Back at the crypt, Gunnar crashed hard as soon as he was able. It took them another couple of hours to trudge through the forest to the outer crypt entrance. The Cryptids were all rising for the day, and Cork and Grippa wanted to hear about Mavenport and everything after. They were especially confused why Em was not with him. By the time he finished the story, Gunnar could barely keep his eyes open.

He was pleasantly surprised to find that the crypt had undergone some renovations in the past couple of days. The burial chamber was now filled with a row of rudimentary huts. They were still shared spaces for now, but Hank the Kobold assured him he would get one of his own soon enough.

Gunnar didn’t care. He had a straw mattress, and he collapsed into it, thinking that is was perhaps the most glorious bed he’d ever laid upon.

He barely had the wherewithal to elect to leave the game while he slept.

After all he’d been through in-game, he needed a chance to clear his head. His real life job shoveling sludge was perfectly mindless for that sort of thinking, and he was beginning to forget what his real body felt like.

Slowly, he drifted into slumber.

***

Jake Darrow’s limbs ached as he swam up from his alternate reality. His vision was blurry, adjusting to the harsh lights of the snow white cell that was his true home for the foreseeable future.

Cords retracted from receptors across his body, and the arms of the Virtuality Core swung away. His vision began to slowly focus on a figure standing beside the console.

It took a moment to realize it was not Shad the security hologram.

This man was tall with pale skin and nearly white blond hair, slicked back over his head in razor straight comb lines.

Jake was fairly certain he had never met the man before. There was no one else in the room.

“Whooo aaare youuu?” he slurred, still not quite adjusted to his actual body.

The strange man crossed his arms over his chest and remained where he stood. “Someone who wishes to thank you.”

“Whaaat do you meeean?”

“You’ve done more for me in-game than you could know.”

Jake’s voice returned to him in an instant. “In-game? Really? When?”

“Well, considering the variance of time in your realm, that is really a matter of perspective. But many of your most recent actions have worked well in my favor, so I’ve come to thank you, and to once again, extend my offer to you.”

“Once again?” Jake asked, realization slowly dawning. “Shit, you’re Luka, aren’t you?”

The man nodded demurely.

Jake thought about what he had just witnessed at that magic rift in the Golden Hills. “I helped you by freeing Leilani.”

“Among other acts, yes. Thailen is a city ripe for a veritable harvest of Glory, and I intend to milk it for all its worth.”

“Kind of a mixed metaphor there.”

The man scowled briefly, then caught himself. “You’ve done well, Mr. Darrow. Whether it wound up as you intended or not.”

“Your traitor sorceress wanted me to take the fall for what she did to the Nighthawks.”

“Oh, you will most certainly take the fall for that, I’m afraid. But that’s nothing personal.”

“Well, it screws up a lot of what I’m trying to accomplish in there, and I take that personally.”

Luka smiled with thin and very red lips. “Don’t be pedantic. The Nighthawks are small time. Just like your goddess. We all need such entities to get started, but there are much bigger dicks, as they say.”

“Bigger fish, I think you mean?”

“If you prefer.”

Jake chuckled at the deadpan response, unsure if this guy was messing with him or if he was completely serious.

“What if I’m happy with small fish?”

“You’re loyal, Jake, and that is commendable. But it doesn’t mean you have to stick your ass up your own head.”

Okay, this guy has to be messing with me, Jake thought.

“Based off your progress, I’m going to assume I’m not the first in-game deity to visit you down here.”

“That’s probably safe to say.”

“What’d she promise? Time off your sentence? That you’d go free?”

Jake shrugged.

“Money can buy many things, but I trust you know that’s not going to happen. You’ve been tried and committed. You already got time off for volunteering to be a test subject.”

“I figure being on the good side of someone rich and powerful is never a bad thing.”

“Good, then I trust you can recognize the benefit of being on the good side of someone more rich and powerful.”

“Okay, what can you do for me, then?”

“You’re stuck here for the foreseeable future. For all intents and purposes, Pantheon is your real world. Follow me, and you could rule that world.”

“Yeah?” Jake asked. “What about the whole part about me taking the fall for Leilani?”

“Leilani faced a similar dilemma, and she chose a new path. When you reach Level 30, you’ll have a similar opportunity. In a few days, the Nighthawks will be reformed, and old alliances and betrayals won’t mean a thing. Thailen is my city, Mr. Darrow. And I intend to keep it. Join me, and your future in the realms of Pantheon will be bright, indeed.”

On a whim, Jake rose from his chair and walked directly at the god, passing straight through the hologram. He spun back around and smiled at the stern-faced man.

“You know Nymoria actually came. Physically. She fed me steak. That was a nice touch.”

“Is that all it takes to buy your loyalty? A strip of meat?”

“I didn’t say anything could buy my loyalty,” Jake said. “I should probably get to work. But I gotta ask… what’s the deal with all you gods and goddesses worrying about a prisoner like me?”

Luka paused for a long moment, as though weighing his response with precise care. “Perhaps your existence is not as inconsequential as you think. Even down here.”

“That’s it?”

Luka shrugged. “For the time being.”

“Right, well, you’ve given me plenty to think about, so I guess we’ll be in touch soon enough.”

“Indeed… you have a choice swiftly approaching. As they say, your choices echo into eternity, Mr. Darrow. I suggest you choose wisely.”

With that, Luka’s hologram flickered out, and Jake stood alone in the room, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

And what any of this meant.

But hiss reverie did not last long.

The door to his cell slid open, and Shad the security guard greeted him.

“Welcome back to the real world, kid!”

Jake forced a smile. In truth, he didn’t know what was real anymore.