I flumped down at the base of a tree, once Sam was out of sight. I had accomplished the mission that I set out for yesterday.

Aches all over my body began to inform me about their existence. I had been on the move the entire night. Before I realized it, before I could even think of climbing up a tree or even arranging my limbs in a more comfortable position, an overpowering sleep whisked me away…

A blue message popped up in my vision. I opened my eyes, struggling to make out the words.

Both the game world and I are impressed by you. You have been doing well.

What the heck?

I wasn’t happy at being interrupted in the middle of a sweet nap.

Wait a minute. It was the sage. Only he could message me.

But be warned, things are only going to get harder from here on!

“Will my wish be granted?” I asked the sage, wondering if he knew about the siren I had helped. “Will I be able to go back to the real world?”

That I shall not tell you, not now at least. Do not bother about it much. The game world is going to throw a lot along your way, and you are going to have to deal with it all alone. Be focused. Whatever will be the outcome of all this, be peaceful with it. Besides, didn’t you willingly give up returning to the real world in order to save the woman you love? Be unattached with the desire of returning. Just give your best. You will have to make choices and take extraordinary actions in the time that is to come. All that I have to say to you is to not be fearful, come whatever may. Be at peace!

“Can you give me some of your gold dust?” I asked with some hope.

Silence.

Okay, that was one dramatic message from the sage.

He sounded like I would have to walk for miles along a path filled with red hot ambers.

Little I could do. Burns were guaranteed.

I grimaced. At this rate I would lose interest in returning to the real world. I snuggled my head between my arms and went back to sleep.

***

I was probably asleep for an hour or two. When I opened my eyes the first thing I saw was a portal a few meters away from me.

I rubbed my eyes with both my hands.

Where did the portal lead to? To Kiara? Was it a gift from the sage?

I was quickly up on my feet and beside the portal in a heartbeat. What I saw beyond the portal made my jaw drop to the ground and my tongue rolled out to become a carpet, on which my eyes bounced like tennis balls, as it happens in cartoons.

Okay, maybe I imagined that.

But the legs that I was seeing were definitely not manufactured by my imagination.

The legs stood alone. No, nothing grotesque like chopped off body parts. Instead they looked like a pair of brand new replacement parts, custom made for me. Even the skin color perfectly matched mine.

The legs were in a room drastically similar to my real world living room, though I could tell it was not the same one.

The portal was contracting rapidly, as though I had to grab the special offer NOW or I would miss it forever.

The charm of the legs on me was as strong as a siren’s.

Somehow, I held on to reasoning, even though it sought to slip out of my grasp. Something smelled fishy. This seemed too easy. The sage had alerted me things would be getting harder. Being offered legs right away was a steep contradiction.

I looked around the place, to see if there was anyone nearby. Definitely someone would have created the portal, right? But aside from plants and squirrels fighting over territory, there was nobody.

The portal was meant for me. I doubted that there were a lot of players in Dharti on the lookout for a new pair of legs. If this was a trap, it was intended for me alone.

Come on, decide fast!

The legs were enticing and the time element made me rash.

Biting my nails, I leapt through the hoop.

I was not surprised when the moment I was on the other side the legs diffused as though made of gas.

The portal was gone.

I found myself in a room which didn’t have any doors, and when I looked out through the sealed glass windows all that I could see was a white mist.

Confirmed. The portal was a trap.

“You got me,” I said to the empty room.

Ding!

Quest Accepted!

By merely passing through the portal, you have accepted an ultimate quest. There is no turning back from this point. You must play this quest.

Must.—

Wait a minute, why do I feel like I know you?

A quest message that talked like a real person. This scratched some old memories.

“Pook, is that you?” I asked.

How do you know my name?

“It’s me, Vicky,” I said. “Don’t you remember?”

“Vicky?” Pook said. “Never heard of anything like that before… or have I?... Hmmm, nope, I do not think so.”

Of course, Pook wouldn’t remember. The Time Bomb had wiped away his memory, just as it had erased the memory of everyone native to the game world.

“Can you show yourself, at least?” I requested. I wanted to see him after such a long time.

Everything that you can see right now is me, and me alone. You are in me.

“Cut that shit,” I said. “Just show me your white body with arms, legs and a head.”

There was silence from Pook for a couple of minutes. And then, I heard a sound behind me. I turned around.

I let out a gasp. It was Pook most definitely. He still had two dots for eyes, and no visible mouth. His body still was a strange glowing tissue with a liquid-like coating. Except he was definitely not fat.