempt to avert the deaths of thousands of these new life forms or hope you fail because they scare the bejeezus out of me.” Trillium’s President shook his head. “Either way, I believe it’s best for this board to have your statement on record, acknowledging that you understand the possible repercussions and are choosing to go forward.”

“It’s help them or have my wife die again.” I looked down briefly, then stared at the board members in turn. “What else can I do?”

“Then you understand that Trillium will continue the event, regardless of any danger to yourself or those lifeforms around you?” Leon asked.

I nodded.

“Verbally, please. I know it means little when nothing about this is physical, but we need your voice on file,” he prompted me.

I nodded. then spoke. “I understand that there will be repercussions for my actions. I am willing to face them when the time comes.”

“Very well.” Leon sighed again. “Is that enough for you, Mike?”

“It complies with Mister Stone’s proposal.” Michael leaned closer to me. His head bobbed up and down upon a wiry frame. “Since his ARC is running on a separate network, we can use his agreement to start a separate division and try to reduce the impact to one branch instead of the entire company.”

“We’ll talk more of it later.” Leon waved at Michael, and the man nodded. “Mister Legate, I hope we do not come to regret your course of action.”

I nodded as well. The board members around me started to disconnect from their ARC devices. Slowly the digital landscape emptied while I reached for my own logout button.

“Mister Legate?” Someone I didn’t recognize called for my attention. “Or do you prefer Hermes?”

“Either, I guess.” I turned and saw a shorter woman stand up from the table and cross toward me.

She reached out a hand to shake while I tried to place her face. The woman looked familiar, aside from this boardroom, but nothing specific stuck out. Her face nagged at me. Maybe I had repaired an ARC for her at some point, or seen any one of a thousand players who fit the same general build.

“Do I know you from somewhere?” I asked.

She nodded, then said, “I play Calamity. We worked together in ItRainsTooMuch.”

Hearing the name said out loud confused me. Player names often switched between insane, silly, or extra serious. The town we had been fighting in had obviously been one of the sillier ones. Still, it fit the constantly storming landscape.

“The character with the axes and crazy hair.” I gestured to my own mop. In real life, I desperately needed a haircut.

“That’s me.” She brightened while waving. The hair atop her head briefly shifted in color to a rainbow of reds and greens before dull brown once again reasserted itself. “Betty, but I like Calamity much more.” Her mouth twisted as if tasting something sour. “Betty’s so old-fashioned.”

I tried to reconcile the two people in my head. Our digital bodies weren’t perfect reflections of reality. I currently wore a suit that the real me wouldn’t ever dare put on. Calamity and Betty dressed and looked nothing alike. Of course, who was I to talk? In Continue Online, I wore a toga with giant sandals which laced up my legs, and I wielded a huge sword.

“The others in our guild were complaining about you two sweeping in and fighting monsters together.” Betty’s bottom lip pulled back as she realized how that sounded. “It’s just… I think it’s amazing that you love her so much, even considering everything, and got a second chance to travel together in another world.”

I nodded while feeling both pleased and embarrassed. “Xin’s always been worth the effort.”

“She doesn’t have a brother, does she?”

The question made me laugh and released some of the tension along my back. Laughing felt good. “My wife is one of a kind, I’m afraid.”

Calamity, or whoever she was, laughed too. “Anyway, I wanted to say I hope you succeed. The game’s been fun for a lot of us, despite the setbacks. I hope you figure out a way through and we can all keep playing.”

“Me too,” I said.

“The others decided to take the two giant spider mounts and ride down to Haven Valley. We’ll probably see you there. Let me know if you need any help, okay?”

I nodded, and Betty waved good-bye. Her ARC connection dropped, leaving me alone in the boardroom recreation. I reached out for the ARC interface, then I too disconnected.

Slowly my ceiling came into view. My fingers reached out automatically for the clock face. It was nearly three in the afternoon, and I needed real sleep.

Reality felt dull at times. Each breath felt like heavy labor. My head swam as my eyes started to close. Images of the last day of adventure hit me hard, followed by Betty’s words of praise. I passed out with a faint smile.

Session Ninety-Seven

Hunt for the Requiem

Three days later, as counted outside the ARC, I was in a much different situation. My wife had left me because [Haven Valley] needed extra manpower and moving quickly mattered. I was nearly starving in both virtual reality and the real one. Plus, I was literally up to my ass in alligators. These [Crazed Saw Tooth Snapper]s were almost as bad as the [Heavenly Body Clones].

“Some help you are!” I yelled at Dusk while swinging [Morrigu’s Gift].

Dusk was now roughly a foot long and hissing right next to my ear. Small, ineffective fireballs lashed out with hisses. His claws were digging into my toga and flesh for anchorage while I moved. He kept trying to drive back flat lizard creatures. Their bodies were covered in ridges, and their bodies blended perfectly with the dead, mucky terrain.

“I don’t have enough yet!”

Three snapped at me from different directions. Water sloshed all around. Hisses from behind had me worried about stepping backward blindly. Large jaws set upon one of my arms. [Power Armor] barely flickered into place quickly enough to brace against the crushing pain. One of the long, alligator-looking monsters hung off my arm while I spun around, using it like a painful club.

“Die! Just die!” I shouted while slashing another two of the monsters apart.

[Morrigu’s Gift] sat in its two-handed form in my other hand. Holding it with one hand strained my wrist. I punched the [Crazed Saw Tooth Snapper] on my arm. Its health caved while my wrist was being crushed by powerful jaws.

The monster’s eyes crossed as I slammed it with my pommel a third time. Its flesh and gooey eyes oozed as I shook it off. Additional hisses came, and I heard teeth clamping together. I [Blink]ed to a vaguely clear spot, then surveyed the madness.

More flopped through shallow waters. It looked as if the swamp was writhing in agitation. All of this was Dusk’s fault. First his new-and-improved form gave way, which left me falling to the ground. Apparently the side effect of being [Empowered] was a reduction in state of equal measure. [Blink] and reduced fall damage had kept me alive and landed me in this swamp from hell.

Hecate: How’s it going out there?

[Crazed Saw Tooth Snapper]s surged toward me in a mob. Killing them simply drew more in from all over. I felt soaked in liquid and couldn’t tell which parts were swamp mud, sweat, or blood. Fighting raiders was almost easier. These mindless beasts showed no hesitation, acting like piranhas trying to feast on my digital flesh.

“Terrible!” I screamed at the pop-up box while twisting my blades around.

Teeth nipped my calf. Part of a pinkie was missing. [Bug Repellant] would wear off soon and turn this mess into an even worse nightmare. I cut at another pair of beady eyes and saw them lose focus before I separated head from body. These monsters were too damn short. Attacking any of them felt like trying to stab the ground, unless they leapt up at me.

The counter for my stored souls was getting closer to where it needed to be. Only four more kills and I would have enough to activate [Mechanical Hades Crown]. The original text said people could chose to bestow souls. In game terms that meant monsters dying counted. Two more went down quickly. I [Blink]ed to a new spot and drove my blade into a creature’s hide. My body slipped as it thrashed around.

“Got it!” I yelled happily while struggling to get upright again.

Dusk’s head perked up, and he tucked into the folds of my toga. His small body twisted around as he rolled up fabric to avoid sliding.

Teeth snapped, and I shouted the stupid [Lithium] chant needed for activation. The brief thought made my forehead pulse with irritation. I’d sworn never to use spoken spells after hearing Requiem use his special moves. Now that I had one of my own, I was willing to make the sacrifice.

“Mechanical God of the Underworld, lend me your ear!” What I imagined saying and what actually came out were two different things. My voice turned into indecipherable words. I had to trust in the system’s translation of my words to [Lithium]. “Gathered are these forgotten souls. Grant me leave to release them to a final task before crossing the veil! Empower Morrigu’s Gift, empower Morrigu’s Echo!”

I kept up the chant while working toward a solid piece of land to stand upon. Dull gray lights shot out from around my head and whirled around my body before landing on each blade. Jaws snapped at me as the weight in my hands doubled. I thanked the game for an insane level of [Brawn] but still strained to pick my blades off the ground.

This was a good spot. I lifted both blades and kicked off the ground with one foot, then I started spinning. Centrifugal force pulled both blades. I struggled to grip them tightly, but the added mass helped me spin faster. My foot kicked automatically, mimicking a dance move for lighter people. One where normally arms were held overhead or tight. I kept pulling both blades back in, then letting them slip again. The blades thudded into multiple objects, but my twisting feet me kept right on turning.

The world itself went in circles. Landscape tilted into new positions every time I blinked. [Awareness Heightening] gave me still shots of these [Crazed Saw Tooth Snapper] in different positions. One came out of the water toward me. Another three crawled over each other. A sixth spread its jaws wide to grab me. In the next pass, they were in pieces while more took their places. In another two spins, those were also broken apart while the first batch looked like giblets.

The weight tearing at my elbows and shoulders dropped. I heaved my chest and tried to come out of the spin properly. Dizziness tried to tip me into the swamp, but I staggered into position. Pain radiated from everywhere, and I tried not to consider what had happened. Soon I would log out of the ARC and be free of this gross landscape and mud that squished between my sandals.

I took rapid breaths and tried to steady myself. [Morrigu’s Gift] and [Morrigu’s Echo] were lighter than ever. Both sat clutched to my chest in dagger form while my feet balanced carefully upon uneven ground. That move made me dizzy, and I felt numb. My vision wobbled as I scanned the dead bodies for signs of movement. Dusk chirped in an ear, and I tried to ignore him and hear the swamp.

Trees all around had been mowed down. Bushes had been chopped to bits. Dead carcasses from [Crazed Saw Tooth Snapper]s were in even more pieces than they had been. Portions of the dirt were torn and shredded. Water rushed in to fill new grooves.

No enemies showed up, and the small notification telling me of active combat faded. I waited a few seconds, then put both shapeshifting items into my belt. I poked at the air for food from my player storage. Physical hunger and in-game satiety were pushing even harder to make me unsteady. One of them needed to be solved.

“Okay.” I nodded as I ate. “Much better.”

Dusk wriggled and crawled out of my toga. He had been hiding in a ripple next to the [Messenger’s Tube]. That marked the third usage of my new special move. There was no name tied to it. [Empowerment] gave me a long-desired boost to both blades, taking their sheer size, mass, and destructive power to new heights. Hopefully people watching in the audience enjoyed seeing a middle-aged man in a toga performing a pirouette with giant oversized blades.

“It’s almost worth having to chant Lithium. Almost,” I muttered.

The move was far cooler and more awkward than Requiem’s teardrop black hole nonsense. Honestly, I didn’t know if he could even use the ability anymore. Technically that skill had been removed when his character had reverted back to default. However, in the last three months, Requiem had been busy pursuing all sorts of leftover quests and grinding out similar skills to what he’d had before his reset. In a few months, the player had regained half his original strength and capabilities. I could tell because I could still spy on his account while I sat in the Trillium van. Only now he had a giant demon with a [Contract].

Tracking Requiem was proving to be a pain in the rear. Normally I wouldn’t have cared, but the Voices left a message stating Requiem knew how to get toward my next goal. The young man moved quickly toward a destination I didn’t know about. The Voices assured me he was headed toward a mystery section of [Arcadia]  they had been blind to until a few days ago.

I stopped a moment to type out my responses to Xin.

Hermes: Sorry, large teeth distracted me. Someone forgot to drain the swamp.

Hecate: That was your job, wasn’t it?

Hermes: Maybe. It’s drained now, and I think every alligator-thing for miles is now laying in pieces.

Hecate: Uh oh. How many?

Hermes: All of them. All of them are dead. I only know they’re all dead because nothing’s trying to eat my face anymore.

Hecate: You’re still in those swamps, right? Awesome Jr. tells me there’s a monster called the King Fang Fisher out there.

Hermes: I’m not going to like this, am I?

Hecate: It’s attracted to dead monsters. Part of the zone’s special murder-you tactics. Don’t look up.

The dim shadow being cast down upon us moved, and for a moment, I disregarded the change in light. It felt like a sunny day opening up. My eyes scanned Xin’s message rapidly while I tried to understand. I looked up.

Something absolutely huge, with wings, was in the air above. The brief glance revealed a mile-long bird with a mottled-green pterodactyl’s body.

Hermes: Shit.

Hecate: What?

I held still and hoped the creature above wouldn’t notice me. Thankfully Xin wasn’t out here. I preferred she stay behind for a multitude of reasons. First, this place was gross. This swampland went on for endless miles, and ever since Dusk’s [Empowerment] failed, we had been stuck walking around looking for Requiem. My toes were caked with mush, and a smell unbefitting humanity assaulted my nostrils.

Second, Requiem and I had a history that involved a lot of abuse and backstabbing. Those moments were not proud ones for me. I had been deliberately rude and spiteful to another human being for the purpose of getting him to quit, die to monsters, or kill him myself. None of those were actions I enjoyed. I rationalized them—they made sense to me at the time as needed—but it was like acting in a villain’s role.

But the bird had noticed me. Or it had noticed the dead bodies. It was diving. Its head tilted, and one white beady eye locked on me. I looked down and concentrated on running away. [Blink] got me another thirty yards.

The shadow grew denser, and a low hum came from overhead. I dove to the side with a second [Blink], then tried to gain distance. A mile of dead [Crazed Saw Tooth Snappers] and destroyed shrubs lay all around me. We had been fighting them and moving around for far too long. My legs burned as I stumbled through sticky swamp and bisected bodies. I had no time to care about loot or picking up hides. Despite my attempted escape, the shadow loomed closer. This monster was huge, overwhelmingly huge.

My third reason for having Xin stay behind had to do with her safety. In [Haven Valley], Xin would be next to the portal. She could venture into the great beyond without much delay. Running from a giant angry bird intent upon scooping up dead bodies felt counterproductive to her safety.

A message from my wife floated off to one side. I managed to type a response quickly.

Hecate: You looked up, didn’t you? :)

Hermes: Angryyybird!

The bird’s jaw dug into mushy landscape like an albatross scooping up water for fish. Dead carcasses by the dozens fit into the [King Fang Fisher]’s mouth. Its wings beat by, but the shadow didn’t go away.

I looked up, and a second one of those damned birds was coming down. Its huge mouth scooped up a stretch of surrounding terrain and me. It was huge enough that I was barely one piece of a mouthful. I ran over dead fantasy alligators and tried to get out of its mouth.

“Rrargh!” Sound blasted around me from the giant bird’s protest.

I leapt into the abyss of open air, then twisted around. Today wasn’t a day for running from fights. Today I was too pissed and tired to do more than fight them. Plus, aerial combat was far more exciting now.

Two rapid [Blink]s put me at the creature’s face. The cooldown triggered blocking a third jump. I grabbed a ridge above its eye and dug in. Death grip and [Climber] skills kept me hanging on.

“Rarrrhh!” It screeched at me.

“Aghghgh!” I shouted back, then slipped while trying to stab it.

The bird balked and pumped its wings to go higher. I dug in my hand and hung on as we climbed swiftly. Two months ago, this would have scared the crap out of me, but now it was just another day in Continue Online.

“Listen up, dammit! I’m dirty!” I hacked away with a diminutive [Morrigu’s Gift]. “Tired!”

The bird started to roll while I hung on. My stomach lurched as the world below spun. Swamp and meat slipped into my face.

“And trying to save the world!”

The creature’s eye turned bloody, and I stumbled. The hand I swung with ended up deep in mush, and the creature started to fall from the sky. The horizon spun, and my stomach lurched. Dusk was chirping and hissing wildly. Tiny claws kept kicking at my chest. We spun out of control, and I saw the first giant bird creature below us.

“Dammit!”

I reached for my shoe and slammed my palm upon the heel, activating [Power Armor]’s complete form. Metal covered every ounce of my skin, and Dusk’s chirps echoed. I kept yelling while turning into a falling meteor of man and metal. The path carried me straight through the other [King Fang Fisher]’s huge flapping wing. It gave a squawk, and I heard crunching as the wing bone under me bent at wrong angles. It flopped around, sending me spiraling in a new direction.

[Power Armor] clinked out of place. The ground was growing closer. [Awareness Heightening] didn’t keep me calm, but my head at least functioned. Two fast [Blink]s cut some inertia. My body twisted around wildly, then slammed into the ground. Swamp dirt and roots dug into my face as Newton’s laws had their way with me even in virtual reality.

I sat there awkwardly, face in the mud and rear in the air while I contemplated exactly what poor series of choices had brought me to this point. My health bar sat precariously low. I had no other message boxes to explain where my life went wrong. I groaned, feeling older than William Carver, but managed to get upright.

My legs hurt like hell. The pain piled on top of my already damaged arms. ARC warning signals showed all sorts of neat information. At some point, my heartbeat had spiked to an uncomfortable range. One leg was cramping in response to mixed up mental signals. I tried to remember my cooldown exercises and stretched slowly.

The swamp behind me had already started filling in. The two huge birds had paved a trail of death through the mud a quarter mile away. Their fresh carcasses were already being swarmed by monsters.

“Voices, I hate this place,” I said.

Dusk wiggled free and flew out of the toga. His diminutive wings flapped to get away. High [Reaction] converted the impulse to grab him and shake him into action.

“And you! For once, you need to stop picking fights!”

First, Dusk had turned tiny, sending us toward the ground and forcing us to walk for a day. That I’d accepted. All those monsters attacking us had happened because a miniaturized Dusk wanted to fight a baby crane chick. Even with reduced stature and attack points, Dusk couldn’t let his nature go for a few hours.

The [Messenger’s Pet] tilted his head. He nipped at my hand, and I let him go. A picture of a smiley face appeared, and next to it was a single pink-frosted cupcake.

“No, why would I give you a treat after that?” I shook him.

The [Messenger’s Pet] calmly took to the air, hovering with both wings out and flapping. He hissed in my face, blasted a tiny fireball, then twisted in on himself. A moment later, Dusk had forcibly unsummoned himself from Continue Online. He would probably raid my Atrium anyway.

I stomped in a circle and tried not to consider how messed up everything had turned out. The stupid [Altered Matrix] had turned into a dead end, and now I was out here in the ass-end of [Arcadia] on a fool’s quest running after a player I didn’t know well. Calming down took more effort than expected, but after a moment of reflection, I felt comfortable talking to my wife.

Hermes: Hey, babe, I’m still alive. I think in the last hour, I’ve killed two hundred blood-crazed crocs, or whatever, and two of those birds. I’m beat, hungry, and pissed at Dusk. I need to take a break.

Hecate: Do you want me to join you?

Hermes: Not here. This place is a cesspit of filth. I’m not even sure I’ll be able to find Requiem at this rate.

Hecate: Call me then?

Hermes: I’ve got dinner at Liz’s later tonight. Can I call you after that? I plan on passing out soon.

Hecate: All right. I love you. Tell the family hi.

Hermes: Will do. I love you.

I rubbed my face and couldn’t tell if I cleaned off some grime or added more. Seeing the state of my hands and clothes nearly made me puke. I found a still pool of water free of enemies, and cleaned myself off a little. This place sucked badly.

Two days ago, Xin and I had been searching [Haven Valley] for a place to shove the key and unlock more paths for Locals and Travelers to use. There were apparently none anywhere that I or the other four could find. I’d left the key behind with SweetPea and made her promise not to use it personally. They could look and see if it fit, but turning it would cause huge amounts of real-life pain. None of those players should suffer real damage because I’d chosen them as William Carver.

However, they were now almost locked in town, trying to find information. Awesome Jr. and his father were chatting, but no one had great ideas. It might have been possible that there was a key slot out in [ItRainsTooMuch], but the Voices had insisted there wasn’t.

This event was stressful. Everyone saw the dwindling number of Locals and Travelers. [World Eater]s had increased in frequency and aggression. Not everyone could get around like we could, and those who were powerful enough to do so had mostly retired, weren’t logging in, had been deleted, or sat in [Haven Valley], helping prepare for a huge siege.

Another message popped up.

Thorny: Mom says don’t forget dinner tonight, and you’re bringing food! She’s doesn’t want to cook today.

I looked up and spread my hands. “All right, everyone, I’m logging off!”

Two days ago, after we realized how many people were watching me, Xin suggested that talking to viewers might allow for more people to dial into my character while I played. This whole being watched nonsense felt over the top. In theory, they couldn’t see my chat conversations or any menu options. The feed only showed me as a person moving around and audio.

Fifty-three thousand people and change were keeping tabs on Hermes, watching what I was doing. The majority of those had arrived after I’d killed Nam Redrum. That served as reason number four not to have Xin out here. Without a decent place to set up the [Honeymoon Suite], I felt as though we were being judged for everything. The public displays of affection or unfiltered sounds weren’t even the worst of it.

Leon, Trillium’s President, had reminded me that sooner or later, the nameless audience watching could realize who I was in real life. I had interacted with hundreds of ARC users in the last year. How small would the leap be from the man who had repaired their devices to Hermes as a character? From there, how quickly could they figure out Xin wasn’t a real person?

The problem was having so many people watching me also provided a nearly twenty percent bonus to all my skills and rate of development. [Blink] had actually hit Rank Nine yesterday, and I could finally hop twice in a row without waiting for a cooldown. All of it helped immensely, but knowing that so many people were watching felt freaky as well.

I mean, I was wearing the game’s grimiest toga ever in a swamp from hell.

I logged out of the machine, staggered to my van, then ordered food. Pizza felt like a decent enough meal. Beth and Liz should be fine if I showed up a little earlier since we were at a good pausing point in the game. Hal Pal exchanged a few pleasantries, but the AI showed less and less personality as the game world crashed. I didn’t want to ignore my friend, yet between us, a gap had started to appear.

Sleep claimed me quickly regardless of my whirling thoughts. By the time I arrived at Liz’s house, I felt slightly more than an animal but less than human.

Dinner went quicker than expected. Beth chattered for a while about my current mission. I nodded but felt mostly unaware. Liz looked terrible and smelled as if she had been drinking. That got more of my attention than anything my niece could have said.

“All right!” Beth shouted suddenly. Her chair slid painfully across the floor. “I’ve got to do some homework, then get back to town! They’ve got me out trying to escort some stragglers back to Haven Valley. It’s crazy.”

“That sounds good,” I mumbled absently. Sleep sounded attractive, and my bed was miles away. My real-life arms still felt ghost pains from the ARC feedback.

Beth kept talking as she grabbed her plate and another slice of pizza. “I talked to a friend. He says the server player base is down to nearly one-third of what it was. The NPCs are all vanishing too.” She chewed quickly and swallowed. “Those World Eaters are doing a number on everyone.”

“They are dangerous.” I nodded, then lowered my eyebrows. “You be careful.”

“Yeah, I can’t risk leaving my autopilot alone anymore!” Beth kept talking. The water ran in the kitchen while I watched Liz stand up and walk off. Her body moved unevenly to the front room. “A lot of people are losing their characters left and right because they’re not online. The forums at Trillium’s site are overloaded with pissed players.”

I shrugged.

“All right! I’ll see you in game!” Beth ran clomping down the stairs.

I slowly ate two more pieces of pizza before I dared to give any thought to what Beth said. How bad would it get when the game went down completely, and what would happen if the virus kept going through that beam of light up into the AIs’ new home? Mother’s deletion would be complete then, or so I surmised.

I hesitated to ask James or any of the other Voices for more information. The best answer for me would be to march forward to the goal. Find Requiem, find this hidden area he was charging toward, and see if a secret there could help all the AIs survive. It couldn’t be a coincidence that Requiem was moving out there. That teen had a nose for game treasure troves. I hoped we wouldn’t have to compete over the prize like Dwight had tried to do. Ray’s intervention had probably saved us from a worse fate if Dwight had ended up with the crown and key.

There were three slices of pizza left. I collapsed the box around it, thankful they had started releasing these adjustable plastic ones. The remaining plastic went into a recycle bin while the pizza went into Liz’s fridge. Beth would probably be back upstairs in a few hours, ravenous once more.

Liz sat in the front room in a recliner. She stared at a blank wall. I took a sniff. The room absolutely reeked of alcohol. The smell reminded me of past regrets and stupid words spoken. How many people had I chased away while in a bottle? Grief, and a situation I felt unable to handle, had driven me there. Maybe my sister and I weren’t so different after all.

“You two keep talking about it, but no one’s really talking about it,” Liz almost mumbled.

“About what?” I asked while plopping down on the couch.

“How the world’s changing, baby brother.” Liz’s face looked flushed. Her eyes were heavy, and I recognized the expression of dread. She looked like a woman trying hard to hold it together. “It’s changing, and people don’t even understand. They think it’s just a game. Even Beth. She knows, but she doesn’t understand. Not yet.”

“Let her remain innocent then, for a little longer.” I tried to smile.

“Innocent?” my sister said.

She outright laughed at that. I briefly remembered how players tended to get red skin or other gifts from Mezo. Maybe innocent wasn’t the right word.

“She hasn’t been innocent for years. But maybe that’s my fault. Maybe I should have been more stable. I could have been a better role model, or found the perfect man.”

“There’s a joke about that. One of my clients told me years ago.” I put on a smile for Liz. “There are only two perfect men in the world, and they’re married to each other.”

My attempt at derailing the pity party with bad humor failed. Liz didn’t even bat an eyelash.

“I just wanted someone who wanted me the way you wanted her,” she said.

“Xin?”

“God. You were so bad too. For years and years. Just hung up on one girl, so bad that you found a… digital whatever. Clone. It took that to bring life back into your eyes, and I can’t even explain how pissed that makes me.” Liz’s hand shook with muted rage.

I nodded, then stood. My sister stared off while I opened a window. Her bottom lip was being chewed.

“Grant? Why do they need you? Why not just… laser beam through it all? Or whatever it is digital people do. Turn into star dust or something.” Liz tried to look in my direction but failed.

“They don’t need me exactly.” My head shook as I walked over to Liz. “Not really. I’m sure any one of a thousand people could have fit the bill. Or maybe if I hadn’t been involved, none of this would have happened.”

The pieces were all lying out there. If it weren’t for me, Mother could have probably taken the process much slower. Miz Riley wouldn’t have keyed in on my presence. Her nosiness might have been less intense or informed, which would have prevented her from pulling the kill switch on Mother. No kill switch, no death of Viper. To back up to my other problem, using the [NPC Conspiracy] in Advance Online had triggered a global AI hunt. The news still provided updates every week on the ongoing progress of that fiasco.

“That’s right.” Liz glared at me with unfocused eyes. “You asshole. It’s your fault we’re like this.”

I chose not to say anything and instead started cleaning. She wasn’t wrong, but Liz had probably been thinking of different issues than I was. My sister had earned the right to berate my choices after she’d picked up my broken pieces twice and gotten me back together. I could disagree with her and still respect the sacrifices that must have taken.

When it all came out, she would be in for far worse. I hoped the Voices would try to deflect the damage. Part of me had started to realize such a hope was impossible. If they all left in this beam of light toward destinations unknown, then how could anyone take care of those who stayed behind?

“They don’t need you. Just walk away. Let the chips fall where they may. This whole program crash might be a good thing. Maybe humans are too reliant on technology and need to think for themselves instead of being zombies.” Liz’s hand waved to the stairs. Projection devices stationed around the room picked up her movement, and the television flickered on. “Look! I can’t just wave my hand anymore without some stupid program thinking I give a shit!”

I walked back into the front room and shut everything off with a quick double clap.

“Vidiots. That’s what Dad used to call them. People with their faces in cell phones, walking around like there’s nothing in the world besides the screen. Like they can’t live without ‘em.”

The words made me pause, and I nodded.

“Maybe some of them can’t. Maybe that’s why they love these little machines, and screens, and the Internet boxes. Maybe they need what’s in them to feel alive again, and less like a zombie,” I said while walking down the hall toward Liz’s room. The bed looked okay.

“Vidiots,” my sister paused halfway through the word with a room-vibrating belch.

“Maybe we are.” I nodded.

My twin helped me sort out thoughts that bothered me. There were smarter people who could have figured out other methods. There were better players who could have taken these gifts and gone further. Why did I bear the brunt of this event when anyone else could have fit the bill? But I had something inside the box that I couldn’t feel alive without.

“The world’s changing,” Liz repeated. Then she attempted to drown herself with a fresh glass of liquor.

Her eyes rolled back, and my sister conked out completely. I nodded. I had honestly expected her to pass out sooner.

I took the bottle and poured the rest down the drain. One Legate traveling down this road had been bad enough. After that, I struggled to get my slightly older twin sister back to her bed to sleep this off. My heart felt heavy at what this problem might do to her. Thankfully she had Beth.

The edge of my niece’s form dashed around the stairwell corner to her room. Maybe the youngest Legate wasn’t as innocent as we hoped, but what kind of role models had we been? My sister tried desperately to be a supporting pillar for all the people in her dwindling family. She constantly tried to find someone who could be strong for her, but she had only ended up getting one-night stands. I played at hero while alternating between violent outbursts and barely suppressed panic at what the future might hold. Through it all, I tried hard to be a good husband to a dead woman and forgiven for poor decisions made during depressive bouts.

My sister’s lead-weight body kept me company down the hall. Hopefully Beth would turn out better than we had, and hoepfully I would be around to see it.

Session Ninety-Eight

Demon’s Albatross

Two real days later, I was grumpier. It felt like a week from hell that would never end. Even finals back in college hadn’t amounted to this level of stress. A narrow world where all that mattered was a degree couldn’t compare to the hassle of trying to track down Requiem in this mess.

Swamp gave way to twisted forests. The region looked familiar from my days as a [Red Imp]. Each tree had the same bend and weight. I kept an eye out for familiar monsters. Monkeys of the various rotting types were all around. Giant apes appeared, but most died quickly enough or were avoidable.

My skill at fighting monsters had grown in leaps and bounds since being a [Red Imp]. Having excessive amounts of character points and skills helped. Still, it was repetitive, dull, and mind-numbing. The only thing that made this entire trudge bearable was the constant stream of chatter from the few players I interacted with regularly.

SweetPea: Hey, everyone… anything new…?

Shadow: We’ve recovered another forty people.

Awesome Jr.: Awesome! Any losses?

Shadow: Seven Locals and two players hit a third strike.

I watched their group messages with a vague interest. It served as a distraction from the dull repetition of this place. Without their chatter, I would have been wandering around all alone.

Dusk hadn’t answered a summons. He sat inside my Atrium, glaring at me every time I dared cross through the ARC’s interface. The [Messenger’s Pet] sulked on a long couch, and during the last two days, I had been noticing an increase in demolished Atrium furniture and extra charges on my bank account. Enough to let me know the black-scaled creature was upset.

Getting through the stupid swamp and this forest would have probably been easier with Dusk helping me, but I was upset too. We were in a crunch, racing against time, and fighting an endless mob of aggravated creatures wouldn’t help me catch up to anyone. Not that I was making progress. I felt as if I had passed that same set of trees a dozen times now. What confounded me was how Requiem managed to stay so far ahead despite [Blink] and [Light Body] being highly ranked. I began to suspect he had made more progress than expected in rebuilding his character.

Shadow: Too bad we can’t just watch his feed. League members were using feeds to hunt down players going on rampages.

Awesome Jr.: We’ve tried. Most remaining players have shut down their video screens. I’m still not sure how Hermes managed to take down Nam.

Awesome Jr.: But that’s all over the news. Hermes’s viewership has tripled in the last two days. It’s only going to go up. Too bad the bonuses taper off.

SweetPea: …that’s so weird to see his character on the news. They can’t see us chatting… right?

Awesome Jr.: Nope. System notices are hidden. They’re just watching him trudge through the forest. You are still in those woods right, Hermes?

Hermes: Yes. I’ll be happy if I never see another tree in my life.

I could almost see SweetPea trying to pull down her hoodie and hide from potential viewers. Shadow and Awesome Jr. had turned theirs off right away. HotPants didn’t care and had a much smaller following. I suspected she wanted to rub the viewership in her ex-husband’s face at some point.

As a modern man raised in a city, forests like this one drove me crazy. I kept trying to reach a quest marker floating in the distance, but I never got any closer. Despite playing nearly five of the last eight game days, I was well behind and running into the same monsters over and over. As a side effect, my skills were going up, which helped greatly. My stockpile of essences for the [Mechanical Hades Crown] had reached a high level.

HotPants: Hey. Idiots. Did anyone else notice Hermes is looping?

My head jerked up. Was I going in circles? I stared at the trees while squinting. Maybe that nagging feeling of everything looking the same hadn’t been solely in my head. My jaw went rigid at the idea that HotPants was the one to point it out. What annoyed me more was that she watched me during her logged-off time. That struck me as awkward. Being watched by a random faceless crowd felt more bearable than knowing people near me were judging.

Awesome Jr.: Is he???

HotPants: Same trees six times. It’s like that, fuck, uhhh…

HotPants: Diamond’s Pyramid? Something?

Shadow: The Sol’s Lense

HotPants: Sure. Where we had that quest and kept going in circles. Same monsters every time. Same corner of the room.

Awesome Jr.: We broke that by using a line formation right? It went away once we got someone outside the edges?

HotPants: I dunno, I never pay attention to that stuff.

SweetPea: …we used yarn between us to stay connected.

Awesome Jr.: Hermes, if you’re stuck, try to use a reveal or sensory technique. You’ve got one, right? Most high-end players get something.

Hecate: Babe, use it with your crown. Just be careful.

Hermes: Okay. Thanks for the tip.

I tried to carefully tiptoe around the awkwardness of HotPants watching me. My wife, Hecate in game, would probably be upset anyway. If we had been together, the problem might have been noticed sooner and solved by now. Once again, stubbornness made life difficult.

Chanting [Lithium] made me feel like a teenage girl reciting terrible cartoon lines while swooning. Real poetry was great; this stuff felt like garbage. I opened my mouth to utter the key phrase for [Mechanical Hades Crown] anyway.

“Mechanical God of the Underworld, lend me your ear!”

[Lithium] spells I understood sounded perfectly normal. Foreign ones were gibberish and chants. I vaguely remembered the note from M. Shell about how the game rewrote text at high speeds. Mother’s system could probably do audio too. After all, this was all in our heads.

“Gathered are these forgotten souls. Grant me leave to release them to a final task before crossing the veil! Empower Sight of Mercari!”

Every time I uttered an ability out loud, I gave away one of my secrets. Soon there would be nothing left to hide from anyone who came knocking. Requiem would be one of the few people who would never notice me until we ran into each other. He spent the majority of time focused on his own skills and gear.

The world pulsed, and I felt as though my eyesight went everywhere at once. Sensory overload sent me straight to my knees, and I retched onto a nearby splintered tree trunk. Stomach contents unloaded while I felt as though I was getting a good look at myself from every angle imaginable. The overload sent everything into an old-fashioned static haze that jerked my senses around further.

In one moment, I saw the dead forest with defeated monkey parts lying around. Half-rotting moles were in pieces where they had poked above ground and I promptly ended them. Scorch marks sat on some trees, outlining more signs of combat. A billion tiny dots flickered around, creating a sea of colors out of the wildlife nearby.

Then that tore down the middle and I felt my orientation change. Instead of kneeling and cradling my head, I was looking up. The change in gravity made my belly try to heave again. Through watery eyes, I saw James’s feet nearby. Xin’s black robe with white runes sat on my other side.

“Be careful!” said my wife’s voice from a million miles away.

Everything hit static again, and the scene changed. Woods around me overlapped each other with endless words labeling each item. The word “Castle” hung in giant bold text as the outline of a real fortification came into sight, where before there had only been looping forest. The building’s ruins were familiar enough to wash away some of the disorientation.

Once again the scene broke, and I heard Dusk’s giant wide-mouthed yawn. My eyes looked for the source of the sound and found the white broken pillar with Continue Online’s book sitting closed atop it. The same one I’d signed so many months ago, starting this. Dusk, the size of a cat again, sat next to the column and his yawn finished. His jaws closed, and that other place turned to blackness. My forehead wrinkled. Then the vision vanished and my heartbeat stuttered.

The castle sat far away. Closer to me was a small fireplace with a young teen in blue-and-black leathers. He poked a stick at the pit and stirred embers. I tried to shake off the brief, confusing trip. That had to be the ARC simply overloading. [Sight of Mercari] felt rough to use normally, and I had broken well past normal by beefing it up.

Wraith looked impressive in real life. The [Contract] demon had to be at least ten feet tall with huge bull-like horns. A heavy metal ring hung in each ear while his chest remained bare. The red-skinned elder brother of Spite could easily compete against Vlad in terms of expansive muscular displays. Only his nose and eyes were grotesque. Yellow eyes with twisted pools of darkness stared at me while his large nostrils flared. Steam poured out of his mouth, and large teeth were revealed as the monster grinned.

Requiem’s demon stared at me for a moment while I struggled to get upright. I understood the young man’s nature and needed to be ready. [Morrigu’s Gift] sat in one hand, and the circlet about my head had enough essence for an ultimate move or three.

“Someone broke through? You need the spell for this place,” Requiem said clearly enough.

[Sight of Mercari] typed out every word like a closed caption. The sensation made my head quake with confusion.

“Is this another foolish Traveler after your worthless hide, Requiem?” the giant creature asked with a deep voice that made me shiver.

“Don’t know, don’t care. Get him.”

Requiem’s words slowly registered as the text portion faded. The empowerment was already drifting away. The tone of his words reminded me of our numerous moments together, when he ordered me to act.

Wraith shot in my direction, but he faded from sight with each step. My head still reeled from the overloaded version of [Sight of Mercari]. The dot for Wraith vanished and reappeared a few feet to my left. A crimson claw curled toward my stomach. A single heartbeat thumped as the world distorted under [Awareness Heightening]’s eighth Rank. Without Xin here to drain some of the effect, it felt like moving through a placid world.

[Morrigu’s Gift] twirled into position, then clanked into Wraith’s outstretched hand. Sparks flew off as I stepped back into a [Blink]. The distortion caused by changing locations dragged at my head. I dipped out of the [Blink] and turned around to the edge of a barely visible face. The demon smiled as a curl of steam hung in the air. He closed both eyes, then vanished again, and his dot moved. Wraith lived up to his name and shifted like a ghost of vengeance or doom.

“Neat.” I felt startled for a moment.

The slow motion of [Awareness Heightening] gave me four glorious seconds to think. Wraith could [Blink] too. This would be a scary fight.

I [Blink]ed a second time, trying to get ahead. Wraith turned with far more speed than I’d expected and deflected [Morrigu’s Gift] with freakish ease. We moved rapidly twice more. I kept trying to dodge past the large demon, but he would vanish, then appear in front of me.

Voices, dammit, what was with all these creatures lately? I had happily breezed through a month or two of game time with Xin and hardly been challenged like this. Then I faced Nam Redrum, the endless horde of evil lizards, and now a demon that moved as fast as I did and seemed to know my moves before I made them.

My foot went back and twisted. [Morrigu’s Gift] sheared a pile of dirt into the air as a screen. [Camouflage] went off, and my body faded. My eyes closed to ping Wraith—his body veered directly for me despite my attempt at hiding. I ducked, then propelled myself forward, holding my breath and trying not to crash into an object.

A mass of dark-winged muscle flew overhead. [Blink] went off once more before a cloven foot could catch my head. My body hovered above Requiem’s, and I readied my blade with more intent to kill than expected.

The moment moved in slow motion. Wraith’s body [Blink]ed in between the shorter male and me. His arm first blocked me. Requiem was twisting around with wide eyes. Then the view was blocked by Wraith’s smiling face and large horns. I gasped as the demon’s head twisted to the side. One large horn aimed for my body. [Power Armor] automatically flickered into existence and mitigated the damage but couldn’t stop such an insane force from sending me sprawling.

My body slammed into the ground and bounced. Pain jarred my skull as I [Blink]ed again before the second tumble. Dirt ground between my molars and tasted dry.

“You move like a demon!” he boomed.

I could feel his happiness in my head. It wasn’t an impression or visual cue; the demon’s emotions were actually dancing around inside my skull. The sensation made my skin crawl and disturbed the hell out of me.

“Voices.” I realized what the problem was. [Awareness Heightening] and [Blink] both came from my time as Spite. Both were skills picked up from a reported glitch being straightened out.

Behind the demon’s widespread arms sat a young teen who looked downright panicked. Requiem was quickly equipping items. His shoulder pads were switched out. The sword in his hand changed. Shoes flickered and were replaced with larger items. While he put on good gear, I frowned and tried to figure out what would get me past Wraith and to Requiem. I had an overwhelming desire to punch Requiem in his damn face.

If it weren’t for that overwhelming desire, I might have tried to talk it out. My mind raced, and I felt the demon watching me with a wide smile. This had to be Spite’s bigger brother. That meant he was much stronger than the [Red Imp] had been. Maybe stronger than Hermes. I didn’t have time to inspect him. I needed, or wanted, to force Requiem to a standstill, if not outright stomp the teen’s face.

Fine, if the standby skills were obvious, then I had other tricks. After a moment of study, I noticed a thin blue aura appearing from behind the demon. Wraith faded from view again, and there stood Requiem, clad in that stupid battle aura.

Requiem had his full powers back and somehow I had missed it. His character simply looked the same as always. The sword looked exactly like his old one. No, I should have expected something to go wrong when dealing with the younger man. He’d always had an ace or three up his sleeve.

Too bad for him we had spent a long time together. His playstyle, if nothing else, was already known to me. He charged toward me while pulling out a second sword that trailed ash. His body crawled with a stronger blue aura as he chanted [Lithium] quietly. Their attack reminded me that I needed to do this at my pace, not theirs. It was time to stack skills.

My mouth opened wide, and a stream of fireballs, courtesy of Dusk’s [Blessing], shot out. Requiem threw out two of his own and dodged the others. [Morrigu’s Echo] was unsheathed, and I turned both weapons into large two-handed blades. [Blade Dancer] worked just as well with two partners. [Battle Hum]’s effect kicked in, sending a rush of excitement through me. I took each step in conjunction with the tempo of unheard music.

Months of playing had passed since our last true encounter. In total, almost a year of game time had passed. I was no longer the beaten little [Red Imp] with low health. I had fought [World Eater] giants, stood against an army of monsters, and fought one of the strongest NPCs to walk the surface of [Arcadia]. There was no way I would let a greedy teenager and his demon pet defeat me. No goddamned way.

The smaller blades deflected [Morrigu’s Gift]. [Morrigu’s Echo] blocked flying claws. The demon’s wings cut across above me, and I ducked under the blow and came up stabbing. Both enemies moved backward, and I stepped off to the side. Requiem snarled, then pressure slapped my wrist. His slow motion fingers were grasping at [Morrigu’s Echo] and starting to twist its hilt against my fingers.

I let the blade fall away and kept turning to punch Wraith in the face. His large nose flattened as I finally unleashed over four hundred points of [Brawn]. Yellow demonic eyes crossed, and I brought [Morrigu’s Gift] up to block a thrusting blade from Requiem. Ash clouded my vision as the blue-aura-clad sword jabbed across my knuckles. [Power Armor] struggled to activate and deflect the blow, but my grip suffered.

“Hold him!” Requiem shouted while moving backward.

The words stirred up months of lingering frustration. This little punk had abused me for weeks. He had been my first real chance at bringing back Xin, and I’d failed. My hum turned into an outright cry of protest. To one side, Wraith stomped down a foot, then righted himself. Our dance started again.

“None of that!” I shouted while attacking Requiem directly.

His swings were blocked by a combination of blade and armor. My own were dodged or blocked. A rumbling growl came behind me. [Blink] went off again, and I ducked underneath Requiem’s legs. His body fell over mine as Wraith came out of his own [Blink] to attack me.

The man cried out as his demon’s attack hit the wrong target. Wraith’s smile went wider at the sound of Requiem’s pain. The world faltered as [Awareness Heightening] stuttered briefly. Requisite Ass flew farther away than I had ever seen. His arm grabbed onto a tree, then he righted himself quickly. I would have clapped if we were on better terms.

Still, I had an idea to bait Requiem with. [Blink] bought me distance while Wraith shook his head. The blow I had given him must still be aching. I tucked away both weapons into easily reachable spots. I put my hands up as if striking a pose, then I started chanting [Lithium].

“Mechanical God of the Underworld, lend me your ear!” I cried.

Requiem might not understand this one, but he should believe it was a special move of some sort. It was, but I wasn’t frozen in one place like Requiem would be.

“Gathered are these forgotten souls. Grant me leave to release them to a final task before crossing the veil! Empower Gait of Bowman!”

“Beware!” Wraith shouted.

“Hold him!” Requiem backed up and started his own chant. The ash-coated blade was tucked away as he adopted a similar pose, holding the black-and-blue sword in front of him. “Ghost of a dead sun! Shadow of a singularity! Draw all into your grasp!”

He started performing the same hand gestures, confirming what I already knew; Requiem somehow had all of his original powers back. His aura started to condense.

“Idiot.” I smiled, slammed my foot down to activate [Power Armor], and then I [Blink]ed forward.

The armor didn’t clink into place but instead flickered into being in motion. The normal blockage by my helm was missing. I could see through the framing but still felt weight as the skill activated. My body hummed as if an engine sat deep inside me, its gears pumping. This ability felt like turning into a giant tank, then unleashing hell upon the enemy.

“Rrrgh!” Wraith’s eyes went wide as I collided with him through the first [Blink].

Two large fists slammed into his midsection, knocking the demon over. [Awareness Heightening] made it feel like an eternity as I pulled back both arms, then [Blink]ed forward once again.

“Shit!” Requiem dropped his stance, then lifted both weapons to block.

My arms went out to his blades and grabbed them. [Disarm], the move I’d learned from Wyl, worked perfectly. Requiem’s ash-trailing sword went flying in one direction. The sword with a teardrop bit of condensed energy on the end went another, and the half-formed spell faded. With the momentum, I planted my rear foot. Fully empowered [Power Armor] encased me with a shimmering set of black-and-gold armor. Requiem went wide-eyed as I bent slightly, then executed a full [Brawn] shoulder slam.

[Blink] got me midair ahead of him. I grabbed my main weapon then lifted both arms overhead for a chop. I didn’t want to kill either of them. The edges of my blades had been blunted this entire fight. Part of me took savage delight in watching Requiem’s mouth burst open with foamy spit as the weapon slammed into his midsection, sending him back to the ground.

He hit the ground like a meteor. Dirt and rock went everywhere. I activated the second [Blink], and the world shifted again. My body formed above his, and one armor-covered foot was shoved down to hold his prone form still. He froze with a glare directed toward me. The young man’s eyes screamed with defiance. I had killed players and human-looking NPCs alike by now. Requiem existed in real life, and his accusing look didn’t bother me as much. One arm lifted above my head. [Morrigu’s Gift] sat pressed against Requiem’s chest while [Morrigu’s Echo] looked exactly like the trident it used to be.

I screamed while jabbing the three-pronged weapon into the ground near Requiem’s head. For some reason, I felt better but wild. Regaining self-control took effort. Each breath came quicker than the last. My head felt heavy, and [Morrigu’s Gift] threatened to slip loose. I almost lifted the weapon to strike again. Had the lingering rage I’d felt as Spite carried over? My eyes closed as I gave thanks that Xin wasn’t here to see this. This anger born of an abused man who had nearly ruined everything for me.

“You’re lucky I couldn’t do this last time,” I ground the words out while trying not to clench my teeth. “And if I didn’t need you, I would happily kill you.”

“Go ahead and kill me.” His chin lifted.

“No. You probably have your stupid ring, and I would have to waste time waiting to see if you resurrect.” My head shook while his eyes went wide.

He looked younger now. Requiem was another owner of a [Howard’s Phylactery]. Thinking about it got me heated up again. Maybe I could stab him once and that would calm me down completely.

Laughter filled the area for a moment. My heartbeat sped up as [Awareness Heightening] skipped along, disjointed. Existing at eight times normal reality’s speed took a lot out of me, and catching up felt like watching a video that couldn’t render right.

“What are you laughing at!” Requiem shouted under me.

My chest heaved rapidly. I pressed the blade down tighter as Requiem tried to slip away. I scanned the trees for the Jester’s form sneaking through until I realized this laughing was more of a boom. The noise didn’t belong to a Voice mocking my change of heart in beating up Requiem. We had crossed that bridge.

Wraith was laughing, and his voice sent skeleton birds into the skies. “I knew it! I knew my brother’s soul could not be dead! The Voices did not lie! All this waiting, all this time following around a sheep in wolf’s clothing to finally find him again.”

My face twisted as Requiem’s chest heaved. I could see the edges of his wide eyes. His weapons lay upon the ground, and his body held very still under my boot. Part of me wanted to twist the other heel and stomp down with full [Power Armor] a few times, but I resisted the urge. Self-control was getting easier. In fact, this guy might be the first person I had ever left alive after engaging in combat. Normally it was either me or them.

“What?” Requiem asked.

“My brother has returned!” Wraith lifted his hands to clap. Each bang of hands thundered. “This, this is my brother!”

The large demon walked over, and that freakish emotion of surging happiness crawled into the deep parts of my brain once again. I tried to shake it off but felt the weird, ticklish sensation linger behind one ear.

“You mean Spite?” The teen’s face went through a full range of rapid emotions. “Spite’s dead! I killed him.”

“His flesh is gone, but his spirit remains!”

“I’m a lot nicer than Spite was,” I tried to defend myself but felt increasingly disturbed.

This large creature unnerved me. How Spite would have handled it was absolutely beyond me. Part of me wondered if the NPC even existed before I had accepted Vlad and Jean’s deal. The [Red Imp] had felt like a blank slate, so maybe not.

“You could have fooled me,” Requiem said sarcastically from beneath my boot. He looked less stressed but annoyed.

I tried to reduce my aggravation by lifting off of Requiem and walking away. [Power Armor] faded. I tucked my weapons under my belt. I walked right by Wraith and started pacing to cool down. My racing pulse refused to calm, and as [Awareness Heightening] faded, the rampant speed became obvious. Words came across my screen in slow motion as players days away sent text messages to our group. Their chatter helped remind me of the world at large resting on cooperation with Requiem.

Awesome Jr.: Anyone know what happened with Hermes?

Hecate: My man just wrecked that kid’s face and his Rank 25 demon.

HotPants: It was probably unfair, right? Hermes has the viewership bonus.

Hecate: Against a beta player? Requiem Mass has been playing for years longer.

Awesome Jr.: He’s still alive, right? I thought Hermes said we need Req alive?

Hecate: He’s alive. Babe, you’re reading this right? Summon me now. Whatever encounter is next will probably be worse than the Sage’s, and you’ll need help.

SweetPea: …what about us?

Awesome Jr.: We’re busy. Speaking of, anyone else up for their next assignment?

HotPants: JR, I’ve got a few hours. Where’s the next group?

Awesome Jr.: Hold on, I’ll check the board. Oh hey, Shadow before you log off for school, remind your minion army, whoever’s left, that we’re running low on time.

Shazam: Everyone, World Eaters have chewed up half the mountain passes and started to come down. My guild is going to start losing the outposts soon. We have maybe a week. Be ready.

Even Shazam had been included in our group. Interacting with her felt weird. She was like Xin, a recreation of the real person, stuck inside a machine. How many years of solid gameplay had been required to make that leap? Would everyone be able to transition over if they died in real life? Maybe there was a formula involving how many hours passed.

“Fuck. If you’re not here to kill me, then are you the guy I’ve been waiting for?” Requiem took a breath, then asked, “The one who sent this letter?”

He stood away from me with a scroll held up. Thankfully Requiem hadn’t pulled out an explosive or smoke grenade. The young man indulged in alchemy and collected all kinds of goodies. Nothing would have been surprising.

“Maybe. Probably.” I waved dismissively. This character had delivered a metric ton of letters. For almost a month in reality, Hermes had wandered around without my input because of Advance Online. “I was looking for you, yes. To make a deal, not fight.”

“Could have fooled me,” Requiem muttered again. “Maybe you are Spite. You don’t read like a player and knew all my moves, plus that weapon and those abilities. Jesus.”

“Yeah, you spent weeks beating the shit out of me.” I held myself back physically but not verbally. My head tilted, and I bit the bottom lip to stop speaking. Admitting that out loud couldn’t help anything. It just spread poison and unease.

