Chris trudged through the forest, getting progressively more and more irritated. He had quickly learned that avoiding all the tiny bugs was literally impossible. Thankfully, they didn't seem to be able to do anything all that bad to him, just tiny bites that were annoying as fuck. He'd even killed a few, and nothing. He was beginning to wonder if these bugs even had abilities. Additionally, that bright ball of blinding his fucking eyes was beating down on him the entire time! He didn't know how any surface creature could stand the thing! Finally, however, he found something new. Chris crouched by the side of a long hard path. "This… is a road." He looked down the road. "That is a sign… speed limit sixty? Sixty what? Kilometers? Seems kinda fast…" He turned to look behind him as he heard something coming. "And that's a car. Neat."

The car slowed down, pulling over right before it reached him. A head poked out the window. "Uh… you need some help, man?" The guy asked, looking confused.

"I wouldn't mind it if you could tell me where exactly I am?" Chris replied. "I'm… a little lost."

The guy snorted. "I bet you are! This is the middle of nowhere! The nearest town is over forty miles away! How'd you even get out here?"

Chris blinked a few times. Miles? How far was that? "Uh… I just kinda walked."

"From where?!?" The guy asked incredulously.

Chris pointed a thumb over his shoulder, back into the forest. "That way."

The guy looked towards the forest. "What's over there?"

Chris looked back. "Lots of trees. Lots of little bugs. Some other tiny critters."

The guy blinked at Chris a few times. "You're a pretty weird dude, aren't you?"

"I've been told that a few times, yes." Chris nodded.

The guy shook his head, chuckling slightly. "You want a ride?"

Chris shrugged. "Sure."

"Hop in." The guy waved, unlocking the car. Chris walked over, opening the door and sliding in as the guy pulled out, continuing down the road. "I'm Travis, by the way."

"Chris." Chris replied.

They continued in silence for a moment, Chris staring out the window as he took everything in, Travis occasionally glancing over at him. "So… what level are you on in 'The Maze'?"

Chris jerked to stare at him, eyes widening. "Excuse me?"

"'The Maze'? You know, the deep dive VR game? You play, right?" Travis asked.

Chris blinked a few times. "I- no. I don't."

"Seriously?" Travis asked incredulously. "I thought everyone played! You know it isn't just about fighting, right? You can craft, raise pets, build a home… It's like an entire other world!"

"Huh… I'll have to check it out." Chris muttered, wondering what in the world a pet was.

"Okay, what is up with you?" Travis asked. "You're not like an alien or something are you?"

"What's an alien?" Chris asked, cocking his head.

"Uh… a creature from another world?" Travis offered tentatively, beginning to get concerned.

"Oh, then yeah, I might be." Chris nodded. "Not completely sure though. Either this is a different world, or the surface is much different than previously thought." He glanced over at Travis. "I assume you're human, right?"

"Y-yeah…" Travis glanced over at him, wondering how crazy the random hitchhiker he'd just picked up actually was.

"Ah, good." Chris nodded. "Not that I'd judge you if you weren't. Some of my closest… Well, most of my subordinates aren't human, and I like them just fine."

Travis glanced at Chris a few times, between focusing on the road. "You- you're messing with me, right?"

"No. I'm being serious." Chris replied. "I'm not entirely sure how I got here, but this place doesn't seem like where I'm from. The most disturbing part is the 'Maze' game you mentioned. My world has a Maze, but it's real, not some game. Kind of a pain in the ass, really." He glanced over at Travis. "You guys don't have a real Maze, do you?"

"N-no…" Travis responded, seriously considering pulling over and kicking Chris out. He knew picking up a hitchhiker was a bad idea.

"Yeah, see, that's a bad sign." Chris sighed, before pausing. "Or a good one… actually, yeah, a world without a real Maze seems pretty nice. I assume you don't have the Trial, either, right?"

"Okay, now I know you're messing with me." Travis breathed a sigh of relief, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "You're pretending to be from the game, aren't you?"

"The game has a Trial?" Chris asked.

