Ben kept his gaze fixed on Sullivan as he slowly stood up. Tears were still forming in the corners of his eyes, and he had to blink rapidly to clear them away, but he couldn’t blink fast enough; his view was blurry, unfocused. Mike’s dead. The thought was horrifying, and the reason for his friend’s death was even more so. I killed him. His eyes flickered to the large pod that stood open next to Mike’s body. He was connected to the game with the same VD console as I, and he died in the real world when I stabbed him.

I killed my best friend.

Ben couldn’t stop the tears, and he felt them running down his cheeks, mixing with the blood of the young player whose face he smashed in the other room. I’m a killer, he thought desperately. I murdered Mike, and I killed those other players. The nightmare is real. His jaw was shaking - he had to bite his lip hard so he could maintain a bit of self-control - but he couldn’t escape the turmoil in his mind. Blame battled grief, and despair threatened to overwhelm all other sensations. The man standing in front of him looked fuzzy through his tears, and when Ben tried to focus on him, a shred of anger filtered through his anguish and guilt. I did everything they expected of me, and they made me into their tool. They twisted my mind, my will, my thoughts. They made me kill Mike and the others to show me I have no control over my life.

That last thought turned the sliver of anger into boiling rage, and Ben straightened, his lips twisting in defiance. He managed to stop crying and wiped the tears away with his right hand - a hand that hadn’t been there only ten minutes before. Now, it was whole and new, and it kept tingling with healing magic as the last bits of skin, hair, and fingernails were renewed, growing before his eyes.

“The true power of VD,” said Sullivan in awe. The middle-aged man - bald and wearing a rich business suit - was watching Ben’s hand with fascination, his eyes wide behind his glasses.

Ben recognized him, of course. He had spent many hours before his last login searching the net for everything he could learn about SH Gaming and memorized the face of the man who held his life in his hands. Sullivan K. Vincent, he had learned, was a meteor in the virtual gaming arena, at least in the last two years. Googling him produced dozens of videos. Most of them were interviews where he presented his new company and talked about his top-secret technology as something that had never been seen before. He was charismatic and spoke of VD as humankind’s greatest achievement, and the press - at least some of the more hardcore geeky reporters - dubbed him “the new face of virtual gaming”. Sullivan quickly embraced the title and, in his latest interview, intrigued the entire gaming industry when he promised to upgrade the VD consoles into the “greatest miracle of the 21st century.”

Judging by Ben’s growing limb, Sullivan had lived up to his promise. But at what cost?

Ben lowered his hand and sniffed. He was still shocked by the revelation of Mike’s death, but anger kept sizzling inside him, and the sight of the bespectacled man in front of him fueled his rage. They made me into this. They will pay.

“This is amazing, Sullivan,” said a woman, and Ben realized with a start that he and Sullivan weren’t alone in the room; that he didn’t notice that before was a testimony of how disturbed he was.

When the woman - tall, blond, and wearing a dark worsted suit with a hint of cleavage - took a step forward to stand next to the CEO, Ben’s inner flames of rage grew even hotter. He recognized her, too: the infamous Mistress R, the crime lady of Ben’s city, the one who started it all by offering Mike the job that ended with Ben having a new VD set. Ben had only seen her once, from afar, and she was as beautiful as he remembered - though after seeing how women can look in VD, Rebbeca’s beauty seemed pale in comparison. Then the scout’s high perception came into play, and he also noticed that the woman’s flowing blond hair was fake - a wig. She’s bald underneath, he realized. She’s probably a VD player like the rest of us.

“You were right about everything,” breathed Mistress R. She looked at Ben’s nearly naked form with admiring eyes, her mouth slightly open in bewilderment. Ben had a distinct feeling that she wasn’t seeing him as a human being but rather as a lab mouse. “This is…” She shook her head and smiled, and her chest heaved with excitement. “This is going to change the world,” she concluded. “We did it! Can you believe it, Sullivan? We did it. You did it.”

Sullivan didn’t respond but kept watching Ben silently from where he and Mistress R stood a couple of feet away. Behind them, in the shadows at the edge of the room, Ben noticed two more figures standing silently. He spared them only a glance - but both were hooded, and he couldn’t make out their faces - and decided to ignore them for the time being. Instead, the VD hero fixed a withering glare on Sullivan. His rage reached a climax, and he could stay silent no longer. “You -” he started in a hoarse voice, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Sullivan beat him to it.

