Tony stared in awe. He had hundreds of hours logged in “Godmaker” on his Steam account. “Um, yes,” was the best he could muster. In "Godmaker" Auren had been a demigod, the rogue-like real-time-strategy experience had endless replay value; a smattering of different endings, different discoverable hero units, hidden side quests, hidden alternate main quests, secret artifacts, and resource deposits were just a few reasons why Tony had played the game over and over again. The plot of "Godmaker" had taken Auren and a group of his trusted friends and accumulated allies on their quest to overthrow their titanic overlords and liberate the cosmos from their stranglehold.

Tony's favorite ending in "Godmaker" had not been the viral sensation that showed the vizier Morkhan manipulating the "guile tank" Ignacious into assumed power, but the ending where Auren and the others had ascended to complete godhood and ushered in an era of prosperity and peace, truly taking the game's namesake.

Reminiscing about the game he spent so many hours playing, Tony couldn’t help but wonder if the specialization that Ignacious used in “Godmaker” would be available as a Class Specialization later. The “Chicaner” class was functionally the same as an advanced sword-and-board warrior, but swapped in Charisma Modifiers instead of Stamina, and did not require shields to tank an encounter effectively. The forums had called Ignacious “blusterwall” as a joke referring to some song that released in nineteen ninety-five.

“Let’s get a move on,” Auren said. Tony complied, following a pace behind the god. The two of them moved through what Tony soon discovered was the flagship Haght'anak. The metal halls were the same hewn iron as the door of Tony's chamber and the viewports looked into the same gradient space, but with visible "glass" coverings. Questions soared through his mind. There was so much that he wanted to know that Auren might be able to answer. The halls were busy, people bustling back and forth. Sets of glowing dots could be seen above almost all of them. A majority were white, silver, and blue and very few of them were gold. Tony almost missed the silver color, as it was very difficult to distinguish from the white.

Tony focused on one of the people chatting in the hallway with a white glowing point above them. She was tall and thin, with a sharpness to her curves, pointed ears, stark white hair that fell from her head like a waterfall, and softly glowing silver eyes.

Name: Esava Level: 3 Race: Celestial Elf (Ascendant)

Class: Acolyte Essence: 1 (Dormant)

He decided that he would need to figure out what the dots meant. There had been hero units in "Godmaker" that were elves, but they had been some of the more difficult to unlock and even more complicated to fully utilize. He scanned for a blue dot next.

Name: D'jorrin Level: 2 Race: Burning Ashtar (Ascendant)

Class: Apprentice Essence: 1 (Dormant)

Tony had no idea what Ashtar was, but they were tall and broad people, and the "burning" referred to the obvious elemental aspects. D'jorrin's eyes burned out of their sockets like torches and as Tony watched him talk, he noted that the inside of his mouth looked like the heart of a furnace. When the man got excited, his back and shoulders would flare with flames for a moment or two before receding.

It took a couple of turns down different halls for the crowds to thin and Tony to pick out a silver orb instead of a white one, but he managed to. At first, Tony couldn't entirely tell what he was looking at. The person he looked at was of average human height and shape, but they were androgynous in appearance with short-cropped translucent hair that mirrored the gray-silver of their skin. As soon as Tony focused on the person to look at their "nameplate" they looked over their shoulder at him, revealing one of their large eyes, a dark-blue orb with flecks of white and silver dotting it like stars.

Name: Jael Level: 4 Race: Selenian (Ascendant)

Class: Apprentice Essence: 1 (Dormant)

At Tony's prolonged gaze, Jael turned to face him. When their eyes met Tony found it difficult to look away, like Jael was peering directly into his mind. This was made even more difficult as Jael's body seemed to rearrange itself as Tony watched, forming into a near-exact visage of the admin from his Multiplex.

"What the?" he said. Auren stopped and looked back, then smirked at the confused look on Tony's face.

"Snap out of it, kid, we have places to be!" Auren said with a little too much excitement as he grabbed Tony by the bicep and dragged him away.

"Who… or what was that?" Tony asked.

"That was a Selenian, they're from the Andromeda Galaxy, the one right next door to Earth's. Selenians have an innate talent that they can use to take on the appearance of someone you find attractive."

Tony's face flushed at the explanation.

"Jael there is probably one of the most talented Selenians we've got in the program. All it takes is a moment of eye contact and they can use it. Most Selenians need to at least have a conversation with a person before using the talent effectively," Auren explained.

Tony did a mental double-take. "Wait, so is Jael more than one person, or were you just talking about talented Selenians being able to use the talent with eye contact?"

Auren chuckled softly. "Sorry about that, Selenians don't have a gender until they assume one. I was using they as a singular pronoun."

Tony pressed the edge of his left thumbnail into the tip of his index finger and kicked himself mentally.

"Don't worry about it, Tony, you're fresh out of cryosleep, no one is going to expect you to know the ins and outs of social graces right away," Auren said, giving Tony a light punch on the shoulder.

“Right,” Tony responded.

Auren could sense Tony's dour mood and decided to change the subject, trying to lift the boy's spirits. “A lot of Trainers will make a big deal about Ascendant Training. They're exaggerating. The Ascendant Program was designed for humans. Most of the trainers we have are either Elves, Ashtar, and if you're lucky, you might get a God or two. Most of the humans we saved are still in cryo, and the program had to be altered for the others. It should be a breeze for you.”

"Hold on, what do you mean 'the humans you saved?' What happened to the rest of the humans?" Tony noted the rising pitch in his voice and took a deep breath.

This is just a game, this is just a game, he reminded himself.

Auren took a deep breath and explained, “In 2038, I started a ploy against Ignacious, the current 'King of the Gods.' He found out about my little scheme earlier than I would have hoped. The carnage he set forth on your planet…” Auren shuddered; a tempest of emotions flashed over his face. Rage, loss, frustration, and melancholy fed into the crackling energy of the Battle Aura trying to ignite over Auren's crossed arms.

“It was terrible,” he continued. “You and three hundred others were all I could gather before The Desolation. Since then, members of other sentient races have come to our side, rallied against Ignacious.”

“But if the Ascendant Program was designed for humans, why are other races joining the fight? Wouldn’t they be safe?” Tony's "plot hole" senses were blaring and the question tumbled out of his mouth before he had the chance to think about it.

“After Earth, we had to alter the Program. We simply wouldn't have the numbers to go against Ignacious and the Cadre of Judgement." Auren's face evened out, setting to a more neutral mood as he discussed the pain points within his plan. "The defining trait of your kind is its versatility, Antonious. We’re lucky that it has been to our benefit. The presence of a soul yields sentience in organic creatures, from hounds to humans, this cannot be denied. The modifications allowed for any being with a soul to be compatible with the Program. It is not always a perfect fit, but we do what we must.”

“But why are they rallying? What is Ignacious doing?” Tony pressed.

Auren’s face darkened, his mouth forming into a thin line before parting to speak again. “Ignacious has dispatched the Cadre of Judgement into the cosmos, eradicating any species that can Ascend that will not join him instead. All. Sentient. Life. Antonious.”

— Auren’s jaw set. There was no way that Tony could know everything the Lord of Auras had said was true. There was no way for him to know that the “headset sync” option had torn the soul from his body before The Desolation occurred. There was no way for him to know that it had taken fifteen hundred years to rebuild Antonious King in a way that would survive Ascension. The boy wasn’t ready for that. —

Tony let out a low whistle. That’s one hell of a way to explain the “closed beta.”

A quest has been added to your Quest Log: Usurp the Mad King