"You know it does! It's how you gain an ability! The better you do, the better your ability!" Travis retorted with a snort, shaking his head. He was positive Chris was messing with him now, though he did admire his dedication to the bit.

"Ah, see, it's the opposite for us. If you don't have a good ability, you just die in the Trial. I actually died several times, it just didn't stick." Chris replied.

Travis rolled his eyes. "Sure, you read the lore, congrats. You're not fooling me anymore."

"I'm not trying to?" Chris gave Travis a weird look, before shrugging. He didn't particularly care if Travis believed him anyways. He just didn't feel like pretending or coming up with a lie. Just seemed unnecessary.

"Dude, you need to learn when to give up." Travis commented.

"There's nothing I need to give up…" Chris frowned.

Travis just shook his head again. "So, what do you do for work?"

"I'm in the Scouts." Chris replied.

"Dude, the joke is getting old." Travis retorted in a flat tone.

Chris sighed. This was getting annoying. "Look, what would it take for you to believe me?"

Travis paused. "Well, if you're really from 'The Maze', you should have an ability, right?"

"Do you not?" Chris asked with a frown.

"Of course not! Abilities aren't real." Travis retorted.

Chris blinked, before reaching out his hand and growing claws. "How's that?"

"Holy-" Travis jerked the wheel in shock, sending the car spinning, ramming it straight into a tree! Chris shot out the windshield, slamming into the tree, dying instantly, while Travis was caught by his seatbelt and slammed in the face by the airbag, leaving him injured, but mostly fine. He watched as Chris's body disappeared, and a moment later, a portal opened, Chris hopping out, perfectly fine. "What the fuck…" Travis muttered in disbelief.

"You want a heal?" Chris asked, stretching slightly. It'd been a while since he'd died to anyone but himself.

"A-a heal?" Travis asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I just take you into my world, stab you in the head, and you come back good as new." Chris explained.

"You stab me in the head?!?" Travis exclaimed.

Chris nodded. "Yup. Don't worry, as long as I hit you in the side of the head, it's relatively painless. Then the world pops you back to normal."

"I-I think I'll be fine." Travis groaned as he pulled himself out of the car, keeping his distance from Chris, nervously eyeing him and the car in turn. "M-my car is wrecked…"

Chris looked it over. "I'm pretty sure this can fit through my portal… hold on." Chris opened a portal by the back of the car, transforming into his combat form and grabbing the back end, digging his claws in as he dragged the car through, barely fitting it in. The car was heavy, but thankfully the wheels made it easier. Once it was in, he broke the car down, before remaking it, fixing all the damage as he did. He then exited the Immortal World as he turned back into his normal form and popped the car back onto the street. "There, good as new." He announced with a slight grin, turning back to- Chris looked around. Travis was gone. "Huh…"

Travis panted as he ran through the underbrush. What- what was that thing?!? Chris had suddenly turned into some kind of monster like- like a Doppelganger! Travis froze. If- if Chris really was from 'The Maze'… He gulped. He- he needed to tell someone, anyone! That- that thing could infiltrate their society, spreading its spawn as it slowly took over, until humanity was completely wiped out! That's what they'd tried to do in the game! He couldn't- he wouldn't let them do it here! The only problem was… who would believe him?

Chris drove the rest of the way to the nearest town, before returning to the Immortal World. It was late, so nothing was open, and he had to wait until morning to actually do anything. He needed to check out that 'The Maze' game, as soon as possible. If it really was some sort of copy of his world… What would that mean? Was his world fake? Chris frowned. No, that didn't make any sense. Just the fact that he could go to that other world was proof that his world was real, or at least as real as that world was. Still, it was weird. Why would his world be a game in another world? Chris thought about it for a moment, before shaking his head and dissolving that self. He'd deal with it in the morning.

The next morning, Chris returned to the other world. Everything was going smoothly everywhere else at the moment. He and his subordinates were training in the Immortal World, while he and the other recruits continued to observe the creatures of the Maze. He also had Sidulpek and the other sneaky creatures making their way through the Maze, finding the paths to the higher levels, so the only thing he had to deal with at the moment was figuring out what was up with this place.