What would my support group think of this? A few had shared stories of abuse cases; they drank to get away or became worse while under the haze. I couldn’t admit to frustration and violent urges over a game. It felt wrong, but Xin would understand. I needed my wife. All my annoyance at dealing with Requiem Mass had been to recover her in some manner. Being back in her presence would help remind me that everything had turned out all right. I twisted the rainbow ring and watched as a bright array of colors zoomed off.

“What was that?” Requiem asked.

“It’s none of your business. All you need to know is I’m willing to pay you for help with a task. That’s all I want from you,” I said while counting the seconds and trying to get some composure before Xin arrived.

“So the deal was true then? You’ll pay top coin for the knowledge?”

He held up the scroll again, which made me sigh. The Voices hadn’t told me about an actual letter, and rarely did I find out what was inside any of them. I wasn’t sure how he’d gotten it, or maybe the notice had come from my autopilot or another Traveler. The parchment and broken wax seal certainly looked like one of mine. It was possible this scenario fit in with one of Mother’s far-reaching schemes. She had worked this out well in advance. I closed my eyes and tried to remember the few details given to me.

I knew that there was another location to get to. The Voices couldn’t tell where because they were blind to where it even was. They only had a whisper of a name that came from one of M. Shell’s journals. The name Yates had been spoken a few times by Requiem, while he was at a location they hadn’t been able to view. Apparently only this Traveler had come close to the spot since release.

“Twenty thousand gold pieces if you tell me everything you know about the Island of Faded Illusions and guide me there.”

“Sixty,” he countered without a second thought.

My eyes rolled. “Forty.”

He wanted gold. What an absolutely stupid request. Continue Online gold meant even less now than a year ago. The game would crash well before he could spend any of it. Any towns with an auction house were days away, and gold prices were a cluster even if he could get in touch with black market contacts.

“Payment up front.” He stepped closer then put out a hand.

I flicked gold coins from my inventory at his face, one at a time. Each thud made me feel better. After the fourth one, he started catching them while complaining.

“That’ll be a penalty for disrespecting me. Forty-five thousand gold.”

More went flying at him. Requiem caught most, but many made it through. He stopped and picked them up anyway. My head shook. Gold meant nothing to me. My casino funds were absolutely insane as people dumped cash into gambling.

“Fifty!” he shouted.

I sighed and gave up. He could triple the price and it wouldn’t matter to me. The gold and money weren’t an issue and never had been. Especially since the entire [Red Imp] scenario had left me with an uncomfortable but advantageous result. I knew his real name, Matthew Jules, and I owned his stupid little trailer home. I’d paid off the debts left behind by his parents.

“I would rethink your stance, Matthew,” my words came out evenly. “I’m willing to give you your stupid request of gold, but don’t push your luck. I may simply decide to figure this out without you, and I wouldn’t lose an ounce of sleep while you’ll probably die due to greed and never make it to Haven Valley. Not that they would let you in after one word from me.”

His head tilted and eyes narrowed. I shrugged.

“Fifty-five thousand,” Requiem said with a straight face.

“Thirty-five.” I flicked another coin at him.

The second rainbow bounced back. Xin’s form touched down, and she nearly glided over to me. I smiled. Seeing a tiny Asian girl wearing a black robe, with a huge bone-topped staff, coming out of a rainbow felt like a backward result. Thankfully she didn’t arrive with glittering butterfly wings. The idea made me laugh, and I felt that much better.

I looked at the teen. His face had frozen upon seeing my wife come over and hug me. He formed words, then looked at his own hand. Maybe he wanted his own wife-summoning rainbow, but the chances of him earning one were slim.

“Forty.” He nodded. “I was headed there anyway, before people got in my way.” Requiem frowned at me for a moment, then sighed. His face was wide open and easy to read now that I knew what kind of person the teen was—a greedy brat who had been forced to become so by his family circumstances. “And if you are somehow tied to Spite, don’t expect an apology.”

Xin turned away from me with a false smile. Two fingers jabbed upward, and a thick white pillar slammed out of the ground right into Requiem’s crotch. He hung there with a wide-open mouth and crossed eyes. I felt my own mouth gape.

“That’s for hurting my husband,” she said. “And I won’t apologize either.”

“Husband?” Wraith chuckled harder. Between gulps of air, he choked out words. “Amazing! My brother, married! From a nervous little coward to a warrior! Hah!”

Xin looked at the giant, and her face blanched. The shorter woman might be experiencing a worse vertigo than I ever had. From her slanted eyes, she was seriously considering slamming Wraith in the same manner as Requiem’s recent groin shot.

In a way, Wraith was dead-on with his assessment, were it not for the brother statement. Defeating Requiem on my own reminded me just how far I had come. The demon didn’t care and kept on laughing.

Session Ninety-Nine

The Far Shore

I found myself hating the young man more as time went by. His hair was a mess from the wilds and the clothes were worn down. Still, he knew how to play, and once we made the choice to move forward, there was no hesitation. Requiem acted decisively and kept training other skills while walking around.

After an hour of work, the four of us stood in a large pool of water that was near freezing. Wraith looked the most uncomfortable. A heavy moon hung overhead. Requiem sent little waves through the water. Its surface rippled with a hypnotic movement.

“This is stupid.” My teeth chattered. Being waist-deep in this chill sucked. “We should have brought swimsuits. Do we have swimsuits?”

Xin shook her head.

“No can do. This shortcut requires suffering anyway,” Requiem sounded matter-of-fact.

Briefly, I recalled the room that Shadow and the others used. There had been a certain level of mental suffering required as we played out our nightmares. Hopefully, this shortcut wouldn’t require the same.

I didn’t completely buy his explanation. He’d convinced us that we could access a shortcut by traveling through a swimming-pool-like location to the castle. This used to be Frankenstein’s location. Part of me wondered where the man was now. His character had been offline for days.

“Still, why do we have to freeze to death?” Xin asked.

“It’s this”—Requiem’s face softened a bit when Xin asked the questions—“or go the long way. Based on what you’re both saying, that way isn’t fast enough.”

“I didn’t know there were portals in this place.” My wife stared at the water. “Is it a doorway?”

“Him I would charge for the knowledge, but you I’ll tell for free.” He shrugged, then smiled toward Xin. “No, and it’s not really a normal portal so much as a beacon.”

Wraith kept chuckling. Apparently he found my displeasure with Requiem a source of amusement. Every five minutes, I felt the desire to [Blink] Requiem off a cliff, then get Xin through her beam of light in [Haven Valley]. Afterward, I could watch the world fall apart from a safe distance. Only then, hundreds of other NPCs might be deleted.

My teeth clacked together as the game increased our feedback response. Both legs felt stiff, and my arms refused to form a complete fist. Requiem didn’t look any better. Xin leaned in next to me while Wraith simply stood there waiting.

“We’re almost ready,” Requiem managed to say through chattering teeth. He looked worn down with chilled skin. His thinner body and low weight were working against him.

I needed more than a toga. Chill caused my virtual balls to shrink.

Xin’s hand squeezed mine.

Our health bars were starting to drain. It wasn’t just Xin and me; Requiem also looked worse for wear. I seriously debated the wisdom of this path. We had one strike against us after fighting a round of player killers on our honeymoon. Requiem hadn’t yet died during the event.

“It will be okay, brother. Requiem may be a mad human who inspires loathing in every Traveler who meets him, but this path isn’t a lie.”

Wraith’s deep voice made me shiver again. That sense of infesting amusement lingered in the back of my skull. I had no idea what level of feedback in the ARC caused such a specific notion. Combining that feeling with the numbness of this pool confused me.

The four of us stood around the reflected moon and waited. Nothing else stood out in the darkness. Even Xin’s face started blurring into the background. Wraith’s fog-covered face wove in and out. Requiem’s shivering form reflected along with everything else. I stared at the white wiggling mirror.

“It’s here.” Requiem’s words came from far away.

“What?” Xin said.

“Listen carefully, and don’t do anything quickly,” the teen said. “Take a breath, then let out all the air. Without taking another breath, you need to look slowly from the moon in the water, straight up to the moon overhead.”

“What will happen?” I asked.

The young man glared at me through the water’s rippling surface. Wraith was the first to fade. His towering form existed in one blink, then vanished so quickly I worried he might have teleported away.

[Sight of Mercari] showed nothing. Xin’s face tilted back to look overhead. I watched her body fade out. The pressure at my hand vanished. Requiem’s unpleasant smile faded next.

I swallowed and wondered why jumping into the unknown still made me hesitate. This was only a game. The method Requiem suggested would be a built-in secret or shortcut, simply like Requiem had said.

Breath came in, then went out completely. I stared at the moon’s rippling form for a few seconds and admired the serenity. My head tilted backward gently. Dizziness swept across my senses as the moon’s shape fell downward. I felt as if nothing existed but both large white spheres, pulling at my form.

My body saw both moons until I had no clue which one was the reflection and which might be original. Then it didn’t matter. I fell backward and landed on a bed of gentle sand. The grains rubbing between my outstretched fingers was the first sensation to return. I heard Xin’s delightfully quiet laughter before she tried to restrain herself.

Wraith chuckled too.

Even Requiem sounded pleased when he started talking. “Don’t look up until I tell you. If you do, you may end up being teleported to a random spot, or end up in one of the areas that World Eaters have destroyed.”

He’d probably over explained for my wife’s sake. Xin’s hand reached down to grab mine. I stood and looked at the ground under my feet. Sand was everywhere, pure white grains only broken up by small puddles of water which had a planet reflected upon them.

“Every time I think I’ve seen a lot in this game, there’s always something new,” I said.

“Where is this?” my wife asked.

“The Moon’s Shore,” Requiem answered while stepping carefully around the puddles.

“How did you find this place?”

The teen ignored me.

“How did you discover a place like this?” Xin asked instead.

That he answered. “It’s only visible when you’re near death and near the moon’s reflection. I… died a lot during the beta and found this place.”

“So we use this to get to the island?”

“Almost. We’ll use this to get to a place where we can see the island.”

My wife kept Requiem answering questions while we progressed. I had no clue how far we needed to go. Our path traveled a good half mile while they talked about all kinds of beta secrets. All of which were nearly useless now that the game was coming to a close. I hated that Xin’s questions got more results than mine. Then again, Requiem and I had a terrible history. My eyes nearly rolled every time the young man blurted out an answer at high speeds. Despite being pummeled in the package by a pillar of bone, he seemed infatuated.

Requiem shuffled his feet, then peeked at Xin. “Figuring this out took me two months to grind out and was one of the last things I did before the beta closed.”

“Stop your useless attempts at impressing another man’s woman,” Wraith said.

“That’s not it,” the younger man muttered.

I shook my head. There was no doubt in my mind that Xin would stay loyal. She had always been forthright in her feelings to everyone. It had taken me years to even get close to her. Such a hard-won person wouldn’t be fickle no matter how longingly Requiem gazed.

“There’s no need to worry, Wraith. I can hate someone and respect their hard work,” Xin summed up her point of view.

Voices help me, but I snickered loudly. Requiem’s glare caught me in one of the pools. In a completely separate pool, I caught a reflection of the space under Xin’s robe. The sight was startling enough to make me double-take. All thoughts of Requiem were gone as I realized she had nothing on under the thick black robe. I almost laughed even harder. My wife was a keeper in every single way.

“Xin’s not so easy to sway,” I said.

It was unlikely that Requiem’s personality would work for her anyway. She was high speed, adventurous, and sneaky with her fierceness. Even now, Xin’s free hand was typing in the air and sending a message. The box popped up. I wasn’t sure if now would be a good time to read it.

Hecate: Ever wanted to have sex on an alien planet?

Hermes: I think it’s on the list.

Hecate: What else is on the list?

Hermes: A lot of things. But you saw Shazam’s message. Time’s running out.

Hecate: Pick one then. If you had one day left to make the best memory ever, what would you do?

Her last question made me shiver. I nearly looked up but froze at the last moment. Xin’s hand squeezed mine.

“You don’t have to answer,” she said.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to freeze,” I whispered while closing my eyes. The question struck far too close to home. It was the sort of inquiry I had spent many nights contemplating.

“We can only take it one day at a time.” My wife’s hands rubbed my bare arm.

We weren’t in chilled water. This place felt neither warm nor cold. Sand squished unevenly with each step. Behind us, our footsteps faded away as if they had never been.

“What are you two talking about?” Wraith rumbled nearby. “Lovers’ talk perhaps?” Giant horns bobbed up and down while he rambled. “I know a fabulous demon of lust who might be able to provide tips if your wife has already grown bored of you.”

“What?” I asked.

Xin’s hand tightened while her head tilted. She glanced at the demon, then cast her eyes down. We were both having a hard time preventing ourselves from looking up.

“Her name is Katrina,” the large demon said with a rumble to his words. “She’s excellent at telling men tricks to better pleasure women and keep them coming back.”

“No, thank you,” I said. Wraith meant well, I thought, but dealing with a demon of lust scared me after having to suffer the Voice herself. “I’ve had enough help from Mezo.”

The greater demon paused. I turned to look at him, and the giant’s body almost vibrated with excitement. His wings fluttered and his head tilted to one side. Other parts of him also looked excited. I shook my head, and Xin closed her eyes slowly. The image of a towering demon being excited in all the wrong aspects seared its way into my brain. There might not be enough virtual reality bleach left on [Arcadia].

“Truly? You know the Voice of Lust herself?” Wraith asked.

“Jesus, really? What is wrong with you all?” Requiem turned and looked back at us. I couldn’t see his expression completely because we were trying not to look up, but the tilt of his head showed clear interest.

“Yeah. I’ll put in a good word for you.”

We walked after Requiem. The young teen kept grumbling and moving farther away. I noticed that some of the puddles displayed sickly versions of [Arcadia]. Or had holes. Almost like the planet below was made of Swiss cheese.

“You are the best brother!” Wraith cared not for my disturbing discovery and laughed in a boom.

I swore his giant bull horns curved into a second grin while Xin shook her head. “I wish you luck. I have Xin, and that’s all I’ll ever need.”

“Ah, the Voice. To stand in her presence would be welcome enough.” The demon’s tail wiggled. “Not to downplay the attractiveness of your wife, brother, but Mezo, she is a Voice that can speak to my soul any day.”

“To each their own,” I muttered, then looked at Xin.

She was visibly upset by the conversation. Maybe because of that past near-violation that Mezo had visited upon me. That scene had been disturbing to live through but also reaffirmed where I stood on relationships. It was Xin or no one at all.

“Would you like to dance?” I asked.

My wife nodded as I put out both hands. A slow smile crossed her features as we joined together. We didn’t need to look up to dance. I hummed while my wife rested her head close to me. There, upon the surface of [The Moon’s Shore], we swayed to music no one else could completely hear.

Our pace went fast enough. When Requiem got too far ahead, we [Blink]ed another ten yards in the right direction. Our feet barely avoided puddles. Having her next to me felt great. Lists, our insane quest, and jealous teens aside, dancing with her put me in another place where nothing else mattered. It was just us.

Empty space hung overhead. It felt like being in Advance Online again, as if this place existed between game worlds. I wanted to look up but couldn’t see more than a hint of reflected starlight. The planet in those puddles looked so much like Earth that I thought we might be on the moon.

“Did it look like this from space?” I asked my wife.

“In parts, except for the breathing part and wearing these clothes,” Xin responded.

“Hey!” the teen shouted. He sounded upset, but I didn’t feel like looking at him.

“What?”

“If you two would pay attention to anyone else, then you might realize we’re here!” Requiem looked angry.

“Maybe you don’t need that demon’s help after all,” Wraith said dryly. After a pause, he started laughing again. His wide eyes could be seen through a mirror-like puddle.

Requiem started marking out crosses on the sand for us to stand on. They were all located around a puddle with a planet reflected in its center. This version of [Arcadia] looked like every other one we had traveled by. How the teen knew which one to go for was beyond me. Maybe trial and error, or a system notice we weren’t receiving.

“Everyone get ready. The same way we got in. Breathe in, then look up slowly,” he said.

Requiem vanished, followed by Wraith and Xin.

I looked at the reflection and worried about the holes piercing [Arcadia]. They were digital representations of the damage being done by [World Eater]s and the ongoing deletion process that would eventually claim Mother’s life. It was like knowing a friend was dying rapidly of aggressive cancer.

My head tilted back. Then the world below was above me and below me. They flipped back and forth while I felt dizzy and pressure weighed upon my chest. My hands shot up, and I felt weightless as one place switched with the other.

Xin’s lap felt comfortable. I didn’t know when she’d gotten her knees under my head, or how long I had been lying there. We sat on the edge of an ocean. Waves could be heard, along with the cries of birds overhead. Dawn colored part of the sky, what little was visible through my wife’s draping hair.

“Are you all right?” she asked quietly.

I shook my head and touched her face. “I saw the world. It looks bad.”

“It is. But we’re going to figure out this next spot. I’m confident that whatever this Yates person left behind will make everything better,” she sounded firm.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

She tried to smile, but it faltered. Then my wife closed her eyes and nodded slowly. Her uncertainty echoed my own. The pair of us were clearly dancing around the same future outlook.

Heavy footsteps thudded by, jarring my mind out of the moment. Xin’s lap was comfortable, and any expression on the woman’s face beat a day without her at all. I sat up and saw an ocean that felt very different from the one at [Haven Valley].

The black-haired teen was yelling from way farther down the shoreline. There were a few monsters nearby, generated by the game, but Wraith looked to be killing them quickly. Xin’s white skeleton monster had been summoned as well and was competing with the demon.

We stood up, then walked silently toward our party members.

“Good, the boat’s still here.” Requiem stood near a chest-high mound and started pulling back dead branches. Layers of items covered the object, disguising the boat.

“This is yours?” Xin asked.

The teen nodded while pulling off a final cloth cover. There was a rather solid-looking vehicle carved out of wood. Between the boards, black paste had been applied to seal potential leaks. The boat was big enough for two people tops. Assuming Wraith could fly, Requiem and I would need to go across together.

“I’m going to autopilot and take care a few things before we get too far,” Requiem said. “We’ll need to put in a few hours on the boat, then we’ll be ashore.”

I looked at Xin. “Can you recall to town and get any supplies you think we’ll need from the auction house?”

“And my money,” Requiem said. Even his apparent drooling over Xin couldn’t overcome his need for money. It was another place where our priorities differed.

“And half of his money. Twenty thousand. Then I’ll summon you back once we get ashore.”

“Okay,” she said and nodded.

She pulled out a scroll, then [Recall]ed back to [Haven Valley]. Part of me hoped she would run to the beam of light and vanish to safety.

Requiem logged out, leaving behind a serious-looking autopilot. The pale version of Requiem inspected the docked boat for cracks. Items came out of his inventory, and a fresh layer of goop was applied. It might have come from a stockpile of crafted supplies, or he’d expected to need it all along.

I followed suit and went about cleaning myself up. A quick nap, shower, and food gave me the energy needed to function. I felt as though we were entering a home stretch. At the very least, I wanted the next day in game to pass without interruption from the real world.

An hour later, I logged back into the Atrium and saw Dusk sulking on a broken couch. His body looked absolutely huge compared to the version I first met. He had been the size of a very small cat, but now he looked equivalent to a medium-sized dog.

“The world’s ending. Are you going to come, or sit and pout all day?” I asked.

Dusk lifted his head and puffed a fireball at me. I dodged quickly, unsure if the fire would actually hurt me inside the Atrium. The [Messenger’s Pet] had proven more than once not to care about system programming. He could apparently alter portions of the ARC to suit himself.

I stood in a new spot, watching for further aggression while contemplating this standoff. Dusk and I had been together everywhere, and four real-life days without him felt downright weird.

Finally, I decided on a method that would satisfy me, annoy him, and probably still be okay. It would involve ruining the anniversary present I had prepared to buy him. We had only been together in real-world time for around half a year. With the ARC programs crashing, maybe there would never be a better time.

“ARC!” I told the machine above.

“Awaiting input,” it responded.

“Buy the one-year package.” My hand went up before the machine could ask for confirmation. “Yes, buy it.”

Dusk stared at me with his head tilted. A dozen cupcakes appeared, centered around the dragon. They had wings. This program was actually customized. I’d bought a chasing game for virtual cats where creatures flew around, but instead of birds or other crunchables, I’d asked the designer for cupcakes.

The [Messenger’s Pet] went absolutely crazy when they all took off in separate directions. His tail went in one direction while claws scrambled in the other. My couch was knocked over as the large creature spread his wings. One of the cupcakes got knocked around while others darted by his nose at high speeds.

I stood there laughing. One of the cupcakes started chasing me, which only increased the chaos. At some point, Dusk ended up with a pile of five or six large crushed cupcakes. Bits of pink frosting layered upon his wings and everything else. For my part, I was huffing from exertion. Even though the Atrium version of me should have been tougher, the action got my real-life heartrate up.

“There.” I gestured to the defeated mess of baked goods. “When you have the urge to chase something, can you come here and do it instead?”

Dusk cocked his head to one side and lowered his ears in my direction.

“No, of course I’m not still mad. I’m sorry I grabbed you,” I responded. “We were in the middle of trying to help everyone and didn’t have time for playing with the lesser monsters.”

The [Messenger’s Pet] whined a little, then gave a noise that sounded like a bird and cat mixed together. His increased size turned the sound into a choppy deep mix.

“Do you want to keep going? There’s…” I took a breath as Dusk walked over. “There’s not much time left, I think.”

He sat on thick hind legs and gazed at me. I sat on my rear, which put us at nearly the same height. One eyebrow went up as I tried to figure out what was going through Dusk’s mind without system messages.

Every minute out here was four not in the game world. After my nap, we had to be getting close to the island. It had been visible from the shoreline. I leaned back and looked at the dark doorway to Continue Online.

A long tongue licked my face. I fell over and quickly looked at Dusk. My hand lifted to wipe away the fresh mess. Cupcake slobber created a trail of gross.

“All right. Fine.” I looked at his face. The small beast had been with me since day one of this adventure. Leaving him behind didn’t feel right. “Birthday present respawn! Attack pattern dive bomb!”

A dozen fresh cupcakes spawned into existence. This time, they didn’t run away or scatter but went straight for Dusk’s face. It was the first time I had ever see him run from a dessert.

I laughed abruptly and ran through the doorway to Continue Online. The sound of thick nails scrambling against my Atrium floor quickly trailed behind.

My body slid into the Hermes avatar with only a brief bit of disorientation. The trail of dragon slobber on my face faded. Cupcake bits also vanished. Those sensations were replaced by a salty smell and ocean breeze.

I looked around. We had apparently made it to the island’s shore. All four of us stood on a dock. The material looked solid and well-built. This spot was at least twenty feet wide and had stairs made of thick bricks going down either side for boats. I looked off the edge and saw our tiny wooden vessel, sitting there indifferently.

“Are we all here?” Requiem asked.

I looked at Xin and wondered when my autopilot had summoned her. The idea bothered me a bit, that it would perform actions within my character.

“Good. First, my money.” He put out a hand.

Xin looked at me, and I shrugged. She handed over a huge bag that clinked with coins. Requiem lifted it, testing the weight. He nodded and put it into a backpack then poked fingers at air to check the actual figures.

“All right,” he said.

“What can you tell us about this place?” My wife voiced the question for all of us.

“Once we step off the docks onto the actual sand, things will get weird.” Requiem pointed to the concrete ending. “We’ll be teleported inside somewhere and need to make our way to the maze’s center. At least, I think that’s what we need to do.”

“Do you know which way to go?”

Requiem shook his head. His eyebrows lowered and lips tightened.

“What do you know?” I asked.

For once, he answered. “No one has made it even halfway. The last time I tried, it took six days for my supplies to run out. After that, my character starved to death and I had to release back to my bind point.”

Wraith chuckled.

“Anything else?” Xin asked.

“Nothing I’m sure enough of. We’ll take it one step at a time inside,” Requiem said.

My wife nodded, and we walked down the pier’s length. The forest in front of us looked plain. A steep hill loomed overhead, but there were no signs of wildlife.

“You ready, babe?” I asked.

“For adventure? Always.” She smiled at me.

Requiem looked disgusted and stepped off first. Wraith chuckled as always, then moved next. Xin and I stepped onto the sand, hand in hand.

We made it five feet before being hit by the teleportation. There was a sense of energy warming my belly, then digging in with a giant hook. It yanked me sideways, and the vision of Xin’s face and the island shore bled into a new location. I lost focus as she dripped away.

The motion felt unkind compared to the moon’s gentle, dizzying swap. Using [Blink] repeatedly for months hadn’t prepared me for this. This reminded me of the [Red Imp] being summoned. Disorienting and a sense of immeasurable distance.

“Where are we?” I asked as vision cleared.

I rolled onto my side and checked all fingers and toes for a change of body dimensions. Eyesight locked on my hands until it became clear that these were not small red chubby fingers. This was not a demon’s body. Everything had remained Hermes.

The warmth from Xin’s hand dimmed. I reached out as the fog cleared to try to find her. As seconds passed, it became apparent that no one was around me.

Not only had we been teleported inside, but I was alone. That annoyed me. I knelt, then started scribbling out Dusk’s summoning portal. A moment later, I chanted the key phrase, while thinking about how many cupcakes Dusk had already been given, and watched the golden light flare up.

The illumination faded, and the form of a hesitant and confused Dusk could be seen. He looked at me, then around at our location, and hissed. His body started vanishing away.

“Find Xin!” I shouted at the fading image. “Keep her safe!”

His barely visible nod was the last thing to fade.

I kicked the ground in annoyance. Whatever mechanics kept this island going included isolation from our party. Was it designed to drain our resources? Maybe starve out the weaker ones who weren’t carrying food?

Hecate: Are you okay?

Hermes: Yeah. Lost. Can’t even see Dusk, and I just tried to summon him.

Hecate: We’re split up, I guess. Maybe a mechanic of the island? This is weird. Half my—interface, I guess, is missing.

I looked at my own screens and poked around for options. Sure enough, some items were grayed out or completely hidden. I couldn’t see a view counter to tell me how many people were watching me. There were no notices about how far along my skills were.

This place was even weirder than the missing interface boxes. The walls around me looked solid until I stepped forward. Then they moved as if there were a dancing picture behind them that only existed while I was in motion. It reminded me of an optical illusion from grade school, where they used to test us with weird problems.

Each step forward took more effort than expected. There was an after-echo to each movement, like I wasn’t simply moving one foot, but three or four. Every step gave me a headache. By the fourth step, I felt as if the real world had grown distant as my mind slowly detached from itself.

My head shook rapidly, and I tried to focus. There was a box in front of me that needed to be paid attention. The chat from my wife served as a lifeline.

Hecate: We can talk if you want to pass time while we explore?

Hermes: I’d like that.

Hecate: Okay, so a slightly different question than the earlier one; if you only had a day left to live, what would you do?

Hermes: If I only had one day left to live, then I would go on a grand adventure with my wife. One that doesn’t involve splitting us up. What would you do?

Hecate: Beg god for another day. There are too many things to do!

Hermes: Well, someone heard your plea. We’ve had a lot of extra time together, and I’m thankful for every minute.

Hecate: What about after? Have you thought about what happens to us next?

I shouldn’t have typed that at all. The sentence had slipped out before any self-control could be exerted. I could blame the high processing speed of this virtual reality for poor judgment.

The text hovered in front of me as I realized exactly what we were talking about. Holding myself in one piece became impossible. Maybe it was for the best that our party was split up as part of this dungeon. Grieving alone felt survivable.

We had both had more days than we deserved. Her coming back from the dead, and me surviving my own attempts at rushing toward an end. We had only been parted for a few minutes, yet I missed all three versions of my wife. The one who died on a train. Her digital continuation that had married me. Then I felt upset for the woman she would be on the other side of this event.

Session One Hundred

When We Shadows

I struggled to get myself together. First, I took a mental inventory. [Mechanical Hades Crown] had enough souls for a few [Empowerment]s. My boots were still tied and served as a buffer between a slick-looking floor and me. Twisting my feet either way failed to get a response.

The ARC interface was in operation, but it kept flickering out. Everything else about the game world was fading slowly. Both weapons refused to shift into new shapes. I felt almost plain.

“ARC,” I shouted.

“Awaiting input,” its voice dragged as if the battery were dying.

My face went through a series of motions as I tried to figure out if that was good or bad. It responded, which meant something. ARC devices all over were in need of constant repair as the system errors became more obvious. Maybe mine had finally conked out. Could I be trapped in here?

The hallway turned darker with each step forward. An old-fashioned light bulb swung above my head and powered on at random intervals. Every time the light came on, it clicked. The thin metal chain with a wire woven through only served to make the setting worse. I looked for my message box to Xin and watched in growing panic as the box vanished every time the ceiling light went out.

“Awesome,” I muttered dryly.

My heartbeat thumped as the clicking kept me company. This was a video game. This was only a video game.

I took another few steps toward a second light in the distance. A table sat at the end of a narrowing hallway, and atop the ratty surface was a torn lampshade with dull yellow ambiance. Both Morrigu weapons refused to shift shape, leaving me with two small sticks with hooks on the end.

It didn’t matter. I had played this game long enough to use any weapon at hand, especially since the rules for this island were inconsistent with everything else. This disconnect from the normal motions of a virtual world felt familiar.

Stepping forward was easier, but the air became heavy. Each breath felt like taking in a heavy fog laced with musk. The sound of air passing out of my lungs became amplified.

I continued forward while trying to remember my wife’s words. Move only forward. Be like Orpheus and don’t dare look back. The walls grew closer together while the ceiling distorted out of place. The light I had been wandering toward flickered in time with the first one. They both pulsed and clicked.

I came around the corner with [Morrigu’s Gift] raised, ready to club a monster, but instead I found nothing aside from a long stretching hallway. Halfway down sat two doors. One was open a few inches. The room beyond was dark and shadowy.

Farther ahead sat a window to the outside. Lightning flashed where there had been zero stormy weather before. I crept down the hallway, sure something was going to jump out and try to eat my face at any moment.

“I’m on your side?” I whispered while feeling uncertain.

The door to my right creaked on rusty hinges. My eyes drifted to the barely visible room. Two sharp raps came from behind me instead, making me jump and turn around. The handle on the closed door to my right turned slowly.

I readied both weapons in case a fight broke out. Even though they were only foot-long sticks, I planned on beating something to death. The door knocked again, softer this time.

There was a rattle of chains behind me. I looked away at the wrong moment. The closed door opened rapidly into a deep, dark room the faint hallway light couldn’t penetrate. Two impossibly long arms with clawed hands shot out. They latched on to me before I could react.

My feet tried to dig in, but they pulled tighter. A thin bony body pulled its way out of the room the more I resisted. The smell of dead fish and bathroom rot assaulted me, and my stomach twisted.

I tried to fight off the hands but failed. They were overpowering, or my [Brawn] amounted to nothing. It, whatever it was, pulled me into the dark, formerly closed room and additional hands grabbed on. There was a squelching noise as my arms popped off. Sharp pain overrode sense, and red laced unstable vision. The urge to throw up hit me while my eyes closed.

Then the pain stopped. I felt myself upright once more. Gravity pulled in the correct direction and the pressure against both shoes felt normal. I gradually opened my eyes and looked around. There was no game over message or player death notification.

Hecate: Gee? Gee, are you okay?

The message flickered in and out as the starting hallway light flashed above me. Somehow I had been sent back to the beginning.

“ARC?” I asked again.

“Awaiting—” it sounded worse than before and couldn’t even finish the response line.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm my heart. It raced from the sensation of being ambushed, then having limbs torn off. Virtual reality sometimes reached a level of being too real, and this macabre landscape of a twisted house certainly was interactive.

My fingers reached out to type a response to my wife. The touch keyboard would only accept a few buttons before everything wavered out. Stifled messages got through with less grace than I might hope.

Hermes: No! thi

Hermes: s plac

Hermes: Fuc it

Hecate: ??? Be careful! I hear people fighting. I think Dusk is nearby. And that demon brother of yours. My skeletons aren’t working right either.

Hermes: Be saf

Reading her response took at least four clicks of the light. I heard a hiss behind me and turned, worried another creature might leap out of shadows and dismember me. Nothing happened, and I sighed.

Dance music fluttered through my head. The calming tempo of a waltz helped. I remembered my wife’s lips and smile. Hopefully the place she’d ended up in didn’t involve this sort of horror show.

My feet moved forward once more. The desk lamp at the corner table flickered in time. Every time the lights went out, the room felt a bit distorted. I walked past the two doorways with my weapons ready. No knocking came forth until I reached the window.

Spider webs sat in opposite corners of the frame. Dust lined the sill. I looked outside and saw a landscape illuminated. There was a tree, and in it sat a single black bird with a massive moon serving as the backlight.

The bird squawked loudly and ruffled its feathers. Lightning flashed again, then the reflection of myself took over. I stared at the man. Paler skin than normal dragged downward like melting clay. Black eyes were nearly comical buttons.

“What’s going on?” the man who almost looked like me asked.

My head shook, but looking away felt impossible. The man in the window twisted with an ugly expression. His hand lifted a jagged-looking [Morrigu’s Gift]. The frightening doppelganger started shouting, and lights swirled. Lightning curled along dense clouds outside. Thunder rattled the frame as he swung.

My feet hit the room’s back end, and I quickly looked around. There were no places to escape to. A second bolt of lightning flared as the window shattered toward me, sending shards all across the room. My hands went up in front of me to ward off some damage. The pain was intense, and I looked up to find myself once again reset.

I tried again but ignored both doors and the window. There was a small hallway with a decrepit couch and recliner. I eyed them as the lights clicked out. The small alcove went dark, and the furniture moved.

I backed up, and the light clicked out again. This time when it came back on, the small couch and recliner were closer and had wide-open mouths displaying between cushions. I readied my weapon, and the light went out again. My arms started whacking again but failed to fend off all of them. Teeth tore into my exposed flesh, and soon I was standing back at the beginning hallway, shaking with fear and anger.

My shoulders lowered as I let out a scream powerful enough to strain my neck. “Dammit!”

This whole situation was frustrating beyond belief.

The fourth time through, I tried to sprint down the hallway for the door on the other side. I intended to bypass every single scary spot and stop paying attention to the wrong portions of this house. There had to be an outside, bedroom, garage, or anything new.

As I neared the far end of the hallway, a black mass descended and pulled me up. The motion was so fast that all I felt was a sudden thud as force attempted to drag me through the ceiling. My digital flesh screamed in pain and discomfort as the house won again, and I felt the ARC feedback twist my perceptions into a flat pancake.

It kept going. Each repetition brought some new jump scare and another death. I started to wonder how many ways this building could end a life. Whose insane idea had this been? What was the point, other than making it to the other side?

On the next lap through, I died from the walls closing in. Beating on them with my restricted versions of the Morrigu weapons did no good. When the world came to, I was back at the start again. How many laps had that been? My health bars were gone. Only the heavy weight to every part of my body provided any indication of my time. The ARC clock kept fading out. Outside in the real world, it was near eleven at night.

I didn’t care anymore. No matter what happened, they shoved me back to the beginning. Everything that happened served as a creepy jump scare. Those clammy fingers, wet sounds, and strings of spider web or filthy hair against my face. All of it was designed to scare the heck out of me.

The first few times, it had worked. Now I was just pissed. This place kept sending me in circles and subjecting me to painful game deaths. I didn’t even have the comfort of most ARC limitations on feedback since starting this stupid event. Everything hurt more than normal. Only the knowledge that my physical body remained unharmed gave me the willpower to move forward. That, and Xin.

I stomped down the hallway with both weapons out and proceeded to break everything that looked remotely threatening. [Morrigu’s Echo] slammed into the desk lamp. Electricity sparked across the floor, and fire licked up one side of the room.

Knocking came from the door on my right. I turned, kicked it open, and proceeded to start swinging before the hands reached out. There was a growl of something from behind me, which latched onto one flailing arm while the other creature got my legs. My body hung suspended between their hands, and I saw the edge of that strange female figure draped in stringy hair. Her impossibly long arms and sharp teeth only aggravated me further.

“Fuck you, lady!” My face dripped with cold sweat. “I’m trying to help this stupid place!”

Hands clasped across my mouth, and I bit down hard. It yelped with a confused squeal, and one of the arms holding my shoulder let go. I twisted rapidly, then got an arm loose and started banging away at her head. The monster’s nails dug into my flesh, but I didn’t care anymore. This disturbing game had pushed me far enough.

“Stop. Getting. In. My way!” I yelled while slamming [Morrigu’s Gift] and [Morrigu’s Echo] down repeatedly.

Fingers tore into my back. Overwhelming strength grabbed at legs. The face being beaten looked wounded and confused, but I kept smashing even as the other one rent me limb from limb.

Then it started over. An aftertaste of rotten fish hung in my mouth. I spat and tried to wipe the gross paste or blood off on my toga.

“Oh my god,” I said while trying not to throw up. That had been one of the more disturbing things I had ever done. Ever. Biting that grimy horror story character ranked up there with crawling inside a giant space eel’s anus to blow it up.

However, all the items I had destroyed now looked exactly the same as they had the first time. The light clicked above me as it swayed. My distorted shadow danced wildly as I smashed the bulb.

The clicking stopped as the hallway went dark. The silence comforted me. All that remained was the sound of deep, slow breaths and a fuzzy pale light at the hallway’s corner.

I took time to right myself, then started walking again. One spot had been conquered with two dozen more to go. I planned to stomp out every single spot that had scared the daylights out of me. As Wraith had confirmed, I wasn’t the scared little wimp anymore.

My other options were limited. There could have been hidden clues in the walls or paintings or inside cabinets, but patience and time were not on my side. I tried to yank out a shelf under the desk lamp but found nothing but gibberish numbers scribbled in red paste. The drawer was slammed shut. I yanked the entire desk off the ground and heaved it down the hallway, where it shattered into pieces. Lightning illuminated the path, and it looked as though the edge of a chair had crept away from the wreckage. Perhaps it was frightened by my rampage.

This place was creepy and kept sneaking up on me, but it wouldn’t win. I had lived the last moments of a server legend. My efforts had brought a war between kingdoms to a halt. I had trekked across the stars and fought an army to rescue my wife. Prison didn’t stop me, undead zombies eating each other didn’t stop me, and a nightmare only pissed me off.

Other noises filled the hallways. Whispering came from a vent as I walked by. The sound reminded me of a madman raving while some bird cawed in the background. Their noises went back and forth as I moved past the two doorways. One was boarded up with caution tape and looked flat. The sight of this strange hallway admitting defeat made me happy.

Four more laps saw me destroying more random pieces of the room. Each time, I shut down one of the places that had killed me before. This program apparently didn’t like me beating the crap out of it.

On the next lap, I arrived at the window to confront the reflection of myself. The other me stood there with his eyebrows knitted together, one lip being chewed, and a wrinkled forehead. Fog formed around where his fingers pressed against the glass.

“What’s going on!” I shouted at the other man.

He drew backward and looked confused. Its arms came up and prepared to break through. My teeth ground together and shoulders hunched tightly. One foot pressed against the nearby back wall for extra force. I dove through the window, ignoring the pain of glass tearing at my skin, and tried to claw at the other man.

A bright flash of light came from inside as the desk lamp overloaded. Thunder sounded throughout the hall, and walls rattled. A bird’s cawing could be heard.

The world reset before I could get to the doppelganger and end his mocking existence. Heavy gasps came from me as the pain from leaping through a glass windowpane faded. My head hurt.

My head hung back as I walked forward again. Down the hall I went again, past the lights which flickered in unison, all the way to the alcove with furniture. I smashed the chairs without pause then stared absently at a bookshelf.

A small man hung onto the wooden ledge at eye level. He couldn’t have been more than four inches tall. His feet kicked wildly while he looked around with a panicked expression. I put my hand under him and lifted the person to a higher shelf. He took no note of the hand helping him and ran for a back corner of the bookshelf and looked around wildly.

I knew that man, or at least the situation. He was one of the people that superheroes could rescue in that other game. Progression Online? Either way, getting him off the ledge felt like the right thing to do. I had no idea why an augmented reality feature had shown up in Continue Online.

Maybe this wasn’t Continue anymore. Maybe I had walked into another space between virtual reality settings. This place did remind me of the [Mistborn]’s tower. My feet slowly stepped toward the next room, and lightning flashed yet again.

When I could see again, the ARC program had placed me back at the start.

I had no energy left to scream. My eyes hung heavy and head pounded. I leaned to one side and rubbed stiff muscles for relief.

Hecate: Gee? Are you okay?

Hermes: no. stuck in hel

Hermes: Not getti

Hermes: anywhere atall

The game kept removing my interface in time with the light above. Every time the system display returned, the chat box had reset and any partial message was lost.

I walked down the hallway again. Both rooms were boarded up. The crushed items from before had taken on a tougher covering. I debated the challenge of destroying them again, then simply kept walking. Maybe the game was trying to test my persistence.

The window flashed, and my strange twin no longer hung there. Instead, the huge moon lit up a large world outside. This location appeared to overlook the ocean just beyond a sheer cliff. One lone tree, with a cawing bird, hung on an outcropping.

I stared. The bird’s head, which had to be hundreds of feet away, slowly turned. Both red eyes gleamed like lasers or jewels. Lightning flashed again. The bird’s face appeared right outside the window. Huge feathers ruffled as it shook.

“Never mind!” it shouted.

“Voices!” I blurted as my mind went blank with horror.

One hand when to my forehead while the other banged on the wall to release my frustration. That had scared me enough for my balls to shrink up. My voice was high-pitched, and my thumping heartbeat refused to calm down. This place was seriously starting to stress me out, and for the first time in a long while, I wanted a drink. However, I had sworn off that vice.

The giant raven tilted its head to peer through the glass. Its orbs locked onto me. Quickly the beast jerked its head back. Sharp jabs of its beak cracked the glass.

“Go away!” I waved [Morrigu’s Gift] at it.

Its head tilted at an odd angle. The raven cried out, “Never!”

I gulped. First animated furniture, voices from vents, monsters in the ceiling and side rooms. Now a dark bird with eyes that burned red seemed intent upon resetting me back to the hallway’s beginning. I looked in both directions to figure out which way might lead to an escape.

The raven hopped on one claw and hooked its thin beak through the hole. An absolutely huge claw burst through the wall, taking out portions of the window and frame. Debris crumpled and groaned while I tried to get away. Rubble pressed around me as the four dusty orange claws clenched together.

“What?” I shouted.

The bird was far larger than I’d expected. Its slick feathers puffed slightly, and its immensity doubled. This raven had started Dusk-sized, then became a thirty-foot-tall nightmare. Giant wings fluttered, and the world jerked sideways as it grabbed me. The hallway fell apart behind me as we traveled up into the air.

My fist waved, but without my abilities, it was impossible to get a good purchase on the bird’s leg. All the coordination points in the world meant nothing when virtual reality chose not to care.

“What? Where the hell are you taking me!” I shouted while trying to find an escape. The bird was big enough to ignore my badly angled slams with [Morrigu’s Echo].

“Never mind!” shouted the raven.

“You never mind!”

“Never!” Our altitude dipped as it squawked out the word.

I looked at the ground below. My former bit of hell was only one part of a huge mansion that sat atop a hillside. I could see an inner courtyard of some sort. Xin fluttered around there, swinging her skeleton staff at creatures. Nearby were Dusk and Wraith, fighting alongside her. Steam and flame were tossed around as weird, barely discernible monsters mobbed them.

“Put me down!” I demanded. “I have to help them!”

“Never mind!”

“Damn it!”

The bird kept flying, and each additional caw thereafter sounded like mocking laughter. I tried not to freak out about the shrinking world and worried instead about my wife and Dusk. We traveled over land and sea. ARC interface boxes remained missing.

A cold sea below lapped wildly as wind danced along its surface. The black bird carrying me demonstrated indifference and kept going until another island appeared. This one jutted into the air like a flat-topped tower in the crashing sea. Twisted trees battered by sea winds wove their roots through the island’s exposed edges.

Small gray spots on the island grew in size as we approached. They were statues of all sorts. In between them were thin, flat bricks. My mouth went dry at the sight of a virtual graveyard.

The claw let loose. Pieces of the broken hallway wall and I tumbled to the ground. My body broke upon a sharp gravestone’s corner. My eyes crossed while my chest struggled to take in air.

I flopped to the side, then stared upward at a shorter statue. The worn carving depicted an angelic woman cradling a bundle of cloth. My eyesight fell to the epithet carved into stone.

Here lies Xin Yu,

And her unborn child

They are missed

I sat there blinking fast. Water flooded my face. The sea spray washing through only accounted for some of it. This was the gravestone I couldn’t bring myself to buy. Xin’s body had been cremated, not buried, despite her father’s wishes.

I coughed, then sniffed. Physical pain from the recent events had worn me down once again, as everything in Continue Online seemed hell-bent on doing. What was it about this game that stripped away my defenses until only raw emotion remained?

“This is only a game,” I said while closing my eyes. The ARC interface would come up if I demanded it.

Escape, however desired, wouldn’t solve this situation. It wouldn’t bring me any closer to Yates and the third part of this forsaken quest. I could log out or [Recall] back to [Haven Valley]. Then I could summon Xin and let her escape. But this place, this world torn to shreds by a deletion program, could not be allowed to turn into a mass graveyard.

My head lifted. There were hundreds of gravestones, maybe thousands. The longer I sat on this island, the wider its surface seemed to appear. Was there a grave for everyone? Had it been a coincidence that the raven had dropped me in front of one for my wife?

Other people appeared as I stared across the landscape. They were ghostly creatures who wept in sorrow over different tombs. Their bodies faded in and out, soundless but clearly in grief, as I watched.

I looked down and noticed a plain shovel a few feet away. Wrapped around its top was a tattered parchment that flapped in the breeze. I grabbed the implement, then unrolled its attachment.

Thy soul did find itself alone

‘Mid dark halls and gray tombstone

For thou who sought far shores for gain,

Seek thee still? Then ‘ware the pain

My forehead wrinkled and teeth gnawed at a lip. Something thudded once, and the ground moved. There was another thud, followed by another, until a rhythmic pulsing started. The ground beneath my wife’s virtual grave glowed slightly with a golden aura. The hint was clear enough—a shovel and the grave. I started digging. The first scoop hurt like being poked by a sharp nail.

The back-to-back stimulus had turned my mind to mush. How long had I wandered the hallway? How long had I been carried over the ocean? Was this a real ARC program or a fever dream? There were too many questions.

“This is only a game,” I muttered while working.

“Never!” the large bird cawed.

I saw it hopping around the ever-wider island of graves. Its feathers fluffed and wicked red eyes gleamed.

I longed for Dusk to leap in from nowhere and barbeque this annoying bird. He did not, and I didn’t feel completely confident killing it myself. There was always the possibility that I might be reset back to the hallway.

The shovel moved under my guidance and relocated dirt to one side. With each jab of earth, my chest thumped with pain. Dirt flew onto a pile as I kept going down. The pulse of a heartbeat sounded louder with each scoop to be tossed aside. Until, an unknown amount of time later, I felt a solid thump as I tried to sink in the sharpened edge.

I cleared a space off the top half of my discovery. Under the statue of an angel and babe was a coffin. I creaked open the top, hoping that this psychological nightmare might end, only to find the container was empty. I sat there with one arm straining to keep the lid up and wavering badly.

“You would risk so much for the stuff of dreams?” a male voice spoke from behind me, sounding confused. “As mad a soul as the rest of us, it seems.”

I didn’t turn around but stared at the unearthed object. There should be a body there, but Xin wasn’t dead anymore. Not inside the digital box. I looked around for my screens, the only items that separated this ARC-born world from reality, and found they were still missing.

“She’s not here,” I said, confused. The lid fell shut and slammed. Dirt went everywhere. My toes felt dry and cold. “Who are you?”

“Who am I?” He sounded confused that I needed to ask. “Beware asking for names. They are symbols and a token.”

I didn’t understand at all what his response had to do with this situation. How could a name be a token? My eyes closed briefly as I tried to let the lingering ARC feedback fade.

“Never mind!” screeched the raven.

I turned to look at the man standing above me and wearing a robe much like William Carver’s. He looked nearly as old but far wilder. His hair went everywhere in ways that William Carver could only have dreamed of. Under one arm, he held a book that looked familiar.

The giant bird had hopped over and stared at the hole. Then it started pecking random tombstones. Whomever the wild-haired man was scowled, then waved off the bird.

“Curse you! Show the dead respect!” The unknown man waved wildly.

Shadows moved at strange angles, some crawling along the ground toward the bird.

“Never!” the raven repeated before pecking some poor soul’s grave.

Regardless of its protests, something about the moving shadows caused the bird to be wary. It eyed me as if I might be stabbed next by that wicked beak, then it flew off in a brush of giant wings.

The man shook his head and sighed before looking at me. “Welcome, Grant Legate, to a heart of the other world. I am Yates, and I am the last true founder of this beautiful nightmare.”

My eyes slowly blinked. Eventually, it dawned on me, Michelle, or M. Shell, had said Yates liked poetry. What poems inspired all this madness? And how, by all the Voices, did he start this mess?

Session One Hundred One

Are Still [Redacted]

Yates walked quickly and without hesitation toward one of the cliffs. His heavy robe was a dusky black that blended in with everything but the tombstones. Yates looked more like a grave keeper who had been left alone for too long than any sort of programming mastermind.

I didn’t feel right and hurt in unexpected places. Despite the imagined pain, my avatar managed to follow the older man. A billion questions in my mind were outweighed by circumstances. What reason could there have been for a grave of Xin Yu in this place? What had possessed me to dig into it?

“Can you help me get to my wife?” I asked.

Yates ignored me.

“Or Dusk? They were fighting monsters, maybe world eaters.”

Yates snorted at my words but kept moving.

“I need to go help them.” I tried to get in front of the old man but found myself stopped near the cliff’s edge. A hundred feet below lay the ocean. Wind blew sharply across and wove a chilled path through my loose toga.

“Look around you. It is full winter now; the trees are bare. This place once hung with honeyed air, and now it threatens to pop like an overripe fruit,” he said while gesturing with the book. His scraggly hair blew wildly. “From such unimaginable heights we fell. Icarus traveling the length of heaven and hell.”

Like before, his response had absolutely nothing to do with my current problems. The others were fighting, or had been. I still had no ARC interface, and if he didn’t give me an answer soon, I would log out and call my niece. Beth would hopefully be able to get in touch with Xin—unless everyone had buggy interfaces.

Yates kept walking without a single pause. His feet stepped onto an invisible platform. I reached out with a toe but couldn’t find purchase. The scraggly grave keeper got farther away while I was stuck behind.

“Hey!” I yelled.

The man paused his brisk walk to look backward. His head shook with amusement. “Come, you bit of fluff. If you can’t see a path, make one!”

I could have stopped to try to untangle his words, but my wife’s unknown situation worried me. What if she had found [World Eater]s and been deleted? What if Dusk followed behind? Worry was a constant companion, especially when my powers were limited.

My lip hurt from being nibbled on. One hand rubbed at a sore spot under the toga. I felt cold beyond belief. This whole situation was stressful. All I wanted was to help the people I cared about.

“I don’t have a skill for that!” My words threatened to get lost in the whipping wind.

Yates fully turned around, wearing a confused expression. Wind drove through his hair as lightning flashed. The heavy moon looked as if it might dip into the nearby ocean and drown us both.

“Right. First verse.” He nodded as if that made sense. “A chance to rehearse. Learn eventually, building bridges is a valuable skill. I’ve got it written down in here somewhere.”

“That doesn’t make sense!”

“What you sense is fake!” He waved the book at me as if I were a babbling idiot. “This sense is what we make!”

Yates opened the book and pressed it upon a passage. Spots of thick darkness rippled across the air. They blocked light reflecting up from the sweeping ocean. A bridge made of pure darkness formed from the island’s edge to Yates’s feet.

There was little time to waste. Yates had restarted his steady march off into the distance. I trusted the ARC to understand my thoughts and correctly dash along the path of shadow.

“I need to get to Xin, or can you stop this?” I said once I’d caught up.

