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  A loud crash jerked Christian's attention to the distance. People were trying to get to him. He was in immediate danger. He faced the screen.

  "Lucy, I have something else to tell you." The girl leaned forward, her fingers cutting into the circulation of my arm. "There's a greater problem. The EXSIL machine, the last surviving unit in the building... It was corrupted as well. I transferred my mind to a black box but... I had to remove it from the sync queue."

  Lucy's face broke apart. "No!" she said weakly.

  "The only way I could save the world," he lamented, "was to send it off without me."

  Lucy released my arm and screamed. "NO!"

  As much as Christian fought it, he couldn't hide his full sorrow, either on his face or in his voice. "I'm sorry, honey, but I can't go into the future with you. Don't think of it as a death, think of it as me reuniting with your mother and sister. This is a good thing." He nodded and sniffled. "This is good. Because I saved you. Parents never truly die, they live on through the legacy of their children, of their world, of their actions. That is where I'll be."

  Lucy was sobbing, screaming and silent all at once, attention plastered to the last vestige of her father and only family.

  Christian Everett breathed deeply to rein in his emotions. He picked up an object from the floor and hugged it to his heart, an old external hard drive covered with dust. He spoke softly, even as the banging in the background intensified. "You are my light, Lucy. More than anything, I wanted you to live forever. That's the greatest gift I had to give." He assessed the situation at his office door and swallowed hard. "Have an honest shot at life," he said quickly. "Live by your heart. Never forget the sacrifices that got you here. It breaks my heart that I can't be there to watch you live, but it fills my soul to know that you will. I love you." After a quick moment of indecision, he flicked the video message off.

  "Daddy," squeaked Lucy hoarsely. It was an instinctual call, a plea with fate for one last moment with him no matter how illogical. The girl shuddered through a stream of tears. She was a tattered wreck.

  I remained quiet for a while. The darkness that encompassed us was colder and heavier than before. I licked my lips and searched for the perfect words. Such sentiments didn't exist. Instead, I laced an arm around her in the silence. In that desolate place, time had no meaning—we could've been leaning on each other for a minute or a year. But even the abyss couldn't stand still. All things, no matter how stout, were subject to change. That was the one constant in the universe.

  "What was it all for?" she breathed quietly. "My glorious rebellion. The death of my family. I saw the hardships and compromises my father had to endure. You think I couldn't tell because I was eight? Little girls are supposed to be loved. They're supposed to be safe and surrounded by family." Lucy sniffled. "All I ever wanted was family."

  I kneeled beside her and squared her face to mine. "That's what he built for you."

  "And in the meantime, we lost any semblance of love. Him, buried in his work; me, my rebellion. Couldn't we have just lay in the grass somewhere and watched the clouds?"

  I offered a solemn smile. "You can still do that. You have family here." But I knew the words felt hollow, more insubstantial than the air of this place. I relaxed and thought of my own struggles. "It's about moving forward, carrying the time you spent together within you. That's something you can't ever lose."

  The girl frowned. "But what was it all for?"

  "Do you even need to ask? You believed in this world. The afterlife. You said you were willing to die for it. Don't you think your father felt the same way? This was his creation. His legacy. Both of you did this all for Haven."

  She sniffled and looked away. "The one thing of worth my father created."

  I shook my head and turned hers to face me. "Besides his children."

  For the faintest of moments, I could swear she almost smiled. It wasn't in her lips, but a tightening of her cheeks, a twitch of her eye. It was gone even before it could form. Lucy Black turned away and snickered. "You could say this entire reality exists solely for me. It was supposed to be a heaven but, well, you know..." The girl started slowly up the dirty mound of sticks and bones.

  I inhaled sharply. "Come up with us," I said. "Everyone's celebrating."

  "I'm not much in the mood for parties."

  "Do it to see the joy you've caused."

  She spun and plopped down at the height of her throne. "I'm not ready for joy either."

  My excitement deflated. It started to feel like we were just going through the motions. I shook my head softly, disheartened and nearly defeated. "You put a lot of thought into protecting this world from Hadrian, into guiding me and others who wanted to stand for something—stand for ourselves. You should be a part of the future. Maybe not now, but sometime."

  "What would I be but another dictator?" she bemoaned. "No, that's not what I fought for. There's no role for a devil in the absence of a god. My dream is dead. Yours still lives. Fight for it, won't you? I'll hold the fort down here."

  "In the negative world?"

  "This is Hades now. A place for lost things."

  I shook my head. "I'm not leaving you here."

  She did smile now, a half lip crooked up. "Talon," she said with a hint of admiration, "that's exactly why I chose you. But you have no choice in this one. I have the Atlantean anchor and the shadow essence. I am master of this world. This is my hell now. And it's time for you to rejoin the living."