Chris walked through what looked like a small business district, just a line of small shops along the road. "Hmmm, now where would I find a game store…" Chris muttered to himself. His best bet for finding information on this game would be to actually, you know, play it. That or he could get a game guide or something. Chris paused for a moment. How was he going to actually buy any of this? He didn't think these stores would take credits… "Do I need a job?" Chris frowned. "Maybe I could sell something?"

Chris looked around, seeing what the stores around the town were selling. "Let's see… food, books, tools, electronics, jewelry… I could sell some gold to them, right? Jewlers need gold." He muttered to himself, heading to the jewelry shop. He walked up to the counter, grabbing the attention of the saleswoman. "Excuse me, does your shop buy gold or silver?"

The woman smiled politely. "Yes, we do! Do you have some old jewelry you'd like to sell?"

Chris reached his hand into his pocket, popping a hundred gram cube of pure gold into his hand and pulling it out. "How much could I get for this?"

The woman's eyes widened. "Is- is that pure gold?" She asked nervously.

"Yeah?" Chris replied, raising an eyebrow, wondering what the big deal was. It was just gold, right? It wasn't terribly common, but matter manipulation could easily get people pure gold.

The woman's hands shook slightly as she took out a few tools, weighing the cube, checking its quality. "This- for- for this quality and weight… I- we- I'll need to talk to the owner, hold on." She rushed towards the back, grabbing a phone and making a call.

Chris waited patiently, a little bored, until he heard the door open and an older man rushed in. "Hello, are you the one looking to sell a hundred grams of pure gold?" The man asked, walking forward to shake Chris's hand.

"Yeah? Are you the owner?" Chris asked.

The man grinned. "Indeed I am! The name's Calvin. Let's head to the back office, so we can talk." Chris picked up the cube of gold and followed Calvin to the back. They went to a small office, where Calvin gestured for Chris to take a seat across the desk from him. "Now, this gold… I've never dealt with gold this pure, in this amount. I have to ask, where did you get it?"

Chris shrugged. "I made it."

Calvin froze. "You- you made it? You smelted it yourself? What- what method did you use?"

Chris paused, remembering that the last time he was too honest with someone here, he'd lost him in the woods. "It's a secret."

Calvin paused, before shaking his head. "Fair enough. Well, you have a hundred grams of pure gold here, which, at the going price of fifty seven dollars and forty-four cents per gram, would put your gold at a price of five thousand, seven hundred, and forty-four dollars. Accounting for processing costs, manufacturing costs, distribution costs, etc. We could offer you… five thousand, four hundred, and fifty-seven dollars. Is that acceptable for you?"

Chris paused. "How much does 'The Maze' game cost, plus all the equipment needed to play it?"

Calvin blinked in confusion. "Uh… about- about five, maybe six hundred dollars?" He answered, wondering why it mattered.

Chris nodded. "Then that amount should be fine."

Calvin breathed out a sigh of relief. "Excellent! Now, if you'd like, we can make a direct deposit, or would you prefer cash?"

"Cash…" Chris replied. He wasn't sure what either option actually was, but cash seemed simpler than whatever a 'direct deposit' was.

Calvin nodded. He turned, opening a safe and pulling out a pile of green paper, counting out specific slips, before handing it all over to Chris. Chris took the paper, counting the numbers on the slips, making sure they added up, before nodding to Calvin. He folded the paper and stuck it in his pocket, getting up to go. "Wait! You need your receipt." Calvin waved him back. Chris had to sign a paper, which Calvin copied and handed back to him.

"Anything else?" Chris asked.

"Nope! That's everything!" Calvin smiled. "I hope you have a wonderful day!"