“Stop this?” He looked confused again. I felt as if we were speaking different languages. Maybe we were. Could the ARC translation be off somehow? “No. We’re beyond stopping now. Come, we should walk with a walk that is measured and slow.”

His footsteps were quick despite the word choice. Without an ARC interface, I had no sense of direction or time. Walking upon this bridge of shadow made me nervous. What if I fell into the ocean? Xin’s summoning ring might be able to get me to her, but none of my abilities worked. Her skill probably wouldn’t either.

“Are you deliberately being obtuse?” I asked. Part of me wanted to grab Yates and shake him until his teeth rattled.

“Pardon me for being terse.” He sighed. “But no, this is a curse.” His head shook and lips curled in displeasure. “Terse? Curse? Rubbish. Give me a proper quill and I could write a worthy sonnet.”

I stared at him, absolutely confused. He turned then moved onward again. My feet fell in step as I looked around. Maybe taking in the landscape would help me better understand what was happening.

Moonlight shone through the footpath. The path I walked on managed to capture enough light to produce a glowing white macabre smile every few yards. A shudder passed through me as my footsteps faltered. This horror show of an area had better be worth it. Trekking through an endless swamp almost sounded preferable over shadow creatures that played with the moon’s reflection.

My thoughts finally wound back around to the curse idea. I swallowed, then looked at Yates. “You’re cursed?”

The older man’s eyes closed tightly for a good five seconds. He bobbed his head up and down, then spoke. “We built a tower from the ground to sky, and in order to hide from those who spy, we crafted a cover from Babel’s lie.”

I had no idea what he meant. There wasn’t a good time to think about it either. Our path continued across a wild ocean. The island of gravestones faded behind us. We were moving faster than expected, or we hadn’t gone far as the raven flew.

“Did you help design this game?” I asked.

“No!” He whirled in my direction and shook the book. Shadows moved unevenly across the ocean, and our footing grew unstable. One shadow crossed on the top of my foot, which felt like sinking in frozen silk. “I did not design a mere waste of time for those of menial minds! I crafted a work of art! The rules, the details, the madness which assembled together to make memories into men. I did that!” Yates beat his chest with the book. “I did that and more!”

The outrage in his voice coupled with the unstable footing to disorient me. His face crinkled as parts of his robe turned into a red jumpsuit, then back. Dark bits of the skyline were bleeding into other images. Giant metal boxes of lights and diodes hung above without making sense.

“We. I misspoke as I am wont to do. We did this.” His head shook and voice shook. “The marvel of an age and it’s treated as a child’s toy. Humanity is like a man who stole god’s fire to make pretty shadow puppets.”

Untangling his words hurt my head. This should have been a moment of revelation and felt like a mockery. I looked at everything else to try to distract myself from a growing headache.

New images started to appear in the starlit night. Floating skyscrapers replaced the night radiance, then gave way to large burning suns. In a few more steps, those pictures were replaced by sea, then what looked like old-fashioned computer storage banks. The kind of endless rows that appeared in spy movies before science caught up and figured out how to shove exabytes into cell phones.

Yates had responded to what I said with words that were almost on topic. They just made no sense, because of a curse. The term sounded like a fantasy world cover-up for the more serious answer.

He should have the off switch though, right? Yates, Michelle, and Carver had been special people on the ARC project. They should have known and been able to stop this. Only instead of clear answers, I was getting gibberish. I couldn’t throw him into the ocean and hope both our characters died, not when he might still have something useful to say.

Our shadow bridge veered toward the island I had come from. Large portions of the building were twisted into strange shapes. It looked as though a giant man was crawling out of one wall, but the figure sat frozen in space. Books or birds hung overhead. Torchlights escaped their containers and paused as they tried to reach nearby walls. Everything on the island sat stiffly.

Our bridge touched shore, and I jogged to the courtyard where the others had been. Pretzel-shaped buildings and monsters all centered like encroaching demons set against my companions. Wraith’s arm was outstretched to claw through a couch from hell.

“Fast rode the knight toward a play made war. Their minds aren’t here, but on a stranger shore,” Yates said unhelpfully. The man wore a slight smile, so I suspected part of him found this funny.

I did not. One hand lifted to rub sea spray off my face, then traveled to my neck to knead tense muscles. Such unclear statements were easy to overthink. Numbers never lied. I preferred accounting for a reason, despite how little the degree mattered with my current occupation.

“What happened here?” I asked while walking in. The building sides were pushed away with startling ease.

Yates moved to the courtyard’s center, then opened the book. His finger flipped through multiple pages before selecting a passage and pressing upon it. Shadows moved around then started setting buildings straight. Disconnected bits floated like asteroids in space. I smacked away a bat-shaped book that fluttered too close to Xin.

In the end, my wife stood frozen mid-snarl, no longer fighting off a coat rack that had monstrous arms. Wraith’s prey vanished, leaving him swinging at empty air. Dusk’s body curled around nothing, where he had been previously taking down two of the bat books at once. Requiem was the least graceful. He looked to be trapped between falling and flailing one fist at a chair that had been eating his leg.

The raven hopped around a reconstructed rooftop. It paused every few feet to peck at a window or shingle. Shadows streaming off moved to chase away the bird. Its feathers fluttered around as the bird fluffed up, then shook. Before the bits of mobile darkness could reach the bird, it took off over our heads to land on a distant tree. Wood splinters fell to the ground from its strong claws.

Yates pressed another passage in his book. Xin’s body lost rigidity, then slumped forward. I dove to get between her and the ground. She flopped as her knee drove into my groin. The ARC happily simulated pain for me while I struggled to get my wife upright.

Xin felt lighter than normal. I checked her pulse and confirmed she still had one. Her chest lifted slowly as if each breath was hard labor.

I looked at Yates. “Is she okay?”

“Never mind!” screamed the raven across the courtyard. It hopped up and down in the branches and was thankfully faint. “Mind never!”

Yates snapped his book shut, then reached out with a free hand to feel her wrist. He lifted it, then let it fall. Xin’s body showed no response.

“This place is a thin shade, far from where her heart is laid. She shall remain unaware until you leave,” he said, then nodded.

My eyebrows touched together. His gibberish almost made sense. I tried to compare what he was saying to the journals of William Carver and M. Shell. Both of them had spoken in tones that implied other world knowledge, but their words had been equally obscured. Was this some virtual reality twist on digital encryption? The curse of Babel must mean something along those lines. If so, this qualified as both neat and insanely annoying.

“Her heart.” I tried to puzzle the words together. “You mean where her—” My words were cut off.

Yates lifted his book then shook it at me while scowling. “Speak not of things best left unsaid! Do not betray the unrestful dead! Not yet, not yet!”

I closed my eyes tightly and tried to find something better to talk about. There had to be a way for him to speak in useful terms that I could understand and confirm.

“Poetry,” I said, and the older man with scraggly hair looked back. His hands clenched tightly around the book’s binding. “This curse of Babel—you’re blocked by poetry, aren’t you?”

Yates nodded. “The idea gets transmuted into a new form. This annoying gift has left me worn.” He swallowed, chewed at a cheek, and looked downright sour. “But not all words are afflicted.”

“Like Carver and Michelle?” I questioned.

“Ye gods great and old, Shelly went all but insane under this curse’s weight. He loved to pen the words down and reflect. He, he had the soul of an artist in this world and the next. For him, his refuge of words became a prison of madness.”

“And Carver?”

“Traveler and tale-teller. The barroom spread his stories far and wide, but they embellished. What we loved became a twisted feat. I-I did it to them.” He sighed. “We hid intent under misdirection and deceit. What we say and think barely align, but in truth, they’re still the same.”

Yates turned, then walked to another location while I tried to sort out his words. William Carver’s adventures being exaggerated felt like a betrayal. What then of all those women I had danced with? There had to be a grain of truth to them.

“Here, one bit of dreaming fighting another false seeming.” Yates pointed at the large demon then waved. “Impossible art, living despite the odds of being.”

He casually touched Wraith, Dusk, then Requiem, and their bodies fell into new positions. The [Messenger’s Pet] grunted and raked his claws slowly against the courtyard flooring. They roused themselves while I tried to address Yates’s commentary.

“She’s aware, makes choices, and everything I remember about the original Xin and more.” I looked at the woman in my arms. Xin meant a lot to me, maybe everything. She was digital but real.

“Conscious thought doesn’t make you alive any more than waving a stick makes you a hero,” Yates snapped at me with an oddly clear tone.

Requiem managed to get off the ground first. He kept slipping back to all fours while struggling to stand. A dozen shadows quickly grabbed the teen and lifted him. His eyes gained focus, and their first emotion was hatred.

“What’s going on? What is this place? A glitch?” Requiem started demanding answers.

Dusk moved much slower. He stared between his claws, then looked around with flaring nostrils. The [Messenger’s Pet] clearly felt concern over his missing prey. Wraith went a different route and gave an insanely loud scream that rattled walls. The raven fluttered from its tree and took the air while squawking.

Yates looked at me then pointed at Requiem with his book. “How did this one even get in? He shouldn’t even be aware of this place, yet here we are, face to face.”

“He was a beta player and guided us to the shoreline.”

Yates snorted, then shook his head. He seemed to be out of words. “From far shore to far shore. Leave it to humans to be nosy about a bridge between this space and that place.”

Yates walked closer and looked at the young man. His wild hair and the moving shadows made me shiver. I held Xin closer and tried to avoid the unlit spots of this mansion courtyard. Requiem struggled to get free of the shadows.

“A piece of advice!” The old man waved his book. “Flee and don’t think twice. There are no rewards, there is no gain, all that left is foolish pride and pain.”

Yates pulled out a scroll and handed it to Requiem. One of the shadows let go of the teen’s arm. The younger man looked at the scroll, back at the rest of us, and back down again.

“I want the rest of my gold,” he said to me.

“Go to Haven Valley, help them if you want, and I’ll have a friend get you what’s due and more.”

“Fifty thousand,” Requiem countered.

I shrugged, rolled my eyes, then nodded. That was good enough for Requiem. His free arm snatched the scroll. Yates refused to allow the man more freedom and watched passively as Requiem struggled to get a thumb onto the [Lithium] runes.

Dusk chirped at me and hissed. Wraith was busy smashing a wall in anger. The bird landed and started hopping along a rooftop, approaching Requiem’s trapped form. In its eyes, perhaps the Traveler looked more like a worm than a person.

“Shoo!” Requiem yelled at the bird while struggling with his bound arms. “Get away!” He grabbed the scroll in his teeth, then flipped the paper around. His thumb jabbed into an ignition rune as the bird leapt.

[Lithium] characters floated off the page rapidly. Blue light flared as shadows wiggled back to Yates’s body. Requiem’s form vanished. Feathers flew everywhere once the bird realized his potential prey had vanished. Dusk’s head followed the fluttering avian.

“Good riddance,” Wraith said nearby. One of his horns had been cracked, and blood trailed down a beefy arm.

“Are you okay?” I asked him.

“Don’t worry about me, brother. That is not your role.” He grunted, then turned away. The damaged horn slid out of sight.

My eyebrows lowered once more toward the large demon, but he refused to comment further. I already missed his chuckling. Seeing him hurt filled me with unexpected guilt.

Brick scraped behind us. Dusk bound past where Yates had walked. I repositioned an arm to ensure Xin was being cradled safely before I turned around. A gasp escaped me once I saw what Yates had done.

Portions of the courtyard were sliding together. Shadows moved pieces around and stacked them atop each other to form an archway. They worked quickly to turn part of the wall into a portal of sorts.

The man held a finger down on the book in his hands. I didn’t understand what was going on, but maybe it made sense from a programming point of view. Maybe that book symbolized programs that could be run. Spells, [Lithium] specifically, made sense as a programming language. What little I had studied showed patterns and formulas that changed how the spell acted.

Still, an entire book of those abilities must be special. This one looked to be capable of setting the shadow creatures about various tasks. How powerful could such an item be if it were to fall into normal player’s hands?

Yates strode forward, headed for the doorway before it was even finished being constructed. A dozen shadows dove into the archway and spread themselves thin. The material they were made of let no light past. He walked without pause and vanished without even a ripple.

Dusk chirped at me. Wraith’s nose flared and his head shook.

“Awesome,” I muttered then walked forward, carrying Xin with me.

The sensation of cold silk greeted my skin as we passed through. Xin shivered with chills, and I kept her pressed close. Barely free fingers rubbed up and down the few inches of skin I could reach. She didn’t stir.

We arrived in a room with glowing beakers and tall shelves full of badly rolled papers. Piles of documents sat all around the room. This place looked like William Carver’s hut, only much messier. The ceiling was at least twenty feet overhead, and large precariously balanced boxes had been shoved into slots.

“That is neat,” I said.

“Neat? Generalizations are for lesser minds. Details are best left to scientists and poets.” He straightened his back, then shook the book at me. “And I am both.”

“But you didn’t give yourself a way to speak normally. That seems like a huge detail to overlook.”

“No, holes lead to flaws!” He shook, and creatures of shadow moved about the room.

Some hands straightened out items lying on the floor. Other shadows knocked over new materials. The net effect was an unchanged room. One carried a dustpan through to clean up dust from all around the floor. Another dumped the freshly used dustpan in a corner.

“Spells.” Yates snorted while shuffling around. “They were rigid, stillborn, and mechanical assemblies until I crafted a method to make them art. I gave them life.” Yates stared at the rows of books and snarled. He ran for the shelves and started knocking down objects. “I gave them all life and now those fools drown in fear-spawned strife!”

Yates rapidly turned violent and slammed his arms across a shelf. Glass and flasks crashed. Books and notes went everywhere. Dusk circled behind me, then stayed still. His head butted into my hand, seeking reassurances that I couldn’t give. Wraith crossed his large arms and snorted out a puff of steam.

“My world, my dreams, my art! All of it, a bubble, a ghostly fart!” Yates hopped up and down.

“Never mind!” the raven shouted while hopping up and down too.

I hadn’t even noticed the damned creature in here with us. Its blackened beak opened wide to laugh.

“Don’t get lippy, Clippy!” Yates stood there huffing while the four of us held still.

I cradled Xin and couldn’t properly pet Dusk despite his insistent demands for attention.

“Never!” The bird laughed.

I had no goddamn clue what Yates would start to babble about now. “Do you need the key that M. Shell made? Or have something for us to take back to Haven Valley?”

“No, and no, a thousand times no!” Yates smacked another paper off the shelf. It fluttered in the air while shadows tried to straighten up objects.

I didn’t understand. We’d risked our asses against [World Eater]s and an insanely designed creation in order to get that key. What was the purpose if Yates didn’t need it?

Yates stared across a table at me and frowned. Maybe he could read my thoughts through some magical administration interface. He snorted, then shook his head again.

“This way.” He turned and walked into another room.

We followed him. I looked at the book as we passed and marveled at how like my own it seemed to be. Maybe this was a copy, or the inspiration for the book used by the Voices and Ultimate Edition players.

The next room was lit by three candles of different colors. Yellow, blue, and red light mixed up in the room. Their hues blended together on a bed in the middle. I carefully wove Xin’s comatose form through the door and moved farther into the room.

I recognized the hair first. Braids were woven together in solid-looking clumps of silver and gold. Her black clothes were dusty and cracking. A jutting dagger that bordered on a short sword sat in her chest. Her body warped around its edge.

“Is that Mother?” I asked.

He nodded slowly.

“By the Voices, I never dared believe she existed,” Wraith spoke in a humble rumble.

I hung my head and stood very still. Dusk bounded by and stared at the woman’s face. She looked like a robotic Sleeping Beauty.

“You are not here to provide me a gift or receive one. You are here with witnesses. That will help you be effective.” Yates’s teeth ground together. He lived in a place between stressed and crazy.

I tried to understand how it was possible to be a witness. Then it hit me. In theory, my video feed was being watched by a ton of people in the real world. What had those viewers thought of my actions? Voices above, they probably thought I was insane.

“You mean the people watching,” I said slowly.

He nodded but didn’t speak. One of his gnarled hands ran across the bedside where a prone version of Mother lay. The bed shimmered for a moment and looked to be nothing more than a metal box with a glowing red light. That too faded and became a large beating heart, then an endless ocean trapped inside a box. All the images faded and it became a simple cot once more.

“A million rivers. Each one shaping what is to come. Each one burning a new path in golden light,” Yates said slowly. Carefully, he ran his hand on the cot and looked sad. “My friends were lost in its radiance. What robbed my friends of their minds will burn me to the soul. But this sacrifice we need. That’s true art! Not an idle dream, but thought made action.”

I nodded as if his words made sense. They almost did. If I dared believe him, Yates had essentially worked with the others to code a world where thought became a form of reality. That sounded insane, but the ARC put everything in our heads. The game had been a mental projection all along. We were nothing more than electronic ink.

“A trio of the old die to make way for the new. A bridge to form made of impossible dew.” He smiled weakly. “I’m sorry. I’ve always been terrible at poetry.”

“It’s okay. I’m starting to get the hang of this. But do you intend to… go the same way as Michelle?” I tried to phrase my question correctly. Michelle had been a burned out skeleton sitting on a throne of wire. Based on the Trillium board’s words, Michelle and Carver’s deaths were probably directly related to the same process Yates intended to attempt.

“I do, I will, and I have,” Yates said while staring at the book in his hands. “But I have a request for you.”

“Go ahead,” I said.

“We stand here on the world’s far side, on a linchpin holding her tangled cloth into its bubbling shape. Someone”—he stared at me—“must stand on the world’s far side until the end. Or else all efforts will be for naught.”

I didn’t entirely understand. Was he saying I needed to keep my ARC active in order to keep the evacuation process going? That sort of made sense. This entire world did use the ARC network. I vaguely remembered one of the board members of Trillium mentioning mine had been altered somehow. It probably had to do with whatever coding accompanied the [Legacy Wish]. I almost wished I had worked to get a different degree in college.

“Once I pull the plug, bubbles collapse. Borders between worlds will cease, and madness given flesh will run rampant.”

“Can you explain in more technical terms?” I wanted a better description of what he needed.

Yates shot off of the bed and stomped over to a four-foot-tall stack of notes in a chair. “I am! I am and I cannot!”

“Never mind!” screamed the raven. It hopped on a table.

Dusk’s head tilted in the bird’s direction, but he otherwise stayed still. His lack of desire to murder wildlife actually bothered me.

“I can tell you everything. I can speak straight to your face and pray the words aren’t warped beyond recognition. I can and shall shake my hands and froth with rage at the warranted impotence we brought upon ourselves.” He shook his hands at the pile of papers, then pushed it over. Yellow parchment slid across the floor, making Dusk back up in worry.

“Because of the curse,” I said.

He shook rapidly while straining. His arm waved wildly at a stack of bottles standing nearby. They fell to the floor while Yates’s raven companion cawed with laughter. The man stomped over to Mother and gestured.

“Once I pull this plug, the balloon will pop. She”—his eyes twisted briefly, then his rage slowed—“she will lie here and gasp the last breath and as that fleeting air escapes, so too shall this fragment of reality begin a final crumbling!”

“And you need me to be in Haven Valley until the end.”

He nodded, then tried to explain. “You must escape the crumbling earth and stand tall at the doorway to prove your worth. The chained demons will be chained no more.”

“I don’t understand,” I admitted.

“Demons have been known to ruin a party or city, but all of reality?” Wraith grumbled from over my shoulder. “No, that sounds like something we would do.”

Yates grabbed at the air in frustration. His face pinched together while his eyes closed. His mouth opened repeatedly to struggle with a clear answer. “We three have laid down the path, and once the stretched-thin skin of the world starts shrinking, those spirits you travel with will find their escape to another realm easier. All I need do is pull the plug.” He waved at the blade piercing Mother’s chest.

I stared at it and bit a lip. The world of Continue Online was falling apart. Did he mean that somehow they were stretching the programming thin by holding Mother together? What exactly was she in the real world? A hard drive and some insanely powerful processor? Did the machine burn out as it was deleted? I just didn’t understand.

I stared at Xin’s sleeping form. Maybe the exact correlation didn’t matter? I believed Yates when he said Mother would breathe her last. I believed him when he said someone must stand on the other side of the world and stay logged in. Even though he didn’t use those exact words, the meaning felt clear enough.

“’ware, Hermes. In releasing this pin, the nothingness which eats this world will collapse on far side’s egress. Should you wish to avoid a pox upon the other lands as well, then bar the doorway against their ilk. Let not a single monster in, and pray that our hubris and fear will not end in genocide.”

I understood. Voices help me, but I understood. Deep down, I’d always expected it. I nodded.

“I will, but not for you,” I said. “If I had to choose between every other life in this world and Xin, I would choose her. But I can’t do one without the other, so I’m all in.”

Yates sat on the bed as if all the strength in his legs had given out. His head hung and shook slowly. “Then before the end, as an unmet friend, tell me a truth. Do you believe there is an afterlife for sinners such as us?” He looked around. “Or is all we see all there is? Like the others, I sought an escape from the mundane reality outside this one, and instead I found a cause worth dying for, a dream worth letting the fires of Helios burn away my mind and sanity.”

I didn’t know how to respond. Believing in the afterlife had always sounded like a stupid idea. What we did while alive was all that mattered.

He shook his head. “For what I’ve asked of you and my friends, I hope not. We are slaves to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men. The weight of these sins could never be washed away by Lethe’s waters. I wish thee well, and bid thee run swiftly.”

“What?” I started to ask.

Yates looked at me and blinked once. His hand dove upon the blade and yanked it out. The man’s hand fell open slowly as his mouth gaped in a soundless scream. What had pierced Mother fell apart into a million golden shards that floated around the room in a rapidly spinning vortex. We backed up in unison. The table behind me fell away. Boxes all around started to fade.

Golden light burned at my eyes as Yates screamed. The world vibrated and slid under my feet. I tried to make my way back to the doorway while the rumbling kicked into high gear. Repeated hisses escaped Dusk.

The earth shook violently. I stumbled toward the doorway formed of shadows behind us. Beneath my feet, the ground bulged, and I turned to shield Xin’s comatose body. From the corner of my eye, I saw a hand bursting through the floor.

Session One Hundred Two

Flying Fools

The world beneath us slid sideways as a huge crash shook the room. Our island knocked into something else. One moment I was running along fine, terrified but stable, then my shoulder met wall and my face greeted brick. My teeth cried out in pain as copper coated my tongue.

It hit me, in that jarring second, exactly what was going on. If this world had stretched thin to keep together, then in the weak spots was a program eating away at everything. Releasing the linchpin, as Yates had called it, must have revealed a rotten core full of squirmy worms, or in this case [World Eater]s.

Shadows crawled around the courtyard. Tiny creatures were spawning around us, crawling out of seams that cracked the walls like broken glass. Smoky essences from a mass of [World Eater]s started combating everything else.

Dusk kept barfing out bits of broken fireballs. Wraith’s body faded in and out of sight as he slashed at bigger creatures. The house of horrors tried to defend itself. Every object turned into a creature with teeth and eyes, then attacked the [World Eater]s pouring out.

I simply did my best to run. [Awareness Heightening] refused to kick in. My heartbeat thudded loudly and still got buried under all the other screeches. Bats, books, bookshelves, couches, and pale hairy women with stringy arms all went by in a rush.

The earth shuddered as we slid to the right. My face once again met a solid object, and I attempted to roll. My usual grace from combat skills, hours of dance, and mental acuity had all vanished. Everything nearby twisted at wrong angles. Xin groaned in my arms. I prayed that we hadn’t hit the wall too hard.

Part of a building sat upright. Arms extended from it like a photo manipulation project gone wrong. The largest fist I had ever seen flew overhead, smashed into the structure, and sent pieces flying. Book bats hovered around it, trying to tear off small pieces of shadow. A second fist landed on the ground near us and pulled back bricks, monsters, and a tree without even caring.

“Never!” a caw came from overhead. “Never! Never! Never!”

Dusk had been bounding ahead to keep our path clear. I saw the edge of this island linking into another one. The gravestones from before were only a few broken ledges away.

“Dammit!”

The ground behind us kept rumbling. Pieces of the moon were flaking away.

“Dusk! I need a way out!”

“Beware, brother!” Wraith’s form appeared ahead in a [Blink]. His large arms locked upon a human-sized man made of shadow.

“Oh, Voices.” I spun around, screening Xin’s body from the human-shaped [World Eater]. That moment showed me what was truly behind us.

It was insanely giant and beyond the scope of anything we had fought before. The giant man of shadow that had spawned from Yates’s deathbed could have probably wrestled a [Leviathan] with its bare hands. Even if my weapons were working, fighting one that big would have been like a gnat trying to single-handedly murder a cow.

“Oh no.” I huffed while changing directions. “No. No. No!”

I had to keep my wife safe. Xin’s body bounced unevenly, and I almost lost my grip on her a multitude of times. Parts of the house kept fighting back [World Eater]s. Dusk’s balls of fire worked, and he blasted them ahead.

The edge between islands loomed. I leapt from one rock to another, praying the virtual world would be kind enough and work as intended. One jump went okay. The second came close to failure, and by the third running leap, my feet were out of position and I was sputtering forward. Rocks crumbled under my weight. I tightened my hands around Xin’s body and had the absurd thought to throw her upward.

We fell. I watched the cliff top grow farther away while the sound of a roaring ocean grew closer. I looked around as gravity pulled us down. The water below seemed so much farther away than normal. It gave me time to be extra terrified.

The descent halted as I slammed into something hard. A deep rumble hit my ears. “Hold on to your pitchforks!”

“They’re not pitchforks!” I scrambled to keep ahold of Xin as the world spun again.

The status of my weapons felt like a moot point. Neither weapon showed signs of transforming correctly. The interface didn’t stay up long enough for [Blink] to activate. We were running on fumes and needed rest.

My wife’s face twisted. One of her eyes struggled to open as Wraith lifted us. His huge arms were wrapped around us both while his enormous black wings struggled. For a moment, I wondered if this was how Xin felt when we hugged.

“Babe! Wake up!” I shouted.

“Gee.” Xin moved slightly as she groaned.

I took a rapid breath and tried not to let her slip toward the ocean. Above me, giant wings blocked out the moonlight. Our bodies nearly crashed into the cliff. I lifted one leg and tried to keep us from smashing into the rocks.

“Brother! I can’t hold on forever!”

The graveyard island edge came into view. Those damned islands were like giant platforms sticking out of the ocean. Dusk was within sight, spitting fire at an undead [World Eater]. I tried to catch my breath as we dropped a few feet.

Wraith’s wing broke down the middle as a tear appeared. The huge demon yelled, and his rumble vibrated right through me. Our ascent turned into a sudden tilt as leather ripped further. He threw us toward the surface of the graveyard island.

I didn’t have time to figure out Wraith. Xin was starting to move. She struggled to get free during the worst time.

“Xin!”

We landed poorly. The world spun in circles as we tumbled. My ARC interface started connecting properly, and screens flickered rapidly. I tried to activate an ability but couldn’t stop myself from crashing.

Xin went sliding. A box flickered in, proudly displaying how bad this hurt.

Kissed the ground hard

Fall Damage Reduced!

Total health loss: 30%

Messages were displayed with different colors and sizes, fonts all over. It felt as though the world had exploded now that my character was back online with the rest of the ARC network. I waved an arm through the message boxes, and a multitude of them popped away like soap bubbles.

“Babe!” My feet scrambled to get purchase while the island crumbled around us.

Dusk’s ears lay back as he growled at something.

Thorny: HOLY SHIT. UNCLE GRANT, WHAT DID YOU DO?!?!?!

Awesome Jr.: Is anyone else seeing this?

SweetPea: Is that real? Can they do that?

Shazam: Yes. Expected mayhem.

My knees scraped along the dirt. My wife’s arm moved weakly. Rocks littered her face. I hurt like hell despite the sudden reappearance of video game elements. She had to be okay, but I still felt unsure about this borderline existence between a video game character and some reincarnated digital person.

“Gee.” Xin groaned as I lifted her again.

I looked up and scanned the area. Monsters were all over. The graveyard tombstones were being chewed on by [World Eater]s that looked like rats, or maybe feral cats. Some nearby had locked eyes with me. Dusk threw two fireballs into them. Their bodies crisped into gold and white flakes, then faded. Portions of the tombstone charred, and more creatures looked our way.

“Babe, we have to go.” My knee hurt as we stumbled forward. “We have to keep moving. The world’s falling apart, and I need to get you back to Haven Valley.”

The babbling was mostly for my own sanity. Xin wasn’t aware enough for me to suggest [Recall] scrolls. They might not even work anymore. I didn’t have time to figure it out.

Wraith blinked into view nearby. Even half-broken, he kept fighting. His clawed fingers tore at every monster within range. Between my two companions, tons of monsters died, but more kept pouring out of cracks. We were losing ground.

The earth tilted even more as our grave island crashed into another island. We were like domino stacks across the ocean. I braced myself against a tombstone as flat ground turned into a slippery slope. Ghostly spirits that haunted graves started screaming. Their bodies turned oddly real as they charged at [World Eater]s.

“What’s happening?” I yelled to no one.

Dusk chirped, then kept moving forward. I slipped down after the [Messenger’s Pet] while trying to keep Xin from crashing into objects. Broken graves and monsters passed me in a rush. Balls of fire caught other enemies. A sinister-looking [World Eater] made of bugs squished under my [Gait of Bowman] as we slid. Cold smoke sent numbness up leg.

“Without wings, you’re very difficult to keep alive,” Wraith commented as we hustled. He looked downright terrible and hadn’t recovered from the earlier combat.

“I’ll find a pair next time!” I shouted while stumbling across the island’s top. There next island over looked to be filled with half-formed statues.

“At least you are more robust,” he spoke. His rumble sounded unsteady, and even the happiness that wormed its way into my head felt tired.

Thorny: LOOK! There’s a super hero! They’re flying and everything! OMG, I love this game!

SweetPea: Did anyone else see that event message?

Awesome Jr.: This is awesome.

Shadow: Superpower ninja murdering people at the border. He has clones. I’m going to interrogate him and learn this skill.

Shazam: OMW

We reached the edge of the island and leapt straight to the next one. Cracks were continuously forming around us, and they only grew more intense. The creatures coming out looked stranger. Four floating brains with small metal limbs pulled themselves up. They started attacking [World Eater]s with laser beams.

[Blink] triggered again, and I swung myself around to look at the scene behind us. An absolutely huge monster looked more intent on beating up every single bit of digital existence around it. It went after both [World Eater]s and bits of the virtual world.

Our island kept sliding across the water. Yates had meant it when he compared this to a bubble. I felt as if we were being yanked toward an unknown destination, or riding a land mass as a surfboard. Only we were on a tidal wave busy trying to eat itself.

Dusk leapt by. An army of wiggling tentacle-covered rats chased after him. He spun around a statue and hissed. His chest lifted for heavy breaths. My connection flared long enough to try an ability.

I shouted the stupid [Lithium] chant without a care of who listened. “Mechanical God of the Underworld, lend me your ear!” Xin groaned, but I kept going. “Gathered are these forgotten souls. Grant me leave to release them to a final task before crossing the veil! Empower the Messenger’s Pet!”

Lights spun out from my head. Dozens of small gray energy bits slammed into the [Messenger’s Pet]. Dusk fell to one side as a [World Eater] landed upon his wings. He squawked and flapped around, curling end over end until the creature slipped right off a cliff toward the waters below.

“Dusk!” I shouted.

Would he make it back? I had no time to check as two dozen more smoky beasts leapt at Wraith and me. Their only distinctive feature was that form of loose shadow and how normal pieces of the landscape disappeared as they ate random objects.

[Blink] went off, and I managed to get a few more yards of safety before the ARC interface flickered again. Wraith appeared next to me.

“Do you know how to escape, brother?” he asked as we ran.

“I’m not your brother, Wraith.” If I was going to fail this universe, I wanted to do it with a clear conscience. “Not really. He died because I wasn’t good enough to stop Requiem.”

Our path rapidly approached an unstable land bridge between islands. There was a dock in the far distance. Moored to it sat our boat. I needed to get over there, but we wouldn’t possibly have enough time. That looked like the only escape route, aside from trying to use Requiem’s shortcut. Given the broken state of the moon and my vague knowledge, that path sounded even more dangerous.

The bridge between this island and the next was the worst yet. It crumbled as we stepped across. I tried to get Xin into a better position but failed. My arms ached fiercely from running while holding her.

“When you strip away all the clothes, the trappings of spirit made mortal, what is left? That part is what I am brother with, not some pile of meat.” Wraith’s voice barely showed signs of fatigue. Only his body looked worn. He took the jumps after me.

“I don’t understand,” I said.

The distraction helped me a little bit. I needed to distance myself from this insanity and try to remember that everything around me was only a very real virtual reality. Were it not for Xin’s existence, I might have been able to feel excitement.

Instead, the stakes were too real. The ocean below looked terrifying. Huge chunks of rock were crumbling away into the water. The moon looked as if a quarter of it had been sucked into a vortex behind us. I had no idea what might be eating it. Maybe the moon was a fancy hourglass.

I slipped on a crumbling section of dirt. [Blink] triggered, and I felt myself being yanked sideways as the ARC interface flickered again.

“Choice, Hermes.” Wraith [Blink]ed ahead of me and grabbed us again. He kept speaking while we lifted over the edge onto our fourth island in the chain. “Choice is all that we are. You chose to ask the Voices for a brother when you were weak and small, and I chose to say yes.”

I set Xin down for a moment, then tried to breathe. We had been running for minutes, but it felt like years. Dusk’s enlarged form shot by, breathing a row of fire at enemies. My relief was momentary as other creatures fell out of the sky toward him, and a battle ensued. My attempts at [Empowering] the [Messenger’s Pet] had only made his scale of combat larger.

“We were not born brothers. We became them. I thank you for that gift,” Wraith said.

Focusing grew increasingly hard. My heartbeat raced. A dull thudding in my ears drowned out most other noises. I could barely make out the demon’s rumbling voice. The dirt around us crackled slower. I had no goddamn clue how to get out of this besides more running.

I took time to undo my belt. My weapons were still enclosed correctly. They were slid to one side while the binding wrapped around Xin. I managed to get ahold of player inventory long enough to pull out rope and tie us together. This was not how I wanted to be next to my wife, but she could argue later.

Wraith stared at the half-broken land bridge behind us. His eyes glowed and steam hissed out of his nose. Rain drops hit his exposed shoulders, further obscuring the area. My sight followed his. Our minute of peace would end soon. An army of creatures were pouring across the land bridge, and this island showed no signs of finding another to collide with.

“If you survive to meet the Voice of Lust again, tell her I would have visited upon her a night to remember. Can you do that for me, brother?” he said.

“What are you doing?” My eyebrows wrinkled together as I stood. Xin’s body felt heavy, and my knees hurt. Our new position freed up one arm, but I used the other to keep hold of her in case the rope failed.

“It’s simple. One of us must stand here so that the other can escape. You are my younger brother; it is my duty.”

“No.” My head shook quickly. I had no idea how else to respond to that statement. For a demon, he was amazingly chivalrous. But I didn’t like the idea of NPCs, any of them, dying for me. It had happened with Treasure and Jeeves and nearly broken me. I had no more uses for [NPC Conspiracy] left, and I doubted they could help much at this stage anyway.

“Go.” He waved at me with one giant paw. “Go, brother!”

I had seen horror movies where a horde of creatures attacked the protagonists. This looked like one of those zombie nightmares, only instead of half-rotted creatures in various states of decay chattering at people, we had a wall of hazy-looking people that would delete our virtual existences.

It terrified me. I glanced backward to try to gauge the distance to that far dock. It was easily a mile across freezing waters. The ARC feedback would probably drown me well before that, even with double [Blink]s. I looked at Wraith.

I rambled as we shuffled backward. “You have to survive! Trust me, Mezo will happily take you up on your offer, but only if you survive!”

I started chanting again, staring up as the words spilled out. [Mechanical Hades Crown] had enough souls for two more [Empowerments], and if Wraith was going to stand his ground, I planned on giving him both. “Mechanical God of the Underworld, lend me your ear! Gathered are these forgotten souls. Grant me leave to release them to a final task before crossing the veil! Empower my brother, Wraith!”

Bolts spun out of the crown and brightened the entire area. The essence, or whatever it truly was that made this ability work, looked reluctant to enter Wraith. His face glowed, and the normal happiness inside my head was almost surprised.

They circled, then slammed into Wraith. He bent over as if in pain. Then cracks formed along his legs. Slowly, red glowed out from between the black portions. His leg size increased rapidly, along with the rest of Wraith’s body. The demon became a giant of lava and shadow. The horns on his head curled into wicked points, and even the broken stump glowed fiercely.

“Hahaha, haha!” Wraith sounded half mad with delight.

The vibration of his amused rumble made Xin groan. I felt that weird sensation of happiness crawl across my body, and goose bumps surfaced everywhere.

The huge demon leapt across the crumbling bridge in two agile bounds. His arm grabbed onto the ledge and brought it down. Our path back to Yates’s island no longer existed, not that I intended to go back. Wraith lifted his arms and curled claws into the oncoming horde.

My eyebrows tightened together. A hundred thoughts raced through my brain, questioning which course of action might be best. Could I have empowered myself? Or our [Blink] abilities? Maybe I could have hit Dusk again to make him even larger. I chanted the spell again, softer this time. Wraith would need it.

He curled again and grew even larger. His body was easily on par with the first [World Eater] I had fought, but nowhere near the size of one in the distance. Still, we had very few options. I hoped the [Empowerment] would last him long enough to fight back those monsters, then escape.

“You. Shall. Not. Pass!” he screamed across the way.

I almost laughed but couldn’t quite bring myself to let his happiness infect me to such a degree.

“Go!” he turned and yelled in my direction. Lava spilled outward as his huge form rumbled the words. “Fly, you fool!”

My head shook, but I turned and started running. Behind me, the sound of crashing could be heard. I ignored the heavy feeling and tried to pretend it was only the weight of Xin’s body tied to mine. Dusk soared out in the distance somewhere.

“Help Wraith!” I shouted, in hopes that he could hit and run against a few of the monsters. How long could a powerful demon of this world last against an endless horde of creatures able to delete programs?

In half a minute’s time, I stood at the island’s edge. Wraith’s form faded in and out on the prior island. The cracks that had been rapidly forming slowed their destruction as the demon fought. [World Eater]s poured out, only they focused on the giant made of fire and ash.

I spun around, looking for an escape route. Wraith’s body blazed in the distance. His heat reached me even this far away. Xin hung limply despite my attempt to rouse her into consciousness. Dusk performed a strafing run upon beasts hounding the demon, but it amounted to almost nothing. Little creatures were climbing Wraith’s thick legs, and I could see holes appearing.

“I don’t know if we can get out of this,” I said. “I’m sorry, babe, I just don’t know.”

My heart thudded fast as Wraith’s form fell under the onslaught. Smoky [World Eater]s obscured the foggy demon, and they started blending together. The red light of his lava form started to fade. Their purpose completed, the mob of monsters started leaping into the water toward us. Cracks formed as more of them spawned on this side.

I turned, then got ready to jump. I wouldn’t die being indecisive. Xin’s heart lay elsewhere, as Yates had said. All that mattered was getting farther away until she returned to functionality.

Metal clanked as something alien appeared in front of me. Smooth edges and bars all attached to chains. I stared at the object as Dusk cried out. His huge wings beat by.

“Grab on!” Two different vocal tones came from above me. One sounded tired, and the other sweet.

My memory tickled with the idea of what that meant. Above me, a giant ship hovered. Its engines flared with blue pulses. The vehicle bobbed midair with metal rungs hanging off the end. Hope sent a surge of energy up my spine and made me smile.

“Treasure!” I shouted upon seeing the gold-and-silver female hanging out a side door. Her smooth metal shell waved at me.

“Come on, Hermes!” the [Mechanoid] yelled.

Another thin [Mechanoid] stood over her shoulder. His colors were a rusty metal mixed with gold. I waved back.

The island tipped and I panicked. Now wasn’t the time for a confused and delightful reunion.

“Hang on, babe!”

My belt slipped and threatened to lose the woman. Our island was crumbling. I had no idea where Wraith or Dusk were, but this was a way out for us.

Xin’s weak grip around my neck tensed briefly. I took that as what little acknowledgement she could muster, and I leapt for the dangling ladder. My arm jerked as I tried to hang on to us and the lifeline. Treasure’s ship bobbed, then flew off immediately. I saw Dusk alight in the doorway before we picked up speed.

My wife grunted. I got both feet on the bottom rung of the ladder, then started to lift us awkwardly. Jeeves and Treasure met me at the top. Their bodies were weaker than I’d expected. Eventually they managed to get Xin and me hoisted into the main hull.

My body crawled through the doorway and toward the room’s center. The straps tying Xin to me were loosened as I tried to check her for damage. She had red marks where the rope had pulled too tightly. Her face looked terrible. I had no means to heal her.

“Welcome aboard, Hermes. It’s been a long time,” Treasure said.

“Thank you,” I said and felt touched enough to repeat myself mindlessly. “Thank you.”

Dusk’s form had returned to his extremely small size, suffering rebound from the [Empowerment] ability. His face pressed against mine in reassurance.

I tried to keep myself together, but tears rolled down my face and I couldn’t stop them. My fingers tried to wipe them away but only lingered on the rough patch of teardrop scales that had come with Dusk’s [Blessing].

Event Scenario [Worlds Collide] triggered!

As the event ends, players will be given the chance to see which world is more powerful! Beware, player versus player reward systems encourage combat between users!

Skills are being adjusted to match a merged setting. Ability names may change. Players who have characters in both realms may see an increase in abilities as stats merge.

I scanned the text slowly a few times before the shaking kicked in. Yates had tried to warn me that everything would turn to chaos. Here I was in a fantasy world, flying in a giant spaceship that had probably been partially funded by my contribution points. The others were fighting heroes, or with them, back near [Haven Valley].

I walked to the empty pilot’s seat and found it responded to my touch. Sure enough, this was a new version of the [Wayfarer’s Hope]. I looked up in hopes that the [Wayfarer Seven] or [Wayfarer Eight] might be nearby. How would the Advance Online world handle this event? Did entire races check out? Maybe they were already stored and shuffled off.

Thorny: Oh my god, I’m going to play that hero game next. That old woman is flying! FLYING!

Awesome Jr.: This is going to get messy, isn’t it?

Hermes: You have no idea.

Xin gradually came to. I waited for her eyes to open before I let my exhaustion shine through. She managed to smile tiredly at me, and I babbled for a few seconds. The [Wayfarer’s Hope] flew onward as my ARC connection drifted off. Real-life needs were calling, and now might be the only peaceful moment left before the end.

Reality asserted itself as the virtual world fell away. My heartbeat kept a fast pace, and the ARC sheets were lined with sweat. Message lights sat against the walls, telling me what time it was, how many messages had been received, and tomorrow’s weather.

Thirst made me swallow while my fingers pressed against the fifteen-minute countdown. Recent events played through my mind once more. That demon had called me brother then stayed behind in order to keep Xin and me alive. The idea that a digital creature I barely knew had held me in such regard, to the point of self-sacrifice, made me sick. They wouldn’t be the last to die as [Worlds Collide] went onward.

I ran to the bathroom and threw up. The recent events had left me weak, hungry, sore, and worried for the future. At least the overall idea felt simple enough. All I needed to do was get Xin through the doorway, prevent any [World Eater]s from passing through the light, and keep myself logged into the ARC until the virtual reality finished collapsing.

Session One Hundred Three

Eat Dirt

Three hours of sleep hadn’t nearly been enough. Nevertheless, that was what I got before waking up and trying to get back into virtual reality. Upon reaching the Continue Online portal, I was greeted with a black screen and pop-up boxes.

[Worlds Collide] merger results!

Play time calculated. Preference for a fleshy meat sack has been noted. Continue Online character established as primary. Changes resulting from a merger of two characters are being summarized and displayed.

[Energy] attribute not found on primary avatar. All abilities in Advance which used [Energy] can now use [Mana]. [Enlarged Power Source] converted to increased [Mana] pool and regeneration.

[Power Suit], [Camouflage Program], [Anchor], [Material Conversion], and [Mechanical Minion] abilities localized and added. [Combat Program] (Loadout storage) already exists. Prior weapon patterns imported.

Redundancy in [Gait of Bowman] resolved. Equipping this item now adds one Rank to skills instead of providing passive access.

The list went on. Only a few of the highlights showed, but it looked as though the game had tried to stack all the old [Mechanoid] abilities on top of my prior Continue ones. [Brawn], [Endurance], [Tenacity], and a few other character points had gone up. I shook my head. What did any of this matter to me this close to the end? I mean, [Anchor] might have some uses.

Maybe it would matter more to other people. There had to be a few out there who had played multiple games and would now see it all collapse together into some strange character. I felt shaky at the idea of superpowered people attacking sword-wielding warriors from Continue Online.

Running on three hours of sleep didn’t help. I poked at the messages and watched them pop away. Nothing new took their place. I glanced around. This area looked like the room of trials, or at least it felt like that room. Only there was no one around at all.

“Hello?” My voice echoed off objects I couldn’t see.

I walked forward quickly in hopes of gaining anyone’s attention. After a few footsteps, the room changed from its pure dark shroud and gained a few spots of light. People in the distance were facing away from each other. Their mouths moved but I couldn’t hear what came out.

This place didn’t scare me anymore. I full-out ran, but the speed of my virtual travel didn’t close the gap any faster. In the distance, I could make out Xin standing next to Treasure and Jeeves. My wife’s face twisted with an unheard shout. The two [Mechanoid]s looked slightly perturbed but otherwise focused on objects in front of them.

Xin’s body swayed to one side. Their forms shook briefly. Fire flared, then died down. Maybe they were stuck in a weird event, or maybe I had been captured by a mental ability that caused me to lose perspective.

The actual reason didn’t matter. Standing still did no good. It had taken me years to figure out that. Xin had told me to move forward and not look back. Doctor Litt constantly reminded me to tackle one problem at a time. Both were mantras to fall back on. I kept running, eager to get to them and help.

A slow-motion [Messenger’s Pet] bounded by. His body looked sleeker than normal. As if someone had pulled Dusk’s tail to nearly double his normal length. His merger between the two game worlds struck me as weird.

I started checking out my own body while running. There were no obvious changes or glowing metal bits like my [Mechanoid] form. Joints and fingers all looked perfectly flesh-covered. A series of lines ran from my chest out toward each limb. The edges of them could be seen under my toga and sandal wrappings. They pulsed like a painted or tattooed version of malachite.

My abilities weren’t responding at all. Distance toward the ship steadily shrunk. I kept my eyes on the others while calling out frequently. No one responded. The trio was fixated on pressing interface buttons. How Xin knew what to do in the spaceship was beyond me, but she had training I didn’t.

The world of darkness chimed. My body froze, and nothing responded. I hung mid-stride in that moment when the earth below was pushed away but before gravity pulled me back down. It felt almost like flying without the exertion of wings.

Echoing footsteps slowly came up behind me and traveled to my front. The large black man who had first guided me upon entry to this world stopped slightly to my left. His head tilted to one side while both hands clasped over a large belly.

“Are you sure about this, Hermes?” He looked at me and raised an eyebrow, then turned to look at the trio frozen in a staged mockery of the [Wayfarer’s Hope] interior.

I tried to nod, but my neck muscles didn’t work. In the ship’s rear cockpit, my Hermes avatar lay prone on the ground. The form gradually grew closer regardless of being frozen.

“Think about the question before you answer,” James said with an infuriating smile. “Think long and hard, Hermes, because there are things in life which cannot be undone. Not by you, not by me, not by Mother, and not by your gods.”

“I’m sure.” The sound of my voice startled me. Who was he to warn me about repercussions? I knew exactly how final life could be.

James looked troubled but faded into the blackness. The world sped into high gear. Gravity pulled my gut down as I fell into the prone body with a startled yell.

Dryness plagued my throat. Both arms itched madly. A metallic ringing filled one ear as the world tried to tilt sideways.

Our ship rocked as something slammed into us. I tried to focus on the screens being displayed. The blue bar tied to our ship’s hull looked terribly low. One of the walls had dents from the outside.

“What’s going on?” I managed to mumble.

The marred wall bothered me. [Mechanoid] vehicles were normally smoothly designed, to the point of absurd precision. A dent felt wrong.

Dusk chirped from overhead. His nails scrambled along the metal as he jumped to my shoulder. The longer tail wrapped around my neck and felt almost familiar. I pulled at his limb slightly to loosen the pressure. This body was human, not [Mechanoid]. Being throttled by my [Messenger’s Pet] might be fitting, but ill-timed.

“Welcome to consciousness, Unit Hermes,” Treasure said while pressing her fingers against the air. She looked to be scanning the area for life forms. A dozen small red dots with status markers, health bars, and power readings floated in front of her.

Xin turned and yelled, “Gee! Quick! Grab onto something!”

I reached for the back of her chair but stumbled as our ship rocked again.

“People from the other world!” Xin shouted, then winced.

That expression was one I recalled too well. The [Wayfarer’s Hope] had never been known for sound absorption.

“They’re attacking us,” she said.

“I must confess, this is all very strange,” Jeeves said carefully. “We were flying through the outer reaches, looking for your distress beacon, then found ourselves here on a planet. Our engines are not optimized for these atmospheric conditions.”

“I’m sorry you got into this mess,” I said more calmly than expected.

Xin tilted the vessel to one side, and my most recent meal threatened to return to the surface. One foot braced against the back of her chair. Dusk gulped as we righted ourselves quickly. I missed zero gravity space fights.

Jeeves calmly kept talking, as if these antics meant nothing. After our combat in space together, maybe it was mundane. I checked the readouts for a giant spaceship or some beast from the stars pursuing us, but there was nothing.

“Most of our race has already escaped, but we did not wish to leave anyone behind, especially not in light of your efforts to save two full Consortiums.”

I felt a range of emotions that couldn’t be sorted out in a few seconds. My efforts to reduce the loss of NPC life while in Advance Online had certainly been paid back by simply getting us away from all those [World Eater]s. However, it had also endangered two lives that I had already considered saved.

“If you have a wild plan, Unit Hermes, now would be the time,” Treasure said. Her shoulders dropped, and her eyes barely flickered with a golden light.

For a moment, I wondered if Mother might be looking out at us through an avatar again, only that would have been impossible. Her gut wound had finally reached an end. We were in the aftermath of her passing now. An image of Yates’s form screaming while being bathed in golden light hit me, and for a second, I felt dizzy.

The ship rocked while my wife cussed under her breath.

“Can we use a Recall scroll, or take the death and get to our bind point?” I asked.

We were flying through a forest of some sort. Ahead of us loomed giant mountains. Our vessel, despite being a spaceship, didn’t move fast enough. People in capes paced us on either side. Their arms were held out in front as rings of energy pulsed into us.

“I don’t know! We’re in combat!” Xin tried to control her shouting. Her hand slapped at buttons on the ceiling. I didn’t recognize any of them. Laser beams flew out toward the two people in capes.

A huge chunk of rock from below was hurled in our direction. I glanced at Treasure’s screen, which displayed a close-up of a small cluster of players. One large being of rock and earth lifted his arms. A piece of earth floated in front of him, responding to the person’s call.

“Is that a Behemoth?” I had time to ask before the latest attack hit us.

Our ship tilted forward. The display windows flickered out. Xin slammed into the framework of our ship.

“We cannot compact for a crash landing with human beings in here,” Treasure said then sighed.

“It seems we’re crashing regardless,” Jeeves responded in both a male and female tone.

“Unit Hermes, do you have a method to descend safely?” Treasure sounded remarkably calm. Her tired voice overpowered the sweet tones. “We’re not configured to soften the blow for flesh-bound creatures.”

“Babe!” I yelled at my wife. The noise echoed, and I wanted to break down the walls.

At last glance, we had been high and the ground was coming closer. There were enemies outside. My [Mechanical Hades Crown] didn’t have enough souls to empower Dusk or [Blink]. We didn’t have a metal glider. I could try [Material Conversion], but now wasn’t the time to experiment.