  I clenched my jaw and repeated. "Lucy, I am NOT—"

  She snapped her fingers and I appeared back in the Godsbog, amid the music and revelers and the electricity of life. Time passed all around me as I stood frozen in a daze.

  2230 The Last of Us

  A short while later I was back in friendly territory. Fun and good humor abounded, but I wasn't sure I was in the mood anymore. I finally found Izzy a little ways off, sitting on a log by a fire. She had a book in her hand. This time she was scratching away with quill and ink.

  "I've been looking for you."

  "Sorry," she said with a sigh and a stretch. "I needed to recharge."

  "They have potions for that." She wordlessly jotted down another sentence. "I'm surprised you're not reading."

  She looked up and smiled. "Kinda surprised myself, actually. I was hit with an exciting feeling but couldn't find something I was in the mood for, so I just started writing my own story."

  "Your own story? Like a journal of our adventures?"

  "It's about a starship captain who transforms into a sexy space vampire, so not really."

  "Is she beautiful and misunderstood?" I asked.

  "Sure, if you replace those words with brilliant and ruthless."

  "Okay, but I bet there's some interplanetary space sex involved, am I right?"

  She shrugged. "What's a novel without a little smut?" She put the feather pen down, closed the book, and tapped the log next to her. "Wanna sit down? I could use a break."

  "Was hoping you'd ask." I joined her and she leaned into me. "Using a feather pen instead of a keyboard, too. You're such a hipster."

  The pixie's eyes narrowed. "I'll let you live if you never call me that again."

  "You're just saying that 'cause you wanna be a sexy space vampire." I challenged her with my eyes but surrendered when she started pinching. "Okay, okay! It was a bad joke. I think it's kinda cool you're writing a book. Just make sure the hunky love interest is a strapping man, full of charm." I modeled my head into a heroic distant gaze.

  She smirked. "Oh, he's full of something, all right."

  We kissed, the warmth of the fire tickling our skin. When she pulled away, I took a long breath. "Thanks, I needed that."

  "Wanna talk about it?"

  "Let's not ruin the night."

  Her eyebrow arched mischievously. "I think I'm fully recharged now..." She pushed me on my back and leaned in, but we were interrupted by pattering footsteps.

  "Look at us," blathered Kyle as he hurried to
the fire. "You two enjoying each other's companionship, me with my harem." A small gaggle of women in silken wraps closely hugged him.

  "Where did you... ?" I blinked a few times to make sure this wasn't an illusion. "How in the... ?"

  Izzy sized up the small crowd and sucked her lips. "Ooh, maybe I'll write a reverse harem."

  Kyle scoffed. "Yeah, like that's realistic. Okay, ladies," he said, peeling their grips away. "I need a breather. Why don't you go see if Glinda's stew is done? That'll get our stamina recharged."

  Their eyes lit up. "Ooh, stamina stew!" They giggled and raced away, occasionally dropping pieces of clothing.

  "Bro, who would've thought harem keeping was such hard work?" Kyle waited for us to say something. When we didn't take the bait, he hiked a shoulder and added, "Yup. No biggie. Just my personal harem of devoted ladies—"

  "We both hate you," said Izzy, which was great because I didn't need to say it myself.

  He conceded a good-natured chuckle. "I know, right? I've never been the talk of the town before. Even Grom's envious." Kyle sat down across from us, depleting the last of the sexy mood. Izzy and I sat up and the three of us quickly got to chattering about anything and everything, falling into friendly comfort like any other day back home.

  I caught them up on the news of Lucifer. That got us chatting about the big picture, which led to us recounting all our adventures from the beginning. Me, the new guy, avoiding beer pong with a frat-boy roommate while trying to get the attention of the standoffish hot chick. It was only a couple of months back but it seemed so long ago. The levels we experienced were real. We'd come a long way. Who knew where we'd end up?

  "We did it, bros," said Kyle. He jabbed himself with a thumb. "An outcast." He nodded to Izzy. "A loner." A finger pointed my way. "And a mistake." The brewmaster produced three crystal mugs and a special-edition bottle.

  "Too bad about failing your clean-and-sober challenge in the final hours," I said.

  "No worries. That was before I was chased across the wilderness by a walking city. Plus, harems necessitate booze. Trust me."

  I laughed. "You're the expert, I guess."

  "I'm glad someone finally acknowledges that."

  "Guess I'm off the hook for being your wingwoman," said Izzy in relief.

  Kyle snorted. "No offense, but I decided I don't need romantic advice from someone who reads alpha shifter porn."

  Izzy's eyes narrowed. "Don't make me murder your harem."

  "I'll be good," he peeped. He took an introspective moment to think. "Besides, I'm not original enough not to curse. WTF, F bomb this, F'n A that. I mean, what's the A in F'n A even stand for?"

  I chewed my lip. "Hmm, I never thought about that before."