“Before you say anything,” said the man and raised both hands as if to stop Ben from bursting into action, “I would like you to consider one simple fact: I am not your enemy.”

Ben blinked. Fury swirled inside him like a vicious maelstrom. “Not my enemy?” Somehow, he was able to keep his voice low, almost a whisper. He wanted to shout, to scream, to leap forward and put an end to this man, but he managed to keep the storm inside - for the time being. “What are you then, Mr. Sullivan, if not my enemy?” His lips shook with suppressed rage. “Are you my friend? Will a friend turn me into…” He breathed hard and found out he couldn’t repeat the word out loud, not in front of this man. Instead, he clenched his fists, and his muscles tightened. If Sullivan said the wrong thing, he would find out what it meant to face the wrath of the Vindicator of the Depths.

Sullivan’s lip curled in a hint of a smile. “Not a friend,” he said calmly, quietly. “I wouldn’t presume - or want - to be your friend, seeing what you do to those who do call themselves so.” His eyes flickered to the body behind Ben, and he raised his eyebrows.

Ben’s fingernails dug into his flesh. He almost attacked right then and there, but something - a remnant of wisdom - held him back. He’s trying to goad me into losing control again. I must stay focused, or I’m lost. Have to stay focused. Stay in control. I must I must I must I must I must I must -

Sullivan’s smile wavered a bit, and he gave a slight nod as though realizing something. The man narrowed his eyes and carefully studied Ben’s bloodied face. “Not a friend, Ben, but no enemy either. I would like to think of us as…” He spread his hands to both sides as if encompassing the entire underground complex in his gesture - “well, as business partners,” he concluded. “After all, I couldn’t have come so far without your help.”

Ben tried to slow his breathing. Focus. Learn what you can before you move. “You came pretty far without me,” he said. “Those players in the other room…” he had to stop and swallow. The face of the woman whose neck he broke floated in his vision. “You fucked with their mind too, didn’t you? You put them in your brain-altering consoles and made them just like me.”

Sullivan and Rebecca exchanged glances, but when Sullivan looked back at Ben, he was smiling. “Charlie was too quick with the facts he gave you, Ben - facts that are only half true. But you’re right, in a fashion, and wrong as well.”

Ben started to give an angry retort, but Sullivan raised his hands. “You’re right in that these players are part of my experiment and that they’re using VD sets that are similar to yours. But you’re very wrong in your other assumption: these players are nothing like you.” The man’s calm expression changed slightly, becoming more passionate. “Don’t you see, Ben? Their minds are weak, even fragile compared to yours. Why do you think you managed to overcome them so easily, outnumbered as you were?”

Ben stared at him. He saw. He saw me killing them, and he doesn’t care. This is all part of the experiment for him.

If Sullivan saw the turmoil Ben was in, he gave no heed but kept talking. His speech became faster, his words heated with zeal. “You think faster than any of these VD players. Your instincts are amazing. Your brain has evolved in the passing week into something that none of us had anticipated, granting you abilities that are beyond our wildest dreams.” The man breathed hard now and licked his lips, his eyes staring with intensity into Ben’s. “I think you understand by now how truly unique you are; you absorb from the virtual world as much as you contribute to it, and this connection makes you into a true...”

“Superhero,” whispered Mistress R. Her voice was very low - Ben didn’t think she meant for him to hear, but his hearing was exceptional.

Sullivan seemed to have heard her, too, as his smile wavered again. Angry at the interruption? Or at her choice of words?

Ben forced himself to smile grimly. “So this is what it is all about, isn’t it? SH Gaming, a new VD initiative to create real-life superheroes. You have the technology, and you just needed the right lab mouse to fit with your plans.” Ben cursed himself for a fool, remembering what Raxlon had told him about the VD set he received - how it was designed and built especially for him. His mind was working fast now, and the words tumbled out. “How did you find me in the first place? And how many others did you try this console on before you did? Did all of them turn into mindless zombies like the ones I fought in the other room? How many of them are dead now, Mr. Sullivan, because of your experiment? How many!” His voice rose into a near-shout, and he realized he took one step forward.

The two hooded figures in the shadows stirred and started to advance. Bodyguards? Ben didn’t care. He was about to lose control again, but maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing after all. He would welcome the violence if it put an end to this atrocity of a man.