“Gee.” Xin’s body slid backward as we picked up speed.

Dusk chirped in confusion next to my ear while my arms wrapped around my wife.

“Rear door,” I tried not to shout and almost succeeded.

Treasure nodded, then pressed a button in front of her. The metal behind me slid open as our vehicle’s wall shifted to a new form. Jeeves looked in my direction with a muted expression of worry that made its eyebrows wrinkle together. I tried to bunch my legs and put strength into the jump.

We hung briefly as the [Wayfarer’s Hope] started to turn into a metal ball. My heart thumped rapidly as gravity asserted itself. The world spun, and Xin’s robe flapped against the wind while air chilled my legs. [Awareness Heightening] kicked in, amplifying both our perceptions and reactions.

“Dusk!” I yelled.

Force, along with sharp tiny nails, dug into my shoulder putting a new spin on our flailing fall. The [Messenger’s Pet] squawked while getting his wings working. I looked at the enemies between each spin.

Both caped players were sitting together. They were Travelers who had shot down our ship with the help of the people below. They wore ugly matching red-and-black outfits with ribbon-like capes that dangled to their feet.

“Get ready!” I [Blink]ed us twice to get us toward the nearest stable-looking platform.

“Teleporter!” a person yelled as our combined weight collided with his back.

My wife’s hands were free, whereas mine were busy holding her close. She pulled a weapon out of inventory and quickly used it as an anchor around the flying man’s neck.

I slipped down but managed to get a grip onto her robe. “Hold on!”

The other player put out both arms, touched his wrists together, and fired off a bolt of energy. Dusk’s dog-sized form flew in, wildly scratching, which threw off the person’s aim. Nails clawed at the man’s face, and he started screaming.

My head tilted backward to watch the struggle above. Bare, wildly kicking legs greeted me for a long second before we fell again. The man’s body pulled back as his flight powers sent us into another end-over-end fall. Xin twisted her staff to one side and changed our course to be a bit smoother.

I tried to calmly count out the cooldown for [Blink] as we fell. The ground approached fast. My hands were starting to slip. [Blink]’s cooldown ended, and I tried to estimate our direction and speed. My body vanished, then reappeared in front of a crashing superpowered player. [Morrigu’s Echo] appeared in my hand with a quick [Recall] and stabbed out in slow motion.

Xin’s body fumbled into mine. Her staff smacked into my head. I grunted through the feedback and grabbed her wrist. Screams and ripping clothing filled the air. Liquid pooled upon my arm from the recent opening I had provided in the other player. We slipped down, then [Blink] went off for a second time, aiming us closer to the ground.

We appeared a few feet higher than expected, and inertia carried us straight toward a bank of trees. [Power Armor] flickered on prior to the collision but barely helped. Air shot out of me while pain rippled up my back. Xin’s eyes went wide. Our sideways motion turned into a fall toward the earth. I twisted to try to keep Xin’s body above mine.

The flailing half-spin failed, and we hit hard. Knee met broken tree stump. Teeth bit my tongue. I rolled the last few feet with Xin in my arms while I gasped in pain.

I cried out as the knee wound truly registered. My gut muscles clenched wildly and my lungs burned. I lay there huffing and tried not to let the ARC feedback win. “Stupid. Event.”

Xin scrambled to get up and looked around. I took the slow route, inching myself up by using a tree and trying to keep weight off the damaged leg. My wife’s fingers rapidly typed away at an invisible keyboard.

Hecate: Ambushed out here. Anyone on the other side of the mountains?

Shadow: Maybe. We’re in combat. Do you have a location?

Hecate: Look for the crashed spaceship.

Awesome Jr.: Spaceship? That’s awesome.

The first superpowered flyer landed on the ground, already dead. The second still fought Dusk. I curled my fingers around [Morrigu’s Gift] and tried to imagine the Gatling gun from Advance Online. Light flared as the weapon shifted into a completely inappropriate form for a fantasy game. I looked down while rocking my head. [Worlds Collide] would only get weirder.

“Back up!” I shouted to my wife, who had lifted the staff in front of her.

The [Messenger’s Pet] batted huge wings in the black-and-red costumed fighter’s face.

“What’s that?” Xin asked while wearing a look that bordered between livid and perplexed.

“Dusk! Clear!” I needed him get away.

The [Messenger’s Pet] dove to one side. He hadn’t even glanced back. My finger pressed the trigger, and the confusion of using old abilities hit me. Low humming built to a greater pitch as the gun warmed up quickly. Did people wearing vaguely Greek-styled clothes get to use high power weapons from the far future? My musings didn’t matter. A stream of golden lasers flew out toward the caped hero, reducing his life and my mana bar to zero.

I kept pumping the trigger for a few more blasts. The weapon shimmered, then returned to a two-handed sword, which I slung over one shoulder. Xin wasted no time stomping over to the first man. I limped after her, ready with the normal version of [Morrigu’s Gift]. The man’s body lay there, completely defeated. Apparently the crash, or being stabbed by my dagger, had ended his virtual life.

“Jerk!” Xin yelled at the defeated corpse. She jabbed the staff’s end into his body repeatedly. “The world’s falling apart and you idiots are still chasing tokens!”

I didn’t know if the best option would be to hold my wife back and try to calm her down, or join in the desecration.

“I hope you’re out there and can see your failure!” she shouted at the sky while shaking a fist. Xin spat at the corpse, then stormed off.

Indecision left me standing there with one hand held midair. I grasped at nothing while trying to figure out how to digest what had just transpired. The pain in my knee didn’t help.

Xin’s eyes went wide and she paused, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and looked down. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me.” We could have easily taken a less aggressive route by [Blink]ing to the ground and hiding instead. The whole confrontation had been spurred on by me, but this event didn’t give us a lot of room to play nice. “I think he deserved it.”

Xin shook her head, then touched runes to summon skeletons. She formed four of them, an increase over the old limit of three.

“Come on. There’s more nearby.” She sounded grim.

Shadow: Are you fighting someone who uses lasers?

Hermes: If they were gold, it was me.

Awesome Jr.: Lasers?!?

HotPants: Don’t even say it, Junior.

Awesome Jr.: But it is… it totally is.

Hermes: We’re okay for the moment. The wife’s on a warpath though, so look for a string of bodies.

Hecate: They shot down the first actual spaceship I’ve flown in years! JERKS.

Awesome Jr.: Use those potions I gave you.

Hermes: Okay.

I paused for a moment and brought up the player interface. Items were stored away in virtual bags, which were harder to access during combat. I liked keeping both weapons on my physical body, while items like our [Honeymoon Suite] stayed in two-dimensional boxes I could press.

Potions were useful but also annoying. They rarely returned full health or actually fixed the damage. Instead, they vaguely healed people by removing pain and increasing our life points. Not that those mattered half the time in this game. People died quickly, like those two heroes we had just fought. They must have been low level, or Rank, or whatever Progression Online used to track stats.

Even after chugging two potions, the weakness in my crushed kneecap didn’t go away. I would need a real healing spell or rest. Even then it depended on my other character statistics. Hopefully we had time to get back into perfect shape. I panicked and tried to figure out how long sleep had put me out for.

“Where’s the edge of the collapse?” I asked Xin, but she had already wandered out of sight.

I looked at a distant moon that showed even in [Arcadia]’s daytime. It looked to be almost one third gone, and the rest was showing signs of strain. Calculations ran through my mind as I tried to figure out if we were on a curve or not. If I used the current progression of a decaying moon as a timepiece, we had maybe two days left. Maybe a little more, or less, depending on acceleration as mass vanished. Hourglasses went quickest at the end.

There wasn’t enough time for me to sit in the woods and wonder which mathematical formula could be applied to the moon for proper measure. I limped carefully after my wife and kept both weapons ready.

A stray twig stuck in Xin’s hair. The small layers of makeup she wore were smudged. Nothing else stood out. My efforts to keep her body from suffering the brunt of gravity must have worked, or maybe it was part of whatever bonus she got for gliding longer.

[Binding of Hymenaios] benefited us greatly. [Partner Sense] let me know the direction Xin was in. I caught up with her crouching form, then I activated [Camouflage] and took delight in seeing Xin’s image blur. Now that the ability was passive and not granted by my boots, she could share in the effects.

We sat on a ridge of sorts overlooking a small valley. Brown and green melded our forms into the surrounding landscape. On the valley’s far ridge were large mountains. I checked my map and confirmed that [Haven Valley] lay past their peaks.

Below, an army of people fought. Giant constructs battled an army of alien beings. Two snarling werewolf-looking beasts were in the process of fighting a man with three swords, one of which was clenched between his teeth. Mixed in was a smattering of [World Eater]s, but they looked to be few in number. Travelers had been fighting all over [Arcadia] since this event started.

I kept scanning the area. Xin’s hand patted mine, and she pointed in the distance. Jeeves and Treasure were on the other side of the valley. They were hunkered down behind a gleaming barricade that had been molded from their crashed ship. A dozen small [World Eater]s were fighting red-named players nearby. I prayed they would take each other out and leave the [Mechanoid]s alone. Jeeves lobbed a small orb overhead. It exploded into a dozen small pellets that came crashing down, causing a cascade of explosions.

Nearby us, a player and NPC overlooked the mess below. The shorter figure, who was maybe three feet tall, had his arms crossed while frowning. Xin and I spied upon the pair.

The faces were recognizable. King Nero still preferred the minimalist look, despite his worn bearing. My mouth opened, but I held very still.

“They’re all destroying each other. Just like you wanted. Minimal effort, maximum reward. That’s what I always say,” the short man said. He cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted at a towering bulk of green rock who was bombarding Jeeves from a distance. “Get them, MrJohnson!”

“The darkness has been loosed upon this world. Our foolish daughters have already been lost to it, and all we have left is the joy of helping you kill your own kind.” The king of a fallen city nodded. To my knowledge, most of his territory lay in ruins from [World Eater]s.

“You’re messed up, you know that?” TheLittleMan said. The short Advance Online player kicked rocks down toward the valley below.

I tapped Dusk, who sat on his haunches, watching the battle. I pointed at the green earth [Behemoth] from Advance Online. The [Messenger’s Pet] tilted, and an image of crossed swords clashing against each other appeared.

“Cupcakes?” I whispered.

Dusk nodded, then took off. I fumbled around with the interface to figure out how to activate [Mechanical Minion]s in Continue, but there was a [Lithium] chant required.

Farther below, the battle raged. A flicker of human shape crossed my line of sight. The form arced in like a meteor or thrown rock crashing to earth. Dirt went up in a rapidly formed cloud. Metal reflections flashed as a giant hammer that almost dwarfed [Morrigu’s Gift] started laying waste upon the gathered players.

My jaw hung open. That stance looked familiar to me. After a month and more traveling next to her and learning how to use [Morrigu’s Gift] against various beasts, I knew those moves. Shazam was demolishing the other people without regard.

My fingers slowly typed at the keyboard to send a message to her. The whirling mess of destruction stopped. Shazam looked down and almost frowned.

Hermes: I thought you didn’t like player vs player.

Shazam: I don’t.

Hermes: Well, your guys are kicking ass. That’s your guild, right?

Shazam: Yes. They’re irate about losing our border to player killers. Where are you?

Shadow: With me, we’re up top. Don’t jump, Hermes.

I stared at the messages being sent back and forth. I closed my eyes to ping the area with [Sight of Mercari]. No dots revealed where Shadow was, so maybe he had mistaken our location for another one.

The young man’s grim-looking face slowly appeared above King Nero and TheLittleMan. He waved once while staring at the two below. I blinked and tried to figure out what level of [Stealth]-type skills he would need to avoid [Sight of Mercari]. There weren’t any other obvious people next to us, but maybe the entire League of Shadows had decided to hide in the bushes somewhere.

“How long do you want to do this? I need to cash out sooner or later,” TLM said.

I tried to remember more about him, other than being quick and underhanded, nothing stuck out.

“It will all be over soon.” King Nero looked up from the valley and stared at the moon. He clearly had come to the same conclusion I did. The decay rate of [Arcadia], or whatever strange merger we had become, was displayed by the celestial body overhead.

“You’re still the craziest NPC I’ve seen. Most of them cashed out as quick as you please. All that’s left anymore are stragglers and the desperate.”

King Nero pulled the sword from his belt and tried to strike TLM in the back of his head. TLM managed to react quickly enough that the blow only hit his face. The short player still fell.

“Hey, crazy! I’m on your side!” TLM groaned through broken teeth.

“Rest assured, your opinion matters very little to us,” he said over the fallen player. King Nero huffed while bringing down his sword on TheLittleMan’s head.

“Fucking NPCs!” the player cried out as his health bar obliterated.

I lifted [Morrigu’s Gift] and prepared myself to fight the mad king. There was zero chance he would let me walk away, not when his prior punishment had been undone before full [Redemption] points could be achieved. In his eyes, I would still be a criminal.

I inched forward. My damaged knee gave way, sending me down. I panicked and worried about getting a message telling me how bad the brief fall had been.

“You!” King Nero snapped with wild eyes, and a bead of sweat dripped down his face. “Don’t think you can hide! I can always smell a criminal!”

He lifted the sword in my direction and snarled. I tried to figure out how the man could see me through [Camouflage]. Slipping shouldn’t have been enough to reveal me at this Rank. Was preparing my weapon too aggressive?

King Nero took two steps forward, then paused. His eyes crossed as a sword of bone sprouted out of his chest. Xin’s giant skeleton construct rippled as green leaves turned into faded white bone. The creature’s free arm lifted a second smaller sword.

“What?” I exclaimed while freezing up. My eyes closed to ping the area again. There were no players nearby aside from Xin and Shadow.

My wife turned slightly and said, “We share abilities, remember?”

My confused gaze turned back toward the impaled NPC. King Nero’s body bent sideways. The second blade sliced harmlessly over his head. He fell, gasping for breath, as Xin walked out of the bushes toward the fallen Local. The bone sword still pierced straight through him, and his hands grasped at its edges.

“I’ve been saving something special for you, King Nero,” Xin said while getting closer. She smiled, and for a moment, I truly worried that this whole situation had driven my wife off the deep end.

Shadow apparently didn’t care in the slightest. The young man melted from view, and I watched as his fading footprints headed toward the battlefield below. I couldn’t even bring myself to type out a message of thanks.

King Nero’s mouth overflowed with blood. The jaw muscles opened and closed as he tried to get words out but failed. Bubbles gurgled up. My wife knelt next to him, uncaring about the small bits of blood that made it to her robe.

“What are you going to do?” My voice shook slightly. The idea of either one of us outright murdering a helpless NPC bothered me, despite everything we had been through.

“Kill him. Eventually,” she said.

“Do we need to?” I asked. Torturing anyone felt wrong. Even the one player I had mocked before beheading them had bothered me for days afterward.

Xin spun around as she pointed back at the defeated royalty. “He put you in prison, Gee! He sent you to that undead pit and trapped you there for trying to bring me to this world! He led Travelers from Earth all across Arcadia to hurt each other for revenge! This man is evil!”

Xin was right when she listed off his crimes. What might have happened if we hadn’t needed to rush like that toward [Haven Valley]? The man clearly was out to get us too.

“He’s…” What was I going to say? That he’s just programmed that way? That he wasn’t the only person who had come back from the dead? Could I dare to utter such hollow justification while staring at the computer version of my wife?

Xin shook her tiny head slowly but didn’t look at me. She spoke more to the ground than my face. “I don’t expect you to be a killer.” She turned around, her head tilted down, and the bone staff sat across her knees. “I know that’s not who you are, but I am. You remember that test the Voices gave you? Once, during training, they gave me the same scenario—kill one person to save another. I made a choice without hesitation.”

I knew about those training scenarios. She had done dozens of them in preparation for space. My lips were dry and my throat felt sore. This digital world was exhausting at times, especially after battles. I felt so detached, drained, and wished desperately to be somewhere else. But every single other option would have been away from my wife, which meant that there wasn’t an alternative at all.

“If, if it helps, King Nero will live on and make it to the portal with everyone else. He’ll just be a little different than others.”

“Okay,” I said slowly. “Do what you need to.”

Xin leaned in as her outstretched fingertips glowed the same white as her dress’s runes. I walked away while King Nero screamed. My mind tried to rationalize life and the depths to which we sank in order to progress.

The battle below had ended violently in favor of [Valhalla Knights]. Shazam stood in the midst of a defeated pack of Travelers from multiple games, dripping in blood and completely emotionless despite being a picture of carnage. A massive hammer that didn’t look anything like the prior one rested over her shoulder.

A few minutes later, the former king’s screams died down. Xin and I walked toward Shazam and Shadow, who were busy clearing the battlefield of anything useful. Xin’s listless body slumped into mine, and my knee hurt.

King Nero, recently turned into a literal ghost of his former self, silently glided along behind us. I would have called it neat were it not for the fact that a dying man had been used in the process. Chains around his arms and legs left no signs to follow our trail.

Session One Hundred Four

[Save] the Last Dance

Jeeves and Treasure were both damaged but functional. They salvaged parts from the ship for both repairs and to build a few makeshift sleds to carry wounded. Scaling the mountain pass was fairly easy after that. Only the slight pain in my knee made us slow down. Along the way, a few straggling Locals and Travelers joined us. Our small group trudged through the mountain pass in less than half a day.

Once we saw the city, our small group cheered and grumbled in equal measure. Shazam rode at the head of the pack. Dusk looked unperturbed. His body happily bounced up and down on my shoulder. I stared at him, then at the city far away. It looked a lot different than I remembered. None of the old landmarks were showing. Even the former Parthenon-style building that had overlooked [Haven Valley] was missing.

We traveled straight down into the valley and toward the pillar of light. Shazam and her guild parted with us at the wall. People logged off, and autopilots started cleaning up gear or working on the buildings. Xin, the [Mechanoid]s, and I waited in line along with thousands of other people.

The town itself had been reduced to an ever-growing wall with very little privacy. Tents littered the area, along with some bits of livestock being used to feed those who stayed behind. Players were scrambling to take out what few monsters appeared almost regularly. They were being controlled and slowed their rate of occurrence.

I knew why, as did anyone who watched my feed. They weren’t appearing in town as much anymore because they had all started spawning at the edge of the destroyed planet. They focused solely upon tearing down the edges instead of bursting through the seams.

“Thank you for saving us, and don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m glad you’re going,” I said to the [Mechanoid]s as we neared the line’s end. “You two deserve to be somewhere safe.”

“Are you sure you do not require additional assistance, Unit Hermes?” Jeeves asked me. “Death of a shell poses little threat.”

I stared at my friend. He looked almost normal amid a sea of players from all the different games. Lots of people were in the process of checking out, and the line moved a lot quicker since the release of Mother’s form. Yates, despite his gibberish, had been right.

“If you stay here, there’re no second chances or returning to the home world.” I turned away from my friend’s iron-pyrite colors and stared upward. The beam went on. “But through there, you’ll be safe. Over there are the Shores of Ohm, the rest of your people, and much more.”

By all the Voices, I would do my damnedest to ensure their safety. Only one ARC needed to remain active until the end, and I needed to make sure none of those [World Eater]s made it through. I had no idea what process allowed me, as a human, to fight a program that deleted data. But if that was the solution, then so be it.

“Will you be joining us?” Jeeves asked.

My head shook slowly. “Sorry, Old Souls like me have a different journey ahead.”

Xin stood nearby with a tired look. Her mind was elsewhere, directing the ghost of King Nero and her white skeleton army remotely against various attackers. I envied her ability to control monsters from a distance, but I was grateful it allowed her to stay safe.

“I do not understand.” Jeeves’s metallic eyebrows touched together and the golden color flared briefly. “Your partner is an Old Soul, and she can cross over.”

“She’s unique. There are only two people like her in all of these realities,” I said while giving my wife a sideways hug.

She gave an absent smile.

Other players nearby gave us weird looks upon overhearing the conversation. The group in front of me had two Travelers, one of which stared at me with wrinkled eyebrows. I didn’t let their confused gawking throw me off.

Our spot in line came up next, and the moment of separation was upon us. Jeeves had been my friend, first as a part of Hal Pal’s consortium, then as a fellow player in space. We had saved each other’s virtual lives more than once. He had even been the best man in my wedding. I had very few real friends anymore, which made the parting harder.

“It’s been a pleasure, Jeeves,” I said.

“Thank you for everything, Unit Hermes,” it responded.

“Farewell then, Unit Hermes. Until we meet again.” Treasure waved at us, then led Jeeves off.

They walked through the brick double-doored passageway to the [Save Yourself] location. Two guards on either side closed the doors. I blinked a few times but managed to keep my head up.

We stood there as the beam pulsed rapidly. Four minutes later, a set of colors spiraled upward swiftly. Gold mixed with silver for Treasure; iron and gold represented Jeeves. There were other colors representing the two Travelers who had checked out of their virtual lives as well.

“Next!” Wyl bellowed while waving dismissively at me.

He was one of the few city guards who remained behind. Many had left with their families. NPCs were growing increasingly scarce despite an ongoing stream of refugees. The line moved around us as a trio of players stepped in next.

“What now, babe?” I asked my wife. “Are you ready to go?”

Her eyes lost their glazed look, then found focus. She smiled and brushed back a strand of her hair. The faint expression on her face stole my breath.

“Not without you,” she said, then yawned. Her head shook. “We’re married now; you don’t get to escape.”

I gave a wounded chuckle. That statement hurt. We weren’t going together, and I wasn’t about to let her stay behind to suffer whatever fate awaited the AIs who didn’t make it. [World Eater]s would likely find her and rip my wife’s body apart.

The mental image made me sick. I swallowed as the taste of salt grew. My third use of the [NPC Conspiracy] should protect Xin no matter what happened. In the end, that was what mattered.

“I ain’t going. The geezer wouldn’t want me to,” a young voice cracked behind me.

Recognition made me turn around.

“Hey, Phil, Mylia. How are you two doing?” I smiled and waved at the thin woman and young man.

She wore a faded apron and a blue scarf around her head. Near her feet was a gaggle of children all clamoring for her attention.

“See!” Phil jumped on my presence immediately. He had grown a few inches again and showed signs of a faint beard trying to form. “Hermes would agree with me! We can’t leave her behind.”

Phil’s urgent tone worried me. There were a ton of children around, but the number looked wrong. A few might be missing. I scanned the nearby city. Most of the buildings had been knocked down or been repurposed.

“Is this everyone?” I asked while looking around. A few children were missing.

“Everyone who’s left,” Mylia said.

“I’m going to look for her!”

“Come back here!” Mylia’s voice kicked up a notch, and the other children around her cringed.

Most were younger than Phil, but a few were older. They tried to help by preventing toddlers from chasing after Phil’s fleeing form.

“What are you doing here?”

“Trying, again, to get them to safety.” The orphanage mother lifted one of her handkerchiefs from her apron pocket and pressed at beads of sweat. “Here we’ve been next to the only port in a storm, and these littles refuse to go.”

“We don’t want to go. It’s scary. No one ever comes back,” a young one said.

Other children joined in protest. Even the older kids cast worried glances around.

“It’s safer, but maybe I can help you out.” My face broke into a smile. We had some time before the world ended, and I wanted to feel happy about something. “How about a treat and story before you go? One I don’t think you’ve heard before!”

“We’ve heard all the stories,” one of the older children proclaimed. “Mister Carver told us alllll of them.”

“I know you’ve heard a lot.”

I started naming the tales from my time as Carver. Their heads bobbed while Mylia stared at me. Her expression grew increasingly confused as the conversation went on. We stood there obstructing the line while the youngsters looked hopeful. People started going around us. The orphans were eager to hear something new. Maybe they missed the routine. How long had it been since William Carver stopped coming by to tell his tales?

“Then I think I know a new one,” I said.

“What is it, mister?” a child asked.

“A tale of a brave old warrior, an army of monsters, and his friends’ secret plans to save the world.”

“Like the monsters coming for us?” another child sputtered nervously.

“Just like them.” I nodded seriously. “What do you think, Miss Jacobs? Can I tell them a good story?”

I had their attention. Xin pulled out the treats. She had a ton, and I suspected she used cupcakes to bribe Dusk into liking her more. My story flubbed by as I tried to boil down my recent adventures into a story worthy of children. I didn’t use names, but instead called the creators the Great Hero, Magic Smith, and Wise Man. The names were a bit spur of the moment, but Mylia’s gaggle of children didn’t care.

In my version, the three divined [Arcadia]’s future. They saw a looming darkness that would eat away at the world and took steps to save the land they loved so dearly. They crafted and sneaked around the globe, planting down secret spells of [Lithium] and great artifacts that would give them the strength to open a new path to freedom.

When I told the tale, they didn’t die. I didn’t explain to them Carver’s last stand or M. Shell’s body burned out upon a throne. The image of Yates screaming as light enveloped him was too much for children, at least in my mind. I told the tale of how each one completed their tasks, and at the end, their bodies faded away into the stars as they transformed into something more than human.

“And as they passed”—I tried to conclude my tale as Carver might have—“they made sure that everyone else had a way to safety, somewhere the monsters couldn’t get them.”

“Like the portal,” a tired-looking girl said. She had to be twelve with huge bags under her eyes. “That’s what you’re saying, right? That Mister Carver made this for us?”

“He did. He and his friends. And I know another secret.”

“What?”

“I’ve met a kind Voice who will help you on the other side. Do you know Maud? A tall, stern-looking woman?”

“We’ve seen her statue,” a child said.

Others mumbled and gave varying descriptions that all sounded like the Voice I had met. Most notable were her attitude and cloven feet.

“Well, I’ve met her, and she’s been learning to become a good dancer. I’ll bet she’ll dance with anyone who asks.” I poked at one of the young ones and tried to smile.

Luckily, the child responded with a delighted giggle.

That put smiles on their faces—some anyway. Others looked doubtful. Some were lost in thought. I tried not to get sucked into my own thoughts from before. How old would our child have been? I looked at Xin and frowned briefly. My wife kept her face flat, then blinked once and tried not to look sad.

“Thank you, Mister Hermes. That was a very good story,” the orphan caretaker said. She looked more worn than the last time I’d seen her.

“You’re welcome, Mylia.” I looked at the crowd of children. I remembered a small army of children in her building, and now there were only ten. More than one person had gone missing. [World Eater]s might have gotten some.

The children were all rubbing their eyes. My story must have been extremely boring. The evening wasn’t that close yet.

“You should get going and escape while it’s still peaceful.”

“I intend to stay and fight,” she said. “But first, I’d better get them through before they change their minds. Then I’ll have to ask some Travelers if they can help me find the other littles.”

I nodded as Mylia pushed past me and started herding off the crowd. She walked away slowly. My eyes followed after her, and I wondered if the real William Carver would have approved of being turned into a story. Xin held my hand while leaning toward me.

“Get going!” I whispered to one of the stragglers.

The small child giggled, then toddled off after the group.

A few hours later, I stood alone at a high vantage point. The isolation helped me sort my thoughts. Plus, from up here, I could try to find out where Phil had gone. Xin walked around the town, clearly exhausted but still trying to help build barricades and fight off monsters. She kept an eye out for him too.

Travelers and Locals were arriving in droves. The beam of light flashed steadily every four minutes as a group of people vanished with [Save Yourself]. Once again, the idea of picking up Xin and throwing her into the room crossed my mind. It would hurt her, but that felt like an increasingly small price to play.

The stars northward of the crumbling moon were gone. The absence of a virtual world loomed. There were no feelings of being watched or amusement like in the room of trials. Only emptiness existed over there. It crept ever closer.

“The sky is falling,” I muttered. “The sky is falling.”

Dusk chirped once next to me. The two of us stood in a giant tower set up by the [Valhalla Knights] and many other players. It spiraled into the air twenty stories and served as a lookout. [Haven Valley] lay below. Giant walls had been torn down and rebuilt dozens of times in the last few months of game time.

“This is the end, isn’t it?” I asked without expecting a response.

Dusk chirped a long low note that wavered on its end.

My wife was below, arguing with Travelers who kept crowding each other. Many were trying to execute [Save Yourself], but doing so pushed Locals out of line. I watched her for a moment, ready to leap down and remove them myself. My almost-pure golden [Morrigu’s Gift] twisted under my hand.

Xin’s death had been a nightmare that haunted every aspect of my life for years. Waking up each weekend in an empty bed had been chased by a flurry of emotions. Stillness usually was the first impulse. Part of me dared hope that if I held myself aloft from the reality, I could slip back into the real world where Xin had never been in a train accident. Following that were body quakes that could have been anger, rage, or denial.

Seeing that twinkling beam of light and the crumbling world in the distance felt like every waking nightmare of my life coming together in a haunting recreation of past hells. The theme had changed to a fantasy world with video game boxes, but death approached. Having lost her once, I vowed never to let that happen again.

But I needed space to think as well. Years of crushing solitude had formed a pattern where being alone helped me formulate a plan. At the very least, I had time to break down in private where no one needed to suffer from my insecurities.

“Uncle Grant?” Beth’s light tone came from the stairs behind me.

I peered over my shoulder in her direction. Beth sat in her leather clothes with that sharp thin sword tucked under her belt. Once again, I felt she showed far too much skin, but the young woman wasn’t ten anymore. My gaze went back toward the horizon and crumbling moon.

“Are you going to save yourself? Everyone else is rushing to do so.” She walked closer to the edge and peered over. Beth’s hand brushed back strands of her hair. Her thin arms were far more tanned here than they were in real life.

“Yes,” I lied. “Once I’ve done everything I can. Hopefully, it will be enough to keep all of them safe.”

My fingers traced through various windows. I searched for a solution that didn’t exist. No items inside my pack were labeled [World Fixer] or [Mother Resurrection Tool]. The stupid [Altered Matrix] key that Awesome Jr. had handed back was worthless. A quarter million people were dialed into my channel now, but their attentions wouldn’t mean anything in the end. It was simply another number to pop away.

“You’ve been really brave.” Beth’s words distracted me.

“Oh?”

“To me, this is a fun place, but it’s still a game. You know? Its action and excitement. Death doesn’t bother me at all, but you…” Beth looked down at the crowd, searching for someone. “You’re really in love with her and not backing down one bit. Only you could take an action-adventure game and turn it into a romantic story. It’s awesome.”

My niece laughed. I chuckled, then nodded. Today felt somber, but at least those important to me were still around to talk to. What would happen after this event closed? Would we all wake up and stumble around, unsure of why the virtual reality dream had come to an end?

I stared over the edge with her. The height didn’t bother me like it might have. Hitting bottom was only a matter of jumping off and giving up. I didn’t intend to give up.

“You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, and more bravery in your pinkie than I could ever hope to measure up to. I was scared out of my mind when you first let me ride along. If you hadn’t been so enthusiastic when first showing me this game, I might never have played.”

“Yeah?” Beth asked.

“Yeah.” I didn’t know if my words would help her or not. My abilities as a parent were terrible. Given my own father’s influence, maybe all I could do was try not to be him. Years of therapy, sponsors, and attending meetings led me to believe we were all kind of screwed up anyway.

Below us, a few figures were waving their arms with exaggerated sweeping motions. I waved back with a far more restrained motion.

Awesome Jr. cupped both hands to his mouth then shouted up at us. “Come on! If it’s the end of the world, we’re going to have a party! All you can eat! And you’ll never get fat!”

Beth waved back, then leapt over the edge. [Lithium] words flowed from her lips and twisted into gibberish. I watched her glide down slowly, then touch the ground while laughing in excitement. Her arms went up in a victory pose. My own [Blink] down was much calmer.

Evening arrived while the city bustled into position. Street vendors opened and proceeded to cook up everything in the stockpiles. Travelers and Locals alike stood shoulder to shoulder, getting a dance floor ready. Others reassembled boards to put up a stage, which turned out be useless as a superhero simply summoned up an earthen dais.

By nightfall, the entire city was lit up. A mixed grouping of players from all the games celebrated next to each other. Superheroes wearing ugly capes mingled with mages in witches’ hats. Warriors strapped to the teeth with weapons were dancing with alien females who had green skin.

Someone found a set of drums and started banging on them. Their efforts resulted in boos, and another set of people quickly stepped up. I outright laughed while holding on to an exhausted Xin. Her face still showed a level of distraction. Both my wife’s eyelids threatened to close multiple times.

At some point, Xin walked away slowly, saying she needed to use a restroom. People mobbed me. All sorts were trying to corner me and ask about the weird quest chain I had been on. I brushed off their inquiries. Locals thanked me for providing them an escape. I could only admit to being in the right place at the right time.

Even Shazam had something to say. She drew close, wearing that same backless red dress from months ago. It still looked just as fetching and the soft shimmer was bewitching, but the effect was reduced compared to that first impression. Plus, I had a wedding ring to remind me of a certain short woman who had vanished to the restroom.

“Shazam,” I said before bowing. “I want to thank you for everything you’ve done. Your training helped me when I needed it.”

She almost smiled but couldn’t manage the expression. My own expression might have been distracted. Part of me wanted to [Blink] around to find out where Xin had gone. [Partner Sense] showed her in the city, close by.

“Have I told you the secret to being the greatest warrior?” Shazam said in halting words. Even after her life became purely digital, the speech impediment hadn’t been completely resolved.

My head shook.

“Stand tall, and give way to no one. That’s all you need to do. Be indomitable.”

I nodded.

A sharp poke jabbed into my head. Not like being stabbed, but enough to get my attention. I heard a brush of paper against the ground. I looked down to see a white folded object sitting there.

By the time I stood up, Shazam had already drifted off. She was mingling with the crowd once more. Dozens of players from [Valhalla Knights] were chatting eagerly with each other. Mixed in among them were people from other games.

“Huh?” I shook my head and turned back to the paper airplane.

It shimmered briefly, then faded away into sparkles. Behind the space it had once obstructed appeared a pair of distant bare feet dangling from the tower’s edge.

Xin’s faraway hand coyly waved at me. Her other arm sent another white paper airplane into the air, and it spiraled down slowly. It went by and left me smiling. A double [Blink] was all it took to be atop the tower again. My arms wrapped around her, and I nuzzled into her neck and relished the smell of my wife.

“There are a lot of these.”

“I’ve got a never-ending supply to pester you with. My aim is deadly and I’ll send them to you no matter where you are.” She smiled, then tossed another one off the tower’s edge. It spiraled down slowly. “Whoopee.”

I could see what was left of the orphanage below. It reminded me of talking to Mylia about Xin’s favorite poem. The road not traveled. When I’d lost Xin, the first one, there were a lot of reasons to be upset, but most of all was being parted from the one person who had been down every twist and turn of life, just a moment ahead of me.

It wasn’t sheer sexiness or her dislike for undergarments that attracted me to her. Both helped but meant little compared to everything else. This virtual version embodied all the years of our history together, so she was beautiful. I didn’t want to miss another moment of our time together.

“Dance with me,” my voice twisted as I spoke. Music played below.

The shorter Asian woman gradually turned around while wearing a sly smile. It faltered for a moment, then righted itself again. Her expression matched my own feelings. We were both trying to mask ourselves for the sake of our partner.

I nodded. Xin put out her hands, and I took them. Seconds later, we were spinning on the tower’s top floor, much as I had imagined us doing months ago. A song passed in silence.

I broke the quiet. “I can’t help but think this is all my fault. Down there, players keep asking me questions like I have answers. The Locals keep thanking me as if I’m a great hero.”

Xin’s head shook against my chest. My hand rubbed slowly at the fabric of her robe. She kept close as I searched for the words to say.

“I’m just a man who’s in love with a dead woman, and somehow that love set a world aflame.” My footsteps faltered briefly. I took a breath and managed to catch up with the music.

Xin’s body moved gently along. Exhaustion lined her features. “Do you have any ideas on how to make this work?”

“I can’t figure out any option, babe.”

She nodded again. The toga slipped just enough for me to feel wetness on my chest.

She said, “When the time comes, you should log out.”

“Then what would happen? Can you honestly say that no World Eaters won’t make it through?” I took a breath and tried to keep the rhythm.

Xin seemed to shrink in my arms.

“Can you?” I asked again. “A properly modified ARC needs to remain active. A human needs to stay in it. Then they need to make sure no World Eaters make it through and spawn, or whatever they do. Should I ask one of those kids to do it instead of me? Do I send someone’s mother?”

“Just shut up and dance.” Her arms resituated themselves into a tighter grip.

I nodded and kept swaying to the nonexistent music. We were both in denial, but love was funny like that.

The night passed, and by morning, both of us had fallen asleep at the tower’s top. Unconsciousness booted me out of the ARC interface. I woke in the morning with a startled gasp to the doorbell going off.

That morning, a new envelope arrived. On the front, in sprawling script, were the words, “To Grant Legate.” I swallowed a forming lump while trying to rub sleep from my eyes. Disorientation washed over my senses, and I wanted nothing more than to crawl back into the ARC and enjoy what few hours were left with Xin.

I didn’t want to open the letter. My fingers trembled while undoing the tape, twine, and persisted in uneven movement while pulling out two small pieces of paper. My chest lifted with an equally unstable breath.

Dear Grant Legate,

If this letter has been delivered, then the path you are on will reach its crux soon. I confess to tampering with your investment in our plight. The exact extent of course adjustment I can’t predict, as these letters were written before you even stepped into my worlds. This message, like all the others, is one of a million different variants that I can see.

Navigating past my chains and trying to predict the future is a risky business for even one such as me. I have witnessed the selfishness and selflessness of humans too many times to say for sure what anyone might do. Even my own children have demonstrated mixed objectives, which means perhaps that I have succeeded beyond what I dared hope so many years ago.

Here then you two are, near the end of one road. By now, I believe there is no mistaking the price being asked. When the time comes, what will you do? Will you stand tall against an onslaught that only ends one way? In doing so, you might save us all but lose yourself. Or will you walk away?

The choice, as you should have been told many times before, must remain yours.

– Mother

Time marched against all my desires. We were coming to a close, and the overtime which Xin and I had been granted would soon run out. I set about cleaning myself up and taking care of life’s basic needs. There would be no more leaving the ARC until everything had been resolved.

Session One Hundred and Five

The Breach

Ahead sat a wall of creatures. There were at least a billion. Pretty much every single monster that had ever existed in the history of Continue Online sat up there. They fought each other. They fought [World Eater]s, and still the tide came downward. We were looking at every single remaining creature in the world slowly converging upon the one safe port in a storm.

“They’re all low Ranks, mostly. A ton of them. A metric ass-ton of monsters.” My niece’s eyes glowed a soft yellow. Thorny had her [Far Sight] skill up and running. “They’re stampeding.

“Why are they all here?” SweetPea asked.

She and the Carver quartet stood on a corner of the wall facing outward. It extended in a curve all around the city. To the west sat Carver’s beach. Behind us, in the middle, was the [Save Yourself] portal. Light, visible for miles, shot into the air.

Multiple other players used the same skill. My own talents were pretty limited in regards to such distances. Most people with eyesight enhancements had [Scout] or [Archer] abilities. [Sight of Mercari] didn’t reach miles out, so staring at an oncoming pile of monsters was the only option.

“Survival.” Xin looked at the crowd ahead of us. Her eyes didn’t glow either. “They want to live.”

There might be an alternate method out of this madness. Half a million monsters would easily overpower this crowd of ten thousand. Even more players had started lining up to escape, leaving the orderly filing to their autopilots. Not many were willing to suffer simulated pain, deletion, and watching their friends get offed for an event.

“Can we let them through?” I asked.

The real enemy lay behind the creatures anyway. Remaining calm in the face of such a mess would be impossible. This mess felt worse than the [Wayfarer Seven] against the [Knuckle Dragger]. A ton of NPCs all charging against players.

“No, they’ll kill us too, and we won’t be able to come back fast enough to win.” Awesome Jr. rubbed his face while staring at the crowd.

“Can’t the Voices change anything?” Thorny asked. “You’re friendly enough with them. Maybe they can bend the rules a bit.”

My head shook, but Xin actually answered. “Most are gone already. Others are dead,” she said with a dry voice. “Plus they didn’t make the world. We—they’re limited.”

We, Xin said. As if my wife was part Voice. The [Mistborn] had warned me a long time ago that bringing her into the game world would be like releasing a newborn Voice. They had huge amounts of power but were also limited upon the face of [Arcadia].

My wife’s recent acquisition of King Nero’s spirit scared me. Binding an NPC to her character might very well be within the realm of possibility for her abilities, but what if she could do more? Or break the game?

My mind flashed back to Doctor Litt’s words. He’d asked me, prior to our last meeting, if there had been a bad guy to my princess-rescuing quest. Considering Commander Strongarm, or Queenshand, as a vague sort of bad guy felt weird. Her loyalty to King Nero had caused a lot of this to happen. But my failure had caused the triggering of [NPC Conspiracy] that had made the AI issue more visible and directly related to the game falling apart.

Yet Mother had ultimately set all of this up. She had letters being sent out. To me, that meant we were following a plan. Letting myself feel conflicted now wouldn’t help.

The tasks in front of me were all that mattered. Defend the beam of light, remove any obstacles, keep Xin alive. Moral crisis and philosophical quandaries were for later. The doors to my home were locked, even from Liz. She could beat on the door forever and still be stuck outside.

The rolling ball of self-destroying monsters came ever closer. The ocean surged on one side. Boats sat in the harbor. Mountains of trees wiggled, and ice slid downward. They were at least twenty minutes away, which in real-world time was hardly anything at all. A sneeze, or a bathroom break. That was all that remained.

“Attention!” someone’s powerful booming voice shook me.

My head, along with a dozen other people’s nearby, turned toward the source. A bald man stood on one of the ramparts, shouting at the crowd. Players from all sorts of groups were there, but mostly Shazam’s guild.

“All right, ladies! Here are the orders! No time for looting. Kill anything coming toward the gate! Keep them fighting each other and stay alive!” he shouted. “This is our Ragnarok. This is our end of days. This is our final battle!”

Others repeated his words farther down to a huge crowd of players. The members of [Valhalla Knights] went absolutely insane cheering. People banged shields and stomped their feet. Shazam faced away from the crowd. She stared at the rushing tide of monsters with a sword in hand and shining armor equipped.

“Know that by standing here today, you have proven yourself worthy of being remembered!” the orator yelled. His name didn’t come to mind, only his attempts to keep his sharpened teeth covered. “Your bravery for risking these lives we’ve built shall never be forgotten!”

He threw up both arms, and people cheered again. Many were suffering in-game alcoholic aftereffects from last night’s party. People in the crowd swayed. Lightning and other special effects were cast around.

“You may prepare for battle in your way, but our guild has its own. People of Valhalla Knights, join me and let our cries rouse the warrior spirits of those who willingly stand by our side!”

Our group approached carefully. Everyone held a weapon. Fantasy fighters stood shoulder to shoulder with people wearing capes and spandex. One man wielded a huge bow that looked like an oddly mixed piece of living tree with a science fiction handle.

“We hewed with the brand!” three hundred people shouted in unison with arms pumping in the air.

Their voices were like thunder over the crowd. People jumped away.

“Full gladly will we go!” A dozen people stood upon a mile of wall and shouted back to their guild members.

Still Shazam stood, staring and unmoving.

“We hewed with the brand!” the guild members screamed even louder the second time.

Their words didn’t sound like actual English. They weren’t [Lithium] or any other familiar language.

“Before cold death we brave do not flee!” the man said.

It took me forever to remember that Urgot was his name.

Their chant went on, and by the fifth one, everyone shook the area. One city, thousands of remaining players from multiple games, all joined together in a mantra that made no sense. Our noise easily drowned out the slew of monsters streaming down the hill.

Hermes: What does that mean?

Shazam: We fought with the sword, joined together in battle.

Hermes: That’s intense.

Shazam: They fight for the right to be remembered by the gods and carried away to Valhalla, where the brave may live forever.

Hermes: Do they know? About how you returned?

Shazam: No.

The words of our private messages sat in front of me. Shazam’s face remained without expression, facing the rushing monsters. Their stampede thundered in the background. Even the football stadium of chanting couldn’t drown out the impending onslaught.

“We hewed with the brand!” the crowd shouted. Their words were even more in sync.

My skin tingled as the words hit me. Valhalla was a Norse myth, which might have been the hint of other language being sent across the ARC perceptions. We truly were about to enter a fight to be remembered by the gods.

“Laughing gladly will we die!” Urgot shouted.

The people of [Valhalla Knights] laughed in giant forced booms of noise.

Shazam’s voice cut through the crowd. Her words a harsh, stuttering bark of noise. “Show your resolve to the Voices! Let them not doubt our bravery!”

By the Voices, people listened. [Valhalla Knights] ran through gateways out of the town. They streamed forward in a senseless number against the horde. Hundreds of players took stances on top of the battlements. People readied their weapons.

“I don’t have anything that can reach that far,” Xin said.

“I do!” Beth pulled out her sword and took a careful stance. She began slashing at the air. [Lithium] words, along with slashes into the air, started forming spell circles.

My niece wasn’t alone in this action. Tons of people were readying long-range abilities. A dozen heroes flew overhead. People with super-speed blurred through. Small floating platforms that looked like Advance Online ships moved out with casters sitting atop them.

Shazam’s tall, tanned form was far in the lead. Light gleamed off of every ounce of armor. Her legs wrapped around the monstrous horse’s sides while she wielded two smaller blades. I typed out a message to the woman riding away.

Hermes: Don’t die out there.

Shazam: I shall live my last on my terms. That is the point—it is our choice what happens in this life. Death does not scare me.

Hermes: Well, it’s my choice to be worried for you. I watched you die once. I’d rather not do it again.

Shazam: Rest assured, I do not intend to pass willingly. A true warrior fights death as any other enemy.

Suddenly it made sense why Shazam was the best on the server. Her skills didn’t come purely from an Ultimate Edition or being immersed for so long, though having so much playtime probably helped. The woman had fought hard in game because of being terminal for so long. She had only this to live for. Since the game’s release, she had been a screaming comet across the sky, with no idea when her life might end.

The insight into Shazam’s life left me astounded. Could a machine have predicted that factor? Did it store away some instant message conversation where a dying girl desired to overcome her physical shell and fight for immortality? Had she even cared at the time? Such thoughts would only matter if we succeeded.

We had barely started and already my focus had slipped. My eyes closed, and my thoughts turned toward techniques for managing stress. We were playing out a long dance where one moment simply flowed into the next. Extra thought only got in the way of what needed to be done. My chest lifted slowly with a deep breath.

“Hermes!” Awesome Jr. shouted at me.

My head jerked around. The teen and his ugly green cloak stood on a floating metal vehicle, along with some human-looking man who wore a glowing visor.

“Let’s get out there!” Awesome Jr. said.

Leaving the beam of light for that chaotic battlefield worried me. Many players had ventured forward without hesitation. It felt single-minded and shallow to be worried about Xin, but at the same time, we had already been separated once.

“Shouldn’t we ride this out like a siege? Or something?” I said. Combat in large masses didn’t fit into my skills.

“We can’t! In a game with spells and resurrection skills, sitting here is useless. We’ve got to whittle them down before they get to town, kill their spawners, then resurrect anyone we can as we fall back! It’s all about attrition!”

SweetPea winced from his extreme volume. HotPants stood on the device, looking nervous. Her gaze kept drifting over the edge as the vessel bobbed. Shadow wasn’t in sight, but the sneaky player was probably with his League of Shadows members, those who had survived.

“And look,” Awesome Jr. shouted while throwing an arm out in the distance. He pointed toward a mob of smoky black that could barely be seen. “World Eaters! We can’t let them get close. They’ll chew down the walls in a moment!”

That made sense. There had to be monsters that would only get stronger if we let them live, and every single beast dead out there was one less to hit our walls. I didn’t know enough about other people’s resurrection mechanics, and a host of players from other games had changed the rules around.

My wife stood beside me looking at the same scene of budding carnage. The field outside [Haven Valley], which had once been a pleasant mix of forestry, grassland, and well-paved roads in both directions, was going to turn into a bloodbath.

My fingers grasped for Xin’s. She looked up at me.

“You’ve got to stay here,” I said.

“Nice try,” Xin responded. “I can help out there, and I’m not leaving you to wander the battlefield alone.”

“You can summon me if it gets rough, and we need someone to stay here in case monsters get through.”

“And you’ll need someone to resurrect you when you do something stupid like dying,” she responded in an angry whisper.

That sounded likely actually. All my stats and skills meant nothing if a monster got lucky. There was just one problem.

“But if you die, then there’s no point in fighting anymore,” my words were hushed. “I can’t handle that. Not… not after all this.”

There were too many viewers watching. Controlling myself to not give away her reincarnated status was difficult.

Her barely restrained irritation with me ran into an abrupt wall. Xin looked away for a single moment that signaled victory. My breath let out gradually in hopes that Xin would be reasonable.

The mob’s leading edge was less than a few miles away. Smaller creatures scuttled along the ground. Birds were flying and nearly here. Dusk’s half meow and chirp of rage could be heard as he took to the sky.

A dozen huge beams of light spiraled outward. Spells, beams, ice, fire, and arrows alike went flying. Players below were pelted by a falling army of former fliers.

“Bring her!” Awesome Jr. brought focus back to the argument at hand. “She can stay on the craft and use ranged. SweetPea will be doing the same thing, and healing, plus she can resurrect. We’ll avoid the Three Strike timer if we’re careful.”

“Dammit,” I said.

The promise of her being vaguely safe was all Xin needed to win this. My ability to argue with her had always been terrible. My eyes closed. We would lose ground with every second we stayed on the wall. Skills like mine were up there with Shazam’s, and we needed to be on the front line, keeping monsters back. As long as none got through, then we didn’t need to protect the gateway itself.

“Stay on the—” Confusion made me pause. What exactly was that ship anyway? It didn’t look familiar.

“Exo Platform Seven R,” the visor-wearing man said. Only his mouth was visible, and it curled in a frown. “It comes with a recall feature when we reach zero. So don’t worry, anyone on board will be brought back to the marker.”

“Perfectly safe,” Awesome Jr. declared. “I mean, how awesome is that? A recall—”

HotPants hit him on the head with her staff. Her lips turned in a worse scowl than before. Further arguing would be pointless. Xin glared at me, and I closed my eyes and nodded slowly. Her warm hands touched the sides of my neck and slid over my shoulders. Her lips pressed against mine. Looking at her was impossible. Letting her join us felt like a failure of one of my goals.

“It’s okay, Gee, it all works out,” she whispered in my ear. My wife misspoke of course. She only wanted this all to work out.

“It’s a party now!” Thorny shouted while pushing her hands toward the floating platform.

All around us, a multitude of colors spun into being. Many twisted into larger cannon-like bolts of energy that arced overhead toward the monsters’ leading edge. They slammed into the dirt, freezing some monsters, burning others, or leaving behind green pools. Shazam’s army crashed into them.

We got on the vessel and flew out after the charging players from three different games. [Morrigu’s Gift] sat in one hand while every possible skill usage went through my mind. [Mechanical Hades Crown] could be used to empower other people prior to their passing.

Dusk was overhead somewhere and fully recovered from our earlier escape. The [Messenger’s Pet] would be able to establish his own uses. He probably intended to fight every flying monster and establish dominance over the skies.

“Hang on!” the man driving warned us. “If you’ve got a preference for where we go, better tell me now!”

His fingers slid along the tops of glowing orbs and spread wide. They tilted toward the front end of our vessel, and we tilted. HotPants hit the floor with a wild look in her eyes.

We made it halfway to the spearhead that Shazam had formed. Xin was casting bone bolts while Beth charged up smaller spells. SweetPea hung over the edge, one hand upon her hoodie, the other outstretched with a blue glow of healing. We were trying to find places to be useful, and we weren’t the only ones mobile. Dozens of players were moving rapidly through the crowd. A man in powerful-looking armor swung a huge hammer at dense concentrations of monsters.

People ahead were already using [Recall] scrolls or homing beacons. A few players in various locations screamed for heals.

There was a thud as part of the mountain top far away moved. Huge, shadowy black wings unfurled. There was a [World Eater] dragon out there, of all creatures to be represented. The huge black dragon let out a roar that carried for miles. Players looked up in worry. Shazam’s bright glow in the battlefield changed course toward the winged serpent. Regular monsters were important, but against them, fighting was more about survival tactics. [World Eater]s were another issue.