Chris nodded and got to his feet again, leaving the shop. "Now… where to buy 'The Maze'." He looked around, spotting a game store down the street. The moment he walked in, it became clear what the most popular game was. An entire wall was dedicated to 'The Maze'! Posters of familiar tunnels full of familiar creatures plastered the wall. Or at least, half of them were familiar. The other half were full of strange, sharp eared people standing by humans, facing off against giant, fanged brutes and monsters with human faces. Chris walked over with a frown, picking up the latest edition and looking at the back.

[The Maze: Breakout! - After the Invasion of the Elves and the Purge of the Doppelgangers, the City has been left in ruins. However, where there is destruction, there is also hope! With their newfound Elven allies, humanity has found a new path to power! Claim your ability potions and unlock the secrets of cultivation! Rise to the surface and seek revenge on the Doppelgangers who destroyed your home! Face off against their Orcish minions! Welcome to the largest expansion in Maze history: Breakout!]

Chris blinked, before reading it again. Then again. And again. "Finding everything okay?" Chris jumped slightly as a cheery voice came from behind him, turning to see a woman with a name tag that Chris glossed over smiling at him.

Chris began to nod, before pausing. "Actually, would you happen to have any books on what happened in the previous expansions?" He asked, waving the box. "I'm having some trouble wrapping my brain around what's going on here." The woman got a bemused look on her face, before pointing towards a nearby rack labeled 'Game Guides'. "Ah… thank you." Chris nodded to her, before turning to the book rack.

"So, you're a new player, huh?" The woman asked, joining him as he looked over the rack. "Did you just turn eighteen?"

Chris glanced over at her, frowning slightly. "I turned eighteen a few months ago." He answered honestly, wondering why it mattered.

"Oh, you must have just graduated then!" The woman beamed. "It's a good idea to focus on school. 'The Maze' can really drag you in. The first time I played, I didn't take my helmet off for a full week! If I could afford a capsule… I don't think I'd ever leave."

Chris raised an eyebrow at her. "It's that addictive?"

She shook her head. "You just don't get it. It's an entire other world! It's just like ours, but… there's no consequences! You can fight for hours and not feel tired, explore the depths of the Maze without worrying about food or water, and even if you die, you just respawn! Plus all the sensations are a hundred percent realistic! You can eat all you want without worrying about getting fat, do drugs without worrying about getting addicted, and of course, all the sex you want, without worry about catching a disease or getting pregnant~" She winked at him. "And best of all, you can get an ability! A real, actual superpower!"

Chris blinked at her a few times. "Huh… I guess I could see the appeal."

The woman grinned. "My username is CrimsonValkyrie, all one word. You should hit me up once you get started. I can show you the ropes~" She winked again.

"I'll keep that in mind." Chris nodded, refocusing on the books. There were several options, such as 'Coreforger's Guide' or 'The Maze Bestiary', but Chris focused on the one that said 'The Maze: History and Myths'. He grabbed it off the shelf, flipping through a few pages. He saw a few familiar stories, such as the Advent, the story of when abilities first began to appear on Azza. How the world turned on humanity, their strength in numbers becoming meaningless in the face of the overwhelming power of abilities. The Descent, which described the creation of the Maze by powerful Omega tiers, creating a safe place for the remnants of humanity to grow, far from the chaos of the surface.

Then, there were some he hadn't heard about. The Schism of the Elves, The Dwarf Imperium, The Doppelganger Uprising, and more. Chris flipped through them with a deepening frown. According to this book, the surface was full of war, of powers rising and falling in blood and violence. As far as he could tell, no one was the good guy either. They were all just fighting for their own selfish interests, for meaningless gains. Everyone wanted more and they were willing to kill to get it. Chris suddenly closed the book, before grabbing the rest as well. The woman had returned to the front counter as he'd looked through the book, smiling as he piled the books on the counter in front of her, placing the game on top. "Will you need a helmet as well?" She asked, gesturing to a few boxes sitting on the shelves behind the counter. Chris nodded and she pulled one down, placing it next to his pile and scanning everything in. "That'll be eight, forty-four."

