Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

Legion gripped his bag as he ran on the street. His bracelet pinged, flashing red.

“Warning! You have entered the danger zone of highway nine-thirty-seven!” the automated announcement said in his ear. “You have forfeited your right to safety and are culpable for all damages resulting in accidents, transport delays, loss of potential profit, and any additional legal charges that might be brought to you.”

Shut up!

Legion gritted his teeth. He knew that there would be no vehicles on the highway for the next thirty-nine minutes. By then he had to go as far away from the city as possible.

I should have learned to ride a bike in real life. He stopped to catch his breath. I should have—

Seven cell phones went off all at once, each with its own ringtone. Legion froze. The smell of sweat mixed with the stench of chemicals and ozone that filled the night air. For half a minute, he stood there motionless, hoping that the ringing would stop. It didn’t. Hands shaking, he took out a phone from his front jeans pocket and looked at the screen. The display was blank: no number, no caller id, not even a standard system message.

Trembling, Legion pressed the Accept Call icon. All the phones simultaneously stopped ringing.

“Hello, Legion,” a young voice said; unmistakably male and synthetic. “Gratz on reaching twenty-five.”

“How?” Legion whispered the single word. He had made sure to trash all his usual tech before he left. The only things he had taken were factory-sealed antiques he had bought years ago. They were supposed to be completely untraceable.

“You always were lazy when it came to scrubbing exit logs.” The synthetic voice laughed. That made Legion relax a bit. At least they hadn’t found him. “I want you back. Return, and all will be forgiven.”

“No.” Legion’s voice trembled.

“You can’t make it alone. Whatever gift you got, you’ll—“

“I’m not going back!” Legion shouted. “Not to you, not to the game!”

“That’s a shame.” A sigh echoed from the phone. “Not that it matters.”

Legion felt a chill down his spine. Throwing the phone to the ground, he unzipped his bag and looked inside. A large metal cube was there, dormant and inactive, wrapped in several layers of plastic. That should have put an end to Legion’s fear, but instead only aggravated it. Closing the bag, he ran to his phone and picked it up.

“What do you mean?” he asked, looking frantically around.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” the voice laughed. “Twenty-seven months in the game, and you’re still surprised by the rules.”

“What did you do?!”

“Me? Nothing. You did.” There was a faint click, like a spark surrounded in static. “A new cycle starts each time someone reaches twenty-five. Didn’t she tell you?” Laughter followed.

Flashbacks came like daggers: the castle, the gate, the zodiac monsters... Three years of pain flooded Legion’s mind returning him to the game. Until a month ago, he had lived for the rush; he had destroyed his life for it. Even now, he could feel its tendrils trying to drag him back.

Stop! Legion shook his head. His trembling subsided. I left you behind.

“You’ll fail.” Legion went to the side of the highway. His bracelet turned green. “Like all the rest.”

“We’ll see when the new deities appear. You, of all people, know how easily they can be manipulated.”

“No.” Legion moved the phone away from his ear. “I won’t.”

The screen of the phone went black.