  Kyle turned his attention to three perfect pours of beer, handed them out, and raised his glass. "We put our heads together, and somehow it all worked out."

  I joined his toast. "Just don't ask me how. It'd be impossible to pull off again."

  Izzy lifted her drink. "It was mostly luck," she admitted.

  The brewmaster proudly cocked his head. "Here's to throwing shit on a wall."

  The glasses clinked and the bottle ran dry.

  Somewhere, in the middle of the night, a countdown appeared.

  Haven 1.0

  59 minutes and 59 seconds...

  Everything stopped. The drumming, the jokes, the pours. Well, we kept drinking, mind you, but for the moment we stopped the actual pouring of more spirits.

  Black Hats and pagans, priests and wildkins, all stopped to study the timer.

  Haven 1.0

  59 minutes and 43 seconds...

  Every soul in the Godsbog rose to their feet. This was momentous. It shut everything down. People congregated in groups for safety. At their tents, around their fires. It was the Moon landing, or 9/11. It was the only thing on TV.

  An extended burp, bubbling with gravelly juice, loudly escaped Kyle's lips. "Sorry!" he called out.

  Slowly, the masses came out of hibernation. Feet shuffled, music resumed, and inevitably, the alcohol poured anew. It was halfhearted at first, but as the minutes ticked the celebration became a release.

  This was it. It was actually happening.

  Some days later, Tad Lonnerman parked his car at the curb of his new house. It was Christian Everett's house, the one he'd grown up in.

  The CEO had made a last-second addendum to his will, gifting the remnants of his fortune to those he deemed worthy. Pete's family was a notable beneficiary. Other Kablammy employees were taken care of too. Tad's biggest surprise was to discover some of the company rights being conferred to him.

  He'd gone over it multiple times with the lawyers. Kablammy, as a corporation, immediately entered the process of forced dissolution. The vast umbrella of corporations was sharing the same fate. In a bid to cut all previous business commitments, every tech initiative Christian had owned was being scuttled. Kablammy was, essentially, going kablammy. All except for a small upstart, Afterlife Online Incorporated, gifted to one Tad Lonnerman.

  Other events rocked the news cycle. The sabotaged launch sites. The near destruction of Kablammy headquarters. The death of a business titan. Of course, the raid on InLink headquarters and the string of arrests that followed proved an immediate sensation.

  Tad's time getting up to speed on his new company was intense. Most of it amounted to assets and arbitration and releases, which translated to a bunch of paperwork. Still, the details of an actual business plan were sparse. Kablammy's computers had been destroyed, corrupted, or seized. There was no need for them anymore, but the loss of the EXSIL units seemed to spell doom for Haven. How much technology had been lost, and how much could continue without it?

  No one had details on happenings within Haven, either. With the simulation cut off from the world and safely in orbit, it was an independent universe now. Tad found himself the owner of little more than a license.

  He slammed the door of his car and approached Christian's family home. It felt a breach of privacy to intrude. Then again, the CEO had left him the property for a reason. An odd amenity, seeing as how the house was in Christian's name. A private entity unconnected from Kablammy and its ventures. Tad took a heavy breath and hit the button on his brand new remote clicker. The garage door opened and his breath left him.

  An outdated computer rested on a foldout table, along with several iterations of prototype equipment. A helmet with brain scanners prominently rested on a shelf. It was the first working EXSIL unit, probably the one Christian had used to capture his daughter on that hard drive so many years ago.

  Right here, in this garage, was where it had all started. It was a fitting place to continue his work.

  -Finn

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  Character Sheets

  Talon

  Level

  11

  Class

  Explorer

  XP

  116150

  Kit

  Scout

  Next

  171075

  Strength

  19

  Strike

  445

  Agility

  24

  Dodge

  500

  Craft

  6

  Health

  341 / 341

  Essence

  10

  Spirit

  283 / 283

  Coin

  Silver

  1269

  Plates

  5

  Bars

  4

  Skills

  1

  Spear

  3

  Crossblock

  3

  Deadshot

  3

  Tornado Spin

  1

  Spinshield

  1

  Knife

  1


  Claw

  1

  - - Dragonrun - -

  Awareness

  Exploration

  Tracking

  Darkvision

  Intuition

  Survival

  Navigation

  Cartography

  Traversal

  Dash

  Vault

  Wall Run

  Scale

  Stealth

  Sneak

  Subdue

  Reputation

  Pagan

  -500

  Catechist

  50

  Wildkin

  200

  Scarlet Knives

  100

  Kyle

  Level

  11

  Class

  Artisan

  XP

  113409

  Kit

  Brewmaster

  Next

  171075

  Strength

  23

  Strike

  407

  Agility

  5

  Dodge

  209

  Craft

  20

  Health

  280 / 280

  Essence

  10

  Spirit

  242 / 242