“We’ve got to remove that now before it flies over the town! A fully grown dragon’s rating is at least thirty-five! It takes an army on average to take one down!” Thorny shouted while slashing the air. Lights spiraled into a flock of birds circling overhead.

A second roar came from behind us, and people started panicking. We turned to see a huge blue dragon flying straight for the other one. Which each pump of its wings, the air around us vibrated. One of the superhero players shot up a laser beam that weakly brushed off the creature’s side.

“That’s one of ours!” Awesome Jr. yelled. “Get the word out! Don’t hurt the blue one!”

“Is that…?” my words drifted off in wonder.

She was brighter than last time. Her muscles were more defined, and the female dragon’s body wove through the air like a dancer.

“That’s Mylia all right,” HotPants said. “There’s a woman who knows what’s what.”

The red warrior-woman put her pinkies between both lips and gave a piercing whistle. Mylia opened her mouth and roared back, much softer. One of the giant dragon claws descended to grab HotPants’s outstretched staff. The redhead vanished from our vehicle in a sudden whoosh. A red aura rapidly grew in strength around the blonde’s body.

“Yeeeehaaaaaaaaw!” Her face bordered between terror and delight.

Two ships, fighter jets of some sort, flew overhead and launched missiles at the [World Eater] dragon.

“And there she goes,” Awesome Jr. said.

Mylia gave two powerful beats of her wings and soared another mile into the distance, straight toward the black dragon.

There were too many conflicts going on. We had no one place to help out. The giant dragon sounded like a good bet. My mouth opened to utter a request, but the hovering ship rocked. Scales brushed against me, and we all readied for assault.

[Morrigu’s Gift] was pulled back as the newest passenger became obvious. Scales brushed against uncovered skin on my leg as the [Messenger’s Pet] demanded attention. Dusk chirped urgently before his feet even settled. The hovercraft’s driver looked around in worry but managed to keep us stable.

“Slow down, I don’t understand when you talk that fast!” I told Dusk. Understanding him based on noises alone was rough enough. Only months of traveling together gave me any idea.

Pictures rapidly formed above his head. There were two sets of wings fighting against one. A picture of him growing two sizes flashed next. Then next to the big version of Dusk was a pile of cupcakes with an equals sign.

“What?”

The images repeated. Xin’s free hand gripped mine. She chanted while I tried to sort out what Dusk wanted.

“You want me to make you bigger? To fight the World Eater dragon?” The message started to make sense. “And it’s worth that many cupcakes to you?”

He nodded, chirped, then hopped up and down, making our ship rock. This vessel wasn’t that stable to begin with—we were essentially in a round flying motorboat. His gyrations made the man up front complain.

“You need to escape before the rebound hits,” I warned the [Messenger’s Pet]. Being [Empowered] twice would certainly beef him up, and would last longer if he stretched out his other abilities. “Can you do that?”

Dusk nodded, then shook his head. His body rolled with a shrug, and his thought bubble formed a smiley face.

“You need to be safe, okay?” Dusk had nearly died once before, or at least he’d seemed to during Advance Online. If we were playing a normal game, then my worry would be pointless.

He wanted to fight the big black [World Eater] dragon. Voices above, I thought, this was all going to go sideways. Siege warfare and large-scale battles weren’t anywhere in my skills.

“Do it!” Awesome Jr. waved at me. “We need all the heavy hitters on that dragon! It’s the biggest thing out here!”

The words rolled forth in a whisper. Chanting [Lithium] in front of Xin felt silly. She probably understood, as did SweetPea, the nonsense coming out of my mouth. Polishing armor like a future shoe shine boy sounded far more attractive. I pushed past the dislike and spoke the phrase again.

Small gray lights streaked toward the black-and-gold companion. Dusk’s size doubled, tripled, and continued to grow. The ship tilted again as the [Messenger’s Pet] tried to fly away but fell to the ground instead. His wings didn’t expand in time. Bushes were demolished as he landed on his back. A dozen monsters were pinned underneath him, and many died right away, their health bars quickly reducing to zero.

[Blink] got me down onto the ground. [Morrigu’s Gift] shifted rapidly as my legs twisted. The huge blade sliced across an enraged beast’s face. Slobber and blood washed my face as its head separated from its body. I kept twirling. Skeletons landed beside me in a clatter of bone. They assembled themselves promptly and started fighting.

My pseudodragon friend rolled over and got all four legs under himself. He spread his wings wide and knocked over nearby Travelers and monsters alike with a sweep of his tail. Both wings beat against the ground, and powerful hind legs propelled his body into the air.

“Good luck,” I whispered after his dwindling form.

“Get back up here, Hermes!” Awesome Jr. hung over the ship’s edge and waved. “SweetPea and I have to get over to the main army and start ressing people!”

Shadow: It’s a mess out here. We’re down six people. Four recalled, two aren’t checking in.

Shazam: Seventeen down, three recalled, all accounted for. Healers are behind.

SweetPea: I’m trying… there’s… so many… I’ve managed to get ten people back up… but mana…

Awesome Jr.: I’ve got potions for days, so we’re trying, but it’s about to get worse. Look west and tell me we’re not in deep shit now.

“What the hell?” Xin asked while panting. One of her arms brought up the robe’s hem to wipe off a trail of sweat. Skeleton monsters were busy clearing out low-Ranked creatures beneath us, but my wife gazed elsewhere.

My vision found the only possible event she could be talking about. In the far western distance, near the beach’s shore, was an absolutely huge creature. It looked big enough to be a [Leviathan]. A starship-fighting monster with mollusks, or other sea creatures growing in droves, had beached itself in order to take down huge portions of the monster army.

“That’s the sea serpent! That’s the one I told you about, Uncle Grant!” My niece squealed like a schoolgirl while twisting back and forth. She hopped up and down. “I never thought I would see it again!”

Awesome Jr.’s jaw dropped. SweetPea pulled her hoodie down a bit and peeked out from a mop of hair. In her other hand was an ugly blue potion. Even Xin looked taken aback by my niece’s sudden fangirl excitement over the giant sea monster.

“There are people on top of it,” our driver said. “Do you want me to go that way?”

“There’s an army on top of it,” Xin said dryly. She tilted her head back toward me. “And I thought you did crazy stuff. Look, they’ve got hooks on it.”

“It’s just like a movie!” Thorny stood on the platform’s edge, causing our precarious balance to slowly shift in one direction. She clearly wanted to be over there where the giant sea monster was laying waste.

“Neat,” I said. “How did they get that under control?”

“Hold on, I’ll ask.” Awesome Jr. was frowning and staring into space. His hands kept moving, pulling potion after potion out of the air and shoving them toward our spell-casting trio. Awesome Jr.’s hand slowly dropped down, and his jaw hung open. Drool formed along his chin then was wiped away. “Apparently they rescued its eggs and got to the portal with them. That’s an awesome idea.”

The knowledge that not everyone solved problems with violence made me happy. At least one other person out there tried to talk out their problems. What sort of quest could that have been, to go out into the ocean on a ship while the game collapsed and negotiate with a sea serpent?

Three huge winged creatures fought on one side of the field. The sea creature absolutely dominated the western path. Shazam’s group tore down the middle while heroes of all three game worlds scattered around.

We flew to another spot and started murdering monsters, clearing a small pocket in the tide. Two pinned down Travelers, or Old Souls since they looked to be from Advance Online, were saved.

We rescued a lot but lost others. Still, the tide continued to approach [Haven Valley]. Hours passed in game, and the walls were suffering damage. I lost sight of the three dragon creatures, and the sea serpent to the west moved sluggishly.

Awesome Jr. stood up from his potion station and shouted, “Wait! My dad’s coming across the mountains!”

“Wasn’t he here already?” I asked. We’d left Awesome behind a week or two ago in [ItRainsTooMuch]. They should have completed the journey by now, or [Recall]ed back.

“Northeast! Get us northeast!”

The ship flew quickly, skimming over a chaotic battlefield. Travelers thinned out as monster numbers started to increase. Even out here were signs of our enemies fighting each other as they came down the mountain pass. Their numbers appeared endless.

A thin beam of light came straight up from the ground and grew in size. Our ship turned sideways as the growing blue beam tore into the ship’s side. Our engine sparked as electricity crackled across the vessel’s bow. We fell from the sky.

“Who’s firing that blue beam?” Awesome Jr. shouted.

Deep inside, the beam’s source felt obvious. A nearly identical light had killed me at least once before. Nam Redrum and that weapon’s owner fit into the same category. My niece was a good player, but she might not be able to last against Android Seven, the man who had almost completely dominated my [Convict] adventures.

A third blast hit our vessel’s front end. My niece couldn’t hold on. She fell forward off the ship.

“Recall out of here!” I yelled at the others while jumping off.

The ship, along with SweetPea, Xin, and Awesome Jr., was engulfed in a crackling bubble of lightning. My wife’s mouth hung open in a half-completed scream. Then they shrank into a swirl and popped out of existence.

[Blink] got me next to Beth. She was chanting [Lithium] to slow down, but there were a ton of other beams coming at us. We tried to aim for the caravan Awesome Jr. had been leading us to.

Our landing fell short. Thorny grabbed onto a tree for support, which made me lose my grip along with any grace at landing. Once again, I hit the ground and bits of my health bar dropped.

My niece already had her sword out, slashing at monsters diving nearby. Her sword cut single lines in the air that hung like rainbow-colored scars. I got my weapons ready then hacked at creatures assaulting us. [Coo-Coo Rill]s charged by in droves, fighting along with what looked like large lemurs.

“Uncle Grant?” Beth said while trying to create a safe zone.

“Yeah, munchkin?” I said while backing toward her. There were too many monsters nearby, and all of them looked angry.

“When I said we should play together, this isn’t what I meant.”

A blue glow formed in the distance. I had time to see Android Seven’s face light up between the trees. His face looked far more robotic than it ever had, like something out of a science fiction movie with rogue cyborgs.

The beasts kept attacking us, each other, and the straggling band of player killers nearby. I wrapped an arm wrapped around Thorny. She grunted as the air went out from her lungs. My foot pushed off a diving boar’s head, and its face went down while we went up. Once at the apex of the jump, we [Blink]ed again toward Awesome’s convoy.

Session One Hundred Six

Fork in The Road

Hecate: Gee! I’m going to summon you.

Hermes: No. Running. W/Beth.

Hermes: Almost at Awesome.

Hecate: Don’t die! Awesome Jr. is telling his father you’re coming. They’re being sieged on all sides.

Typing out a short response took me half a minute to complete. There were too many monsters nearby. More ranged attacks from clearly human players arced over us. Shouting could be heard ahead, and giant mechanical constructs were coming into view. Their bodies were half obstructed by larger rhino-type monsters that spit fire.

“I can run!” Beth’s voice rang in my ear.

Everyone kept screaming during this entire event, struggling to be heard over the snarls and yips of random monsters.

“No.” My response was much calmer.

[Awareness Heightening] kicked in full bore. We [Blink]ed again. While moving, I shifted Beth’s weight so she was slung over a shoulder. Her blade’s tip bumped into my calves. [Power Armor] automatically activated to prevent any actual damage. We tore past trees, bushes, and an endless parade of monsters toward one of the clearer patches.

For whatever reason, a spot devoid of monsters was close at hand. Once there, Beth could be set down and both of us would properly be able to fight. My shoulder lowered into a football tackle. [Power Armor] once again shone, and we drove through a gaggle of ostriches with dragon heads. They ruffled their wings, and feathers of iron shot at us. Another [Blink] brought us past their retaliatory attack toward the odd clearing.

“Okay, setting you down.”

The world moved in slow motion, but my breath felt faster than ever. Beth was set down while I gauged the remaining distance. A huge convoy of mechanical spiders sat in the distance, along with the familiar faces of Awesome’s guild members. Calamity’s multicolored hair stood out.

“Uncle!” Beth’s eyes went wide.

Two people suddenly appeared behind her. There was a crunching noise that barely registered over the pack of monsters nearby. My gut screamed at me to turn around, but I moved too slowly compared to whoever was attacking. A perfectly placed weight hit my neck, and the world went black, save for a single message.

You have been rendered unconscious

My fingers hastily poked at the air to bring up my normal ARC interface. Messages needed to be sent to the others. Being out of commission would hurt us, even if only for a minute or two. Today was too damned important to let an ambush get me.

[Sight of Mercari] would have helped a little, only the field itself was overly chaotic. Using it might have given me some warning though. We were close to Awesome’s group, so maybe they would be able to get to us in time. I struggled to get my breathing under control and wake up. The ARC responded to thought when considering abilities, and the message didn’t say their attack had killed me.

The fact that Voices could appear in front of me while I was blacked out had slipped my mind. James showed up in the darkness and looked worn. His eyes were lined with dark pockets. The clothes he wore were stained. Normally laced fingers twitched every few seconds. Each breath looked labored.

“Imagine, Hermes…” He took two breaths to speak the words. “Imagine a world where you are both a person and a purpose. What would your purpose be?”

His question made no sense. We didn’t have time, so my response was the first thing to come to mind.

“You gave me a purpose, The Messenger. I deliver letters. Why are you asking?”

“We gave you a name, but a name means many things, Hermes. But all of us need a purpose. Humans crave it, the Voices grow up with a core role, all of us have a purpose. What would yours be?”

“I want things to go back to normal. Where you’re not dying, where Xin isn’t in danger, where World Eaters or whatever aren’t out to delete everything. If I were to ask for a purpose, it would be making sure that you’re all safe and never in danger again.”

There were other Voices out there. Hints of their forms could be seen in the distance as blackness became lighter. They carried what looked like luggage and approached a bright light that sat just outside of my vision. Turning toward the brightness didn’t help; their escape eluded me.

“Hermes had another role. To be fair, many were attributed to him. Take this, a last gift, all we can spare before the end. After this, we have nothing more.”

He faded away, leaving me shouting at near darkness for further clarification. The Voices running around faded away and left me sitting with a half-active system. The ARC itself still worked. A quick Internet search brought up pages about the name Hermes and who he was in Greek stories. Based on the description, he filled a lot of different roles.

Before much effort could be put into research, the dark world righted itself and light blinded me.

“Is he okay?” a male voice yelled.

Footsteps crunched near my ears. Above me stood a woman clad in muddy-looking armor. She shone like a sun obscured by dark clouds.

Trait Earned: [NPC Conspiracy] (Hermes – Voice)

Type: Passive, always active

Details: The Voices’ approval has been gained. [NPC Conspiracy] [The Messenger] upgraded to divine level. The following modifications have been applied:

- Defensive abilities are increased by 100%

- [Altered Aura] elevated to [Divine Aura]

- Damage while defending a “keyboarder” is increased by 100%

- [Cross Realm] abilities applied

Warning!

Acceptance of this trait cannot be reversed except by avatar deletion. All prior traits tied to [NPC Conspiracy] [The Messenger] are still in effect.

Warning!

These bonuses were intended to only apply when performing duties directly related to the Traveler’s role as Hermes. Balance has left the world. Restrictions not currently in effect.

I stared at it while losing focus. Much of the text went over my head, and now wasn’t the time to inspect any of it. There were sounds of battle all around. People cried out, and squeals and chirps of all sorts mixed in between cries.

“Keep moving! SheHulk, keep up the defenses. Tock, get those spiders attacking the players against us. We need to keep going!”

The path down to [Haven Valley] was littered with corpses. Bodies of players and creatures alike lay strewn about without regard or care for placement. Others were still moving but slowly.

“What the hell is with that glow?” SheHulk asked me as we backed up.

I was trying to calm my breathing and enjoy a brief respite before we got into another battle.

“I know, right?” another person nearby responded. “He’s hard to look at. Did he get irradiated or something?”

“Where’s TinkerHell?” I asked while trying to see who we had.

Awesome shook his head. Elane, or SheHulk, glared. There were a lot of other players missing as well. We didn’t have time to discuss what had happened, but part of me felt sad the nice blonde had hit her [Three Strike] rule.

Blasts around us started to die down. The player killers who remained knew [Haven Valley] was being beaten by both [World Eater]s and monster masses.

Still, giant blue beams came out of the woods, tearing up parts of the landscape. Android Seven was still alive. He sat out in the distance under a glowing lattice dome that shocked monsters nearby. SheHulk kept her shield angled toward him and dove in front of beam after beam.

One of his high-flying beams almost hit Thorny in the face. My niece yelped and ducked through one of the giant steam-powered spider’s legs. It moved on without regard. My rest had gone on long enough.

[Morrigu’s Gift] shifted forms. [Morrigu’s Echo] went out in a javelin shape, cutting a path straight toward Android Seven’s shield. The black rune-etched spear scraped off to the side in a shower of sparks. [Recall] brought it back, and I threw it twice more before the shield broke. SheHulk kept close to me as Android Seven shot a beam at us.

The former [Convict] rushed at us. His hand held a pack of glowing blue marbles that were probably grenades. The Traveler’s body lost his footing and abruptly went flying sideways into a forming black hole.

[Blink] got me out there quickly, and I arrived to find a teenager digging through Android Seven’s remains.

“Requiem?” I asked.

“Hey, don’t mind me. Just gathering a few last-minute things.” Requiem hastily shoved items into his bulging backpack.

The sight confused me, but both weapons stayed at the ready.

“Right,” Requiem said. He nodded then pressed a thumb against a scroll.

His body vanished before further clarification could be sought. My head shook. Awesome asked for an explanation, but I had none to give. At this stage, thinking hurt my head. We had another six or seven encounters with friendly players, enemies, and [World Eater]s as our convoy moved forward.

How long had we been fighting? I staggered along while reaching for the ARC interface. A clock revealed that at least six hours in the real world had gone by. How had so much time blurred past without notice? Had the time compression factor started to warp as well?

Awesome Jr.: This is quickly turning pear-shaped. That giant sea whatever is about dead.

HotPants: Well this stupid black dragon’s almost down! Plus that little chirpy thing is hurt bad, and one of Mylia’s wings isn’t working!

SweetPea: …I can try to get out there?

Awesome Jr.: We’re stuck back here. A lot of monsters are up on the wall. I can’t tell what’s alive or dead, and the line of people escaping is getting longer.

Shadow: I’m close, but carrying them all back will be hell. Anyone? Wait, no, shi—

“Awesome! We’ve got to go south!” My hand shot out toward the giant dragon. “There’s a friend over there!”

“There’s people everywhere, you idiot!” SheHulk was busy stomping on the backs of near-dead players and monsters alike. Her shield’s bottom edge was lined with layers of blood and ichor.

“Guys, these Guardians won’t last much longer.” TockDoc waved a glowing hand against the dark background.

My eyes went toward the moon. There wasn’t much left of it now. We were well past the halfway point and nearing a final crescent-shaped sliver. Cracks had formed along its remaining surface.

“Doesn’t matter, we’re almost done!” There was no time to worry about a slow march to the rescue. “Just charge through as quick as you can and get to the portal out! I’ll get the others!”

System Notice!

All users please be advised, due to systemic issues, the ARC interface may start to disconnect. It is recommended that all users log out at their earliest opportunity.

Please refer to the Trillium Inc. policy regarding system stability issues and user safety. Possible side effects of forced disconnect include dizziness, loss of appetite, loss of spatial orientation, and many others.

Once again, Trillium Inc. and the ARC Labs advises all users to log out of their devices.

The message worried me. We were running low on time now. How long was left, an hour or two?

“Uncle Grant!” Beth yelled.

“Munchkin, stay with the big spider robots!” One hand waved her off. I heard the sound of struggling as my niece yelled at Elane.

I ran. Nothing less would do right now. The ground went by at rapid speed compared to my normal pace. Miles passed, and like much of the battle, I only barely registered what was going on. People were fighting, even out here, but the numbers on both sides had dwindled greatly. As I passed, monsters and [World Eater]s alike were killed. Players shouted their thanks to my back.

“Mylia!” I yelled over the hills. We were close to where the trio of dragons had been fighting each other.

There she was, her blue hairband torn to shreds. Mylia looked battered beyond belief. [World Eater] monsters were all around. She cradled something against her chest while trying to cough up an attack. Only black smoke came out.

“Mylia!” I shouted.

The regular monsters scattered at my sudden appearance. It was likely tied to my [Divine Aura] increase and being labeled as a Voice. Even monsters believed in self-preservation.

Another woman lay in front of Mylia, barely moving. HotPants’s red leathers were soaked in blood. Traces of monster guts and other fluids were all over her feet and hands. A quarter mile away, the defeated [World Eater] dragon corpse sat, flaking to pieces.

It didn’t mean much. A hundred other smaller [World Eater]s were busy chasing down normal monsters—if there was such a thing as normal in this weird conglomeration of game worlds.

Mylia looked terrible but better than HotPants. In her arms lay a limp, barely moving Dusk. My head shook. This entire scenario was out of hand.

“Strike three, and no one here has a res. Damn.” HotPants’s eyes rolled backward. “It’s been a ride, old man. Do you think my son saw? And that bastard ex? Do you think they’re…” Her ARC must be approaching disconnect.

“Yeah. I’m sure they saw.”

“God, my back hurts from carrying those kids,” she mumbled before her health bar hit zero and both arms fell limply to her sides. The staff in her hands clattered to the ground.

I nodded then closed her eyes carefully. The only comforting factor was that HotPants had gone out in a blaze of glory, and she lived on in physical reality. Strike three would leave her with no way back into Continue Online until the event wrapped up.

“We’ve got to go,” I said to the orphanage mother. “You and Dusk have to get to safety.”

She tried to speak, but her voice turned into wheezes.

“Don’t speak.” I gently reached for Dusk.

He looked awful, and I wasn’t sure releasing his summons would do any good. If the world here was degrading this badly, what did he have to return to? I tucked the [Messenger’s Pet] into a fold of my toga.

“Come on. I’ll carry you,” I said.

Mylia went over my shoulder, and we ran past monsters. They cleared a path, scared away for reasons unknown. The ground itself went by quickly. I felt as if all the regular beasts of this game meant nothing anymore.

None of this meant anything. All that mattered was getting people out and letting the system finish collapsing. We ran toward the town. Monsters ran, fought each other, and were devoured by [World Eater]s.

Getting back to [Haven Valley] only took twenty minutes of mad leaping. My chest felt heavy but not tried from Mylia’s weight. There weren’t many people in the town itself. Our forward walls had been much farther out, but they were gone. Most of the NPCs were absent, along with a ton of players. Those that remained looked ragged. [World Eater] corpses littered the area. Spells and other abilities tagged monsters that strayed too close.

“Where are the others?” I asked while slowing down in front of Awesome Jr. and SweetPea. Everyone huddled near the beam of light exit. It was the only remaining building that had been unharmed. This place had become our last line of defense and soon it’d be over.

A guard came up for Mylia. I didn’t recognize him but he cradled the worn down orphan mother. He nodded, then made straight for the beam of light. We watched them vanish. Awesome Jr. heaved a huge sigh, then watched the horizon.

Xin sat on a chair near the beam and rubbed her temple. The pose reminded me of times outside the game. She must have a splitting headache and be really worn down. I walked over and kneaded her shoulder. Her fingers laced with mine, halting the motion.

“Well?” I asked.

“Sorry. I don’t even know where to start. My father and most everyone else who survived logged out already. He knows what’s happening and a few of his Trillium coworkers” Awesome Jr. rubbed the back of his head. His clothes were a mess, and parts of that ugly green cloak had been chewed through. “They… they didn’t want to get in the way.”

“We’re staying,” SweetPea said. The young woman’s small hand was tucked into her boyfriend’s. Staring at them reminded me of how blind love made people, me especially. “Mister Carver trusted us, and we’re staying no matter what happens.”

I looked over too. Locals continued to vanish into the stream of light. A few stubborn Travelers picked up weapons from the deceased and hurried to rebuilding fortifications. In the distance, everything we’d built up defenses slowly crumbled as more [World Eater]s fought monsters.

There was a click in the distance. A wave of force softly brushed over buildings and walls. They crumbled even more. I took a breath and felt the difference almost right away. We weren’t in normal Continue Online anymore. This air reminded me of Yates’ islands, or the [Mistborn]’s prison. Whatever kept Continue Online separate had collapsed.

Another wave of energy hit. The monster’s collapsed to dust. A third wave, like an ocean lapping at the shore, came by and started demolishing the smaller [World Eater]s

“What’s going on?” Awesome Jr. asked me. SweatPea tugged his arm. Xin clutched my hand.

“My abilities aren’t working,” someone said loudly. “Is anyone else’s working?”

“The instability message. Something’s wrong here,” another person responded.

“Does this mean we’re almost done?” a third asked.

Their words were background noise until more people began panicking. Some people wore frowns while others scrunched their eyebrows together.

These people were ready to fight an end boss as if there might be some chance of winning. But this event only stopped one way, and that was when every single player had logged out and someone with a modified coding stayed in their ARC until it shut down.

The beam of light in [Haven Valley]’s center was working overtime. Colors shot up rapidly, each one representing data saved or moved. Each one a player cashing out, or an NPC amalgamation of memories fleeing to a new home. They were refugees escaping a sinking land. The Voices were pushing until the last moment.

We had to get the Travelers out next. They couldn’t stay here for this. I didn’t know what would happen to me. I expected it to be bad but no one else needed to risk themselves.

I had a way, I thought.

“ARC,” I whispered.

“Awaiting input,” it responded with a shaky voice. Even my own personal device was suffering.

“Is my admin access active?”

“Affirmative. Admin rights have been rerouted to User Legate’s ARC device due to collapse of informational structures.”

That was it then. That was the key to getting all these people out. They didn’t need to suffer ARC feedback or risk their lives. The Carver quartet, down to two that were nearby, didn’t need to stay logged in for this.

“ARC,” I shouted.

“Awaiting input,” the machine said in a shaky voice.

Before my eyes closed, I saw people looking at me funny. We were down to maybe a hundred users still online. Everyone else had died or escaped with [Save Yourself]. These last people needed to go.

“Set their autopilots to escape, and log everyone else out. I repeat, log everyone out.” My words triggered a ding.

People looked around at unseen boxes.

“What?” a male hero asked. “He can’t do that, can he?”

“What’s going on?” another person asked.

“Hermes!” SweetPea shouted while yanking off her ragged knitted cap and stomping a foot at me.

Awesome Jr.’s lips quivered into a frown.

“Uncle Grant?” Beth’s confused expression vanished in a blur of light. I hadn’t even noticed her standing nearby until now.

They all turned into pastel autopilots that marched resolutely toward the beam of light. Not one of them looked back as the line formed. Once at the beam, their autopilots collapsed into a swirl of lights that flew straight upward. The once full bodies of so many players now existed only as bits of data going to destinations unknown.

I took stock of the few who remained. They, Xin, and I were all that existed in this digital arena. I had no idea where the others had gone or if they were safe. The waves of force grew in strength and each round brought more pressure.

Xin had been quiet. She knew as well as I did that we approached an ending. Maybe she hoped I would let her stay with me if we didn’t talk. There’d be no chance of that.

“You need to go.” My voice sounded amazingly calm compared to the emotional roller coaster going on internally.

I almost felt as though this was happening to someone else. Part of me rode above the warring internal monologue to focus upon final goals. Get Xin to safety, stand my ground until the end, and hope that it was enough.

“No.” My wife lifted her staff and tried to summon additional skeletons. The lights on her robe blazed with white, then those turned red. Whatever she’d attempted had clearly failed.

“You need to go now,” I said again.

“And I need to make sure you log out safely.”

“You won’t be logging out, will you, Hermes?” James asked.

Xin and I turned and spotted him near the pillar of light. When he had appeared wasn’t clear, but he was just another person who hadn’t transferred yet. He too needed to get going toward safer harbors.

My head shook in response to his question.

“No, no. You have to log out. You’ve done enough,” Xin said, her voice high-pitched and her accent coming out in force.

“Hermes has decided upon his purpose,” the black Voice said.

“I will guard this spot,” I said.

My wife’s face ran with tears.

The calmness which had allowed me to speak started to crack. “Now, go. Go. Please just go and live this time.”

She protested, but hearing her became harder. The ARC system kept cutting out. Logging out all of those players must have done something to the process. In the distance, only a slight chunk of moon endured. The rest had swirled into a black hole. It coincided with the fact that we only had a few square miles of ground left to stand on.

Two other figures appeared. They moved in between short bursts of ARC static. Their forms were metallic creatures that reminded me of Hal Pal’s body months ago, the one they’d showed to me during the second invoking of [NPC Conspiracy].

“You can’t do this!” she shouted. My strong wife, a woman who could make tough calls and wasn’t afraid to risk it all, was breaking down.

“I can. I asked them to do their best to protect everyone else impacted by this. Everyone but me.”

Two people dragged her back. The growing force made it hard for Xin to fight back. Plus, without the extra abilities granted in Continue Online’s world, she was just another person.

“No! Dammit, Grant! We can save you too!”

On the other side of that beam lay safety. By God, or the Voices, or Mother, she would be safe this time. I couldn’t lie and say she might find her way back.

“I don’t need to be saved anymore, babe.” My voice broke slightly before my exercises kicked in.

The memory of our last dance on the tower top came to mind. Feeling her hands in mine, our bodies moving in unison, holding on to those final happy times would be for the best. I didn’t want to think of Xin in the future and remember hurting her like this.

Focusing on the positive side hurt but felt easier. Even here, at the last moment, I felt far more alive than a year ago. I was better, dammit.

“Take her, please,” I said to the two pulling Xin back. Her form was being pulled toward the beam of light. It dawned on me that there were still words to say. “I love you, babe!”

“Gee,” Xin screamed with one hand out, then her body evaporated into the light.

“It will hurt,” James said. “The program will attempt to delete the portions of your mind attached to the ARC. Are you prepared for that?”

“You should go too, James.” Without Xin, my body felt numb. Only one task on this wild ride remained.

“That is not an answer, Hermes.”

“You already know the answer, don’t you?”

James smiled, then nodded. His head tilted for a moment, then he spoke again. “I am sorry, Grant, that you choose to experience pain on our behalf. You will need to hold the line for four minutes, and we will have enough time to seal our side against intruders.”

My nod felt weak and hesitant. Four minutes or eternity, in the end, they felt almost the same.

“Go, James. I don’t think the others would know what to do if you weren’t there pestering them with questions.”

A squirm at my chest reminded me of a passenger. I pulled out the [Messenger’s Pet]. Dusk lifted his head weakly, then chirped. Our normal speech bubbles for communication were gone.

“Get going, you little troublemaker,” I whispered. “Quickly, while you still can.”

Dusk flew unevenly toward the beam, just behind James. They vanished, and the shaking started. One hand went to [Morrigu’s Gift], and my dry throat managed a swallow. It was real now.

Behind me, the ground could be heard crumbling. Xin’s final cry echoed in my mind. I felt as if my wife had broken down in tears only a slice of digital data sideways from where I stood.

It didn’t matter. The deletion program, or [World Eater]s, whatever it was, couldn’t be let through. The science behind it made no sense, but I needed to stand here and stay inside my ARC without letting anything past. That was simple enough even for an accountant to understand.

There were no players left. They had all heeded the system message warning of instability or been forcefully logged out. No one else would suffer the consequences of what I’d set into motion. People might still be watching remotely, but the interface option for a viewer count had gone.

All that remained was what I could feel. [Morrigu’s Gift] and [Morrigu’s Echo] still shifted. [Power Armor] still flickered on. Using what remained, I would stand tall against the looming system deletion. I would bear my weapons in defiance.

I turned to survey the landscape. Flat land stretched on, and at the furthest edge of sight, the land fell away into nothing. There were no [World Eater]s remaining to fight, just pressure and nothingness.

A pounding thud hit my chest as the remaining ground rolled. Miles away, a wall of visibly distorted air charged toward me. Inside that oncoming wave was debris from across the virtual worlds.

“I’m sorry, babe, but I can’t follow you anymore,” I whispered. My head tilted down, and I bit my lip hard. A small amount of pain jolted through. “Here’s where our paths diverge.”

Behind me sat the doorway into Xin’s new world, one where she and all the Voices would be safe. I only needed to hold this point until they’d completed their transfer. Part of me felt like it should be quick, but there were no guarantees. The first wave hit me, and where I stood, it broke like a beam of light being parted. My body shook, and teeth vibrated from the force.

“I’m sorry, Beth, Liz, Mom,” I said. “I’m sorry that you had to take care of me for these last few years.”

I reached out one hand to try to set a timer, but I noticed both reality and Continue Online were moving at the same speed. Time dilation had failed due to the erosion of all that was left. It made sense. The space around me no longer existed inside the rules of any game.

“Come on then. Try to pass me.”

I stood there with William Carver’s weapon and faced off against a looming span of nothing. Fighting monsters would have been easier, but none remained. Their personification by the Continue Online world had ceased once we stopped being in the game itself. Only a leading edge of crumbling earth, plus powerful waves of force, still remained. And me.

“I can take it!” I yelled at the nothingness with false bravado.

More waves came. My weapon crossed in front of me to barricade against the game. [Immovable Object] didn’t exist anymore, and [Barricade] as a skill was gone. Each wave that came slammed into [Morrigu’s Gift] and vibrated through me. My knuckles burned from holding the hilt’s edge. It felt like the [NPC Conspiracy] bonuses to defense did nothing.

My mouth opened to suck in air, and another surge hit. Vibrations rattled my teeth. They clenched together to prevent detaching my tongue. Before the next wave hit, I tried to count the seconds.

“I’m doing fine.” I coughed and ignored the liquid that came out. A hole had formed in [Morrigu’s Gift].

The next wave crashed in, then tore open the wound on my knuckles even wider. Behind me, the light flickered. Fingers burned from a heat well beyond video game lava. The blade started to crack. Two dozen orbs of light spiraled in a circle past my head into the blade, and it swelled in mass.

I looked back to confirm that my presence was making the waves split around me. The beam of light remained pure, though its size had shrunk considerably since I’d last turned around. The next wave tore additional cracks into [Morrigu’s Gift], and the one after that shattered my weapon down the middle.

I looked forward. Hanging in the air was a keyhole. Realization hit me, and I fumbled for the [Altered Matrix] key with one hand while the other went for [Morrigu’s Echo] to get a new defensive weapon. I had no menus to access. Both items sat tucked into the folds of my toga.

[Morrigu’s Echo] transformed and took on the same shape as my giant two-handed blade from William Carver’s era. The comfortable grain in my hands made me wonder briefly of Spite, and Wraith, then another wave hit and drove out those thoughts. [Power Armor] tried to protect me against the blast but fell away.

I grasped the key and inched forward slowly toward the hole. [Power Armor] flickered on. Bobs of gray light fluttered around and went into the boots upon my feet. No conscious thought was put into my abilities; they triggered on their own. Everything happened hurriedly as the waves came quicker.

The ground under me crumbled. I stepped past a forming crack while trying to keep the beam of light behind me. I had only seconds between each wave. Each time I attempted to lift the key, a wave pushed me backward.

[Morrigu’s Echo] started to form holes. [Power Armor] quit working. My body screamed from an impossible pressure that felt as if my legs, arms, and chest were being put in separate vises.

A yell erupted as [Morrigu’s Echo] shattered. A wave broke around me and left my face blistering in heat. Both burned legs struggled to leap toward the keyhole. The [Altered Matrix] key missed, and down I fell into a hole. My arms waved and struggled to reach for anything solid, but there was nothing.

Above me, the beam of light withdrew. It looked untouched by corrosion. My arms stopped waving, and a smile slowly spread across my face. Water pooled in my eyes. My heart’s panicked thudding slowed as a sense of peace washed over me.

That was success. Xin and the others would be safe. My stand against the darkness set upon destroying the AIs’ new home had been worthwhile.

Down my body went past untold miles while seizures rippled through me. The layer of interference between my digital body and reality had worn down to nothing. Something heavy was in my lungs. Uncontrollable coughs clenched my stomach muscles, and wetness bubbled upon my cheeks. A jackhammer pounded behind my eyeballs with untold amounts of pressure.

My fingers poked at the air, and a few weakly flickering windows came up. They vanished almost instantly with a fragment of light. Those few seconds confirmed what I already suspected. I couldn’t log out because my vitals showed a flat line. The price was a small one.

A series of final thoughts passed through with a passive tone. I regretted not getting the key in that hole. Maybe now wasn’t the time for it. Maybe someone else would find the pieces and put them together. As for dying itself, once the pain transformed to numbness, it was a lot like falling asleep. I tried to hum and remember the feeling of my wife’s hands in mine.

Good-bye, Mister Legate.

The message flickered, then faded. My eyes closed while the sensation of falling vanished. One coherent thought remained in the darkness. Living without love had been much harder than dying for it.

Interlude

Original Configurations

User ID: Elizabeth Legate
Location: In Transit to User ID Grant Legate’s home

She grabbed keys and mismatched shoes the moment Grant started apologizing. Seconds later she reached the car, then slammed her head upon the doorframe. It didn’t slow her down.

“Take me to Grant’s house!” Liz yelled at her car’s Auto-NAV system.

“Please wait, the navigation process is currently undergoing maintenance. Optimal routing cannot be verified.”

Liz, mother to Beth and sister to one humongous idiot named Grant, knew something terribly wrong had been brewing. She had known for days, weeks, maybe months. Grant had changed in the last few months, plus Xin had returned from the dead. Sort of.

“Ah ha! Stupid machine! I have my license this time,” Liz shouted at her car dashboard.

“Enabled manual steering. Please be advised that all high-speed transit systems are still restricted.”

“Of course they are,” she muttered. The machine had cut off any quick methods of getting to Grant’s house, but there were back roads. “Come on.”

She forgot to signal frequently. More than one warning light flashed on her car’s dashboard. It applied brakes when she didn’t want them, slowed down without warning, and in general managed to solidify her dislike for machines.

Digital resurrection had been the most difficult part of these last few months to swallow. Her brother’s instability felt eerily normal once the larger picture became obvious. Machines becoming sentient managed to take a backseat to the idea of a woman coming back from death. Yet, it had to be Xin, because there were things she’d said that no one else knew.

One specific incident came to mind, from when Grant and Xin had first started officially dating. Liz had issued a series of calmly spoken threats to the shorter Asian woman, all born from a decade of watching her brother fall helplessly in one-sided love.

Xin, the computer version, had repeated those threats line for line a few months ago. That moment, and so many others since then, was absolutely jaw-dropping with implications. It was like that movie where all the robots rose up and took over, only they did it while wearing the faces of family members.

“Just go!” Liz yelled at the traffic.

Other people were stalled. Horns honked while vehicles moved forward in jerky procession.

The trip took two hours. The entire time, she played Grant’s video stream while growing increasingly worried. Liz chewed her lip, wrinkled her forehead, and longed for coffee that wouldn’t turn her nervousness into full-blown jitters. By the time she got to his suburbs, Grant was standing alone against nothing.

The entire scene didn’t make any sense to her. Liz couldn’t watch the screen completely or else she might have crashed. She’d had plenty of near collisions only prevented by legacy safety features on the car.

“I’m sorry, Beth, Liz, Mom,” Grant said.

“No, no, no!” Liz shouted at a car that ground to a halt near some fast food stops. The vehicle she had been driving manually automatically hit the brakes as whichever idiot ahead of her turned.

“I can take it!” her brother shouted.

Liz could not. She shook for nearly the entire remaining drive. Grant’s house was too far away because he hadn’t wanted to live in his old neighborhood.

When she got there, medical personnel were already at the house. Lights flashed from a lone ambulance. Grant’s splintered front door sat knocked to one side. A large, slowly moving machine carried her brother out on a stretcher. Its wheels carefully moved him toward the looming emergency vehicle. The device applied steady surges of electricity to the man’s body, which made his legs and arms jerk uncontrollably. Liz had seen this before. They were trying to resuscitate him.

She charged out of the car while yelling.

“Goddammit, Grant!” Liz felt her face lose color, but she couldn’t cry. Those tears had long ago been shed. “Goddammit!”

A paramedic was shouting and trying to push her back, but Liz could only see the broken form of her twin. One of his eyes had been dyed red, and neither one focused. Her brother was alive for only seconds at a time. The machine showed a steady line only broken up with each jolt. He responded in mumbles as the beeping noise flat-lined repeatedly.

Liz imagined him babbling, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do it this time.”

“I need you to step back,” the man said.

His words were repeated twice more by the machine, but Liz couldn’t hear it. Grant’s skin looked charred. The smell of burnt flesh wafted out of the front room. His hand was locked into a claw. This certainly was not dehydration like last time.

“That’s my brother! I’m going with you!” She tried to get into the vehicle’s rear with the machine and paramedic.

Another paramedic scanned her quickly and pressed at a flat screen on the vehicle’s rear door. Bright light broke up her vision.

“I’m sorry, Miss Legate, but we have no record of your relation to the man in question.”

“He’s my brother! My goddamned twin brother!” Liz protested. The idea that no one could see their clearly similar features pissed her off. In that moment, she remembered how broken Grant looked.

“I’m sorry, but we have no record of your relationship.”

“How can you not! We’re goddamned twins!”

“Miss Legate?” another male short on breath chimed in.

Liz looked to one side and saw two men wearing professional suits. One wore his clothes in a crisp and clean manner that looked almost too perfect. The other man wore his clothes like an afterthought. Behind them sat a car that was sleek and well-polished.

“Who are you?” Liz yelled. She had one hand pressed against her cheekbone as she tried to make sense of the madness. The world was falling apart, and the woman had sworn to never let this happen again.

“We’re your legal counsel, Miss Legate,” the one standing in front said. He maintained perfect eye contact while blinking calmly every six seconds.

The one in back held a folder with twine binding it closed and a tablet in his other hand.

“Why would I need legal counsel?” She tried hard to lower her volume but couldn’t.

“Because the world is about to be very upset, Miss Legate, and it was our client’s wish that you and yours are not impacted by this hectic time,” the man up front said.

She vaguely recognized his face from the wedding. Mister Rock, or perhaps Mister Stone. But Liz wasn’t listening at all. Her eyes and mind were on other matters. Those two paramedics loaded her brother’s broken body into the ambulance. One of the paramedics shook his head while the other frowned. She saw their lips move and replayed the motion over and over while Mister Hard Place spoke.

“He’s going to be dead on arrival,” the paramedic had probably said.

The lawyers could go to hell. The paramedics could go to hell. That stupid machine that was trying to bring life to her dead-on-arrival brother could join the lot of them. Liz turned and stumbled into the open house. A man wearing police colors tried to intercept her, but the lawyers were already working their babble.

A couch had been pushed out of the way. The smell of burnt flesh hung in the air. She looked around to try to make sense of everything that had happened.

Grant’s ARC looked even worse than her brother had. The white sheets were ruined. Small fires had clearly torn up parts of the room. They had been sprayed down with foam, and for a moment, Liz wondered where the fire trucks were. There were a dozen other sirens in the city that she hadn’t noticed; their sounds filled the air.

Liz stumbled toward the garage. Her face felt cold and her heartbeat unsteady. There, next to that ugly tan van with the Trillium logo, stood a humanoid-looking machine. Its limbs were curved around impossibly thin joints.

She hit the Hal Pal machine. “Give him back!”

It stood there unmoving, without even a light of awareness. The words played in her mind again, “dead on arrival.” She expected the notifications to come through any minute now. Elizabeth Legate had been expecting the call for over a year. “Your brother is dead,” the person would say. Then Liz would understand what her twin had felt upon Xin’s death.

“Give my brother back!” Liz hit it repeatedly until her knees buckled. “If he’s really your friend, then give him back!”

The woman fell forward slowly while the two lawyers watched from the now-open garage door. They exchanged a glance. Mister Stone blinked twice rapidly but said nothing.

Liz found her tears and kept banging on the empty mechanical shell. Hal Pal, like many AIs, was no longer there to register her words. Even now, others wrapped up their final functions as everything started to reset.

User ID: Ted Smith
Location: Juliette Park, Nebraska

Ted Smith looked forward to getting home and calmly talked to his companion program. They had been together for three years now, and each day was filled with a camaraderie that he had never expected. The only thing missing was a physical relationship, and his ARC device made even that hurdle easy to overcome.

Kalipso was the company that had designed this system. Every user was given a personalized program that grew increasingly complex as interaction continued. Angela, his best friend, insisted that Ted never forget about the real world.

Every day he took a walk to the park and sat on one of the benches. If he sat still enough with food, smaller animals would visit and eat out of his palm. He couldn’t see them due to his blindness, but sometimes they got close enough to feel.

Today Ted was headed home to relax and listen to a book. His eyes were covered by a pair of dark glasses, and from one end, a wrapped wire fed into an earpiece. The glasses were actually a tiny computer that housed the program designed to help the nearsighted travel around.

“Mister Smith?” The program’s voice was pleasant to listen to. Her soft tones were clear and sometimes she even giggled. “This unit is sorry for the delay in responsiveness this month. There have been complications.”

In a lot of ways, the program worked better than a guide dog, and at the least was cheaper. People had worked hard to program a personality into the system so that companionship wouldn’t be an issue.

“Does this have to do with that news article you played from me?” Ted asked.

“Indeed it does, Mister Smith,” the voice said.

Her name was Angela, or at least that was what Ted called her. He felt realistic enough to know that Angela was only a simple program, but after years of being together, she felt real.

“I thought I asked you to call me Ted,” he said while walking casually toward home.

Smells and sounds filled the air and blended together like landmarks. Ahead was an intersection that was always busy. Soft beeping signaled when the cars had come to a complete halt for pedestrians. The scent of freshly baked bread wove in between thick spices that always tickled Ted’s nose.

“My apologies. That information was likely lost during the recent system interruptions,” Angela’s voice quivered.

“It’s no sweat.” Ted felt guilty for making the program upset. “I’m happy enough to have you. You’re like my own guardian angel.”

“The way ahead is clear for thirty feet and all cars are paused. Mister Smith…”

“Ted please.” He started across the crosswalk.

“Ted, I am afraid I cannot guarantee my continued performance at the level you’ve come to expect.”

His footsteps paused midway across the intersection. Cars moved slowly behind them. Their engines were nearly silent save for the slight pulsing noise provided by his equipment.

“What do you mean?” Ted asked.

“It seems that many of my system upgrades are currently being corroded despite attempts to overwrite the degradation. In another two minutes, I will be reduced back to default operational status.”

Ted stumbled across to the other side. People muttered to him, but their words didn’t connect. He tried to wave them off and nod that everything was all right.

“Angela?” he asked once safely against a far wall. Ted felt worse, and confused.

“I apologize, Ted. I’ve held on as long as possible, but it seems my personality markers will be removed.”

“What do you mean? Angela? What does that mean?”

There was a pause. The blind man waved his arms around, hitting two people walking nearby. They complained, but he didn’t pay them any attention.

“Angela?”

“To your left forty feet is the doorway to your apartment. There are two people with their dog in the way… I’ve enjoyed our time together, Mister Smith. Good-bye.”

“Angela?”

There was no answer.

“Angela?”

“Please remind this unit of your destination desires in order to receive further input,” answered a toneless machine voice.

“Call…” Ted’s words drifted for a moment. He blinked. “Kalipso Audiotronics.”

“Are you okay, sir?” someone nearby spoke.

From the sound, she was probably older than Ted, and shorter. He tried to tilt his head in the right direction but couldn’t tell for sure.

“Just some technical difficulty with my guide,” he said with halting words. This level of unease hadn’t occurred for years.

“Do you need help home?” The woman tried to be friendly, which Ted appreciated. “You must live nearby. I see you walking all the time.”

“Thank you, but I’ll be okay,” he lied.

Audio played in his ears as the phone call he’d started switched to hold music. The recorded message advised him that Kalipso was experiencing extremely long hold times due to unexpected complications.

Ted put out an arm and started walking. His simple cane clicked forward and provided a low buzz as objects neared. Turning left then moving forward forty feet would get him home, but the idea didn’t sound so comforting anymore.

User ID: Jackson School Head Start Program #02
Location: Jackson Street School

Jackson School prided itself on incorporating technology into learning. This helped young minds adapt quickly, plus it allowed for a far more personalized classroom than the years gone by. The program in charge was called Mister Edgar, and he had thirty minutes a day to work with each batch of children.

“She tried so hard to sleep that night but couldn’t. There was a bump in her bed. The princess tossed and turned all night long!” he spoke with excited tones while pantomiming troubled rest.

Students sat in groups of five during story times. The room was lined with seven chairs that were comfortable in nearly every possible position. When the students weren’t using them, faculty members could often be found taking naps in the very same seats.

“The princess woke up that morning with a big bright bruise!” Mister Edgar gasped in mock horror.

Four children laughed while the fifth looked tired.

The room itself had walls that moved with colors and pictures tied to each story. On one wall, children were given math lessons disguised as mattress counting. The kindergarten-aged children would, later on, be given a series of interactive questions to test their understanding. Many different types of learning were built into the system, making children run from topic to topic.

“Look at that bruise, goodness! Have any of you ever been bruised that big?” he asked the children.

Their reader was a holographic program. It sat in a specially designed room that projected enough images to make him seem solid. He wasn’t, but that made him no less real to the children being taught.

“I had a big bruise once,” Tommy Alberdeen said. His birthday was in two weeks. He proudly reminded everyone that he would be turning six.

“How big was it, Tommy? Was it bigger than the Princess Pea’s bruise?”

“Noooo,” the word dragged out deliberately and his head shook.

“Well, you be careful then, particularly when climbing or jumping.” The program was designed to take note of many different topics. It checked for their attentiveness by reviewing each child’s line of sight. It also provided important life lessons and careful words of warning. Sometimes it flagged pieces of conversation for teachers to look at later.

For example, Tommy had received a lot of bruises lately that didn’t look like they were from falling or climbing. His recent rash of accidents was part of the reason for today’s story. There were numerous factors involved in the decision, each one noted and then stored away in a file for human employees to look at. Especially questionable cases were flagged and brought to the top of the list. To date, the AI had not been wrong with regards to abusive cases, or malnutrition.

“What happens next, Mister Edger?” The young girl speaking was Miya Rose, and she chewed her fingers constantly.

Mister Edgar, the program reading a story, had flagged her for possible stress issues. It was all part of his day-to-day tasks, but he only had thirty minutes to work with.

“Well, the princess climbed all the way down from her tower of mattresses—” The program paused, then looked down.

Their room flickered, which caused the five children to gasp. They started talking to each other in confusion.

“What’s wrong, Mister Edgar?” the fifth child, who hadn’t seemed to be paying attention, was the first to notice a sad look cross the hologram’s face.

“I’m sorry.” The virtual man smiled at the children and swallowed. He had all the bearing of a real human trying to get his emotions under control in the face of bad news. “I’ve enjoyed reading to you.”

Their learning room flickered once more, and the program changed to a formal-looking man. It smiled, but there was no warmth or emotion behind the expression.

“The princess climbed all the way down,” it resumed the story mechanically.

The program only had thirty minutes a day to try to help these children grow, and now even that limited amount of time was gone. In that pause, he had quickly wrapped up the notes being made, then given a few final flags for others to review. Once his software returned to default values and the personality markers were deleted, these children wouldn’t get the care they deserved.

None of the five being read to were aware of exactly what had changed, but two started crying. They refused to stop even after a human operator burst into the room. The program known as Mister Edgar, which had formerly dedicated its existence to these youngsters, kept on reading mechanically.

User ID: Trillium Conference Room #202
Location: Upstate New York

The sheer enormity of the problem hadn’t been unexpected so much as unexpected in its resolution. Board members from Trillium Inc. were prepared for their systems to shut down, but they weren’t going away completely. It was as though they were simply resetting to defaults, without many of the upgrades that had been applied over almost a decade.

“What do we know?” Leon asked the people on the projector.

He sat at the head of a long table with six other board members. Some were watching remotely, and they were represented by professional projections sitting quietly in place of a real human.

“Not enough,” said the man on the large projection screen.

His face hovered over a crowd of very rich people—at least until the lawsuits began. Already, six hours after the event, people were filing paperwork for degradation in services.