Rebecca took a step back and looked alarmed, but Ben’s outburst didn’t fluster Sullivan. “The only ones dead, Ben,” said the man coolly, “are the ones you killed yourself.”

“No,” snapped Ben, too quickly. “It was you who killed them, not I.” He wondered if he was trying to convince himself or the other man but carried on anyway. “You used me, twisted my mind, made me lose control -”

“Oh, did I now?” For the first time, Sullivan’s face lost some of its calm and twisted in anger. “I admit I tried, but you kept a clear mind right till the end, dear boy. You chose to kill, and I believe you might choose to do so again, given a chance. This is what you’re thinking about right now, isn’t it? How to kill me?” The older man shook his head as if disappointed. “Don’t try to deny it; I know your mind better than you know it yourself. I tested it for months, you see. And I’ll tell you this: what you think of me manipulating you is nothing but my way of helping you make the right decisions, to stir you away from the killer in you.” He gave a forced smile. “I was helping you all along, Ben. It is I who put you on the Hero’s path. You have your powers because of me. Don’t you get it? Together -”

Sullivan kept ranting about how Ben would become the greatest miracle of the 21st century, but Ben was only half listening. He was testing my mind for months? How? The scope of the man’s scheme staggered him for a moment, but Sullivan’s last words snapped him out of his shock.

“- be a true hero for humanity. We can find more players with minds like yours and -”

“More players?” Ben’s eyes narrowed. The bloodied faces of the dead people in the other room were vividly clear in his mind. “And what if they’re not as strong as me? What will you do with them then?”

Sullivan shrugged. “They can still be useful. The Red Mercenary demonstrated quite nicely a few minutes ago how easy it is to control them, so you can rest assured there are no risks whatsoever in recruiting more superheroes to our cause.” The man smiled and spread his hands. “Do you see the full picture now, Ben? Do you see, now, why I am not your enemy?”

Ben saw the full picture, indeed. And he was aghast. Horror-struck. Not only by the plan of this mad scientist but also because what Sullivan said about him - about his true self - had a ring of truth to it. I was thinking about killing him. I was ready to lose control. I still am.

When Ben spoke next, his voice was hoarse. “You are the true murderer, not me,” he repeated, though his words sounded hollow to his ears. He forced himself to lose the doubts - or at least store them in the back of his mind for later consideration - and started devising a quick plan of attack. “I will never join with you,” he said defiantly. I will teleport, stun both of them and run away from here. I’ll find Effie and Charlie and -

“I can see the glazed look you have when you think of a plan,” said Sullivan, “so whatever you’re thinking, please stop.”

Ben ignored him. He searched for the right spot to teleport to. Right there, between Sullivan and Mistress R -

“Stop, Ben, or I’ll hurt Abi.”

Ben froze. His predator gaze fixed on Sullivan, as swift as a hawk. “My sister?” He’s lying. Please, don’t let it be real. “Where is she? If you hurt her -”

Instead of answering, Sullivan reached into his suit pocket. Ben tensed, thinking the man was about to grab a weapon, but when Sullivan took out his hand, it held a thin bracelet, which glittered in the neon light that illuminated the large room. Ben’s Passive Focus immediately triggered, and his breath caught in his throat when he realized that he knew this bracelet - a twin jewel to the one he also used to wear around his left wrist. Abi’s bracelet.

“Your sister is kept in a safe place, for now,” said Sullivan, as calm as still water. “But this might not be the case if you decide to teleport away from here, or, for that matter, if you decide to do anything different from what I’m about to tell you. Do we have an understanding, boy?”

Ben’s heart sank. He didn’t know if he could use Sense Intent in real-life or not, but he got a distinct feeling that Sullivan was speaking the truth. He has her. Ben’s anger dissipated back into desperation. That sonofabitch has my sister. His mind raced, trying to think of a way out of this, but he couldn’t think of anything. I’m trapped.

Ben had to force the fear away so he could maintain his composure and tightened his mouth into a narrow line. “I understand,” he said quietly and clenched his fists. “But know this: if you hurt Abi, I would hold nothing back. I will kill you all in a heartbeat.” That, too, was the complete truth.

Sullivan looked at him as if he expected nothing else. “Yes, yes, of course you will,” said the older man quickly and smiled. He rubbed his hands and entwined his fingers, looking like an excited scientist again rather than a cold-hearted villain. “Now that we’re both clear about our intentions, I would like to proceed to the main business of the day: the second phase of your training.”

