The tunnel never seemed to end. It was pitch black and unchanging, with nothing but the occasional clangs from the fight between the man and monster behind him to break the monotony. It almost felt like he was moving in place, a sensation he swore he’d felt before but couldn’t quite remember where. Soon, after what felt like forever, he eventually saw a light at the end of the tunnel. He ran faster, and soon rushed out the other side into a bright meadow.

  There was no physical tunnel behind him, just the outline of the exit he’d just ran through. Flowers dotted the landscape as far as the eye could see, an infinite cascade of colours, some of which he’d never seen on flours before. The sky was a bright blue and cloudless, although there was no sun anywhere in the sky, and it was a slightly brighter shade than it should have been.

  The other notable thing about the meadow were the bodies. They were floating in the air like they were in water, their eyes shut and mouths agape. James walked up to one and grabbed his wrist, looking for a pulse, but found nothing. He tried to pull one down, but it felt like they were stuck in mid air.

  “Hello?” He shouted, but he got no reply. He continued onwards past the floating people. “What the hell am I even looking for, old man?”

  He walked around the flattened entrance to the tunnel, and saw a bronze statue on the horizon. He walked towards it, every step feeling like it took him slightly further than it should. The closer he got to the statue, the more he noticed that the meadow was littered with random junk, ranging from classic fantasy weapons to smartphones to large metal boxes covered in dials and switches that James couldn’t possibly work out the use for.

  As James looked out, he could see similar things dotted the landscape for miles around, along with way more floating bodies. As he saw more floating people across the meadow, he began to think he recognised them. They looked like the NPCs he’d seen on the journey, from Haelshire all the way up to Corigrad. He tried to look for notable characters like Delarius or Kiula, but he saw nothing.

  That was until he got closer to the statue, and he saw an elf woman with blonde hair and a green dress.

  She was floating in mid air above a metal disk embedded in the ground a few meters in front of the statue.

  “Hello?” James said. “Is anyone there? It’s me, that guy you, uh, made out with. Are you still-”

  She muttered something in her sleep, but James didn’t recognise the language. She looked scared, even with her eyes closed. James grabbed her wrist to find she still had a pulse. He pulled her down to ground level, where the water effect subsided. She collapsed onto his shoulder, and he laid her down on the ground.

  “Hello?” James repeated. The woman’s eyelids started to flutter open.

  “Am I…still dreaming?” She asked. “Did I escape from…the garden?”

  “I…I don’t know where we are, actually. Maybe you could call this a garden? It’s more of a meadow.”

  “Well, I feel like me again, so…this is real, isn’t it?”

  “Depends on your definition of real. This is a video game after all…just a really damn weird one.”

  She smiled. “I liked video games, I think. I haven’t played one in a very long time.” She tried to lift her hand, but she was still weak. “I slept for so long…how am I…”

  “I don't know what you're talking about. Who are you?”

  She looked confused. “I have a name, don’t I? I think it’s Brigid, maybe? Or…Silene? Or…” She sighed. “I’m still not awake yet. Give me…some…”

  She fell asleep again. James shook her to try and wake her again, but her slumber was already too deep. He laid her gently on the ground and walked up to the statue. It displayed a man in a long coat that seemed somewhat familiar to him, an ornate sword firmly planted in the ground. He had short cut hair, and was smiling outwardly, coat fluttering in some nonexistent wind.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “That face,” James said. “It can’t be.”

  James walked up to the plinth, reading the inscription, possibly the most insane thing he’d read in this game yet.

  To the greatest Hero of Corinth

  The one who purged the land of the Dark Lord once and for all

  Maximilian Kable

  James laughed. What was he looking at? An April Fools item? A jab from a modeller at the corporate hierarchy? An egotistical demand from Maximilian himself that the dev team couldn’t bring themselves to put in the game? It seemed ridiculous that this was what he was meant to find after going through all of that. He looked around, trying to see anything else, but there was nothing but more floating people and the tunnel entrance, which suddenly seemed much closer to him than it had been previously.