Chris pulled out the papers he'd gotten from Calvin, the woman's eyes widening slightly as she caught sight of them, counting out nine of the slips with one hundred written on them, and handed them over. The woman frowned slightly as she took the paper, eyeing Chris suspiciously, before holding one up and checking it in the light, nodding in satisfaction as she seemed to confirm something. She noticed Chris giving her a weird look and flushed. "Sorry. I have to make sure they aren't counterfeit. Store policy." She messed with a machine on the counter until it popped out a drawer, which she began pulling more paper out of, and a few metal disks, placing them on the counter and pushing them over to Chris, along with everything he'd bought in bags. "There's your change and all your items. I'll see you in the game soon~" She finished in a teasing tone.

"I'll see you." Chris nodded back as he picked everything up and began to head to the door.

"Hold it right there." A voice growled as a heavy click sounded out. Chris looked over to see a man in a hood, holding up a small gun. "Hand over all your cash!" The man demanded, before turning to the woman behind the counter. "And you! Empty the cash register!" He'd been waiting for Chris to leave before robbing this place, but after seeing that wad of cash, there was no way he'd let him get away!

Chris paused for a moment, before shrugging and pulling out the paper. He'd already bought everything he needed, plus he could easily make more gold to sell. No need to cause a scene. "Here you go." He held the paper out to the man.

The man took the money numbly, as if he couldn't quite believe how easily Chris had handed it over. He stared at it for a moment before turning back to Chris and waving the gun again. "Empty your pockets!" The man demanded. *He has to be hiding more!* He thought to himself, eyeing Chris greedily.

Chris frowned. "My pockets are empty." He pulled his pockets out, showing they were empty. "See?"

"Bullshit! You want me to believe you're walking around with no wallet or keys or nothing, just a wad of cash?!?" The man asked incredulously. "Give me everything you have! Now!"

"I literally don't have anything else." Chris replied, holding out his hands to show they were empty.

"If you don't hand it over within the next five seconds, I'll shoot you right in the fucking face!" The man growled, stepping forward to shove the gun in Chris's face.

"You're being rather unreasonable." Chris frowned at him.

"Do it!" The man yelled.

"There's nothing to do!" Chris yelled back.

"Bullshit! Give me the money!" The man yelled, his finger tightening on the trigger.

"You have the-" *Bang!* A loud crack sounded out as the gun fired, the woman behind the counter screaming as Chris's head exploded in a fountain of blood.

"Shut up! Shut! Up!" The man roared waving the gun at her. "Give me the money! Give it to- mmmmph!!!" The man's voice cut off as a clawed hand reached out of a freshly opened portal, grabbing him by the head and yanking him through.

Chris sent the man to a small holding cell to wait as he turned back to normal, stepping out of the portal. "What a dick." He grumbled, before tossing his purchases into the portal as well and closing it. He then turned to the woman behind the counter. "You okay?"

The woman stared at him, wide eyed, raising a shaking finger to point at him. "You- you- you died!"

"Ostensibly." Chris shrugged. "I got better though."

The woman blinked a few times, not sure how to process that statement, or the portal, or the creature she'd seen through it, which turned back into Chris. "What- what are you?!?"

Chris paused, considering the question. "I've been told I might be something called an alien?" He offered. "I'm not from around here."

The woman gulped. "What- what do you want from us?"

Chris frowned. "Nothing? Some information I guess? Mostly I'm just looking around." He shrugged.

The woman slowly felt the tension begin to seep out of her as Chris seemed to completely disregard her panic. "Why did you come here?" She asked. They weren't exactly a small town, but this wasn't anywhere close to a major city either. Why would an alien visit a place like this? Why would it go to a game store? Why would it be interested in 'The Maze'?!?

"I wanted to check that out." Chris gestured to the 'Maze' wall. "Where I come from… Well, it seems pretty similar to that game. Same history at least, as far as I can tell. The game seems to be a bit ahead of where we are though, so… I'm not entirely sure what to think of that."

The woman blinked, glanced at the 'Maze' wall, then back at Chris. "You- you're from 'The Maze'?"