Ben was taken aback by the sudden change of topic. “I’m serious -” he started, and blinked. “My training?”

Sullivan’s smile grew. “Indeed. You didn’t think we’d be satisfied with your meager level 10 powers, did you? No, dear boy, you have to be much stronger before I present you to the world.”

Ben’s mind reeled. “Wait. You want me to return to the game?”

“Just so,” said Sullivan and gestured toward the large pod that stood open in the center of the room, next to Mike’s body. “Using this pod right here. It offers full immersion, Ben. It’s the latest of my inventions and the best one. I can’t wait to see what capabilities you’ll return with after you use this.”

Ben swallowed. The prospect of returning to VD was both appealing and horrifying at the same time. Time. I need more time to think. “What… what do you want me to do once I’m there?”

“Ah,” said Sullivan, and his smile became a fully-blossomed grin. “Excellent question, Mr. Keen, but I’m not the one to tell you about it. Raxlon, can you come over here and tell Ben about his next Quest?”

The two figures that stood in the shadows - one tall, one short - moved forward and lifted their hoods. Ben’s eyes widened when he recognized the tall man as Jarod and then widened more when he saw his DM’s familiar round face - a face now hard and grim. Ben started to speak, to ask the man what the hell was going on here - did he work with Sullivan all this time? - but Raxlon beat him to it.

“You probably don’t recognize me in this face,” said the man in the same brisk manner that Ben remembered from their last meeting. “But I assure you, Ben, it is I.” He gave a short nod and a slight smile that looked forced to Ben’s eyes. “Your DM, in the flesh.”

Ben shut his mouth. Don’t recognize him? Undoubtedly, the DM remembered that they met a few days ago… but even as he thought about that, Ben understood - and felt a glimmer of hope blooming deep inside his chest. Sullivan doesn’t know that Raxlon and I met in real-life. And Raxlon wants to keep it this way.

Ben gulped, changing what he was about to say. “I would recognize that nose anywhere,” he said, playing the DM’s game, and Raxlon chuckled. “Ah yes, the one thing I just couldn’t get rid of when I created my DM character. It’s just too fixed in my mind to create anything else, you know?”

Ben merely grunted, and Sullivan tsked in impatience. Jarod and Rebbeca smiled, though, as if they were all having a good meeting between friends, and there wasn’t a corpse decomposing a few feet away or half a dozen bloodied bodies in a room down the corridor.

Raxlon sighed. “Well, Ben, by now, you probably realized I work together with Mr. Sullivan here. I joined forces with him a while back, and if you don’t mind me saying it, what happened to you is only a small part of the bigger picture. You saw it for yourself, didn’t you? The Power Quest I designed using SH technology is the best one I have ever created. And this pod here -” he gestured at the sizeable sarcophagus-like thing - “well, if it does even half the things Mr. Sullivan promised it would, then we’re truly on our way to a serious breakthrough -”

“This is all very nice, Raxlon,” said Sullivan, impatience clear in his tone, “but we don’t have all day. Please explain to our hero here what he should do once he reconnects to the game.”

“Yes, yes,” said Raxlon. “Well, Ben, like Mr. Sullivan said, to complete your training, you should log in again, this time using this enhanced VD pod. Truly, a marvelous creation -” Sullivan’s eyebrows rose, and Raxlon quickly continued. “Once you’re back inside, you’ll find yourself in the Eloveen Valley, not far from the Temple of Bree - which you successfully liberated, by the way. Well done. It was one of the first Quests I have ever created, and to think it was finally completed - yes, yes, sorry,” he said when Sullivan opened his mouth to snap at him. “Anyway, once there, all you have to do is, well…” The DM shrugged. “Keep playing. Complete more Quests. That is all.”

Ben eyed him carefully, trying to detect any secret messages the DM was perhaps trying to convey in his befuddled and hurried speech. “That’s it? You just want me to play the game?”

Raxlon nodded, but there was a slight twitch to his eyes when he next spoke, and Ben’s sensitive perception suggested that his following words would be of greater importance. “Yes. Mr. Sullivan and I prepared some wonderful Quests for you! So all you have to do is play and reach a certain level before you can complete the second phase of your training.”