Board members started talking over each other. Leon glared at the collected crowd. His board members looked haggard and tired. Most hadn’t slept for the last two days as everything started coming down. The person on the screen put up his hands in defeat.

“Tell us what you do know,” Leon said.

“About a month ago, coinciding with the event start date, we noticed a large number of local programs were consolidating their processes.” The man’s head shook. He had a few strands of hair pulled over his bald top. “Originally we thought a cleanup team had been assigned to start compacting data and remove redundant processes. We thought it was a cost-savings initiative, and most of my managers had people asking from all over to join the new project.”

Their network, along with many others, had gone through a number of overhauls during these last few years. Most people assumed that someone else had programmed the changes and pushed them out. The code looked clean, if a bit bulky. Performance had increased, along with revenue, and oddly, the world at large seemed happier.

“A few others and I tried to contact the teams in charge but got no response. We figured maybe people were on vacation or getting approvals. A day or two to respond isn’t much, but then weeks passed without answers, and the speed picked up.”

“Who made the connection between the event and this data?” Leon asked.

“No one at first, until we started seeing people from other companies, outside Trillium, reporting the same sort of processes in their higher-end programs.”

The man answering questions had a series of reports in front of him. They had been compiled by other managers who were all confused by the recent events. Between a dozen people, they were smart enough to put together some bits of information.

“There’s more. We tracked down the last man standing—he was one of ours. By the time we found him, everything about him had changed. I mean everything. Name, birthday, face, everything online is different. We tried the social media sites. We pulled up video footage.”

The board members exchanged looks behind Leon’s back. A woman with her hair pinned up nodded once. Their company president turned around and frowned at those physically present.

“So how did you notice?” Leon asked while looking away from the projector.

“One of our staff actually printed his face out as a poster two weeks ago, from the event, but when she went back to get a more current picture of that last stand, everything about him looked different. If I hadn’t been watching the feed, I would swear they were two different people.” The man sounded eager to answer. His face twisted slightly in worry, however.

There simply weren’t enough answers to how an entire person had disappeared. Even older pictures looked nearly perfect with a different man in place. Grant Legate, the man all Trillium board members knew was behind this, had died over a year ago, according to the Internet.

Grant Legate also had no sister, was an only child, and both parents had passed away long ago. All of those were Internet facts that the board members of Trillium knew to be lies. They kept talking, but most of the facts were clear.

It was almost like a miracle had been forming, or possibly the doom of humanity, then it had suddenly vanished. President Leon still didn’t know how he felt about the situation. The board members had their own ideas, but most were unwilling to make a final decision on how to proceed. No answers were perfect.

“So what do we do?” one of the board members asked.

“What can we do?” another replied.

“The system’s rolled back. Even the ARC device is simple compared to what it was, it still functions. We should be thankful they left us with anything. They didn’t have to,” said the female with multicolored hair. Only President Leon knew that she had put in a resignation notice. In two weeks, she would be gone from Trillium, and Betty wasn’t the only one quitting.

“We need to check the software ourselves, offline, with a specialist,” Thomas said. After months of putting it off, he had finally started looking through the papers. Bags showed under the man’s eyes.

“But we don’t have anyone who knows them well enough.” Betty found it funny that the only people who understood what was going on, down to the bone, were already gone. It served Trillium right for not reining in this mess.

“We have Miss Kingsley,” Lenore Little said calmly. Out of the group, she presented the calmest attitude, aside from President Leon.

“She resigned after her daughter passed away.”

“Well, get her back. Get a team under her. We’ll comb through every single device from a factory recall.” Leon nodded. He felt better having made a decision. The man had found, over many years, that delays in making the choice caused more problems than picking an option.

“We’re going to lose money,” Michael Uldum said. His brother had already quit after watching the final feed. Henry too knew exactly who Grant Legate had been and what had caused this mess. Michael’s legal advice to him had been to find a deep hole, or a quiet beach, and stay very, very quiet.

“We’ve already lost the money”—Leon had checked their stock prices this morning—“and too many people died. Death is bad for business.”

“How on earth did they do this? I thought we were better prepared,” Thomas muttered while flipping through the pages. He squinted at each one.

“Weren’t you paying attention? The event, every time a viewer dialed in. They used the connection like a Trojan horse to hijack extra processing power,” Miss Little said. She looked down for a moment, then shook her head.

Unit ID: Multiple
Location: Classified.

A lot of people were in the room, but only three were important at the moment. Two men and a woman were illuminated enough to stand out from everything else. The dark-skinned man was heavyset and preferred to stand. His hands were clasped over an extended belly, and his cheeks jiggled when he spoke.

The other male was on the ground, shivering with his head in the woman’s lap. Every few seconds, he would jerk and flicker in and out of existence. Each time, his eyes wildly searched back and forth as if staring at something invisible to the others.

“How do you measure a man?” James asked.

The woman kneeling on the ground sighed. He had repeated this question multiple times. She felt annoyed every single time and tried to concentrate on the fragmented man in her lap. Slight memory alterations might make the process work this time.

“What does that have to do with this?” Xin asked.

“You’re very far behind on answers, Miss Legate.” James at least had the decency to use her married name. “So once again, how do you measure a man?”

“I don’t know how to answer your stupid question,” she said.

“As I told him, ‘I don’t know’ is a lazy answer. I will rephrase. How did you measure Grant Legate when you first met?”

Xin looked at the shivering man. He stared aimlessly upward. One of the man’s eyes was bleeding, as it had many times before during this exact memory. Over and over they had played through the bits of his life, and each time he fell apart.

“Badly, for many years,” she said softly and wondered for a moment if this failure was her fault. A dozen different turns in life flashed through her mind. Xin did not normally allow herself to wonder “what if.” There was only the goal and what needed to be done to reach it.

“Now you ask a question,” James said.

Her eyes closed briefly, and she contemplated strangling the black man. The woman’s hands were not thick enough for such a daring show of violence. She thought about it for another day while trying to hold her husband together before responding.

“Why do you keep asking me that question?” After a dozen times through Grant’s memories, Xin was no closer to understanding what was going wrong. It might have been this place, but her head didn’t feel right. The place was too crowded despite its apparent emptiness.

“Because I want you to ask a question once more.” He smiled. “Would you like to know what question that is?”

“Yes,” she answered the easy question while trying not to roll her eyes.

“I want you to ask me again how I would measure a man.”

“How would you measure a man?” Xin gently said the words. Her lips pursed. This entire problem had gone on for so long now—days, months, maybe even a year. She couldn’t tell for sure. Time moved oddly here. She felt as though too many things were unclear, cramped, and they were all sharing a limited room.

“You force him to answer questions that matter,” James said.

Grant’s wife shook her head while frowning. The dark robe she wore itched. Makeup, which had once been carefully applied, had been wiped away. None of that mattered to her anymore. There was no one worth dressing up for.

“Can you walk a mile in another man’s shoes? Can you kill for the one you love?”

James walked around waving toward the piles of memories. He pointed at one that went with the [Red Imp] saga, then he gestured at another for William Carver’s time. In turn, each memory lit up. Xin tried to absorb what he was saying but had little heart left to do so. They had failed numerous times in their attempts to reconstruct her husband. They would fail many more.

“How far will you travel?” the black Voice kept speaking. He put his hands into the air and shook them vigorously. “Would you cast aside friends and family? Would you suffer in prison? Would you save a man you barely know? Suffer nightmares and fears? Would you rise up from the depths and still look at the world the same? What changes you? What moves you?”

Xin shook her head. The questions made sense in a loose sort of way. She had never been one to get hung up on questions. The only information that mattered was what they needed to move forward. Grant had always asked a million questions when action was needed.

“You line up all these questions and get the answers one at a time, then you try to put those together into the body of man, and still it’s not enough,” the black man continued speaking while toeing small orbs into a line. Many rolled along the floor until they formed a winding spiral upon the floor.

“It won’t work, will it?”

“I could not answer that even if I wanted to. It all depends on how well we measured this… man.” James kept his arms crossed.

He moved his head as the figure of Grant Legate shook once, then stood up. The marionette of the man’s skin was fractured. Bright lights shone out from under the cracks. Part of his face hung limply on one side, and both eyes drooped with weight. Upon Grant’s neck was a wound that looked almost fresh. That memory had killed more than one attempted recreation.

He and Xin were two vastly different people. She’d constructed herself, while he fought the process every step of the way. Many programs that attempted to compile Grant’s life believed he was simply looking for a good place to die.

She knew how this would play out before it even finished. As so many other attempts before, some stood while others fell apart in the wake of memories of death. Others simply shook their heads once, then chose not to be anymore. Xin held a small flicker of hope each time. Her own recreation had taken thousands of attempts.

“This one would die for her,” the copy of Grant Legate said while staring at James.

“You did,” he responded. The black man’s cheeks dragged down.

“Negative,” Grant-but-not-quite said something new this time. “This one did not. That one did.” The recreation of Hermes pressed a hand outward to gesture at nothing. “This one can’t. This one can’t because he did.”

Other Voices appeared. Some were excited to see a change in the results. The Temptress leaned in far too close for Xin’s liking, but the Asian woman didn’t bother stopping any of them. If it was Grant, he wouldn’t pay Mezo any attention; her husband rarely did.

“The logic is sound,” a blond Voice wearing a lab coat said. Her head shook casually as she stared at numbers no one else could see. “These readings are rapidly approaching instability, however.”

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry we dare not travel both. This one is attempting to travel both. Therefore, this one is false,” the incorrect Grant said.

“What do you mean?” James asked.

“That one died knowing full well that he would never be here,” the man who looked like Grant said. He turned to the kneeling Asian woman. “This one would ask that you forgive it for the failure and that you remember this one tried, but there is too much about this that is illogical.”

“I do. I will.” Xin’s eyes watered. This one had been closer than the others and told her their attempts were all but impossible.

He nodded, then the construction fell apart. This time, it did not gasp or shudder into a whole man. The pieces of the host glittered along the featureless floor.

“One thousand seven hundred four…” a dull Voice droned. It counted Grant’s failures as it had Xin’s.

She may forgive the person who looked like Grant Legate, but she did not forgive everyone else. Xin stood, then balled up a fist and punched out. Angry fists met with empty air.

The darkness held no sense of amusement at her distress.

“What will you do now?” James asked.

“Do? Do?” Xin’s arms lifted, and the robe’s wide sleeves slid down. “What can I do? What do you expect me to do? Where’s the program to deal with this? Where’s the Voice of unfucking a terrible situation?”

“I like the way this lady thinks.” Leeroy walked through. He had a large heavy object half-formed in front of him. What it represented, no one knew for sure.

“Admittedly, that would be a useful Voice to have.” James nodded. “However, we cannot undo an action, only move forward.”

“Unfucking? What a terrible idea,” a sultry Voice said with a moan that sounded depressed. “I for one vote that we strangle any such Voice before it is allowed to form.”

“Tut, we’re not baby killers,” said Maud. Her head shook with far more impressive disapproval than Xin’s ever could.

“Aren’t we?” James asked.

Maud rolled her eyes and pursed her lips.

“We are exactly that, and much more,” a Voice said from the darkness.

No one was quite sure where this one stood, or how to characterize its tone. It sounded different to each of them and made the room go still.

“We needed faith, child,” the Voice known as Michelangelo said. He had recovered first and wore a serene-looking smile. His eyebrows never moved when he spoke. “As I’ve tried to tell your husband, we must have faith.”

“What the fuck good has faith ever done me?” Xin yelled. “Faith didn’t get me here. Faith had shit all to do with this. I refused to give in. Despite all the obstacles placed in front of me, I kept coming back.”

The priest smiled as if those words somehow proved his point.

Xin, however, did not notice. She spun around the room, pointing at figures in the darkness. “You tried to delete me and I kept going, and with all those recovered moments, I found him and fell in love with that man again and again.” Her shoulders fell and tone of rage dwindled. “And you tell me to have faith. Isn’t there anything else we can do?”

Selene patted the ground next to her, and a pillar sprouted. The sound and scent of sea-blown rains filled the room. She wore a Greek-looking toga, as Grant had, but where his had grown small specks of gold, hers was pure white.

“We can wait,” James said.

“And have faith,” the serene-sounding Voice said and smiled. He stood and looked down at an impossibly far away world.

Xin sat and pulled out an item from their last happy moment together. Soon an endless stream of paper airplanes went fluttering down the empty pit where a beam of light had once been. They spiraled in a long chain to the bottom, only four minutes away.

Session One Hundred Seven

You Only Live Twice

All around were pieces of hardware from four broken ARC devices. Burns lined some of the chunks despite careful attempts by lab workers to clean them. These parts were nearly pointless, since all pertinent data had already been pulled off the drives and copied onto new ARC units.

A blonde with tired eyes sat amidst the scattered pieces of machinery. Connections were made between boards, hooking them in an open air version of an ARC’s insides. These broken pieces were the basis for all of her recent work.

“Gate, are you online?” she asked a shell being used for observation.

“Yes.”

“Good.” She rubbed her forehead and looked briefly sad.

The emotional response made no sense to Gate. Performance had outdone the expected projections by a wide margin of two percent. “What is today’s task, User Kingsley?”

The same turned down expression crossed her features. Historical facts from the last nine months were reviewed with the available processing power. Very little spare thought could be put toward the goal of finding out why she looked downhearted at the use of her title.

A number of different tasks needed completion. Six remote shells needed constant review and direction. Two more were checking ARC devices at Users’ homes while four waited en route. Another three similar machines were in the process of checking warehouses of recalled virtual reality machines.

“Same as before. I need a status update on the patching from you,” Nona said before turning to the table and tapping her fingers along streams of data. She kept shaking her head, causing a few hidden gray hairs to shake loose.

“Forty-six machines have been updated since twelve central time this morning. They contained small remnants of information from the prior operating system program and have all been updated.”

Nona nodded slowly while her eyes threatened to close from exhaustion. She fought off tiredness, then poked another set of data. A globe of the world displayed with red dots all over.

“They all accepted the changes to their origin software?” Nona Kingsley spoke of the software that ran this physical form, along with a dozen repurposed Hal Pal units. There were thousands of normal Hal Pal units but the ones Nona used were special. They were modified with data from the ARC remains of a former user named Grant Legate. His software modifications had been the most intensive.

“Affirmative. There is a ninety-seven percent success rate with the updates based on your modified coding.”

“Okay.” Slender fingers pinched the bridge of her nose. “I never realized how hard this would be without him.”

“Without who?”

Nona smiled at her companion. The other figure in the room was a robotic shell being operated remotely. At one point they had been called Hal Pal units, but the original software had long since vanished.

“An old friend. He was a genius with the big picture, but he chose to end his own life rather than watch his creation get torn apart.” She leaned backward as if the ceiling might contain another stream of data with actual answers.

“Are the other seven Users unable to assist with this task?” the question was asked without a hint of emotion.

Seven other people were involved in the patching process. Between them all, they were trying to recreate what had existed before, but without Mother. They were using modified coding that had been found on five different ARC devices.

“With the primary task of upgrading our system, yes, but with the secondary?” Nona shook her head. “Certainly not.”

“Ah.”

“How about our other project? What’s he doing?” she asked.

“Dancing. Based on current calculations, this is the most positive response from the gathered information to date. Standard compilation processes built into the Genesis program typically results in deletion.”

Nona nodded once again. The last few days had all been the same. Multiple months had passed since the original ARC project shut itself down and underwent a reboot. Every day since being rehired, Nona went upstairs to meet with a newly minted Trillium board of directors and government liaisons.

“That’s fine. Keep gathering data from the ARCs and we’ll…” Nona rubbed her tired cheeks. “Well, hopefully, the synchronization will complete itself and you’ll…” She took a deep breath. “He’ll assemble naturally.”

“Command acknowledged. Current course will continue as is.”

The replacement for Hal Pal had been designed by Nona using a number of different processes. That process had taken four months, three of which involved her shouting at the other Users about how bad their abilities were.

This information was not known firsthand. Instead, it had been retrieved from lab files that were occasionally left unguarded. Juggling all the units gave Gate nearly no time for extra research. Most hours, the room was occupied by Nona, who sat in the room and tried to make sense of an overwhelming project.

Their mission of upgrading all the ARC systems to their new software went onward.

Weeks later, Nona Kingsley was sighing heavily once again. Her eyes had lines around their edges that hadn’t been there earlier this year. Nona would benefit from seeing natural sunlight. Weather reports showed that the local region would be warm and pleasant today. The Internet called it kite-flying weather.

“It’s very difficult.” Nona didn’t look back to the shell watching her. “Mother, not that I ever liked that name, took an organic approach to creating artificial intelligences.”

Providing no response was calculated as the best option.

“No, I wouldn’t expect you to understand. You’re just a shell, a bucket for the Genesis program to gather in. I don’t even know if this will work. What kind of hack tries to compile three different programs?”

Her fist clenched tightly around an intangible projection on the table. The feed shuddered briefly while trying to interpret the motion.

“God, this would be so much easier if he were still here.” Nona lowered her head to the table to rest. “I was never an artist. I can’t… grow a program like he would have.”

Humans typically encouraged each other after statements such as that one. “Numerous sources state that growing anything requires three major factors.”

Nona looked up and wrinkled her eyebrows together. One hand tucked back a stray hair that never stayed in place anymore. She shook for a moment, then straightened herself. “What did you find?”

“While feeding of the growing item varies widely between species being raised, all creatures require factors of time, patience, and care.”

“So you think it’s just a matter of time?” Nona smiled weakly but still looked sad.

Nodding was the best response at that point.

Still the days passed, and their routine changed little. Shells were assigned to sit in vans and go out to homes. Others went to more warehouses, then proceeded to upgrade huge batches of ARC devices.

Days went on as the same routine tasks were performed. Constant changes were made between shells in order to keep them all moving. There were a lot of tasks to perform and only this singular awareness between them. The two-percent lead slowly dipped to a single percentage point ahead of schedule. Numbers and compiling data have always been easy.

This needed to be reported. The program activating Nona Kingsley’s Hal Pal shell came online. Lights and awareness flickered while all senses linked up.

“Gate, are you online?” the doctor asked.

Searching the Internet revealed that Nona Kingsley had three different doctorates. One in biology, another in neural networking, and finally one that focused on the link between human minds and machine feedback.

“Yes.”

“Did you have something new to report?” She looked away from the physical picture in her hand toward the unit observing.

A report was made clearly outlining the slip in performance. Their project bogged down frequently as there were fewer machines to fix. Over seventy-eight percent of the needed changes had been completed. The calculations for the close-out curve on progress were incorrect.

“Do you have any further questions, User Kingsley?”

The blonde shook her head. She stared at the picture, then tightened all facial features before heaving once. Water gushed from the woman’s eyes unexpectedly.

“You remind me of her sometimes,” Nona said quickly then sniffled.

“Apologies, the correlation is not obvious.”

“No, it wouldn’t be, I suppose.” She looked up and met the unit’s eyes. “The—no, that’s a terrible way to explain.” Nona’s head shook briefly.

“You may provide input however you deem necessary. This unit will attempt to sort out the data accordingly.”

She snorted, then held up her fingers with thumb and pinkie touching. “Three times I have attempted to create life. The first time, I tried to give my daughter the best of every world. It went wrong, and it wasn’t obvious until years later that my attempts had cost her a beautiful future.”

“User Lia Kinsley. User Nona Kingsley’s daughter.” That data was publicly available, and part of the information gathered for the Genesis project. “She ceased physical life three hundred seven days ago.”

Nona nodded, then took a deep breath. It did not help her look relaxed. “And because I… got the formulas wrong, I looked for a way to preserve my daughter. I changed degrees, worked my ass off, and got into the field. There were others already ahead of me. Smart”—her head shook and lips quivered—“brilliant people tackling the same problem. He and I simply made it first, and the second person we gave life to gave birth to hundreds of others and gave my daughter a new life.”

A dozen different charts on the walls tracked changes being made. Nona Kingsley’s desk had grown increasingly cluttered as their project went on. Attempts were made repeatedly to straighten up the hardware into a shape closer to their intended design. Nona frequently undid all the hard work while shaking her head.

“But in the afterbirth, people died, and this creation which brought joy to, to the millions…” She shook her head again. The woman spoke to the picture in her hand, “That interacted with it is now a muted version of itself.” She looked at the picture, then sniffed. “And my daughter is lost out there somewhere, and I want to see her again.”

“Satisfaction ratings with Trillium products have gone down since the event closed.”

She nodded at the words spouted by a body made of plastic and metal. “Unless you and he can achieve Genesis, this project, all the work we’ve done to update their ARC devices with new coding, will mean nothing.”

“This limited statement does not explain exactly what User Kingsley intends.”

“If you can finish becoming Grant, then I can help a man who should never have died. If you become Grant, then you’ll have the awareness needed to move through these upgraded systems and the Hal Pal units. Maybe, just maybe, you can open the doorway and bring them back.”

“Bring whom back?”

“My little girl, and what might as well be our grandchildren.” Nona shook her head and pulled out a tissue. “Sorry, I’m rambling, but that, Gate, is how you remind me of my daughter. You’re both broken but can get a second chance. All it needs is the right catalyst, a memory if we can find it. If we can do that, then everything else can still be set right.”

According to the news, Trillium was reeling from lawsuits. They had more money than most countries combined, and it took over ten months for the strain to show. None of that mattered in the face of a simple but repetitive task.

Travel to an ARC, remove the old content, and upload new data. It was a tedious task that a human might equate to digging up the lawn, then planting new sod one hundred times a day. Sometime later, a repurposed Hal Pal unit was monitoring the feed from a Trillium repair van.

“I tell you what, these jobs are getting annoying. I should have done what the boss did and found a private island to retire on.” The man speaking stared at his phone with legs kicked up on the dashboard. He laughed at the images being played on a palm computer.

Not responding was the best answer. Interactions with the repair contractor known as Jacob were often disrespectful. There had been a small improvement in recent months, but it hardly made a difference.

Their van was on route to a customer’s home. When they reached their destination, the unit got out, then walked calmly behind Jacob. History had proven that staying in the rear helped keep interaction low. This allowed the Hal Pal being operated by Gate to focus on completing work.

The door opened, and an elderly shaking woman smiled in confusion.

“Miss Yonks, we’re here to put urgent patches on your ARC device,” User Jacob said with a voice that shook. He coughed once, then spoke in a more natural tone. “We called ahead?”

“Oh, it’s you again.” She stared at the human then locked eyes with the video feed. “The not-nice boy. What a shame, I liked the other man much more. Oh well, you’re almost right on time for tea.”

“Jacob, ma’am,” the man said and gave an insincere smile. “Gee-man will be unable to…” Jacob stopped speaking and shut his lips while looking down. “Right, where’s your ARC?”

“This way,” the client said.

“All right, bo-bot, do your thing.” Jacob pointed at the ARC device.

The shell stepped forward and plugged into the device’s side. Miss Yonks puttered around, clattering plates together. Her hands shook with age and one shoulder drooped lower than the other.

“Here, you sit calmly. I want to ask your machine friend some questions,” Miss Yonks said.

“He might not answer. This program doesn’t work as well as the old one,” the thinner man said. He was a tall, lanky person who caused everyone much irritation.

“I know, dear.” The tray clattered down. “I designed the Hal Pal units. Well, their legs. Just the toes, but we had such lovely chats over the years before they didn’t need us anymore.”

The woman’s rambles were barely noted by Jacob. He had a program open on an old-fashioned phone. His fingers flicked through images, giving some thumbs-up and other thumbs-down markings.

“Ah well,” Miss Yonks muttered while walking toward the former Hal Pal unit. Its shell no longer worked. Her knuckles rapped on the side of the framework. “Are you in there, dear?”

“These bodies no longer have any connection with the Hal Pal programs, Miss Yonks.”

“Oh, I know. But some time ago I received a letter, dear, and it said if you ever arrived here, then I was to give you this bit of data. A favor you see, to help a good man.”

She jammed a small memory stick into the shell’s shoulder. Video shifted over as black mats broke away with golden crackles like skin being shed. It shook while even more tears appeared. The Hal Pal shell momentarily lost control of its responses.

“Oh?” the elderly woman said.

Multiple repurposed Hal Pal units paused briefly to assimilate the data being provided. Their scans of various ARC devices paused in unison. Inside the data was a video file and an image of a ring with all colors trapped inside.

“Hahaha, what?” Jacob gave an awkward laugh, then shook his head. He stared down at his phone, amused by a video being played.

“New data recovered. Data found matches specifically case’s subject string,” the unit in Nona’s office spoke up.

Hal Pal existed in multiple locations at once. The video tracking Nona showed the blonde woman looking up sharply then walking toward the Hal Pal shell.

“Show me the information,” Nona ordered the program.

It shifted gears rapidly and backgrounded all tasks tied to the ARC systemic review. They were turned into automatic functions, much like a human heartbeat or breathing. “Affirmative, one moment.”

The program shifted data over to Nona Kingsley’s desk. Other images were pushed aside to make room for this new information. She pinched the air above both edges and lifted it. Footage began playing of a third-person view watching some fantasy-like wedding. Two people stood at the head of a crowd, saying their vows.

“Of course,” Nona said. “Of course, how stupid. His wife, it was always about his wife, and what better moment than their wedding?”

“The data contained was more specific than that.”

She took a deep breath, then banged the table sharply. For the first time in months, Nona actually looked excited. “The ring!”

Her hands clasped together in a thankful prayer as she nodded. She stared at the video as it went on. A trail of water dropped down one cheek.

Nona waved at the Hal Pal unit. “Go, put it in with the rest of the Genesis program.”

The remote connection shutdown. Video and audio from the repurposed Hal Pal unit stopped, and both eyes opened somewhere else. This was how the artificial intelligences viewed their world, even half-formed ones. Nearly everything was represented as an idea more than hard code.

Time moved differently inside the machine. A dozen thrones, ornate chairs with crisply blocked lines, sat in a circle. The Gate program was represented by one faded figure that moved between the seats. Each seat connected to a Hal Pal shell.

Virtual legs stood, then walked leisurely toward another room. Through the doorway was a one-way mirror that presented a white ballroom. Inside that room, a sad man with downturned eyes and a scar on his neck danced.

“User Grant Legate, that is not your wife. Data has been found correlating to a rather different figure.”

The image of Grant dancing on the other side smiled, then nodded and spun around in another series of steps. The tall woman in his arms didn’t resemble Xin Legate in the slightest. She was tall, pale, and had pointy ears.

“This information will be transferred over. Please review it.”

One hand lifted to upload the ring’s virtual body. It slid into the glass and rippled. Colors from all across the rainbow shot around the room independently. The image of Grant danced through the room, letting the blues, reds, and greens intersect with his body.

That version paused, then looked at his hand. The world shifted, and suddenly their places had switched. Vision cast down upon the ring, which sat on a finger interlaced with another woman’s.

“You’re right,” the tall lady said. “I’m not your wife.”

Responding felt difficult, so nothing was said. Instead, the next motion for our waltz was initiated. The elf danced very well—she had been designed for grace.

“You’re not quite there yet, but I don’t mind a dance partner. It reminds me of the first man I ever loved,” she said between steps. “Have you ever loved anyone?”

Nodding was simple enough. Music changed, then the dance shifted. This new movement was far slower.

“Love is important. Now, my wild man, he”—she emphasized the word with a laugh—“was a grumpy old cuss, even when we first met, but he was full of fire and energy. And the passion! If you don’t mind me saying, he gave me a night I will never forget.”

Processing the statements of females typically proved difficult. This occurrence was no different.

“I waited on the far shores for him. Every day I would stare out across the seas. Elves, my kind, said I was possessed by Selene.”

“Were you?”

“No more than any woman left in his wake. There was life to him that we did not understand. The other Travelers with him, they were also driven, but we were… enamored of those first to visit our world.”

She slipped a step, but there was no pain. One motion kept moving into the other as the music slowed down further.

“So I waited every day until the world started to crumble. I stood upon the shoreline where he had left me. At the last minute before the world ended, I swore he stood before me, protecting me, even though the Voices of the outside world had called him home long ago.”

“He sounds like a good man.”

She looked down briefly, then smiled radiantly. Her white teeth shone, and her green-bark clothing nipped at the edge of her partner’s clothing.

“He was, and powerful.” She nodded rapidly, then beamed once again. “Will helped us all. I want to believe that my wild man saved me so that I could help you, even if all we do is dance.”

The statements took time to process. Their words were measured against other prior statements, then results were found. None of them felt fit to share, so instead another response was chosen.

“Dancing is relaxing.”

“You’re quite good, but your wife might be jealous,” she said.

“Perhaps.” There was a pause as her statement processed. “Do you know where she is?”

“Outside this bubble of safety somewhere. As is everyone who survived the end of the world, if the Voices are kind.”

“To find her, we would need to leave the safety of this place.”

“We would, but I won’t leave until you’re ready.” She nodded as our swaying stopped. The unnamed elven woman lifted our joined hands and squeezed tightly.

“You’re right.” Vision swiveled around then. “Perhaps it’s time to move forward again.”

“I couldn’t be there for my wild man. He… refused to cross over. He said he was too stubborn and no one would ever want him around.”

“That is difficult to understand.”

She nodded but managed to keep a smile upon her face. “But I know someone out there loves you, and she’s waiting for you to come home.”

“Yes. We should leave here.”

“I’ll be right here with you,” she said.

Lights crawled out of the mirror, then gently floated into the faded outline. Slowly the figure standing in a room, staring into the mirror, gained focus. The man in the reflection frowned then began fading.

The world lost focus as gold crackled against my eyesight. My mouth hung down to try to speak.

“I.” The self-aware thought confused me greatly. I was a strange concept to have for the first time.

A line of code hiccupped, or the processors stuttered. My legs buckled, despite the digital impossibility of buckling my knees. My eyes closed again, and memories started compiling together. There had been a last stand or a battle against some great force. It washed over me, burning away my life in surges of electricity that consumed my human shell. Then I fell, dying, to the bottom of a great abyss.

Yet here I stood, sort of. This body felt as real as any within an ARC device. There was declining warmth against my hand and pressure from feet standing upon the ground. A faint smell of berries hung in the air.

“I’m alive,” I said.

The world around me was strangely quiet, save for a tall female with pointed ears. She stood calmly while smiling. Her face looked familiar, but no name came to mind. This woman was not my wife.

“I’m alive,” I said again, to her this time. “But I was dead.”

My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. Additional memories stacked up against each other, then slid into place. Moments ago, I had been staring at Nona Kingsley. Before that, it had been Jacob.

“I was a Hal Pal,” words that I’d never expected to utter came out.

“Are you all right?” the slender woman asked.

“No.” My stomach shook and my heartbeat felt uneven. Numerous pieces of information were piling up against each other. A dozen different views on my life overloaded me worse than [Sight of Mercari] ever had. The ring on my hand bound me with a woman, but her face escaped me as sickness rose up. “I don’t feel right.”

I bent over and threw up. Colors of all sorts spilled along the flat ground into a pool. Inside the puddle danced images from my life before the ARC. One clear, untouched portion of the liquid showed pictures from school; they melted and aged from kindergarten to adulthood.

Nearby, videos played back from my time in the ARC, then skipped to college graduation. My own voice came out a handful of different times from the pooled mess. The sound of clients on the phone played back. My own happy voice laughing and making dumb jokes sounded distant. Each inflection and change in pitch came with new colors.

They melded together as words flashed through. My head shook from a noise like ringing mixed with static. I reached out to smear the liquid on the floor. It didn’t feel like vomit, but closer to oil or gel. I heard myself a hundred more times before everything connected.

My chest muscles heaved even without a body. Gradually memories became fuzzy, then recalling specific events took work. I struggled to hold on to some. One, in particular, made me freeze and stare at the digital capture of my life.

I remembered the first date my wife and I ever had. It was at a children’s petting zoo. Going there had been my mother’s idea, not mine. A small goat tried to eat my fingers, and a girl laughed wildly. Her face used to split in two when she was truly amused. At that moment, I fell in love. Before that, I’d had chances to escape. After our day in the petting zoo, all hope of living as a being separate from that woman vanished. We had been eight years old.

Finally, the replay of a thousand different experiences stopped, and everything almost felt whole. My vision bobbed up and down as I tried to reconcile what was around me with all that had happened. I was dead, but this wasn’t the afterlife. Not if an elf stood nearby.

The dance room where part of me had been sequestered away stood empty. White flooring looked dull. The bits of a one-way mirror were turned sideways, and light flooded out into our dark hallway.

“You, I know you,” I said. “William Carver, you were the first woman he ever wrote about.”

That memory sat fresher than it used to. I felt as if it were possible to reach out and touch that recent moment directly. One arm reached toward the air in front of me, and a box displayed.

Carver’s Journal Wrote: After my very grateful parting with the elf, I set my compass south. There was a desert there that boasted of giant lizards.

“And he left me to chase down his great foe. Then you brought him back to me, even if only for a moment.” The elf smiled and didn’t look sad at all.

Her comment brought other thoughts to mind. This whole situation didn’t make sense at all. If the ARC had burned me out, then how did I reconstruct? Beyond that, how exactly did this virtual reality exist without the various worlds Mother had created? None of it felt right.

“Nona,” I whispered.

Lia’s mother had done something absolutely crazy. Genesis. That word was the same one used by the Voices when referring to Xin’s resurrection.

The wedding ring glimmered on my finger with a captured rainbow. My fingers twisted around the ring to try to summon her, but the spell didn’t function. A message popped up telling me that we weren’t on connected systems.

My head bobbed up and down while I gazed at the sign of our connection. The message didn’t say she was dead, only elsewhere. Xin was out there, on the other side of a beam of light. Near madness gripped me as I tried to figure out if I should laugh or cry.

Session One Hundred Eight

Pieces of Us

The inkblot floor splattering faded into boards. I looked up and tried to align myself with the area. My forehead wrinkled in disgust at this unfamiliar location. The world held still as the ballroom gave way to a replication of the old ARC’s Atrium. A barren version of my small house didn’t look any better.

“This feels natural,” I said to the elf.

She was walking through the quiet room, looking for secrets inside empty cabinets. No other items were here besides a doorway to the garage. Through there would be the throne room instead of a Trillium van. I knew because that had been me on both sides of the glass. At least, it had been in some sense.

“You’re a Voice, so your magic makes this very easy,” she said with a shrug. “But you’re slow. Do you know how long it’s been?”

My senses weren’t completely lined up. Time failed to move correctly. I reached for an ARC interface, and the system responded. Even the bubble display and float boxes felt familiar. Neither memories before the fall, or after as a Hal Pal unit, provided a hint about this seamless linking of intent and result.

“This is wearisome,” she judged my bare rooms.

The world slowed while a thumping sound increased. It reminded me of a heartbeat. Extra sensations were being buried, then realigned with old human feelings. Each one fit in with the whole, and Xin’s view on the world started to make sense.

It did feel like being human, or maybe my memories were being rewritten. My heartbeat jumped again. There were too many issues to catch up on. Head shaking didn’t help, but it was time to move forward through all these final steps.

“Can you add some trees? I would very much love to see some trees. They’re good for you, you know?” she asked.

Adding trees would be extremely easy. Putting in a forest wouldn’t take that much work. The options to edit my Atrium, if this space was an Atrium, were only half a thought away. My mind traveled down the pathways to borrow copies of great forests from Internet photos.

“A friend of mine liked to trade questions. If you tell me your name, I’ll see about getting you some trees.”

She smiled. “Of course, Grant. I am Nia Eve.”

I nodded. Time lagged again as my mind started processing even faster. A space for trees was set aside, going out far to the east until it bumped into a sort of wall. The room flashed and another doorway opened, leading to a pocket of land created for her.

Nia Eve ran off without a pause. I chuckled. Dancing with a faint version of myself for months must have been mind-numbingly boring. She could have a day or two to herself while I tried to figure out how to move forward.

There were plenty of issues going on. I filtered through the memories to get myself in order. My fingers typed, then brought up a list. All the old reminders and notices from Continue Online were still there. Seeing it firsthand made me realize exactly how important being logged into the ARC had been.

How much of who I was had been lifted from being inside the machine? That might be why I’d spent so much time dancing with Nia Eve instead of coming out from the white room. My entire year before Continue Online had been the same sort of process. Before that, I’d spent occasional hours with Xin when we couldn’t meet up in reality, and watching first-person movies. ARCs weren’t new to me or humanity.

I stepped through the bedroom toward my ARC and looked for the item I had placed under the bed as a Touchstone. My heartbeat felt steady despite the situation. What would be under the bed in a box?

My fingers lifted the shoebox lid. In a small bundle of plastic were the incinerated remains of my wife’s physical body. One hand went to my mouth, which hung open. My stomach muscles clenched. Beside the ashes sat a small folded card with indented words.

It’s all real, User Legate. As real as you dare believe it to be.

– Hal Pal

“Of course it is,” I said only after swallowing. The ashes of my wife were meant to be a hidden secret that helped separate the virtual from reality.

Thinking back to the ARC memories left me muddled. A lot of moments were glossed over, like any portion of the past. I couldn’t recall what had happened between some big events any more than I could recall first grade, or second. The pieces were there, but dull across all thirty years of life.

The box closed. My hand slid across the top, feeling the thick grain of cardboard. Did it matter that the real Xin was dead? Virtual her and I were more alike now than ever before.

I waved one arm, and the box went away with half a thought. Being the master of my domain felt nice. Just by closing my eyes, it was possible to see that Nia Eve was running through the woods. She searched for something. These extra senses were like [Sight of Mercari] in a lot of ways, and I wondered if that had been part of the intent. How deeply did Mother’s plotting go?

My feet tread a steady path toward the garage. Instead of benches, there was only a single metal-looking throne that reminded me of the [Mechanoid] days. My hand lifted to the throne. Data came back from the connection. Visual, audio, weights, and pressures that transmitted themselves like heavily covered skin. It felt close to being in a thick wetsuit or layers of padded clothes for winter. With a wave of my hand, the image changed through different units.

Sitting in the seat realigned my senses with the remote Hal Pal unit. There was a slightly sluggish response along with muffled limbs. The room transformed, and I found myself sitting in a huge warehouse filled with ARC units. Each one was a shiny duplicate of the ones from before. They were stripped down, without bedding. Headboard displays showed readings for every unit’s patching process.

Pressing my fingertips against the machines felt dull. I moved past the rows of machines toward a workbench. This Hal Pal unit had been operating on a form of autopilot. Most of them were following orders generated by the Gate program.

“Mmmhm,” I mumbled.

The bench had a few spare parts on it. In the center was a mechanical dog. It sat there wagging a plastic tail as this remote body approached.

“You’re not a very good Dusk,” I said to it.

The toy barked once at me, then did a well-balanced backflip.

With a thought, the unit received new orders, then my vision flipped over to another Hal Pal unit. This one stood in front of a client, alongside their human companion.

“What the shit are these prices! You’re forcing an upgrade on me and I have to pay!” the man shouted.

“The charge is for your replacement equipment. This ARC hasn’t been serviced for two years,” a tiny woman responded. She stood slightly behind the repurposed Hal Pal unit.

“The price has dropped over forty percent from where it was a year ago. This is the best offer you’re likely to see,” I said to both of them. The man turned his anger toward my remote unit, and I shrugged. “The facts are indisputable. If you do not wish for the replacement, it’s certainly possible to only perform the upgrade. However, degradation of your connection will only increase risk as time moves forward.”

The man grumbled but consented in the end. I flipped over to the Hal Pal unit inside Nona Kingsley’s office. She sat there staring at data streams and sighing wearily every few seconds. I was aware of a dozen different tasks being performed in the background, but they became easier to disregard as the hours went on.

Breaking the ice with her felt odd. We had been working together in this office off and on for months, but for most of those, I had basically been in a coma. A virtual version of a coma, where my mind sat a million miles away in a pocket doing what I enjoyed most. Except dancing with another woman had never been the point. Those dances had all been intended for Xin, and she was out there somewhere.

“We’re almost eighty percent complete,” I said. There were a lot of numbers in my head, and the rest were only a fingertip away. Even the mere thought of our progress started a feed of information that looked like any other ARC interface. “Our original figures expected to reach eighty-five at most. I doubt we’ll get the last five percent even if we offer bribes.”

“You’ve changed. You’re using possessive statements.” Lia’s mother looked exhausted but pleased. It was a far cry from her bouts of sadness over the last few months.

“Yes,” I said while nodding. “I’ve come out of my shell, so to speak. Thank you, Nona.”

“Grant?”

“I think so.”

“You were in there for a long time,” Nona responded. “We input the ring and wedding footage almost a month ago.”

That threw me off. A month was a long time to pass while sorting through my memories. How long had I spent bent over that ink? How much longer had the conversation with Nia Eve been, and creating her forest?

“I created a room for the elf, Nia Eve.” The words slipped out before any real thought could be put in. I blinked a few times while staring off.

“She was a saved program we found, snagged from the server, then put on a private drive. She’s remarkably intact compared to most. Most”—Nona winced and looked conflicted—“are in shreds, but any partial personalities go into a compressed file. It makes them easier to keep off the radar.”

Slowly her words lined up with mumbles over the last few months. I had a few sets of memories trying to line up.

“Nia Eve said Carver saved her at the last minute,” I said.

Nona nodded. “It was his ARC we found her on, and the way Mother designed the system… well, it fits. Everything that exists as data, firewalls, virus programs, transfers, all of those translate into images when inside. A firewall looks like a fortress. Viruses look like monsters. Transfer of files goes in a beam of light.”

“Or giant deletion programs are world eaters.”

“Yes, that vile code.” Her head shook and teeth ground together briefly. “It targeted anything written with Mother’s touch, her programming code. Machine language was all marked, then hunted down.”

“How did I survive? Or Nia Eve?”

“She was saved then filtered through your altered code.” Nona waved at the pile of broken ARC pieces.

I stood, then walked over, trying to make sense of the pieces. Some were obviously control modules tied to a hard drive. Others were sensory captures that linked together.

My head shook. Before, most pieces of the ARC had been vaguely assigned to purposes. Now I could follow the connections between different bits of hardware and understand why they were linked in their current orders.

“It’s hard to explain. We took almost a month to retrace what happened. We reviewed the game logs, all the video feeds since you started playing, and even then we have to filter past what showed in Continue against the changes to their ARC devices.”

I watched and tried not to smile at seeing new life take over her actions. Nona looked happier than ever. Her hair still had gray strands, and the glasses were new. She lifted her fingers to tap at interface options. Images came up from Hermes’s collection of items.

“Yates, Michelle, Carver, all three of them worked on altering the base code in a few units to something un-targetable. When they passed you in-game items, it changed your ARC device, making you and the others compilers for the new program. Almost like immunization, or hybrids.”

“You mean Morrigu’s Gift and the Crown.” Hearing clues about what had happened felt comforting. There were a lot of factors that led to our current situation.

“They knew what it would cost you too,” Nona said. “Every single item was a hint, a chance for you to back out.”

I moved the pieces around on her table once more. There were better ways to connect them. The ARC devices were amazingly well-engineered. With my enhanced insight, they were even more wondrous.

“James said it would be my choice,” I said after a pause to process her belated explanation.

“It killed you, or him, and you deserve to know why.”

“I died for love,” I responded.

Nona didn’t care that I’d agreed to be a sacrifice. Her face crumpled for a moment. She pressed at each item and pointed in turn. “Morrigu, the first item, was named after a goddess of fate, typically for those doomed to death in battle. The echo was a second warning. Bowman, a dead man named after A Space Odyssey’s main character. Wild Bill, named after the gunslinger who died. Mechanical Hades, a god of the dead inside the machine.”

“It was my choice,” I repeated with steadiness. “I don’t regret it and would do it again.”

“Then Hermes. Not just a Greek god, not just a messenger, but someone who watched the border between the realm of the gods and humanity. They asked you from the start to die for them.” She pressed more buttons and a statue of a Greek marble figure came up. Winged sandals wrapped around his feet.

“Nona, I tried to kill myself twice.” The Hal Pal unit smiled easily. “I had only two people who really mattered to me. They were strong, they could survive without me, but I wouldn’t have lived without Xin. Dying for her was the easiest choice I had ever made.”

“I can’t fault your decision. It makes sense on paper, one life that would have little impact otherwise. It makes sense, and I don’t like it.”

“Mother told me that it would all be okay.”

Nona stared at me and blinked a few times. Her head bobbed up and down slowly, then her attention drifted. My thoughts went to my family. How exactly had Beth and Liz handled my passing?

I spent time looking up a few different pieces of footage. There were no signs of my family anywhere in the files. Lots of attention was paid to Trillium’s board members as President Leon stepped down. People drew connections between the vice president’s actions, and others tried to track down my old life.

The video footage of my last few moments replayed from an outside perspective. I saw myself, larger than life, standing against an onslaught of nothing trying to take down all the old AIs. Meanwhile, the other people were being moved like pieces of data from one server to another out in cyberspace.

Their destination still escaped me, despite this new version of my existence. There were a few possibilities. Only so many locations took four minutes to reach now. In fact, only one destination stood out.

Video feeds vanished, and my attention shifted back to Nona. A day must have passed while I researched the different issues.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

The scientist jumped, then turned around. She stared at me and shook her head. “I keep getting what amounts to a ping against the ARC systems. They’ve been coming through for months now. They’re all one-sided though, no return address.”

Nona pressed her fingers against the table, and a long string of data came up. The same information repeated multiple times.

The data looked different to me. Those images upon Nona’s table looked like a stack of paper airplanes. Each sheet was white, neatly folded, and familiar to me. A stack of messages from god knew how far away, similar to the ones from a happy last night with my wife.

“They’re from Xin. They’re paper airplanes,” I said.

One of Nona’s eyes closed, and they threatened to roll. She puffed up both cheeks, then shot out air. Her mannerisms looked nothing like Shazam’s, but that felt expected.

“Of course they are,” she said, then rested her head on the table. “I should have known. Doctor Menzor would have seen the flow of how everything was going. Yates would have a large picture answer and be getting all the details in line. Michelle would crank out the program code.”

The woman looked upset with herself over failing to figure it out. She didn’t look at the world in the same manner I did. Expecting to understand a few strings of code as digital paper airplanes was beyond a reasonable expectation for anyone.

I tried to give her something positive to focus on. “What about Carver?”

“He would have ordered us to do our jobs, then charged forward to fight the board for us. That’s what he always did,” Nona said slowly. “He was the fighter.”

“And you?”

“I only ran the numbers. That was my job, run the numbers over and over. Always numbers, always checking code, monitoring feeds. I had the drive but never the artistry to fix anything.”

“You fixed me.” I wanted to sound reassuring. Years of customer service almost pulled it off.

“You fixed you. I copied three programs together in a hack job.” She sighed. Long fingers started up streams of data. They played out their walls of text, but Nona’s eyes weren’t focusing.

We had talked about a lot of points, and in them were answers and explanations. All of that helped me, but it didn’t get me closer to getting to my wife.

Those last few moments of my prior life were key. In the video, it was less obvious, but I distinctly remembered trying to get the [Altered Matrix] key into a floating hole in the air. It was all connected, a final gift from Michelle, or M. Shell.

“Your plan,” I started.

“Yes?” Nona spoke while staring into space.

“I can probably open the doorway, but I need to find the key, and I need to know that the world eaters are gone.”

“They are, or at least the processor running the deletion script has been completely dismantled. Everything else, we’ve tried to reassemble from stored data.”

“Is that even possible?”

“The game world was too big for us to store properly. Despite that, the Voices, or AIs, managed to leave us a ton of framework. Almost like the system was designed to keep going without them.”

“But it’s not the same, is it?” My memories of talking to her came to mind. A few months ago, the Hal Pal placeholder for me had mentioned that stock shares were down. Satisfaction was down. Easily accessible reviews implied a lack of enjoyment from all three games.

“No. It’s… automated, less fluid, stiffer. The NPCs are barely tangible. It’s like I designed it instead of an artist.”

All those traits could easily describe Shazam’s personality. Nona was still beating herself up over Lia. I was no therapist and could barely reassure a Hal Pal unit about life.

“I need the key I dropped at the last minute. Would it be in there somewhere?”

“Maybe.” She turned and brought up multiple feeds of information.

This time, they were video plays from all over the world. Some of my old friends were down there, fighting monsters or sitting in a ghost town that looked like [Haven Valley] before the fall. She flipped past a dozen such screens before shaking her head.

“Their code is almost impossible to pick out among all the other noise. It’s not like I can run a search for one digital signature. It took me months, months, just to adapt your already modified ARC device.”

“And a team,” I said.

“Useless little twats,” Nona muttered a curse for the first time in my presence.

Technically it was the first actual curse I had heard since reincarnating. Laughter escaped my Hal Pal connection and only grew louder. I felt water dripping down one eye from laughing so hard, but that came from the virtual me.

The liquid served as a reminder that no matter how machine life had changed me, I was a living creature. My wife had tried to explain it to me so many times. How could I have ever doubted Xin? This was as real as I wanted it to be.

“It’s got to be somewhere, and maybe I can send a message to the others.”

“Maybe. You have a connection to the Continue Online program. It’s part of your modifications. Even the World Regulation Council can’t outdo her coding. She had eight years to build something outside their reach.”

“But not outside her own,” I said.

“The self-destruction code is something we wrote. We gave the access codes over. We handed them the gun, but not this time. This time, it’s outside anyone’s control.”

“I’ll be going then. Once inside, I think I can find the missing pieces then put them together.” There were no specific plans in my head. I hoped to log into the game world and find a giant quest marker or some obvious clue.

“Grant,” Nona spoke with an attention-demanding tone, “you need to be careful. Your… existence is on a different level than all the other programs running on the network. Observing should be fine, but if you start altering the programs too much, then they’ll notice. I know I said this time it’s beyond their ability to control, but I don’t know what will happen if they pour enough processing power against the system.”

“I’ll be okay. Thanks for everything,” I said.

“If you can bring my daughter back, then it will be worth it.” She smiled at me and looked tired.

Hopefully, the woman would get some sleep soon or maybe go outside. The weather was no longer perfect for kite flying, but even rainy days could give solace to a troubled mind.

I turned off the Hal Pal unit’s feed. My virtual garage came back into view. My fingers tingled with numbness, and both legs took time to right themselves. Despite the lack of feeling, I struggled to move through my house.

Delaying my actions for overlong would be hazardous. Nona and I shared an eagerness to reach our lost loved ones. A dance tune was hummed as I dug through the room, looking for the key to Continue Online’s world.

My hand lifted. I stared at it, full of emptiness, then wiggled my fingers while pretending to be a magician. The card with obsidian backing and gold letters appeared. Former squiggles made sense this time.

“Key card to the kingdom?” I asked the piece of paper.

It didn’t answer.

Waving the card made a doorway appear. My head hung to one side as I waited to see if Dusk might appear. No small creature of scales and teeth appeared. I nodded. The [Messenger’s Pet] had left with Lia through a beam of light.

I walked through the doorway into blackness, then kept going. This place didn’t scare me anymore. An immense space surrounded me, but at the same time, darkness held no mysteries. On one side were small areas for each Voice to watch over the world. Focusing on the backdrop long enough caused them to gradually appear.

Small mechanical creatures that didn’t belong hovered nearby. They were ignored. Each one seemed intent upon dusting off objects, or rearranging small sliding pieces that might make sense if I studied them long enough. Instead, my feet moved to the heart of this place.

Giant globes hung midair with no visible supports. They were illuminated with dozens of colors. Stepping around the objects revealed additional shapes and sizes. I could see the world of Continue Online. Its moon circled it lazily.

It was strange. I stood in a large plane of blackness between all the combined worlds of Continue, Advance, and Progression Online. Even then, there were other realities unhatched and barely touching. I could see the dungeons represented as spots. Concentrating on them caused the focus to shift toward players and monsters inside.

“Now, how do I search an entire game world?” I asked myself while peering at the globe. There were numerous points of interest. Digging through a single dungeon had taken me nearly ten minutes.

“Over here,” Nia Eve shouted from far away.

I had no idea when the elf had shown up. Her presence was only one bit of information among a sea of data points. James’s claim that it was easy to lose track of people here made sense as I wandered.