  Then Draconautis strode out of the tunnel, an unconscious SoulArmoury leaking liquid metal from his body between its teeth. The monster chucked its prey away, knocking him into one of the floating bodies. The body didn’t even move, and SoulArmoury collapsed to the floor, liquid metal covering the flowers. It stomped towards James, baring its teeth and growling. James stood in front of the unconscious elf, drawing his sword.

  “Took you long enough,” he smirked, but both him and Draconautis could tell the bravado was false. “Oh, you beat my distraction? Awesome! By the way, that was an old man who was scared of a cornfield. If he could piss you off, you’re really not going to stand a chance against me.”

  HE IS FAR MORE CAPABLE THAN YOU. YOU SHOULD BE DISTURBED HE FOOLED YOU SO EASILY.

  “Well, it doesn’t matter much. You’ve never killed me before. Worst case scenario I just lose my memories of this place. First time we met, you failed to do even that. I know your tricks. I know how you fight, and what the stakes are. I’m not scared of you anymore.”

  James tightened the grip on his sword. His last words were not a threat to his opponent, but a desperate attempt to make himself believe them.

  MY PATIENCE WITH YOU HAS REACHED ITS END. I REFUSE TO SEND YOU TO THE GARDEN AGAIN. YOU WILL ROT HERE, JAMES MARLOW. NO ONE CAN SAVE YOU ANYMORE.

  “You’re wrong. Even if I can’t win against you, I only have to survive long enough for the others to beat the raid. Once that’s done, I’m out of here.”

  AND HOW WILL YOU ESCAPE, PRAY TELL?

  James looked over at SoulAmoury. “I was hoping he’d know how.”

  REMARKABLE.

  The monster rushed forward, jaws open wide, looking for its next meal. James lodged his shield in Draconautis’ jaws and stabbed the monster in the eye, pulling out quickly to avoid a reprisal from its claws. He looked behind him to check for the tail, and was pleasantly surprised that he had enough time to block its attack with his shield. Draconautis’ eye regrew swiftly and he tried to bite James again, but James responded by stabbing it in the face hard enough to slice the top half of its skull in half.

  Cieth

  Rending Strike

  Draconautis staggered back and James continued to slice at its body, cutting off one of it’s claws.

  “I won’t let you hurt any more people!” James shouted. “Whatever you did to Amelia, Oblivia, Armoury, whoever else you tormented while playing this game, It won’t happen again! Just die already!”

  James climbed up onto the monster’s broken jaw and leapt up into the air, preparing to stab it. However, the tail came up from behind him and wrapped around James’ body, holding him in place. The tail began to tighten, ribs popping and cracking as James struggled to breath.

  THIS HUNT WILL NOT END. AT THIS STAGE, NO RULE OF THE CONTRACT OR ORDER FROM ON HIGH WILL STOP ME. I WILL SLAUGHTER YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS LIKE CATTLE.

  Eyes began to pop into existence around James, floating in the air. The sky began to be covered in them too, the perfect blue opening up like eyelids, uncountable eyes all looking at James. Some looked human, some looked like lizards, some looked like creatures James had never seen, but they were all looking at him.

  Outrider Draconautis has requested termination of player Cieth.

  Checking citizenship records…

  US citizenship found.

  Interfacing with Scavenger Headset.

  Waiting for authorisation…

  Request granted.

  7 minutes remaining

  For Cythotek

  James felt pain like nothing he’d experienced in his life. His blood felt like acid, his body burning from the inside out. His visions flickered in and out, changing between the game itself and the real world through the lens of the headset. He could feel his real body thrashing around, but in slow motion: like his body in the game was moving at a different speed to his real one. Draconautis’ head stitched itself together and he laughed as he watched James convulse and burn in two worlds.

  DIE JAMES MARLOW. DIE!