"That's the question, now isn't it?" Chris replied. "Why is your game so similar to my world? Are the events of the game going to happen there? Should I do something about it?" Chris paused. "Okay, no, I should definitely do something about it. Not sure what yet, but I do have a small army to use, so I'm sure I'll figure something out." He paused again. "Of course, first I'll need to see what's actually going to happen… Ugh, so much more work to do." He finished with a groan.

"Does- does this mean you have an ability?" The woman asked.

Chris frowned at her. "You- you saw me die…"

The woman flushed. "Oh, right. So your ability is that you can't die?" She asked, before pausing, frowning. "Wait… what about the portal? Or that other-" She froze, eyes widening. "Are- are you a-" Her voice lowered to a whisper. "Doppelganger?!?"

Chris frowned. "No? I'm human. My ability is just… multifaceted. I have this world that keeps me alive, lets me mutate, hence the other form, create portals, break things down, use the matter from what I've broken down to make whatever I want, connect creatures to it so they have to obey me, mutate them… and apparently split it in two, creating two worlds, one of which connects to a new world where my world is a game."

The woman froze. "That's a lot…"

"That isn't even all of it." Chris chuckled.

"But… mutation is kind of a Doppelganger thing. That's what they do. They start out as slimes, then they mutate over and over until they're terrifying monsters, capable of turning into anyone or anything, a constant, hidden threat." The woman shuddered.

Chris blinked. "Doppelgangers are slimes? Like Jello?" He paused. "But slimes are so weak!"

The woman nodded. "That's why they infiltrated human society. The Maze is the perfect place for slimes to develop. The slimes need danger to grow, but too much danger just kills them. The Maze naturally separates everything out, so the slimes can slowly climb their way to the top, never facing more danger than they can handle."

Chris frowned. "Huh… I guess that makes sense."

"It was only after the Elves invaded that we learned the true depths of the Doppelgangers' infiltration. They had inserted themselves at all levels of society. Politics, military, science, business, everything that the City was doing, they had a hand in. Can you imagine? Finding out that your neighbor, your friend, your spouse, is some sort of monster?" She shuddered again.

"That would be disturbing." Chris nodded. "So what were they doing then?"

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, they had to be doing something right? Kidnapping children and eating them? Using the poor as expendable labor? Making reality television?" Chris elaborated.

"N-nothing like- reality television?" The woman gave him a weird look. "They were involved in everything! They pretended to be politicians! Military officials!"

"Were they pretending or were they just doing the job they earned?" Chris asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "So far, what you've said just makes me think Doppelgangers had joined human society, not infiltrated it. I wouldn't call just living in the same area as us some sort of crime."

"They- they're monsters!" The woman exclaimed. "The only way they can even get a human form is by eating someone!"

"See, now that's something to be worried about!" Chris replied. "So they were eating people to steal their forms, right?"

The woman froze. "N-no… Doppelgangers can't gain any new DNA after dissolving their cores, allowing them to shift freely. They had to gain human DNA before they became Doppelgangers."

Chris frowned. "So as slimes? Slimes can't even see! They just eat whatever they run into!" Chris paused. "They probably just eat the poor kids who die during the Trial, and that's on humans… Unless they started that?"

The woman shook her head. "Not- not that I'm aware of."

"Then I'm really not seeing the problem here." Chris shrugged.

"They- the Elves have been fighting them for centuries!" She tried coming from another direction.

"Why would that matter?" Chris frowned. "I'm not an Elf."

The woman groaned. "Look, just- Doppelgangers are the enemy, okay? It's a part of the game!"

"Weren't the Elves the enemy too?" Chris asked, the lore book popping into his hand. "See, right here. First expansion, the Elves invade the Maze."

"Well, yeah, but that was just because of the Doppelgangers." She replied. "They had to invade to fight the Doppelgangers."

"Okay, so a foreign force comes to kill your neighbor, and you think it's a good idea to side with the foreign force?" Chris asked skeptically. "That seems pretty shitty to me."

The woman threw her hands up in the air. "Well maybe humans are just shitty then!"

"Now that I can agree with." Chris chuckled.