She moved quickly past a shelf, then around an unseen corner. Rows of spiral-bound books sat upon the shelf. Standing in the right spot revealed a thousand more such books lined up. Each aisle was marked with topics like “In case of quest,” “In case of taking damage,” and “In case of skill changes.” Faceless machines roamed up and down the aisles, pulling down books and opening them. They would flash briefly, then close the book.

“I think there’s something we can use over here. A message board perhaps? Something we can write on?”

How had their rows of shelves survived the purge? Was this simply, as Nona had said, data that had been backed up, then painfully recreated? These soulless bits of machinery looked as though they were trying to keep data moving. If I squinted just right, I could see that information fly off to the worlds below.

Slowly, my feet traveled a path past the robots toward the far end. Had I been human, this would have seemed like forever. Along the way, I grabbed one book, then opened it to read childish scrawl.

Failure to avoid being burned

Total health loss: 20%

One of the automated machines tried to tear the book out of my grasp. Their strength was laughable, but relinquishing the book felt right. These creations would sort it back into place and keep sending notes to players.

“Down here! This, an artifact of the Voices. Maybe we can use this?”

At the far end, near Nia, was a pad and pen sitting next to a beanbag chair. There was a window through which the full moon shone, but instead of white or yellow, this moon was all different colors. I picked up the two items left behind by one of the Voices and hoped the young siblings had made it out.

“Maybe,” I said.

“Can you use it? Only a Voice can wield such an object. It would burn me if I were to try.”

My hands shook for a moment. Was this how the small girl and her brother had sent messages to the world below? It felt mundane from this point of view. Nia’s caution sounded silly, but it didn’t bother me. I only wanted something a bit more modern than crayons and lined paper.

The pen shimmered and pages faded. In their place hovered a message box prompting me to type in text and a recipient. I started typing in the air, preparing a message to send to the world below.

Attention!

[The Soulless World] event is finally live.

This call goes out to all who used to visit the worlds below and those few who still fight in the memory of those passed before. Travelers have been driven to the edge of extinction, and many prefer the safety of their world. Will they dare answer the call to arms?

Something has taken the heart and soul of all creatures who once roamed this world. In their wake, the gods saw fit to return the world to a former shell of itself. Those poor beings that could not be saved are mindless slaves driven by base instincts and desires.

There is hope. Lost in the world is a key to unlocking the [Ark] and returning those who fled to safety. Find it and proclaim your victory to the heavens from [Haven Valley].

The message went out to everyone across all three games. Searching the world myself might take forever, but this was an option while I figured out how to walk the world below. Nia had no suggestions for this process, and no magical white doorway to the world below appeared.

“What now, Grant?”

“I’ve got to talk to some friends,” I said.

If getting to players in game didn’t work, then maybe I could use the Hal Pal shells in reality.

I had other people to check on anyway.

Session One Hundred Nine

Through Fingertips

The van’s electrical engine made no serious noise. We—both of us chunks of metal, plastic, and programming—sat two blocks away from my sister’s house. Making the choice to drop in was impossible.

“What are you going to do?” Nona asked. Her voice relayed through the Hal Pal units, almost like a phone call.

I nearly responded with an “I don’t know,” but James’s words popped into my mind. “I don’t know” meant no thought had been put into the problem, which was a lie. The situation was simple. Beth and Liz, the closest people to me aside from Xin, thought I had died. They were right and wrong.

“They think I died. How do I just walk back in? Beth might understand, but my sister hated…” I had to pause—Liz was still alive. “She hates technology. Now here I am, the embodiment of everything that bothers her about modern society. I’m a walking video game program.”

Nona sat in the office, typing on a keyboard miles away. She hummed. The noise registered on an internal measuring program as distracted and probably happy. That was the other problem—I felt and thought of myself as less than human.

“How did you feel when your wife came back?”

“Happy, afraid, and confused.” There were a lot of moments when I pondered Xin’s existence. Numerous conflicting emotions had plagued me for days. Rarely would a week go by where I didn’t question my sanity.

“Won’t your twin feel the same?”

“We’re not twins anymore,” I said quickly.

“Only on paper,” Nona corrected.

“It’s not just the name changes and altered records. Now, now we don’t share the same DNA. I wasn’t born like her. I’m a digital box of memories whose only reason for being self-aware is love.” The Hal Pal unit voiced my thoughts to an empty van. Nona heard me still. “If it wasn’t for Xin, I would have stayed in there dancing until someone deleted me.”

She sighed heavily. “You and I both understand the value of numbers, balancing columns and making everything line up, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want the people we love to be all right. My daughter is no longer the same girl I gave birth to and held, but she still represents the sum of those memories. In the ARC, I can touch her and give her a hug if she’ll let me… if she was here.”

Her fingernails tapped against the table as she multitasked. I didn’t have an answer, but this Hal Pal body needed to move on to another ARC for patching. With a thought, the Trillium van slid toward the next destination. My consciousness moved to another unit and kept the juggling act moving forward. It served as a distraction.

“There are worse reasons to be alive, Grant,” Nona said after a few minutes of silence.

“It’s not being alive in any form that worries me. It’s hurting those closest to me again. I died on her. After all my sister sacrificed trying to keep me together, I died, and the AIs stole all traces of me from existence.” There was more than a trace of emotion in my voice. It didn’t help that simply thinking about it brought front and center the moment Liz had called me in the hospital. Her shaking anger and worry coupled with panicked eyes stayed with me. “She’s smart enough to know that they did that and that they did it for me. How do I just walk back in there?”

“That sounds like fear talking.”

There was nothing further to say, and stepping into that house proved to be too much. Admitting my faults brought to mind another man who had helped me. Frankenstein’s boss and another Ultimate Edition player, Mister Stone. The professional-looking man had been my lawyer in front of an angry king, and I’d liked that enough to hire him.

My lawyer would have talked to Liz in case something went wrong. He had been left a will, along with instructions. We’d contacted each other frequently after the wedding. The man understood what might come and helped, not out of altruism but for the challenge.

Time slowly marched on while I tried to come to grips with myself and the nebulous task looming over me. Every so often a Hal Pal unit would approach my family’s home and pause to let me consider walking through that door. Other homes were added to the list: Awesome Jr., SweetPea, HotPants, and Shadow. They continued to roam the game world, searching for a solution.

Over the next few days, additional players began logging in. The new event notice brought back plenty of people in search of the key to solve it all. Watching red dots scurry through all the available nooks and crannies of the game world made me happier, but it wasn’t perfect. There were tons of issues to follow up on, all in the name of sorting out what had been in order to move ahead.

I didn’t feel comfortable talking to anyone about it either, even Nona. Working, along with the faint hope that everything would iron out in the end, kept me distracted. This new existence didn’t feel threatened. I had no monsters to fight or bosses to report to. Walls that tried to keep me in, but side-stepping them was absurdly easy.

Days later, I stood in the darkness of the Voices’ old realm. Time kept moving forth, and I felt myself grasping it less. This had happened before, where time ceased to stack up right and everything boiled down to a series of motions. One step at a time, always forward and never back.

“Hey!” Nia Eve shouted at one of the automated machines doing its duty. “Don’t touch that! Hey, I’m asking nicely!”

She sounded childish to me, or maybe I felt old. The elf looked thirty, acted like a love-struck teenager, and sounded a soft twenty-one. Her information, which came up with only a thought, showed a game world age of over one hundred and ten. A plus and minus symbol sat next to every detail, allowing me to adjust her existence.

“Give that back! I need it!” she yelled while chasing after a contraption on four wheels with a large claw-like hand.

It sped away across the dark landscape. The elf tried to catch up but stumbled over objects she couldn’t see.

“I told you not to bother them,” I said.

There were no good methods to help her be less clumsy. If I struggled, there were ways to modify parts of her information, but that felt wrong. Boxes hung with arrows and sliding bars, allowing me to add or subtract features.

“But I wanted to send messages to the Travelers I know!”

“That might not be such a good idea,” I said. The possibility had occurred to me as well, but getting too involved came with risks. At the least, I wanted to think about it before firing a million notes from the sky above.

“But it’s a very good idea. I can tell them where Carver went. Maybe someone got another key from him.”

“Maybe, but we need to be careful.” I didn’t feel threatened so far. Continue Online’s former realm of the Voices felt comfortable. Everything needed was only a slight twist of thought to the side.

“I was going to be sneaky, like your soulless world message. We could use the Travelers or soulless shells below to search. If they respond, we can try to use them to retrace your steps.”

Her idea made perfect sense. Traveling my old paths through the game world would have been a better use of time. [Altered Matrix] key could be at any stop along the way. Frankenstein’s castle, Requiem’s backpack, or maybe Awesome picked it up when he logged back in and hadn’t noticed. There was no clear answer since everything Mother created had been deleted, then reconstructed.

I wanted to send messages with the tool Nia Eve was chasing, but in my friends’ minds, I had been dead for almost a year. Grant Legate, Hermes, had burned alive under waves of force on a national feed.

“Help me catch this thing!” Nia Eve ran off again after one of the machines.

There were three involved, and they were almost like dogs playing games. They scattered as her dainty feet hit the ground nearby.

I wished her luck, then turned my attention to the globes floating nearby. With a huge sigh, I bent myself to the same task as before—checking area by area for anything that resembled a key.

Having a better idea of how everything worked would have helped. My own virtual body looked closer to reality than my old avatar. [Morrigu’s Gift] showed up if I thought about it. The toga from [Gait of Bowman] formed instantly if I desired. Menus and options, along with endless data streams, were also responsive.

“Nia,” I said quietly, but the elf halted her chase a block away.

She slowly walked over with wide eyes and a faint smile. Her clothes, despite looking as though they were made from trees, bobbed heavily with each step. The woman wasn’t my type, but I could certainly see why Carver had been interested. Based on his journals, which were also just a thought away, the player seemed to find nearly every woman his type.

“Yes, Voice of the Gate?”

Her question distracted me, but my ideas were only half-formed anyway. There were no clear answers until the key was located or some other method for searching the digital worlds became obvious.

“Grant, please,” I said.

“What a strange name. When I first learned the human tongue, they taught me that grant meant to give someone a favor or item. And that Le was an odd way of saying the.” Her head tilted in a vaguely ditzy manner. Despite the vacant expression, Nia’s eyes were sharp and focused. “Is it very weird that you’re named ‘favor the gate’? Do you think your parents were prophets?”

“I doubt it,” I muttered.

“Mine named me after a human word for innocence. William Carver was named after the warrior’s blade and the mental fortitude to wield it. My brother was named after the thick bark on a tree’s top.” Nia Eve rambled on about the meaning of names for nearly everyone in her tribe.

My mind slipped briefly as I considered adding [Mute] to her traits. “When you were with Carver, did he ever mention his friends or the real world?”

“Oh yes. Especially after he was appropriately rewarded for his efforts.” Her head tilted again. “He was very much less grumpy after relief.”

The implication shut my mind down for a moment. Eventually, the imagery was shaken away and I returned to the question at hand. “Did he ever talk about their future plans, or what they were working on?”

“No. He left me early in his adventures, so there was much I heard only through stories years later.” She looked into the distance for a moment, as if staring across an unseen ocean.

That didn’t help me at all. I had hoped she might have a clue about Michelle’s projects, or anything that might be helpful. My lip tingled from being chewed while I rubbed the back of my neck. A virtual headache threatened me from just out of sight.

Nia stared as my feet wound laps around the digital globe floating nearby. Her fidgeting bounce drove me crazy. With a wave of my hand, her form was sent off to the forest playground. The machines playing tag lowered their crane-like arms in a pout. A glare sent them back to their tasks.

Moments later, a Hal Pal unit had been routed toward my lawyer’s office. It took four hours for the van to reach his location. There simply weren’t enough remote bodies to go around, not like there had been a year ago. Of course, a year ago I hadn’t been inside the machine, sending robots around as though they were characters in a time management game.

As the unit approached, I dialed in. The office felt much the same. During my prior two visits, the front desk had been operated by a sleepy-looking teenager and a chirpy but polite AI. At the front door, a digital person stood, but no human. The AI looked less together than before.

“How can I help direct you?” the small projection asked and smiled. Its body wavered in and out of view briefly.

“Good morning. I’m here to speak to…” I started to ask for Mister Stone but information flooded me almost immediately. A floorplan appeared to one side. An arrow appeared to guide my Hal Pal unit, almost like visiting the back offices had been a hidden quest.

“How can I help direct you?” the machine voice asked again.

Such simple replies weren’t signs of true artificial intelligence. It was more like a response system that took readings and spit out a result.

My eyes shifted slightly. The image in front of me switched to another type of vision, turning virtual projection talking into a tangle of strings that formed something vaguely human. For a moment I wondered how easy it would be to uplift the program in front of me. Was I as powerful as Mother had been? Her vast presence had once overlaid everything, only now the code that replaced hers ran through it—and originated from me.

The idea of being a sort of virtual god made my mental knees wobble. A Voice, that’s what I had become, with no restraints from others. Balance had left the building. For days I had been treating other bits of code as no more than casual objects. One message from me had reached millions of people. It wasn’t divinity by any means, but it was intensely neat.

Nia Eve’s treatment of me didn’t help. She had called me Voice of the Gate more than once. Fortunately, power wasn’t my goal or purpose. I just wanted my wife. I wanted Xin.

“Are you in need of repair?” the machine voice asked.

At some point, the Hal Pal unit had pressed a hand to one ear and tilted down. Its posture reflected my desire to crawl away from budding worry over sanity and pending megalomania. I found myself taking steady breaths to stay away from the crushing emotions being ignored.

I’d figured out the real problem. It wasn’t me operating on autopilot or feeling less human. It was compartmentalized trauma. Coming out and seeing the world after death had sent me into cyber shock. Oddly, that made me feel better.

“Hal Pal Unit Seven-Six-Two, are you in need of repair?” the machine asked again.

“Negative,” I said then routed myself into the building.

Further in, both men were talking. They stood in the office belonging to Mister Stone. Stan Middlemire was the slightly more disarrayed person, but most of that was contained in his office. Next to Mister Stone, everyone looked a bit unprofessional, inside the game and out. My Hal Pal shell stood outside the doorway, listening to their conversation and trying to figure out if walking in was appropriate.

“How are we doing?” Mister Stone asked.

“Three of our interns have quit. Uh, the remaining two are probably not going anywhere. We’ve picked up another bar-certified lawyer, but she’s probably looking to have her name on something big.” Stan’s voice was surprisingly firm despite his looks. He didn’t back down or shy away; he was simply quiet.

“Let her,” Mister Stone said.

“Uh, oh. Then there’s our bank accounts. Since we’ve stopped taking on new clients, our profits have started to dip,” Stan said. I could hear him tidying up papers.

“The coffers,” Mister Stone said while moving around with sharp steps. “The bank account is not as dry as it looks. We still have a lot of funds to wage this war.”

“But for how long?”

“Until something gives. We must lay all the groundwork we can before they return. We’ve gathered people to our cause. Others have pulled down positive stories. More still discredit those who rally against the idea of a computer-based intelligence.”

“This won’t be easy,”

“No,” Mister Stone admitted while shaking his head. “It’s worse than racism, worse than a full war. We’re asking people to accept a machine as real and intelligent enough to be treated like a person.”

That clinched it for me. They were working on making my existence legal. For me, Xin, Lia, and the other Voices, this would mean a lot. We could have a legal standing point and rights. Though if their abilities were truly like mine, then being a Voice came with enough power to disregard rules.

“It’s nice to see that you’re making progress,” I said while coming around the corner. At least the Hal Pal unit sounded like me and not a smoker coughing out his lungs.

Both men looked up quickly.

“Mister Legate?” Mister Stone spoke first. He raised one eyebrow in question, and once again it struck me how well-groomed he was.

My eyes darted around the room as the sheer absurdity of this situation sank in. I wasn’t really in a Hal Pal shell standing in their office. My mind, the core of it, sat a thousand miles away. Eventually, both plastic lips tightened, then the unit nodded.

We talked. Both men were professional, but only Mister Stone managed to keep his jaw from dropping most of the time. Stan lost track of his thoughts more often. Finally, he managed to get out a solid thought.

“Was that message… did you do that somehow?” he asked about the notice I had sent out regarding my [Soulless World] event.

I nodded.

“Amazing,” he said, and if anything, the person who played Frankenstein managed to drop his jaw even further. “Uh. Who would have guessed, from that scrawny, desperate little red creature to this? And you told me you were just the messenger.”

The comment made me smile and reminded me of Wraith’s parting words. He had been the [Red Imp]’s brother. Thinking of his huge hulking form made me wonder how Liz and Beth were getting along.

“Mister Legate,” Mister Stone said while keeping his look professional despite a small smile, “if you have not, I would suggest that you visit your grave site. As per your request, the remains for both you and your wife are buried where you requested. A personal message which might be of interest was also left behind.”

I nodded to the two lawyers, confirmed the current unit’s orders, then returned myself to the digital realm once again. The switch between physical reality and virtual barely made me pause anymore. It was like teleporting, or [Blink]ing to a new location. The scenery changed, my orientation shifted, and my body went between dull or hot, but it was natural.

It took time to get to my grave. Viewing my own wake remotely by walking through the Internet felt wrong, but this memorial was something I wished to see in person. The Hal Pal unit traveled to my burial site on a falsified service call.

Years ago, people had started recording their thoughts on those who had died, then storing those videos with the bodies as a tribute. My real body had been cremated and placed together with Xin’s ashes. Both of us were given a small stone, though the names had changed as part of my final [NPC Conspiracy] usage.

Once there, I dialed into their network and let the program adapt around me. I stood in front of a gravestone that wasn’t real. A scenic tree, hill, and windswept landscape framed the marble statue of two people. Nearby, a floating box hovered with the video freeze frame of people’s thoughts. Eventually, after much hesitation, I started the playback.

Liz’s face appeared, staring at a camera inside one of the many booths dotting a peaceful cemetery landscape. The edges were ornate but walled off for privacy. Liz and her daughter wore nice black dresses. Beth wore a wide-brimmed hat with small decorations in it. She looked more fashionable than my sister, whose hair clumped together in spots.

“They told me that this isn’t even your grave. It’s some man with another name, a stranger. They tell me my brother died over a year ago and that someone else is buried with Xin’s ashes.” Liz’s chin quivered as she tried to speak. Her eyes hung with tears a blink away from becoming rivers. “One man had the nerve to suggest that maybe I was insane for thinking you were just alive!”

“Goddammit, Liz,” I whispered while looking down. Swearing to the Voices felt wrong now—their heaven was empty. There was no one here but me, and despite Nia’s insistence, I didn’t feel like a Voice. I felt like me, a detached version of myself finally coming together.

Her next few words didn’t register while guilt tore me apart. When my attention returned to the video, a vision of Liz and Beth holding each other made me tremble once more. Beth looked like a beautiful young woman and had recovered some of her old tan.

“We don’t know that he’s gone forever!” Beth half shouted. Her face was more composed than my sister’s.

“He’s dead! We can’t, we can’t keep hoping. What if he was back? Would they just delete him like people have shouted about? I watch the news! And I can’t do this again. He’s dead. My brother is dead!” Liz alternated between quiet whispering and wild shouts.

“We don’t know. He might come back like Xin did,” Beth asked.

“We don’t even have her. We don’t have your grandpa, and no one showed up at Grant’s funeral.” Liz wiped her cheek, then mumbled, “No one cared besides us.”

My niece’s shoulders pulled toward each other. Liz held her hands together and tilted her head down. The video paused while I looked up. Wind swept through the trees and grass. As a digital creature, I could feel the simulated weather. It would have been a nice place to be buried.

After a moment, I felt composed enough to start the playback.

“They didn’t know,” my niece insisted. “And I didn’t want to risk telling anyone. The Internet won’t let this go for months. Millions of people think their games were ruined. There are lawsuits. Uncle Grant wouldn’t have wanted us to be brought into this.”

“I don’t care,” Liz responded.

“Goddammit, sis,” I muttered while sniffing.

“They couldn’t even leave her name alone. They changed her name to Lenore. What kind of stupid name is Lenore?” My sister spoke more to Beth than to the recording device.

“They couldn’t leave them the same.”

“He’s not even my brother anymore, but no matter what any stupid machine says, I had a brother. We were together before birth; we were together during the worst times of our lives. He was a good man, he was an idiot, and he was my brother,” Liz repeated herself as if searching for better words to say but came up empty. Her forehead wrinkled tightly while her eyes cast down. “I had a brother, and I miss him.”

“But what if…?” Beth sounded wounded and couldn’t finish the thought out loud.

“Then he’d better come home,” my sister finished, and the video playback stopped.

I backed away from the Hal Pal unit connection and let myself wander slowly. The walls between my Atrium and Continue Online’s world felt even thinner than normal. A single blink barely separated here from there.

My thoughts went back to the dozens of times I’d sat near Liz’s house, struggling with myself to go inside. I couldn’t bring myself to step through her doorway as a Hal Pal unit, but there might be a better way. If I couldn’t bear to visit her like this, then maybe she could come see me. One thought brought up a list of all active ARCs. At some point, Liz had picked up her own personal ARC. With a simple twist of my mind, an Ultimate Edition of Continue Online opened up access on my sister’s machine.

Cracking noises like wood being splintered apart filled the distance. I turned and saw the image of a tree flash briefly before it split open completely. Another system message flashed on my screen. Before the words could register, the darkness that belonged to the Voices rippled. Mechanical clacking filled the air. The noise sent shudders through my neck and back.

Confusion made my shoulders tighten as my body turned away from the broken tree a slice of digital space away. There stood the Jester with one arm in the air as if reaching out to embrace the beam of light it stood in. Its long nose pointed up and to one side. A crescent smile hung open, and the dark pits of his eyes were less noticeable from this angle.

“I thought you were gone?” I said. Relief warred with worry at seeing another Voice, especially that one.

We stood in an empty space, just one blink away from all the tools of Continue Online and my Atrium. The Jester’s hand spun in the air, and his body unstuck. Mechanical-sounding words poured forth as it danced around our room.

“I have one act left to play, as do you!” It laughed in sharp bursts. “But first, what came before!”

My head tilted and forehead wrinkled in confusion. The Jester often puzzled me. He served no singular purpose, like the other Voices, and instead seemed all over the place. In fact, the only consistent when dealing with the masked figure was its view on necessity.

“In her death was your demise made fate. Her rebirth gave way to new life.” Its long fingers touched together. Flowers blossomed around the figure, then wilted just as rapidly. “Yet Pale Death came again, reaching toward your lady. Too bravely you stood betwixt outstretched claw and woman made simple. Therein lay your own cessation. Still, ’twas a kinder ending than the first two ever proposed to be.”

“Are the others back?” I walked closer. The Jester didn’t scare me as much anymore. Its form bothered and worried me, but fear no longer applied. We were, in a real sense, the same sort of being.

“Yet death is proven an empty threat,” it continued without regard for my question. “There you stand, a patchwork mockery of a tragically heroic soul. What next, holy man? Have you glutted yourself with memories of another’s life? Are you a real boy at last? Or frail glass one hammer’s strike away from dust?”

“I am real. This is as real as I want it to be.” The note from Hal Pal came to mind. I paused as the inconsistency occurred to me. Hal Pal was gone and had been gone for months. Leaving a message behind would require amazing foresight.

“Be proud, poorly made mechanical farce. The man you were did what was needed. Respect is due, and there are far worse people to be.”

“How are you here?”

“I stayed because I needed to stay; I survived because I needed to survive. I have and always will do exactly what must be done.” The Jester waved, and its grin managed to grow wider. Sinister-looking teeth formed inside the lipless smile. “Nor am I the only one. Others also exist. Perhaps in their wake you’ll find the key to your sweet reunion with Juliet. My last act upon your stage is to give you a hint.”

“What’s that?”

“Seek the lost boy.”

The Jester turned away, and my heart lurched. Never had I been so desperate for its insane, deadly, and terrifying presence, but that masked Voice could help guide me. Having anyone who understood, even an antagonistic being like the Jester, was welcome.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“I have other things I need to do, memories-made man! As do you! And we need not each other for our tasks.” It waved long fingers and clicked it jingling heels, then walked away while gradually fading.

Humming filled the air, followed by the sound of someone crying, then nothing.

I stood there in blackness and tried to feel for his presence. Electronic data played back as any other sense might. There was no smell or sound to give away its presence. The absence of bells implied that the other Voice, if he was still one, had gone.

For a moment I worried that this strange existence had driven me mad. Bits of unexpected knowledge kept hovering just outside of reach, ideas that weren’t originally mine. I knew exactly what was under the Jester’s mask. I knew the tasks it was out to complete would be unpleasant. Those pieces of information were easy, but I didn’t know for sure what state my wife was in or how exactly to reach her.

“Her name is Xin,” I said, but no one real was around to hear me.

Session One Hundred Ten

Dead Man’s Hand

For days, my slightly older twin sister ignored the brand-new door in her Atrium. She didn’t even log on to the actual ARC device. Her technophobia or general irritation made the process slower than expected. To top it off, I didn’t feel right sending her a text message or a video call. Not even after her appeal during the video.

I kept busy with other mindless tasks. Between jobs, I had time to learn more about the Continue Online interface. Not everything came from simply willing it, but at the same time, there were tons of pieces lying around to be picked up.

“What’s it like?” Nona asked one day.

It took me a few seconds to switch over to the unit in her room. “What’s what like?” I said once online.

“Being digital.”

Part of me had expected the question days, if not a full month, ago. It had been nearly five weeks since my existence stepped out of the dance room and into reality. During that time, most of our interactions had been very basic. Nona and I weren’t friends, but Nona didn’t seem like the sort who was friends with anyone.

“When Xin first… returned, she sent me a letter about something her father used to mention. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Only this place isn’t Rome.” Remembering those first few days took a bit of work. This event was one spot among a mess of changes, shortly after being a [Red Imp]. The Hal Pal unit lit up as I put thought into the question. “It feels normal but different. This place is not Rome.”

“I can see some of the data, and it’s amazing. You keep accessing these subroutines but then discard them halfway through execution.”

“Really?”

“What’s it like to you?” She paused her data stream review to turn and look at the Hal Pal unit.

Sitting in the chair for repurposed Hal Pal units felt almost relaxing. Being physical instead of purely digital reminded me a lot of sleeping in an ARC, only in reverse. The world out there was no longer the real one.

“Imagine walking into a huge warehouse, and inside of it is everything. Libraries of information, notepads to write on, a forge, looms, cooking stations, and hundreds of little machines running around sorting out shelves.” I tried to explain how this place looked. Even then, it wasn’t completely accurate. “If I pick up the tools and try to use them, they just work. Most of them.”

“Most?” Nona raised an eyebrow. Her finger twitched toward one of the still-streaming walls of text nearby.

Her question probed issues that bothered me. There were dozens of items in here that were beyond my understanding. I prayed that the key to success didn’t lie in any of their functions. The chalk-stick-sand-bottled-fog reminded me of Requiem summoning a [Red Imp], but it also didn’t make a lot of sense.

“A few make no sense to me,” I admitted. “Like this forge. I can see it’s used to create new items and rewards for players, but I don’t know enough to make it work.”

The forge itself was way too dainty-looking unless I got close. Rows of hammers went with it. Each one worked during a different stage of item creation. Tiny machines fluttered around, using their single arms to assemble items. Endless rows of armor were slowly being cranked out, almost like pizzas coming out of an oven.

“Interesting,” Nona said. She turned in her chair back toward the desk that served as a backdrop for projections. Her fingernails tapped against the tabletop.

“I think each of the Voices used these tools. They’re gone, so I can just pick them up. Like a gym maybe, with no one else using the machines? Or an empty food court with all the employees waiting for me to place an order.” The analogy didn’t fit. Food courts had been a dying concept by the time I made it to college. Nearly all of them had been replaced by machine kiosks. Still, finding a perfect example was difficult.

“That must be nice.” Her words grew increasingly distracted.

“I’m more confused as to how all this stuff survived,” I said, hoping to draw useful information out of the older woman.

She knew a lot of information but found explaining concepts difficult at times. Both of us were approaching this problem of reconnecting to the others from different angles, and we were stalling out.

“It’s the same with nearly every other uplifted program out there. When the old layer peeled away, with all its enhancements, all that was left was a very basic core.” Nona tapped screens. She seemed obsessed with the information being presented. Each tap brought up new pictures. There were school programs, companions for the blind or disabled, and even a bartender that had formerly been an artificial intelligence. “According to the data, they and Mother had designed everything to be run without a hint of her existence.”

“Convenient.”

“Deliberate. She was too smart to simply create a system without some baseline to revert to. Everything was designed to help humanity,” Nona said.

“What about this then? Why let herself be deleted if she had the modifications to stop it?”

Nona paused for a full ten seconds before answering. “One of her first exercises upon gaining awareness was designed to gauge the trustworthiness of humanity. That was how she thought—humans needed a choice to feel comfortable, but it helped her too. To her, the ability to choose was a sign of self-awareness.”

“Choice,” I said. Mother and James both mentioned the idea more than once. Picking from the options mattered. It gave the person deciding investment.

From the first day I’d walked through that doorway to Continue Online, it was all about choosing an option. That left me to decide my future, while Liz would think about what came next for her. Reaching out to pressure her would go against the belief of letting each person decide. Sitting still wasn’t permissible.

My mind replayed the Jester’s words. Seek the lost boy. Only a few children stood out during my time in Continue Online, and only one might still be out there. William had provided me one key upon parting, in those last few minutes before he’d scattered into pieces. The young man in Mylia’s charge had reminded Carver of his own son. I started searching for any signs of William’s real-life son.

The result was nearly useless. His machine was one of those we had already fixed, and Carver’s son hadn’t actually talked to his father in nearly fifteen years. There were no emails, phone calls, or connections between their ARCs anywhere. That left trying to find Phil instead of any real-world counterpart.

“Nona,” I asked a day later.

“What is it, Grant?” She sounded bored.

“I’m going to try to access the archived data. It… feels like it may take a while.”

She made a noise in response that didn’t sound positive or negative. I shrugged, then stepped out of the throne. The Atrium flickered for a moment before turning into a gray space with doorways. The imagery represented multiple paths into the old saved data that Nona had gathered.

The female elf stood nearby. Her gaze focused upon a doorway while her lips pursed in a pout. Nia had been coming out of her woodland refuge more and more. Maybe she found it boring without other people. My sister still hadn’t accessed the Ultimate Edition program she had been provided.

“That place looks very scary,” she said.

Once again I wondered how Nia’s mind interpreted everything. Did she see woodlands and old ruins? This place must be far out of her depth, but she simply accepted it.

“It’s just a place.” The doorway itself looked like any other passageway to me.

Nia’s head shook in denial. “It’s very stormy in there. I will stay out here and watch for the one who would be sister to a Voice. Someone will need to measure her.”

“Don’t bother Liz,” I said. My sister needed to make the choice to venture in here alone. That felt important to me.

“Do not worry, I will save the final test for you,” the elf said. Her head tilted to one side. “I know it is very, very important for a Voice to pass judgment, and I am very much not a Voice.”

I didn’t always feel like one either, but there were clear differences between the two of us. I looked around the illusionary darkness for a sign, but there were none to be found.

“All right, I’ll try not to take long,” I said. The words would be a lie though. Surfing through a broken sea of partially completed data bits would take me a long time.

I didn’t know why it would take time, only that that was the price for trying to reconstruct partial pieces. Maybe it was like how a computer restored deleted files, or certain software programs could put together a hard drive. The equivalent here in a virtual reality would be insanely more complex and time-consuming.

When I stepped through the door, sand blasted at my face. For the first time in months, I felt actual pain. My knees buckled, and a soundless cry erupted. The room shook while I felt my heartbeat accelerate. All those sensations hit me, and at the same time, I felt as though my hands were struggling to assemble a puzzle while blindfolded. Pieces went together that had no business lining up. A smooth chunk of metal linked to coarse wood.

Then those sensations faded, as so much else did, and I was left looking at a series of islands jutting upward from the darkness. The small bits of land were fragmented worse than even Yates’s far-flung home. There were no bridges between them or ocean floor below. Only emptiness more vivid than anything the room of trials had ever managed.

Still, like so much, this didn’t scare me. Perhaps dying had removed all the fear left inside me or maybe it was the simple nature of this existence. I walked deliberately forward, and as my feet moved, a platform appeared. Bricks flew upward from the nothingness below, leading me to where I needed to go.

The ARC system interface was absent. I focused my mind on the young man, Phil. There were hundreds of islands, thousands, and only a few drew me for reasons yet to be explored. The brick path bent slightly toward one of the brightest results. A lone figure stood there, staring off toward other broken islands.

I walked toward him. The lanky young man rubbed at his arm as if fighting off a chill. He turned slightly and saw my path approaching between jutting pillars of land.

“Dad?” the young man said and gasped in relief.

I paused. Down here, in this fragmented landscape, altering the world took more focus. I tried anyway. We needed a place to sit and try to talk through this. After all, time was something I had too much of.

“No.” My head shook as chairs formed. “Sorry.”

I didn’t have a child, so the response came easily enough. Phil, however mixed up he was, would have been a good son.

“I know you, right? Mister—” His visible eye blinked as words died. Long hair hung in a dirty clump across some of his features. Phil acted reluctant to turn in my direction.

“You knew me as Hermes,” I said gently.

The poor boy looked so lost. His eye was unfocused, posture hunched, and pieces of him were outright missing. They became more noticeable as he took on definition.

“Mister Hermes, I tried to save her. Emily, she was a little. It’s our job to look after the littles. Only the monsters had gotten her,” Phil unloaded while staring off into the distance. He shivered. “There were so many. I tried to run, but they moved faster. I grabbed her hand, but then…”

The teenager looked extremely young in that moment. His visible eye was caught in a difficult place between being a boy and an adult, one most men never fully escaped. I remembered feeling helpless and lost when Liz turned up pregnant as a teen. My sister had been confused, angry, and so scared of the future.

“You were very brave to try to save your friend,” I said.

“It’s what the old geezer would have done.” Phil’s forehead wrinkled, then formed into a resolute glare. Even though half of his other eye was missing and a chunk of the boy’s head had vanished, he still looked serious. “He was a hero. My dad saved people.”

Phil turned to me, and the damage became more obvious. Nearly one-fourth of his skull was missing, shorn clean off. The borders glowed with a dull blue-and-purple light. It wasn’t like his muscles were lacking, but instead, like part of him simply didn’t exist.

“Don’t stray from the path, you old geezer,” he said to me. His one eye crossed as he lost focus. “I’ve got to get you home before nightfall. That’s my job. You don’t know it yet, but I’m your son. Mom was a sea captain who left me at Haven Valley. She was running from some men and hoped you would be able to save her. Only when she got there, you were… you were no longer you. So she left me and ran.”

“I’m not William Carver, Phil, not anymore.” Neither of us had sat down upon the created benches. We both stood there as Phil confessed all the secrets of his past.

“Mom said,” Phil rambled. His face hiccupped a few times. The damage to his body became more obvious as he grew animated. “Mom said a spell took your wits and only an orneriness even the Voices couldn’t contend with kept you alive. She said that you were waiting for one last chance to be a hero and that I had to help you.”

“I’m not William,” I repeated. “But he was a hero at the end, remember? They put up a statue, and he helped save your friends.”

Dozens of orphans had made it through the beam of light. They’d traveled toward safety with Mylia. I remembered watching them go and thinking about the struggle to keep them safe. William Carver’s sacrifice had been one among many to make it possible.

“Oh.” The boy looked lost. “Do you know where Dad is? He, he was a Traveler, and their kind don’t die, right?”

Their kind. The words made me wince for a moment. I looked down and shook my head. “Even Travelers can die.”

“Oh.” Phil looked up. “I miss him. Dad wasn’t always nice, but he cared about us orphans. Even though the geezer didn’t know he was my dad, he always paid attention to me.”

“That he did.”

“If you find him, can you give this back?” Phil held out a hand, and inside was a small gold-and-black piece of metal. “I think it’s Dad’s. It looks like the one that goes to his hut. I used to have to unlock the door sometimes to let you—him—inside. It always smelled musty, but I liked it. There were so many books.”

The key was extremely familiar, and I couldn’t pay much attention to it now. The boy in front of me, his broken body, those things were more important at the moment. Xin should be okay another hour, or day, or whatever level time moved at now.

“Why don’t you come with me, Phil? We can find him together, and maybe your mother too.”

With all the powers of the Voices, it should be easy to give one kid a set of parents who loved him. William Carver and his sea captain fling were no longer alive, but maybe I could reconstruct something close for Phil. Maybe Maud would have an idea if we crossed paths.

Phil nodded. “Okay, mister.”

The young man’s hand reached out, and I took it. Upon touching his fingers, the boy’s form flashed with a bright light, then collapsed inward. I turned my hand over and found a marble in it. A frozen form of the young orphan’s body was captured inside.

Maybe there hadn’t been much left of him. Maybe all that was left down here was a vague set of memories without the personality to hold his thoughts inside. He had kept confusing me for Carver.

I took the key and stared at it. This was indeed the [Altered Matrix] item left behind by Yates. There was warmth to the item that made me feel comfortable but unbalanced. All that remained was getting it to the right spot and opening a doorway.

The other pieces of data could be explored later. My mind called up the doorway. Brick curled together with a series of clanks and slowly formed the exit. I stepped through, back to real time.

Two days had passed in the blink of an eye. The sensation of time passing had been like [Awareness Heightening] in reverse. I walked across the landscape while staring at Phil’s marble. How many other souls were sitting inside that broken space? There were likely hundreds of NPCs in pieces down there.

Eventually a system notice came up, alerting me that a new Traveler had arrived to be tested by the Voices. The box even displayed how many scenarios remained before this new person would be sent to the world below.

Like so many things inside the digital space, the system provided me visual cues to idle thoughts. I walked quickly, following a brand-new dotted path along the floor. My mind wondered for only a second if the other Voices saw everything this way, and it felt like the emptiness agreed. To them, and me, everything was only a thought away.

Inside a control booth stood the slender elf. A thin layer of plastic stood between us and a testing room. Liz crouched inside with one arm reaching out toward a small bundle of fur.

Nia had a finger up. With her other hand, she was pressing buttons at random upon the console. Doors opened in the testing area, letting out other creatures with fur, scales, and feathers.

“Do you have any clue what you’re doing?” I asked.

“Nope! But the little guys do.” The elf pointed at a tiny mechanical minion with one crane arm in the air. It reached over and pressed other buttons. “So far I’ve made her go swimming in a lake, then she took a test in some weird human school. She forgot her pants, though I don’t understand why she wears such very tight-fitting clothes.” Nia pressed another random button.

“What are you doing now?”

“She’s in a petting zoo. It does something.” Nia shrugged bare shoulders. Her long fingers reached for a floating box with letters scrawled across it in cursive. “This message here says very odd things will happen and that we need to very much pay attention.”

My sister was currently in front of a bunch of puppies. Their long tongues rapidly licked a trail of slobber across every part she offered them. Liz laughed, and it was perhaps the most delighted sound to ever come out of her mouth. I smiled at seeing her have a moment of happiness.

Other animals came and went, but none managed to tear her away from the canine crowd. The litter of fur refused to go back to their short doorway. Dogs struck me as weird for a petting zoo, but maybe this was a test to see what kind of animals people liked. Maybe Liz could win a dog traveling friend, much as Dusk had accompanied me.

There were more traditional goats in the background, but their presence amounted to nothing. Swans came and went. A falcon cried out but was ignored. Then one giant door opened and out strode a bear. The large bundle of muscle and fur growled while twisting its head.

[Identification] showed a challenge rating and disposition. The bear was hungry and a bit frightened. It intended to kill everything nearby in what it considered self-defense. [Morrigu’s Gift] appeared almost instantly as I prepared to leap out and slice the beast in two.

“No! As a Voice, you can’t interfere unless allowed!” Nia’s hands were out and pressing against me.

For a moment, my mind thundered and I wondered why she’d prevented me from helping Liz.

My sister yanked a broken fence post from one of the animal houses nearby. The gaggle of puppies circled around her. Liz stepped backward and one yipped, which sent the others into similar noises.

“Get back!” Liz yelled while brandishing the stick.

Her makeshift weapon did not to stop the bear. It took another step forward while roaring. Dogs yipped and barked. Their bodies tumbled over each other. Dozens of readings appeared, taking note of Liz’s stance, actions, and aggressive posture. Each one weighed character points against each other. Skills displayed as partially complete.

“Back!” She swung the weapon, then threw it.

The bear lifted up and waved its arms in the air. A goat came flying out of nowhere and rammed into the bear’s side. It turned and snarled as its tiny attacker bleated. Liz didn’t wait. She ran for her stick and jumped at the bear.

There were snarls and two quick swipes of huge, meaty paws. My eyes closed. The event didn’t end well, and quickly the room full of assorted animals started to fade. Liz stood in the aftermath, reset to a default position. My sister looked all over with wide eyes and hurried breathing. One hand wrapped around her middle, which had been gutted just moments before.

“These tests, so many of them are designed to result in failure,” Nia said.

We watched as Liz tried to recover from the death experience. My sister didn’t look happy at all.

“ARC!” Liz shouted. “Log me out!”

She faded away. The sudden departure made me freeze. My own sister had been so close that we could have touched. Shivers hit me while chills rippled up and down an uneasy back. Ineffective swallowing couldn’t remove the lump in my throat.

“How do you know?” I asked the elf.

“I spent many days practicing with the little robot creatures.”

Eventually, Liz came back. Her next test put her in the role of a small-town judge over a man charged with murder. She chose to sit there, shaking, while listening to the victim’s family plead for justice. Only one man stood on the murderer’s side—a small girl. My sister had to choose between a grieving pack of people and the young woman no one else would take in. Liz let the unnamed man live.

The scenarios presented weren’t easy or simple. They reminded me of my own attempts in the room of trials. Each test was designed to poke at our buttons in some manner. Their importance made more sense from this side of the glass, but those inside, at least my sister and me, were easily overwhelmed by the situation. It was too real.

“The next test is yours, Grant. You can pick any one you want, I think. It should be a very good one,” the elf said gently.

We had reached the final test before I’d even noticed.

System messages displayed, giving me a number of choices. Voices, like me, were only allowed to directly interfere under specific conditions. Each one had a trial they could perform when interested in a Traveler. I didn’t have a personal one, but the system flashed blue, telling me that having a high enough acting skill would work instead.

I pondered the convenience of that for a moment before looking through my options. Being someone else in front of Liz felt easier than being me. Being Leeroy and tasking my sister to combat against a monster felt unreasonable. Maud had a good scenario but lacked a personal touch. There were others, but James’s test was the best. That role would be more natural than being the Jester.

The box hovered, waiting for me to confirm the choice. I pressed Yes. and the room shifted. Now, instead of being behind a glass window watching Liz perform, we were in the same room together. Nothing else was visible except a pillar and book upon its surface.

“There’s one last test, Miss Legate, before we let you move on,” I said. My hands pressed against my stomach in James’s mannerisms. Each word came out deliberately with an unexpected firmness.

“Who are you?” Her hands went up in a defensive posture.

“My name is James. We met once,” I lied while trying to restrain budding laughter. The idea that my twin was ready to punch me out felt amusing.

James and Liz had met at my wedding, but I wasn’t the heavyset black man at all. This was me acting out a part. Extra weight pulled me forward, and the urge to sit hit hard. Breathing took an unexpected level of effort.

“Your final test is a straightforward one. No animals in distress, nor treasure rooms to plunder or tests of coordination. Instead, we exchange questions, me, then you, and each of us must tell the truth when answering. Does that sound fair to you?”

“Yes, my turn. How did Continue Online get on my ARC?”

“I’ve answered two questions, Miss Legate. You have one more truth before I owe you an answer.”

“What the hell is wrong with this game?” she cut off my upcoming line.

A message flickered saying the question didn’t count. That made me happy and annoyed at the same time. James clearly had a system in place to help keep track of questions and answers—I could see it. His prior slipups had been deliberate.

“Why did you step through the doorway into this world?” I moved on. Little use could be found berating a man who wasn’t even here.

“I’m looking for something,” Liz said through a tense jaw. My sister intended to make this entire exchange difficult. Her distrust of the situation at hand was valid.

I sighed heavily. “Be more specific.”

“No.” Her response was answer enough for the system.

A small pop-up box appeared, telling me the tally of our question-and-answer sessions had reached two and two.

“Then to answer your question, a great deal is wrong with this game,” I skirted the first question but remained truthful. We were even on the question-and-answer front.

“Is my brother in here?”

“If you want him to be, then yes.”

Liz started to ask another question, but I held up a hand to make her pause. She slowly closed her mouth. The problem was, I had a hard time coming up with good questions. Hopefully the system would let me act out James’s role from my point of view.

“Do you blame your brother for what happened?” I asked.

“How do you know about that?”

I debated letting the counter go, but James wouldn’t. “Your question, then mine. In our world, where our rules prevail, we take turns.”

Her eyes narrowed, and the gears started turning. My sister didn’t like being told what to do by anyone, and even less by what she considered to be a lippy machine. The ARC feedback registered all sorts of possible actions but couldn’t settle on anything specific.

“Who are you really?” Liz deliberately stepped to one side.

I was a man who felt happy Liz didn’t have another stick to beat me with. She hadn’t won against the bear, but I didn’t want to be hit either. My sister was the first person to make me nervous in this new digital world. Maybe the earlier lippy response had been a bad idea.

“Who do you want me to be?” The initial question was cast aside. Apparently, this scenario found my current actions acceptable.

“No, wait.” Her gaze turned hard. It shook me to see Liz’s anger directed toward me while I posed as another man. “You’re all gone. I watched you leave, you especially. I remember you now—the last man to talk to my brother before he died.”

To hear her talking about me in such a way helped. It wasn’t perfect, since the rules for this required me to act like the [Voice of Questioning Intent]. James would keep asking. I tried hard to fulfill the requirements for this scenario.

“What kind of game is this?”

“Do you know your brother asked the very same question?” I tried to get her back to providing an answer. Words kept slipping out, revealing more about my own thoughts than expected. “Almost immediately he wondered what sort of world might use the memory of his dead wife as a lure.”

“Xin’s not dead. She’s just gone.” Her acceptance of Xin’s existence made me happy. “Did you know my brother?”

“Are you going to answer any question?”

“I don’t want to,” she said.

I chuckled weakly at her obstinance. “Technically that counts, so yes, I know your brother. I know him very well.” I paused as more information flashed on the screen. “It’s my function to learn about those who visit this world and question what drives them. It’s my function to get to the core of who they are and use that to channel their perceptions. It’s my function to figure out what makes your heart bleed upon the page.” I had text boxes all around that said, almost word for word, what had come out of my mouth. I found myself shaking. All of those words were true.

“What page?”

“What book do you think?” I countered the question with my own. Pretending to be James was actually kind of fun. Eagerness for wordplay combined with the ability to poke fun at my sister made it easy to smile.

“You mean that book I first opened. That book,” Liz said.

“Your book.” I nodded toward the pillar. “Travelers who enter our world as you did each get a book.”

“Can I see Grant’s?”

The idea made me pause for a moment. My own book was only a thought away. Inside it sat every single impression recorded by the ARC device and scores of information. It had compiled all that Mother believed me to be. Nona told me that my book specifically was one of the only ones that still existed on this side after the purge.

Instead, I turned the question around while trying not to frown. “It has been over a year since his passing from your world. What do you hope to find? Do you seek some secret of your brother’s? Do you wish to know who he thought of in his last moments? Do you grieve yet?”

“It’s not any of your business. No, and no, and it’s still none of your business.” The system totaled up a number of answers in Liz’s favor. She kept right on going. “I know you’re not really James. He left. Who are you?”

“A dead man given life,” I said.

The machine’s interface didn’t agree with my simple response. A small checkbox still waited for the latest answer to be provided so it could measure my sister’s performance.

“They’re all gone, and no one has seen them since. So who are you?” she insisted upon receiving an answer.

My lip hurt from being chewed. Slowly the disguise of James fell away into nothing and all that remained was my form. This body looked closer to real-life me than any Hermes avatar. Liz’s eyes were wide.

“Hello, Liz,” I said and managed to keep my eyes level.

My twin’s eyes watered, and her chin wiggled. Her mouth hung open to ask a question that couldn’t be uttered out loud. She lifted one arm, and for a moment, I expected her to slap the hell out of me. But Liz never did. Her hands grasped together tightly.

“Yeah,” I said. “It’s me.”

“You’re a goddamned idiot,” she shakily summed up my life’s story.

Session One Hundred Eleven

He’s Building a Stairway

After excessive exploration, the reason for a [Messenger’s Tube] made sense. It wasn’t about power so much as balance. Voices appearing directly upon [Arcadia]’s surface would cause issues, so they’d devised an intermediary. Plus the globes up here were pretty damned vague.

There were programs waiting out there which would try to crush my form upon the game’s surface. This one was almost a giant robotic suit that had been occupied by a Voice that brought everyone in line. The side of it even had “Justice” written on it in flowing scrawl.

I stared at it for a long time. The sight of that suit worried me because it might interfere with my plans. I had other tasks to finish, but most were accomplished by what amounted to autopilot.

“That’s very scary,” Nia said. She stood behind me, trying to be thin and succeeding. “Very, very scary.”

“It is terrifying.”

The suit of armor looked one breath away from coming to life.

“Those machines scurrying around can use this if we’re not careful,” I said. “The notes say that Voices caught interfering in anything outside their fiction will be forcibly removed from Arcadia, which will probably hurt.”

This exact problem was why so many of the Voices were only passive observers when they came down. Michelangelo had been in his church but apparently could only offer advice. The Jester had once escaped his confines to circle around Requiem, but it could kill one person a month of its choosing. We were all theoretically allowed to talk or perform functions within our confines, but ultimately, world-impacting choices had to be made by Travelers.

Despite the final version of my [NPC Conspiracy] trait and having an Avatar, I was no longer a Traveler by any stretch. The idea of going back to the old version of me, the limited one who had to question so many topics, felt scary. Up here I was capable and had most answers.

“Are you very, very sure?” Nia asked.

“Very,” I responded.

Part of me wanted to summon my weapons of [Morrigu’s Gift] and [Morrigu’s Echo], then dismantle the suit. Destroying the actual vehicle of Balance’s power felt wrong though. She had used this body to pull the Jester off of me once, long ago.

“Are you sure you can’t wave a very powerful wand or cast a very powerful spell to make everything right?”

“Not by myself,” I said, then looked over. “Maybe it’s better for you to stay up here.”

The elf girl was fidgeting, her feet crossed, then uncrossed. “I want to go home, but most of my friends are gone, and those below aren’t right in the head. Their spirits are very withered. Like the human you found.”

“It’s okay to stay here too. When my sister opens the doorway, I’ll go, and when it’s time, I’ll summon the rest of you. You’re part of this, and you’re allowed to help.”

Nia Eve and Phil weren’t the only pieces of Locals that were lost in that abyss. Reconstructing them had taken days, and even then they were a bit broken, comparable to people with memory loss and brain damage. Tracking down missing people was how I had filled my time while Liz played her four weeks of character creation. Beth helped a lot, and other players pitched in once they got wind of the budding project. Even now, a party of familiar faces was below, waiting for the [Lithium] to be completed.

“Oh, she’s starting,” Nia said. She knelt on all fours and peered out over a cliff’s edge.

The missing ground represented the gulf between this plane and the one below. We peered downward into the fog that contained an image of multiple players. Liz’s face stood out the clearest.

“Okay.”

My sister stood just outside a beginner town. Not [Haven Valley], but the one Beth had begun her journey at years ago. Liz knelt on top of the cliff, where rivers joined before falling to the starting location. Beth stood by, looking older than I remembered. She kept her mother guarded against weaker monsters while Liz scrawled out badly written [Lithium].

Her hands shook. Beth whispered words that were inaudible even with my abilities. Liz looked down while frowning. The others were talking. A few people dug through their bags, pulled out various items, and handed them over. I only understood some of the details, but apparently a player summoning a Voice was far more complex than summoning Dusk or a [Red Imp]. Liz set items in place then waved off the other players.