He paused, and Ben filled in the gap as he knew Raxlon wanted him to. “A certain level?”

The DM nodded. “Indeed. I believe - and that’s what I told Mr. Sullivan here - that level 25 would be just what we need. Level 25, and the Third Echelon. Do that, and Mr. Sullivan - and the worlds, for that matter - would have the perfect superhero. Think you can do that, Ben?”

Ben’s mind raced. Level 25. Third Echelon. Those were the exact goals - plus a secret Quest - that old Ben gave him after he ascended to the Second Echelon. A coincidence? Ben didn’t believe so. He also didn’t think that Sullivan knew about old Ben, which meant that Raxlon just hinted that by completing his old namesake’s Quests, he would perhaps gain some advantage over Sullivan. Finally, there was that error in Raxlon’s speech that Ben couldn’t miss: the DM used the word “worlds” instead of “world.” It all came down to a simple conclusion: Raxlon was telling him that the system’s AI - and, possibly, the DM himself - would come to his help once he rejoined the game.

Ben slowly nodded. “I can do that,” he said quietly. “Is there…” he moved his hand across his shaved head, giving the DM a long and knowing look. “Is there anything else I should know before logging in? Would you help me complete my Quests? You did so before.”

Raxlon smiled nervously. “No, Ben, I never help my players. That’s cheating.” Ben knew for a fact that the man was lying, but he let him continue. “You have to do everything on your own, or the system won’t give you the boons you need to progress your character. You’ll be fine, though; I know you will. And who knows, maybe after all of this is finished, you and I can enjoy a fine boutique beer and talk over everything that has happened…”

Ben’s eyes widened slightly. He and Raxlon did have a boutique beer together once, in a place called Carla’s Brewery. Another hint?

“How very touching,” said Sullivan. He had his fingers on his glasses, and he frowned as if he saw something he disliked. Mistress R was also looking anxious for some reason. She whispered something to Jarod - this time it was too low for Ben to hear - and the man nodded, turned around, and walked briskly out of the room.

Sullivan turned to face Ben. “It appears we have no more time, Mr. Keen. I had half a mind to have you showered and cleaned before you enter the VD pod and log in, but my men can do it for you later.” He smiled slightly and gestured for Ben to move. “Climb into your pod, Scout of Sonadin. Your adventure awaits.”

Ben opened his mouth, but the CEO of SH Gaming raised his hand and showed him the bracelet again. “No more talk, Ben. You know everything you need to know. If you care anything for your sister, you would climb into your pod and log in. Now.”

In the distance, somebody shouted an alarm. An instant later came the obvious sound of gunfire.

“Now, Ben!” Said Sullivan. “Or I swear -”

Ben raised his hands in surrender. The shouts and the gunfire sounded too far away to be of immediate help to him. And he couldn’t risk Abi by opposing Sullivan any longer. He was trapped, but he was comforted by the thought that not all was lost: he had allies, both in the game and out of it. He would find his way back and make things right again.

Without saying another word, the young man gave a final look to his DM - Raxlon returned the slightest of nods - and walked over to the pod. When he passed by Mike’s body, Ben closed his eyes and made a silent promise. I would avenge you, brother. I do so swear.

Then, there was nothing left to do but climb into the pod. Ben ascended the few stairs and then lowered himself into the thing, feeling as if he was climbing into his funeral casket. Once he was inside, he found out that there was enough room to lie comfortably and even stretch his limbs to the sides. His body slowly sank into the softest mattress he had ever lied upon. When his entire body came in contact with the slightly cold material, Ben heard a low buzz, and several metallic tentacles were detached from the pod’s inner walls, seemingly moving of their own accord. Ben could do nothing to stop them, and after a few short moments, the pads clung to his naked body - to his legs, arms, and, finally, his shaved head.

Sullivan’s smiling face appeared over the pod. “Have a good game, Ben,” said the man, and his eyes glittered. “I’ll see you when you’re level 25.”

The lid of the pod started to move, closing around Ben. Sullivan’s face was all he could see. The man’s smile widened cruelly. “I promise to take good care of your sister while you’re gone.”

Ben opened his mouth to curse the man, but then the lid fully closed over his head, and there was only darkness and the familiar feeling of drifting in a place made of clouds.

Deep in his mind came a soft, faraway whisper: “User Ben82016a accepted. Logging in, please wait.”

---------- END OF BOOK 1 ----------