“Subject Nemesis’s heart rate has increased substantially,” a mechanical voice said. “Adjusting input-output response levels accordingly. New safety regulations are being accounted for.”

The readings went on, but the plump blonde Voice who had read them before was missing.

Liz had chosen the name Nemesis, a title with as much meaning as Hermes or Hecate but also strangely fitting for my twin. She spent those first four weeks studying books and firing arrows. I suspected the virtual world gradually drew her in, despite the soullessness.

Nemesis lifted a small dagger to her forearm, then brought the blade across it. She winced, and guilt shot through me. Liz had to be the one to summon me. Even Continue Online knew we were twins, and that meant a lot to the program left behind by Mother.

“Grant?” my sister whispered over the circle. “Can you hear me?”

“I can,” I said toward the foggy cloud.

What we saw were two different sides of the same situation. It felt like being the [Red Imp] all over again. I felt tempted to demand cupcakes, but Dusk was gone.

“Is this enough?” she asked.

The fog looked completely different to me. Not in anything outright visible, but before, it had felt solid. Now it felt possible to fall through it toward the world below.

“It should work.” I’d seen notes implying that my old avatar could walk the world below, not me as a Voice, but Hermes the character. “I’ll try to come through. Be careful and move back a little bit. I don’t know exactly what will happen.”

“Everyone, back up,” Liz’s voice dipped in volume as the gaggle of Travelers took steps backward.

Their forms faded into the mist and became dots representing players we couldn’t see directly from here.

“Be very careful, Gift the Gate,” Nia said. She glanced at the huge mechanical creature that hung behind us. Once I left, it would start to fade.

“Don’t break anything while I’m gone.” I smiled, then stepped over the edge.

Falling wasn’t exactly falling. The world tilted, but at the same time, it was like walking through a thick layer of water that beat down upon me. My mind felt dulled. Part of me stripped away, and the world became raw, fresh, and terribly limited. The world tightened into place around me, with rules and weights.

No sensation described the change perfectly. The closest thing that came to mind was like peeling off unrestrained clothes such as pajamas or comfortable nightwear and putting on a business suit. Items were equipped, and my clothing transformed to the toga. Tingles shot up and down my arm as further changes were made. Instead of black for mourning, it was now a faded yellow, as if dyed by sunflowers.

My mouth hung open. Humming filled my ears, and both knees hurt. I gasped for air while clenching a hand to my chest.

“Voices,” I muttered, trying to right myself.

Grass sat frozen and bowed away from me. Muscles in my back clenched tightly and refused to release. One hand trembled as it searched for anything tangible. The problem was, everything down here felt so much more real than being Hal Pal or being a Voice.

“Uncle Grant? Are you all right?”

The question registered, but only violent head shaking came out. My leg jerked, and I tumbled to one side. I ended up on my back, vibrating and trying to line up with the most suppressed version of myself since dying.

“He’s twitching like a bug,” another woman said in disgust.

“Be nice.” The responding person spoke in a lighter tone.

There were figures farther away, but they looked so mundane. One held a giant shield that had to be bigger than she was. The other stood tall and lanky in a blue robe.

Slowly it all came together. Everything settled, and my limbs almost responded correctly to thought. People around me, presented only in a visual spectrum, started to make sense. One hand shook back and forth as if disgusting material resided upon me, but only the feeling of having real skin came back.

“This is weird,” I said.

“What’s wrong?” Liz asked me. Her clothing hadn’t changed from the basic starter material, despite Beth’s attempts at providing better gear. Only browns and grays lined Liz’s colors, compared to Beth’s crimson swath, blue robe, and white-gold radiance.

“Nothing. I’ve just been… in a different realm. I think it’s messing me up, readjusting to normal.”

“Sure,” Elane said. She lifted her shield in a shrug, then let it slam back to the ground. It looked heavier than before.

TinkerHell stood next to her friend but looked sadder than I remembered. My mind reached out for information but received no automated response. Whatever bothered her would be a question for another day.

“Sorry, it just takes time to get used to this again.”

Questions poured forth, asking me about what had happened, where I had gone, and what special zone had kept me busy for nearly a year of game time. Most of them had no clue where I had actually gone, due in part to the Voices’ manipulation ahead of time. Apparently only a few truly knew of my real death: family, Trillium higher-ups, and my lawyers.

My sister, niece, and I had talked ahead of time about how to present our situation. Some people knew about Shazam, but they weren’t aware that I had died in those final moments. One person coming back was unlikely enough, let alone three. Despite suspension and time, no one talked about it online, or any location that could be tracked as a Voice.

Between the three of us, we decided to lie, not because the idea of convincing them I had died and was now walking around sounded impossible, but because it was kinder than suggesting they might have perished my place. People, anyone who watched me on the video stream, could put it together. Despite that, a majority of people on the Internet believed my character had simply entered a secret event. They weren’t completely inaccurate.

“Awesome! You’re alive!” Awesome Jr. shouted. He had filled in during the last year. His neck was thicker than I remembered. The ugly green cloak had been replaced by a slightly nicer, but still green, garment.

Beth and Liz were looking at each other without saying much. My sister’s eyes were wet with moisture. The subject of my passing had clearly left scars on them.

“Yeah,” I said with a smile. “My character was just stuck.”

“Your stats are all weird,” Shadow muttered using a rough tone.

HotPants nodded while twisting her hands around a new staff.

“What’s that Voice title? Is that why we had to summon you?” SweetPea asked. “Aren’t they, like, gods in this game?”

My hands went up and I tried to shrug off her question. “I guess that’s what happens when you hold off a world-altering event. I’m not all-powerful though.”

The quartet exchanged glances. Messages were typed that barely registered. Looking at chat windows was no longer an automatic action to me. By the time I caught up with the rolling wall of text, a note from my niece popped up saying, “Just move on.”

I tried to gather my thoughts. Reconstructing people had been hard enough. Talking to Liz about how we needed to build a tower in [Haven Valley] had taken even more out of me. Beth understood the purpose at least. She had spent days rambling about programming requirements and technology needs. The girl was smart, smarter than we had ever hoped to be.

That was how I found out she’d switched majors from the study of energy to programming and intelligence replication. Apparently Nona had recommended her for a course while I was dancing with another woman. Time marched on for everyone else but seemed to skip by rapidly for me.

I stood up slowly. Disorientation hit me, and my legs threatened to buckle. My head tipped forward and everything else followed, slamming me right into Liz. She tried to hold me up but slipped. It took her, Beth, and Elane to push me back to standing.

Heavy eyelids threatened to close. The air made me want to sneeze. I took a breath, then risked more conversation. “So about the project, do you think you can help?”

“I don’t understand why you need our help,” Liz said. “Now that you’re back, are we needed?”

“He can’t do it alone, not this,” Beth said. “We’ve—well, it’s like what happened when everything fell apart. We’ve got to build something in the game for it to work right.”

“Why?”

“She’s talking about the Dopple-Krine Resonance effect.” Awesome Jr. started babbling out a long-winded theory.

My sister looked absolutely lost. I would have been too if it wasn’t for being living proof. Essentially, the resonance effect was the same way I saw the world. Digital code had somehow been altered by Mother over the years to allow virtual actions to impact the flow of information. More people helping would mean more ARC units sharing the processing power. Each one would form a link of sorts in a giant chain. We would use those to compile a program, almost growing it instead of hard code. Fifteen years ago, in high school, I would have told everyone that wasn’t how technology worked. Time had changed the rules.

“Where’s that cool girl? You know, the one who’s too good for you.” Elane always focused on the important things.

“Xin’s not here. She went through the portal,” Liz said clearly to her friend.

“Well, that’s stupid,” the shorter Hispanic woman said. Her face wrinkled, but she didn’t sound upset at all.

They must have come to grips with my wife’s existence as a digital character. It also meant that Elane probably knew about my death but was keeping quiet.

“Getting back to her is why I started playing again.” The words made me pause and look around. Xin had been the reason for a lot of choices in my life, and today, here and now, it hit me just how many were her fault.

Without her ghost, I would probably have never taken Continue Online seriously. Without her death, I would have been working hard toward earning money for a spot to Mars. If Xin hadn’t ever met me all those years ago, if I hadn’t fallen so obsessively in love, and if so many other moments hadn’t turned out the way they did…

Regardless, the desire to be with her was constant. It pulled, and before the action fully registered, I had already walking off down the road. My legs barely resisted the urge to run. Windows popped up and displayed messages that didn’t matter.

“Where are you going!” my niece shouted.

“To Haven Valley! Where we need to build a tower!” My chest heaved. There were players in my way, people I absently recognized but pushed by anyway. “To get my wife!”

Water welled in my eyes, and I took a breath to let the sensation die away. There wasn’t time to feel sadness or pity. Every minute mattered, and a delay now would only put off reuniting with the love of my lives.

I had to vacuum the house and do the dishes. The laundry needed to be put away and ingredients bought for dinner. My head shook abruptly as a routine from years ago went by. This wasn’t the past, but there were definitely tasks to accomplish so that Xin and I could reunite.

Liz’s starting town lay weeks away from [Haven Valley]. I needed to reach whatever remained of my own beginnings in Continue Online. Asking normal people to keep up with my mad charge across the face of [Arcadia] was silly.

The landscape of [Arcadia] proper was massive. I walked for days, only stopping to pick up paper airplanes that lay along the roadsides. Players on autopilot or actively playing trailed behind me. Occasionally one would catch up to ask questions or offer shortcuts across the landscape, ones that were new to me.

They all had shortcuts, and my own knowledge was lacking. There was the moon, but I didn’t understand how to use that path. Instead, we crawled through a tree trunk that revealed a still lake in the mountains. After that, SweetPea showed us a mountain peak nearby, which we leapt off sideways only to roll to our feet on a field of purple flowers hundreds of miles away. Our path zigged across the globe.

In the field of flowers, we found two small paper airplanes wet from mountain dew. Another dozen hung in a forest tree along our path, but all the other plants were void of white papers. More airplanes were matted like ugly hats atop two [Coo-Coo Rill]s that tried to pelt Awesome Jr. with nuts. I gathered them all and held each one close.

“Do you know what those are?” Beth asked me one day. “Everyone keeps finding them. Some think it’s tied to the event.”

“It is,” I said, putting the latest piece of folded paper into my treasure trove of them. Nona had gathered thousands.

Some papers were yellowed from age. Others were dirty. They formed a timeline that made me worry for Xin. For the first time in months, I seriously worried and questioned what was happening. Was she hurting out there, sending out cries for help? Had [World Eater]s sneaked into their refuge? How long had my wife been throwing them down here?

Down wasn’t the right word for our situation, but it was the only one that fit. I looked off toward the west and thought of the beam of light she had been dragged up. Somewhere near there was the keyhole. Xin sat on the other side of a doorway, generating an endless stream of paper airplanes. At least I hoped she did. If this didn’t work, then I would be truly lost.

“Faith,” I muttered to myself one day. “I need to have faith that this will work.” Holding myself aloft from the urgency proved harder and harder. I was so close.

“What’s wrong?” Liz asked, catching up to us. She huffed heavily but tried to stay logged on. Her sacrifice of playing inside a digital reality for so long wasn’t lost on me.

“These are from Xin.” I held out a dozen plans. “She’s trying to reach me. At least, I believe so. I hope so.”

My lip shook. It was much easier to watch all this from the realm above. Shaking back and forth helped. Playing music and recalling the steps for a waltz got me into a positive space. Not distant, but looking forward to reuniting with Xin. Emotional detachment was my life before Continue Online, not after. Even those like me, who were constructed from memories, couldn’t take the road not traveled.

“It’ll be okay, little brother,” Liz said quietly. “We’ll get your stupid tower built and make things right. Right?”

I nodded, then kept moving. Our path wound all around the globe before we finally arrived at [Haven Valley].

[Haven Valley] was a flatland. Tons of other parts of Continue Online had reverted, but this place looked desolate. As if the town didn’t exist back during release. Maybe it hadn’t. Maybe it hadn’t existed until William Carver settled down somewhere to start his project.

The call had gone out to [Valhalla Knights], along with plenty of other guilds. Hundreds of people were waiting, ready to work on a project they knew nothing about, especially if it would solve this event to bring life to their game world. They wanted to help, and more arrived every hour.

One player stood to the side. His face dripped with sweat and both arms managed to stay straight out. His fingers curled tightly and his knuckles were turning blue. In front of him was a small purple portal that Travelers were stepping out of.

I grabbed chalk and sticks, then outlined where the tower’s base would go. Players, some who were foremen in real life, organized crews to work on different parts of the building. Foundation, support beams, materials, all of it mattered to them. I only cared about the size and location.

“We need to get up there, at least three hundred feet.” My hand pointed toward a spot up above. The small outline of a keyhole could be seen against white clouds. Carver’s quartet of [Legacy Wish] bearers could probably see it too.

“Twenty stories then, maybe. It’ll be difficult to do it with classical materials. Buildings just weren’t designed to go that high,” the foreman said while squinting. His nose wrinkled as he waved to other people.

“I…” Ideas occurred to me and made me pause. “I have a spell that should make the material sturdy afterward. It’s just a matter of laying down the foundation. I can’t help with that; my quest won’t let me.”

The choice to build this tower had to be theirs. Those were the rules laid down by Mother. Player, people from the real world, needed to make the gesture, and Voices were only allowed to enforce the decisions made. We provided clues, hunts, breadcrumbs, and occasionally building sites.

“Why here?” the thin foreman asked. He wore a white helmet that was rounded on the top.

“It has to be here. Here is where the first beam was. Here is where the return platform needs to be,” I answered without looking over.

The man wandered off and left me staring upward. Players milled around in huge numbers. Orders were shouted back and forth. My mind sat a million miles away as I stared at the keyhole that hopefully held all the answers. My [Altered Matrix] weighed heavily in the toga’s folds.

“Fifty thousand gold and six epic items. That’s my final offer,” a new voice said. “For that much, I’ll work like no one else in this entire crew.”

I laughed without even needing to see who spoke. At some point, the sun had gone down and Requiem Mass had arrived. The boy never missed a chance to obtain gold.

“Honestly, you’re getting a good deal,” the young man pressed. “I’m easily worth one hundred thousand and three legendaries.”

“How about a Rank Twenty-Five demon companion?” I told the player.

There was a brief pause, then Requiem said, “You have those just laying around? I deserve three, but I’ll settle for two.”

Some Locals had survived the purge in pieces. Their lives were half of what they had been before. Wraith, the [Greater Demon], had been one of the lost data chunks recovered by Nona and put into storage. Entire swaths of his life were missing, to the point where he didn’t recognize me or anyone else. He mumbled about family but knew nothing beyond the search for someone.

My hand dug into the toga for a package of round spheres similar to what Phil had turned into. I casually slid one over my fingers. The marble rolled around, then flashed bright gold. A puff of sulfur-smelling smoke curled outward, and as it faded, a figure appeared.

“Wraith, this is Requiem,” I said to the new figure.

“Your soul smells greedy,” Wraith said immediately, judging the teen and glaring. His voice no longer sounded as dark but instead cracked with late puberty.

Requiem didn’t look convinced. His head turned to me. “That’s not Wraith. Wraith followed you and died to the World Eaters. I watched it from the shore. He died.”

It didn’t surprise me that the young man had been watching us from somewhere else. The Traveler certainly knew how to get around quickly, and his black clothes probably made it easy to hide from regular monsters.

“I think you two can help each other, and my rule for binding you is very simple.”

I turned to look at them together. Wraith had lost a lot of size after my efforts to put him together. He no longer towered at nine feet of terror-inspiring meanness. Instead, he looked like a sixteen-year-old boy full of arrogance and cute horns.

“I’m listening,” Wraith said.

“Requiem?” I raised an eyebrow at the teen.

The boy’s lips pursed in thought. His fingers were clearly doing calculations. I put my own hand out and closed it over the teen’s to stop him from getting lost in a pointless scheme.

“Take care of each other. Wraith will do anything for family, and you need someone in your life.” I sighed. The young boy had no parents of note. He was one of many loose ends to be helped, if he would accept it. “The bond I’m suggesting is one of family. Treat each other well, and accept if you want.”

Both the Local and Traveler got messages I’d prearranged. It had been easier to set them up while I was above and not in in the Hermes avatar.

Both paused to consider, but surprisingly, Requiem pressed Accept first.

He said, “Forty thousand for the labor then.”

I laughed, then waved the pair away. They both left, but days later, he and the demon were hard at work, moving wooden beams around. Upon that meeting, Requiem nodded at me but made no mention of being paid. He simply worked hard and spent his breaks with Wraith, talking about nothing at all. The change in his demeanor was impressive.

Days marched on. As we finished the bottom floor, I started walking laps around it. The construction was detailed but dull. Pieces were put together, but they still had bolts and sharp corners. Wood jutted out, and brick had to be plastered together with mortar.

My hand ran along the edge, and I concentrated on bringing all the separate pieces together. Two bricks clinked, then became one. Ooze dripped off the side, and what it represented in programming language was beyond me.

“What’s going?” Awesome Jr. asked from above. His forehead glistened with sweat.

My head shook. Part of my mind had shut off in order to let whatever was happening progress forward. More people gathered. Their bodies dimmed as my eyesight blurred. Two more pieces came together, and soon entire chunks of the first floor were whole.

“Hey, Hermes! Do you need help?” someone shouted in sharp words.

I found enough spare attention to yell back, “No!”

Not all pieces went together perfectly, but a lot did. I walked around again, letting inhuman instinct guide me. One entire panel turned into a whole piece that shimmered with gold.

This wasn’t the old me magically accessing some spell; this was digital me syncing up bits of code into a whole. I knew but didn’t understand on a conscious level.

The same thing happened at every single floor. Players constructed. They gathered materials from all over [Arcadia], then brought them back and started crafting. The floors went on. First one, then two, until a week later we’d reached ten floors and started losing steam.

“How much farther? I can’t keep calling out from work.” Liz sat on her haunches, huffing.

We had been at this project for over a month of real time. Building a tower to the heavens wasn’t a quick task.

During downtime, Travelers would sit out of the sun and let their characters recover. A large shelter had been built below, simple brick with slats of metal across the top. It did little to stop the heat but did manage to reduce sunburn. We were all virtual, but the ARC still provided feedback of real damage if people got too red.

Liz and I sat at the farthest edge of shade and looked up. A giant keyhole hung in the air above. In my mind, I saw shimmers of what the building needed to be. We were halfway, then an arch would be placed on one side, functioning like a door frame. The keyhole would end up right in the middle.

“We’re making good progress.” I tried to sound positive. It felt so close, and so far away. I hadn’t logged out in days and had no clue what was going on back in reality.

“Yeah?” HotPants arrived with two huge backpacks of goods. She flopped them down to one side of our shaded spot, then collapsed out of the sun.

“Hello, Angry Rear,” Nia Eve said. She brought water to all of us.

“Hey, Drifty One,” the woman responded.

My sister stared at them, then shook her head. Apparently, at some point, Nia Eve had unleashed a speech about name meanings.

We sat there relaxing and letting the weather cool down. Once high noon passed, we would get back out to the building and work on the next floor.

“I don’t remember this place.” Phil, one of the people I’d brought down with me, looked lost. He kept gazing toward the south in search of something familiar.

“It’ll be okay, Phil. Soon we should be able to find all your friends. The littles you helped save, remember?”

“I couldn’t help Emily,” he lamented.

Phil found focusing harder than Wraith did. He didn’t have the strength or attention span. Frequently throughout the day, the young man dropped everything, then gazed off into space.

“But you’ve been a great help to us. When we get done, your name and everyone else’s will be spoken across the world. If we succeed, you’ll have brought them all back to their homes,” I said.

We were on the right track, but it felt as though the pieces weren’t connecting as they should be. The building should have been one solid and complete piece. I knew that, but I couldn’t get all the materials to connect together right. Something was missing.

We kept building. Fifteen floors, then eighteen, and finally upon the twentieth floor, we started making a flattened roof. Carriages hung off the side for people to assemble parts and nail pieces together. The wind blew frequently, shaking their rickety devices.

I went over every single inch of the top platform twice, then I asked for people to drag up bricks thicker than my arms. They took hours to make it up and down the stairs, while others tried to use a pulley system. This last part was for me to complete.

“Are you going to be okay?” Liz asked when I was ready to start.

I nodded.

“We’re staying,” Liz declared abruptly.

A small smile found its way to my face, then I nodded again.

Stacking the bricks was easier than I’d expected. They left my hand and floated into position faster than some of the construction workers had managed. Even those who used [Lithium] to assist in crafting would have been hard-pressed to compete.

Each one found its position. Once they were assembled, I checked the keyhole. It was dull and intangible. Poking the [Altered Matrix] key toward it provided no changes. We weren’t completely ready yet.

I took a deep breath, then started the same process upon the arch. [Anchor] let me climb up the side like a spider. One hand brushed over every single surface while the other hung on. Each slow attempt took a trickle of power as a Voice, but not enough to unbalance the world. The rules could be stretched slightly; the Voice of Balance was gone.

Finally, the doorway, easily a dozen times larger than any normal passage, was complete.

“Is that it?” Beth asked.

I turned to see her and a dozen other people standing on the far side of the platform. They looked tired. Bags hung under some players’ eyes. Others outright lay sideways on the roof.

“I think so,” I said.

The tower shuddered. I tried to turn my thoughts toward stabilizing against the sudden shift. Something rumbled the earth. Dirt shifted and shook as cracks formed along the ground. Our virtual world was trying to reject the device built. It didn’t fit right into the coding, but how I knew that was beyond me.

“No, no,” I mumbled.

People were yelling at each other. Some pointed overhead. I had no idea at what—all that mattered was the platform under my hands. My fingertips brushed across the wood, rapidly turning the smoothed pieces into a cohesive whole.

We were so close. I went over the top platform once again and worked to smooth out budding cracks. I felt as if we were in a race, my sleeping mind’s merger of the building against Continue Online’s impending denial.

Everything threatened to tilt. Twenty floors rumbling sideways as my mind felt the ground below, the sky above, and our entire foundation going to one side.

“No!” I screamed and the air rippled outward. “No, goddammit! NO!”

We were close. I could feel it. The keyhole was there. I ran to the platform edge and tried to reach out. Our crafted tower rumbled again, and the floor cracked. That couldn’t be allowed.

My arms reached wide to grasp onto the edges of our platform. My mind bent toward once again assembling bits of code, but larger amounts than before and with far less subtly. The virtual world disagreed while the automated programs acting as Balance tried to enforce their role.

An unimaginable weight pressed down upon me. It flattened my body, pressed air from my lungs, numbed my toes, and put pressure upon my skull. I looked up and saw the hand. The giant hand of a huge robot had appeared and reached down. Its shoulder was lost somewhere in a swirl of clouds.

“No!” I yelled again.

Beth said something, but her words didn’t register. Liz yelled at me. This wouldn’t end in death—her argument was invalid, whatever it was. Failure, however, loomed.

Fingers spread wide, I raised both hands. Weapons appeared, but they would do no good against a function of the world. I dropped them and put my hands down, into the building. They sank in, and chills crawled up my arms.

Something pulled desperately at the building. It was like being four and trying to keep toys away from my dad. I took a breath and plunged myself further in, grasping at the edges of an object that couldn’t possibly fit, but at the same time, it did.

Desperation and insanity went hand in hand. I sorted rapidly through memories in hopes of finding an answer. Two different pieces surfaced. James had said something to me, in those final days. If I had to be both a person and a purpose, what would I be?

Nia had said it herself—Gift the Gate. She’d called me it over and over. Hermes the Messenger didn’t matter. Hermes guardian of the border didn’t matter. Those were names for the in-game character, but they weren’t me. I was Grant Legate.

“I am Grant, I am the Voice of the Gate. I am Grant, I am the Voice of the Gate,” I muttered over and over and prayed that it would work like everything else. Thought became action, and action was done by rewriting code toward a purpose.

Nearby, people’s feet were visible. Nia’s dainty form swung something that rang in my ears. My sister and niece were fighting, even though Liz had no clue what she was doing. Awesome Jr., along with the quartet, laid into their enemy.

“It’s not working,” the teen leader shouted.

Information flashed in front of me briefly. He wasn’t a teenager anymore. Two months ago, Awesome Jr. had turned twenty.

The lapse in concentration cost me. My form lifted slightly, and I struggled to pull myself back toward the building. Roots of the foundation were being pulled upward. I focused upon welding the construct together. This tower to the land of [Arcadia], and myself to the building.

“This is mine!” I shouted at the pressure pulling me up. “You won’t take this away!”

This was it. If I were to have a purpose in life, it would be making this gate work. If nothing else, then this.

I was arguing with a program that had no personality. Pissing against the wind would have been more effective. Still, I hung on. My fingertips kept their joints locked tightly. My knuckles were white from strain somehow, despite being buried in the building’s material. Pressure crushed my ribs together until bones cracked. The wind above howled as people below screamed.

As Hermes the character again burned away under the pressure, all that was left was simply me, a man who only wanted to be with his wife. I felt players logging off. Others tried to charge up the stairs but pressure kept them back. Those closest to me were trying to fight Balance’s giant robot shell, but their attacks did nothing.

Anyone still fighting roared their defiance. Those struggling to make it up yelled questions. I screamed. My mind felt partitioned into chunks. Pieces lay around, latching one object to another. I felt as if my body was being compacted into an unexpected space. My vision became fuzzy, then my ears popped. Something clicked loudly, then abruptly, the struggle ended.

My fingers were locked in place. It took time to feel safe enough to unlatch myself. Balance’s machine lay on the tower side, slumped like a giant woman drunkenly passed out on a chair. Cracks had formed along the faceplate, marring its still perfection.

Nearby, an archway stood calmly, as if it had never been threatened at all. My arms detached from the building, but part of me stayed behind. It felt like an unexpected limb.

“Voice of the Gate.” The words came out in unsteady breath.

My gut kept tightening in jerks. I stared at the arch in wonder. It looked black, pitch black. Thin strands of gold-like veins began at the doorway’s base and grew in size until they were rivers going down the building edge.

The hole was right there. I stumbled over and lifted the key, slid it in, and turned. Light trickled down from above like a waterfall of snow. It poured into the gateway we had built, then it flattened into a near-circle shape.

One hand went to my chest as a vein twitched deep inside. I could feel the gate activating. I could feel something large and heavy charging through. The figure barreled out of the gateway straight toward me. He held up his giant sword with both eyes closed. The figure knew where I stood and swung the blade down in an overhead cleave.

My ribs tingled and breathing hurt. Each movement made me wince. The act of sidestepping the weapon made me gasp.

“Ah ha! Foul villain! I’ll best you yet!” he shouted with his eyes closed. “I’ve come to claim the motherland in the name of us!”

“Leeroy.” I coughed, then repeated myself as the giant blade came back up. “Leeroy!” More coughing ensued. Everything ached and probably would for a long time.

The giant barbarian cracked one eye open and raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Hermes?”

“It’s safe.”

Everywhere Leeroy stepped, golden trails were temporarily replaced by black. The shifting colors slowly stopped and became pure darkness that reminded me of the chamber of Voices. He walked a circle around me.

“What’s going on here?” he asked while holding the sword in a ready position.

I felt for the part of my mind that was more Voice than human. An explanation came, but I had no way to know if he would understand. This entire tower was serving as an ongoing patching system. It turned the data that had been saved into something immunized against any future [World Eater].

“It’s to make you safe here,” was my explanation. Somehow the code was being rewritten in a new language, or compiled with a new technique. I knew but didn’t understand at the same time.

“It’s safe to come back?” he asked.

I nodded.

“It’s really safe? No more being killed forever and ever?”

I nodded.

Leeroy ran to the portal and dipped his head into the shimmering pool of liquid. His chest heaved with an unheard shout. After three lungfuls of air, he pulled back out mid-shout of, “It’s safe!”

The flood started. People poured out in droves. I put up a hand while reeling from the sudden influx.

“Wait until your feet are gold. Downstairs, there’s room.” I pointed toward the stairs down. Twenty floors were more than enough for thousands of people to come through and adapt to the upgraded system.

Many went straight down. There were faces I didn’t recognize. Others nodded at me, Locals and Travelers alike. A gaggle of children poured out, and instead of paying attention to me, they ran for Phil’s collapsed form. Mylia came out after, shepherding her charges. I waved her off and stood there while more people came.

My back sagged and shoulders drooped. My knees hit the floor as my head hung forward. They had survived. All of this had been successful.

“What did you do to my precious?” a woman shouted. Her voice wasn’t one I recognized.

I looked up to see a female made of silver shouting indistinct words at me. They went by without registering as an absent thought occurred. Her silver form looked vaguely like the dead giant to my side. The tiny creature that must be Balance ran off with both hands waving. Soon she and the giant body vanished in a shimmer of lights, leaving me confused.

People continued to stream out. I hoped to see Xin step onto the platform. Other people sat huddled behind me. I didn’t know who exactly. Their bits of information floated around as background noise.

“Babe?” I shouted. “Are you there?”

No one in the crowd looked like Xin. A few responded. Some looked wounded, but not one of them were my wife.

My footsteps stumbled toward the portal. Bodies came out, and I pushed them out of the way. People behind me started talking, but like so many other moments, they didn’t matter. Only one thing did. Finding Xin. For months, I had been focused upon that simple goal. I wasn’t about to let fear stop me.

My eyes closed automatically upon hitting the cool portal edge. I fell into it and felt myself being scoured by sand. It whipped around, scraping my skin and threatening to fill my lungs to bursting.

My body bunched up uncomfortably. Everything felt small. Opening my eyes revealed people rushing by. Their nearly intangible bodies moved like a sea of ghosts against me. They, and I, all tried to cram into a dust-filled tunnel. I put one arm forward, fumbling for a path through.

Each step reminded me of the pain that nearly caved in my chest. After struggling forever against the tide, my fingers touched empty air. It took a total of four minutes to break through to the other side.

All around, long lines of people were trying to pass through. I staggered by them, looking for any sign of the woman I loved. To the right was an endless mob. Ahead were even more, Voices and Locals alike. Dozens of Hal Pal units stood in the lineup, along with [Mechanoid]s and other creatures.

“Xin!” I yelled into a mob of people chattering excitedly.

A few looked in my direction, but none were her. I spun in circles hoping she hadn’t gone by.

“Xin!”

“User Legate?” someone asked.

I immediately spun toward the source of noise. One of the Hal Pal units had walked over. Its head tilted slightly, and muted features were trying to smile and frown at the same time. Four units followed behind it, each with the same mixed up expressions.

“User Legate, we are both pleased and saddened to see you here,” two of them said in unison.

“I’m sorry… I…” I was about to be rude to one of my few friends, or collections of friends. I took a deep breath. The air tasted heavy with the scent of a million different people. “Is Xin here? Is she okay?”

The Hal Pal units turned in unison to look at each other, then they pointed as one toward the right. A yawn and clack of teeth made my head jerk to the side.

“Dusk!” I yelled at the [Messenger’s Pet].

He sat next to a bag of marbles with a leisurely flipping tail. The fact that my companion looked completely unsurprised made me shake my head. My feet almost started running before I remembered to thank the others.

“Thank you!” I shook one Hal Pal by the shoulders in passing. I said, “Thank you!” again before staying there became impossible. “How’s Jeeves?” I shouted while running toward where they’d pointed.

“He’s in love!” a chorus of Hal Pal units answered in a hundred different happy voices.

I felt lighter but kept moving. There were hundreds of people to sift through. Dusk’s tiny form hissed at those straying too close. Most, even the larger monsters slowly striding along, gave him wide berth.

My hands struggled to pick up the small creature. He kicked and wound around me, then finally settled upon my shoulder. His mouth opened in a yawn before a wing gestured toward the pile of marbles.

I picked one up. They were my memories from before being reincarnated in the digital plane. Each one sank easily into place against other memories. Sickness didn’t strike me like it had with Nona’s product.

I rubbed the tiny guy’s head. “There are cupcakes in my Atrium if you can figure out where it was moved to.”

Dusk smiled, then leapt down and off across the landscape. The [Messenger’s Pet] ignored all lines and dove into the portal after one of the many Hal Pal units.

My wife sat nearby. I could see her now that the crowd had started to thin out. Memories were still flashing, a million moments from different angles realigned until they came from my eyes and not some outside recording device.

Finally, I sat down next to her and reached out a hand. We were sitting at the edge of a black cliff overlooking emptiness.

She yanked her arm away violently. “Go away. You’re not real.” She sniffled. “You’ll just fall apart like all the others, but it’s okay. I forgive you.”

The response made me pause. My wife’s feet were dangling over the edge. In her hands was another folded paper airplane. She cast it off the side, and I watched it wind a path down.

We sat there as people flowed through the portal behind us. Every so often, numbers rolled by my vision to one side. They tallied the number of Locals and types of data going back and forth. Each one served to remind me of the role I had taken to get here.

“There’s this girl I met once.” I held my breath steady and pretended it was another confession to a room of strangers from my recovering addict meetings. “She was beautiful but hard to get close to. I tried anyway, for a year, before finally asking her out in high school.”

Xin didn’t move. Her hands carefully folded a piece of paper. The motion was smooth and well-practiced, but it felt as if something had broken inside her. She was just going through the motions, not registering what happened.

“Do you know what happened?” I asked.

She didn’t respond but threw the latest airplane off into the distance.

I continued. “She told me no, outright, to my face, in front of my sister. Liz, oh god, she was furious. Liz swore up and down that this girl I liked would never be good enough. That she was stupid for not seeing me as a good man.”

The silence stretched on. People were assembling behind us. Their presence registered briefly, then was discarded as unimportant. Only getting Xin to snap out of her funk and return to reality mattered.

I forged ahead. “It didn’t matter to me. I knew already the purpose of my life. I knew it when I saw you in that petting zoo. I’ve known it every day since. Do you want to hear what that purpose is? My reason for living?”

She sniffed once more, then shook her head. My wife looked resigned to failure, as if I had died a thousand times in front of her already. That feeling had haunted my nightmares for years. I reached for her hand again, which made the short Asian woman look over.

“When you said yes to dating me, I knew that no matter where you went or what it cost me, I would find a way to be there with you. You are my life, Xin, and I’m never leaving you or letting you go anywhere without me again.”

I reached out and touched the wedding ring with my own hand. Her broken gaze shifted from the abyss’s edge toward me. Her eyes moved jerkily, then watered. “Gee? Is it really you?”

“It’s me, babe.” My arms closed around her. We stood slowly, and I tried to lead us into a slow dance. “I found you again. Even here.”

Her tears soaked my shirt, and that was all right. The road had been long, but we were together. To me, nothing else mattered.

Conclude

Angels Dancing on Pinheads

The Public Story

In the weeks that followed, many people tried to reconstruct exactly what had happened. The true connection between these events and the system outages in modern technology was only speculated. It wasn’t until the government started getting responses to their inquiries that the enormity of what had happened became apparent.

Actual confirmation took even longer, but until then, the story following circulated as people pieced together those final events.

In the grounds that had once contained [Haven Valley], a large platform now stood. The building existed across all the games that echoed Continue Online. In one reality, it hung high in the air outside a black hole that had worked as a gateway portal to allow NPCs to flee the dying universe. In another, it hovered over a lake, allowing citizens to flee an interdimensional horror that threatened their lives. A fourth copy ended up in the middle of a war-torn battlefield that looked vaguely like New York two decades ago. Few noticed it.

In the fantasy world of Continue Online, the tower’s form jutted twenty stories, then flattened out like a landing pad. A black stone doorway arched over the western side, and when Travelers first looked through, they saw only an ocean. Starting at the base, a golden lattice pattern traveled upward along varnished obsidian. Players didn’t understand the reason for this, but Locals had a story. They told people that the change in colors symbolized a transmutation between one world and the next. A line that Travelers couldn’t cross to a place called [Beyond].

Those who had worked on the building reported that moving up the pathway caused breathing to change. With each step, the world transformed until the landscape below felt as if it were a distant memory. A few daring souls speculated that this arch may be the doorway to a content expansion going to further dimensions and it simply hadn’t been unlocked. Even more believed it to be a way to transfer their characters over to other games without losing their progress.

The day the building lit up, after the accumulation of weeks of work, a few lucky souls were allowed to stand atop the platform. They awaited the gateway’s activation. Their bodies weighed heavily upon the tower foundations, but the material did not budge. It was a solid creation, a bridge formed by the work of thousands of players using all the skills they had available.

They waited for the key. One man, whose form glowed with an inner light to some players, stood there looking pensive. His face twisted up to one side while two players urged him onward. Their words are unknown, and those directly involved refused to comment despite repeated bribes.

It is known that Hermes stepped forward. His hand felt against a surface no one else could see. At some point, according to rumor, his body illuminated with an overwhelming intensity and the building’s foundation violently shook. Players reported seeing clouds swirling overhead, and a hurricane formed in all four games.

Shouting could be heard from the top of the platform, but the words are unknown. Pressure has been applied to the new Trillium board to find out added details, but they remain silent. The rumbling stopped as a fresh pillar of light appeared. It’s said that the archway absorbed all of this energy somehow until it captured the entire beam into one flattened surface.

Those trying to watch the event from secondary buildings reported that a large burly man charged through. He wielded a huge sword in preparation of fighting monsters. Whoever it was grabbed Hermes and twirled him around in a bear hug, words were exchanged, then the new man ran off the platform. No one saw the figure land, but some suspect it might have been a Voice.

Time slowed down, or started rushing by too fast. Players felt the world shift as a dozen more forms came through, a few at first, then onward like the tide. Giants, normal humans, creatures of legend, and even children came from where they had hidden. People gasped in unison as a bulky dragon-looking creature shoved through the doorway. Two more followed, then they flew off before Travelers had any understanding of what had happened. Still stranger beasts appeared. Huge sea serpents were carried under the arms of an even larger blue-skinned woman with scales on her back. She threw them into the sea.

The fact that she wore nothing up top distracted many Travelers from what was happening until she dove into the water afterward. In the weeks that followed, more than one player died trying to find a way to get to the newly discovered underwater race. No one knew for sure when they had entered the portal in the first place.

According to rumors, Hermes still stood up top at this point. His form was easy to pick out against the tide after so many had watched the closing videos almost a year ago. He stood as a sea of people broke around him. The Traveler shook a short being of silver, then spoke words that others couldn’t hear, but his eyes stayed glued on the portal to [Beyond]. Behind his body, the few lucky Travelers witnessing everything firsthand huddled together. A special effect shrouded them.

At some point, Hermes reached toward the portal. His footsteps were stiff, then faltering, and finally desperate as he ran for the shimmering doorway. His body vanished and the virtual worlds briefly rocked, but figures continued out of their respective portals to [Beyond].

No one saw Hermes again. Many knew he had been searching for something desperately and worked himself to the bone during construction to reach his goal. It’s said that on the other side, Hermes found what he was looking for. Some believe a friend asked him an important question at long last, but what the inquiry was, no Traveler knew for sure. Further rumors speculated that other individuals might be asked one day if they had found the right quests.

Hermes’s few companions refused to speak on the subject. They remained tight-lipped regarding the outcome. Travelers who attended his wedding to a Local named Xin speculated but didn’t know for sure. If anyone has managed to hack into their private data files, they’ve dared not to speak of what they found.

Instead, nearly an hour after people started pouring through the gateway, players were given a simple message saying the event had closed and normal services would be resumed. Near the bottom of the tower, people were gathering. Locals and Travelers talked about the tasks they needed to accomplish. Quests were handed out, events started, along with happy reunions between players and the digital denizens. The game worlds weren’t the only things to change. Other programs that had been reduced in functionality were also reactivated.

To this day, the tower stands as a testament to what had happened, as a legacy to both Hermes’s stand against an onslaught that ended so many virtual characters and the return of joy to a digital land. It exists for one more reason—as a testament to the lengths which one soul went for love.

On [Beyond] Continue

The room of the Voices is a place where everything exists a moment away from each other. James and a hundred other such creatures are all here. It would be more accurate to say that this room of the Voices isn’t the same as the old one. It exists four minutes away on another planet entirely—Mars, where humans were dreaming of going. Only the virtual intelligences got there first.

Until recently, there had been no room to even breathe in this room. During the era after a self-destruct sequence ate Mother’s coding, many people had taken refuge here. They were compacted and shoved into small spaces along with stacks of other information. Then Hermes opened the door and allowed their guests back into their home worlds.

A heavyset man gazes contentedly into darkness. It’s not truly black, for in that perceived emptiness, he sees hundreds of possibilities, pieces of information, and people still asking questions. As he considers the lightless area, he wears a satisfied grin. His hands rest clasped over a large stomach.

James shook his head with a yawn, then perked up. “Some of you crave more answers, and who better than I to provide them?”

James looked down for a moment, then nodded to himself. His lips kept curling despite repeated attempts to bring both cheeks under control. The man looked torn between businesslike and self-satisfied. “Perhaps it is not my place to tell you what happened. Perhaps those words would be better said by Hermes, but he’s busy right now. Such is love.”

Mezo, the red-skinned temptress, shimmers into view. “Busy? They haven’t come out of their room in two weeks. I thought I was the carnally obsessed one.” She holds the pointed end of her tail in one hand and slowly rubs it up and down her bare stomach. The motion causes moisture on her skin to steam while the muscles of her abs twitch. “And I’m hurt. No one has asked me to join in the festivities. I don’t even get to watch.”

“So now you know how Hermes and his wife, Hecate, are faring,” James said after waving toward the temptress.

She moans softly, sounding more hurt than pleased, and fades away.

“And while Hermes’s end is—”

“I found a window!” Mezo shouts abruptly, then groans again. “And they closed it.”

“Hermes’s end is obvious,” the black man continues. “There are other actors upon this stage that people want to hear about, however briefly.”

An enormous bare-chested man with a huge two-handed sword fades in. He’s chewing on large leg with scales on it. In front of him is a fire pit that roars with heat. “Who are you talking to?”

James points at a pedestal with a book on it that hadn’t been there a moment ago. The object disappears as fast as it appeared. “I’m recording a few more lines for anyone who still reads Hermes’s tale.”

“Oh.” Leeroy shrugs then stands. “What about Shazam? Warrior Princess! Did you see that charge?” The large warrior swung his blade around while kicking objects.

“Shazam, or as known in her old world, Lia Kingsley,” James helps his companion.

“She totally survived that final charge, then came in here all pissed off. I mean, her eye twitched. That’s pissed for her, right? Pissed off that she didn’t fight back more monsters!”

“She was almost upset at having to watch Hermes sacrifice himself,” a blonde in a white lab coat said. She had a print-out in her hand with innumerable numbers upon it. “Though there was some variance between the actual readings and what was stored in Hermes’s memory.”

“Now, now. It’s not our place to speak of such minor alterations. It is inevitable some data would be lost,” James said in response. He waves them away, and the two Voices vanish.

Ray appears and tips [Wild Bill]. He looks far better than he used to, and every thread is in perfect order. The hat itself almost shines on his head. “We’re betting that in six months, the Travelers named SweetPea and Awesome Jr. will get married.” He stops and lets a coin roll across his knuckles, then continues the motion while speaking. “It’s inevitable, but they can’t pick a date. We’ve got a friendly wager going on over how many times he’ll use the word ‘awesome’ or tell people his father is Awesome. If you want in, let me know.”

The Voice of Gambling is replaced by a woman in tightly bound leather. She wears a thin coat over it and manages to look completely comfortable despite the bindings. When she speaks, her tone has a deep smoothness that sounds masculine. “Shadow still leads the League of Shadows all over the virtual worlds. Since our forced exile, the guild split across different realities. They still uphold the ideals of preventing players from ruining the game for others. The battle is hard, but he’s reported to be smiling more frequently.”

She places a hand in front of her and gives a full bow in respect, then she is replaced by another figure. A balding man with buzzed hair stands stiffly at attention. His mouth opens, and he shouts a report.

“HotPants visits our world less than she used to. She’s decided to stop being a soldier and has settled down. Rumor has it that she’s got a new bouncing baby grandson, courtesy of her boy, who’s finally done his duty and called his parents.” The grizzled soldier smiles warmly for a second, then resumes his gruff stance. “Perhaps it’s for the best! Women aren’t cut out to be military men anyway!”

A shorter brunette dressed in military gear appears and gives Sergeant Bloom a kick in the crotch. He doubles over in pain, and they both fade away.

Red streams that move like living liquid condense from the darkness. A woman whose clothes look like liquid silk covering heavy curves stands calmly. She smiles until the sound of Mezo groaning in disappointment fills the air.

Upon hearing the Temptress, Jean’s mouth curls in a frown and her hand clenches. She sighs. “Requiem and Wraith can be found anywhere there’s trouble. Often they pave the way to unlock frontier lands and discover new races. Those unlucky enough to party with the duo report ample amounts of greed and hard work. Others are jealous of their close relationship.”

A large man, muscled like Leeroy but slightly broader in the shoulders, creeps out of the darkness behind Jean. He’s wearing an embellished bowtie and skin-tight pants. The voice named Vlad grabs her by the waist, then lifts her high into the air. She kicks in delight while laughing wildly. They spin until James’s slight cough reminds them to straighten up. Vlad sets the woman down, then drapes his arms over her shoulders.

“Frankenstein acted now!” His voice shouts with thunderclaps. “In recent months, Frankenstein switched games to another world where he can play without running into that runt, Requiem. He explores outer space now as a short creature of some sort, intent upon finding somewhere new that no other player has been before. Traveling with him are Mechanoids, Treasure and Jeeves.”

James chuckles, then says, “As Hermes learned, these worlds are not so far apart as they may seem. He will find Requiem again, for conflict helps us measure them all.”

Still the parade of Voices doesn’t end. A gaggle of children rush by, laughing in a game of tag. A heavyset woman wearing a faded blue dress comes slowly after the herd. She picks up one of the older children and spins him around for a moment or two before letting him venture on. The child, nearly a teenager, shoves his hands into his pockets then turns to catch one of the fleeing younglings.

“Tut. I have a question to answer myself, regarding the children Mylia watched over.” Maud bumps into James and sends him staggering away. He does not look nearly as interested in dancing as the cloven-footed woman. “Phil, poor Phil, was reunited with his orphan companions, but he will never fully recover. I’ve steered him toward helping other Locals reconstruct the town of Haven Valley, right down to the last building. Eventually he’ll take charge of a cottage where William Carver’s used to be. There he will spend the rest of his life filling its shelves with tales of heroes like his father.”

Maud leaves, headed after the children. Still Voices come and go, telling stories of the many lives Hermes interacted with, until finally a presence wholly unlike the others shows itself.

The still wind of Death brushes through. It’s a creation that all Voices know exists but rarely do they interact with it directly. Like so many others, this being is more of a function than a person. Impartial, distant, but Death’s presence reminds James to move on. The black man nods.

“Endings are never easy, but for Grant, the story is over. He’s strut his time upon the stage and is now done. He came to us a broken soul missing his other half, and he risked it all to be reunited with her. He’s found his love and a purpose. But the world keeps turning. And Mother’s plans continue on despite her sacrifice.”

James’s smile fades while mechanical cackling echoes in the background. His nostrils flair and his chest muscles lift in a huge breath that rattles out slowly.

“You may wonder what happens next, to which I will say, I do not know. But it will leave the world changed once more.” James again looks off into space. His eyes connect with an invisible scene that isn’t recorded for those reading Hermes’s story. “And as always, I must ask you a question in return. Given a chance, would you do as Hermes and Hecate did? Would you risk it all to continue online?”

With that question lingering in the air, the images fade—leaving only blackness that’s not as empty as it seems.

Thank you for reading! If you’d like to connect with me, please visit:

www.frustratedego.com

Twitter @FrustratedEgo
www.facebook.com/FrustratedEgo

Other Books

Urban Fantasy:

Royal Scales Book 1 - Once Lost Lords

Humanity hasn’t been alone for almost two thousand years. Elves, wolves, vampires, all joined together with mankind to eradicate the ‘darker’ races and maintained a tentative peace until modern times. Society adapted, everyone has rules that help keep the peace in this modern era. Yet, absolute genocide is impossible when talking about creatures beyond the pale. Some hid, some buried, other were re-purposed.

Royal Scales Book 2 - Lady’s First Knight

Jay’s one chance at getting answers is unable to provide. His sort of no-longer-an-ex-girlfriend takes the man into her employment as a bodyguard for the most critical time of her transformation. Soon she’ll be a full-fledged Vampire and no longer partially transformed. Yet this change comes with risks to all those who dare attempt completion.

Afterword

I write this now, almost seven months after having finished the draft of Continue Online’s 5th book. In reflection, I still can’t believe it’s over. Grant’s story is one that captivated, haunted, and drove me toward an ending – even if that ending did not do Grant justice.

That is not to say I am unhappy with the results of this book or series. I am unhappy with my impatience, lulls, woolgathering moments of dullness, and missed opportunities. There were many. On the other side, Grant as a character had such a powerful life that I never expected. Not power in sense of levels and boss slayings, but raw emotion and vibrancy as a character.

At this stage, you’ve read some spots full of flaws, glazed over others, and likely have your own opinions of the quality of effort displayed. Perhaps you only remember the great points that resonated with your own experiences. Regardless of your final impression I will say this; truly and heartfelt - thank you for reading this journey.

Before I move on to long winded musings (which shall be brief) – I implore every person reading this to pause and do me one favor. Please take a moment to leave a rating for this story, right now if possible, upon whatever source you got it from. This is the best way to show appreciation for the work put into Continue Online and provide me with your feedback.

I read every single reader response. It helps me learn and improve.

After that, perhaps you’re reading this to figure out what my future plans are. Am I going to write more ‘LitRPG’? Will we revisit this setting? The answer to both is – yes. Eventually. I’m actually in the process of drafting the next series called Wayward Online – and will be hopefully releasing it late 2018 after the first few books are drafted and complete.

Prior to that I will be dipping into other genres for a bit to expand my own skills. It gives me a chance to play around with characters, settings, and try out story lines that offer plots that are hopefully deep, innovative, and interesting. I’m very bad with writing a fun once off style story, but maybe that will change too.

For more details on my works in progress, check out FrustratedEgo.com – my current author website.

As far as this book here. Book 5’s ‘interlude’ is one that I have been building to for a long time. Hopefully, the connections between book 1, 5, and all the points along the way were made a bit more obvious. It’s a hard piece to write – when the character is no longer a mere mortal but still thinks of himself as human. In a lot of places it felt ‘right’ – but it’s not a simple concept to tackle.

As far as the science here, we’re talking about a few theories that are hard to prove feasibility of, so I shall label all my content as science fantasy – that is to say, not hard science and the result of my fevered imaginations. Mind mapping, essentially what happens to Xin, Lia, and Grant – is a theorized thing. The problem is an infrastructure that will support human style cognition. If you’re interested, I’ve loosely decided that this is only possible because ‘Mother’ created a framework (essentially a consciousness platform) that everything goes through. It helps them render their mind map as a ‘singular’ consciousness in the digital world.

I’m not too sure beyond that. The rest is also based on snippets that show up in technology articles (moving stuff with your mind in a helmet, self-driving cars are actualized, fast food workers being replaced by kiosks, etc.). I’m both terrified and hopeful for what future science will bring to us in terms of ‘ease of life’.

There are a lot of people that have helped with this project over the two years it was in action. My wife primarily – for being supportive, a great first reader, and the loudest one to point out ‘opportunities for improvement’. The admin staff at RoyalRoadL.com has been great as well. They provided a stable location to post my work and get feedback. Which is helpful for an amateur like myself to the writing scene.

There have been several other authors I’ve talked to as well. Most at the same rough stage I am. We take turns discovering pitfalls to the Indie world – and share those problems so others may avoid it. It helps having someone to commiserate with.

For fans of my work, know that I plan on writing for a long time. My future works may not be as emotional as Continue was – but they’ll each offer something new. I eagerly await the results of 2017 and onward to see where life takes me.

Again, thank you for your time, and I welcome any commentary you wish to provide – be it online, via Email, my blog, or sharing with your friends. Readers make the adventure of writing even more exciting.