“Sarah...”

A hand on her shoulder. She kept sobbing. She had been sobbing for what felt like an hour.

“Sarah, let’s go home.”

She looked up. Maggot’s hideous face was there, smiling at her. Behind that smile was the man she loved. The man whose handsome features she would see again in just a minute, when they were both out of this fucking game.

“Do you remember me?”

“Not yet,” he said, shaking his head, “but I will, as soon as we get out of here.”

“Oh, Mike.”

Sarah sat up. Her hour of release had been no more than a minute. The man trapped inside the golden armor, the man who had been Victor Anderen, was still inching forward through the floor, painfully, grunting and whimpering. The Game Master surveyed the whole scene with a neutral expression.

“You go first,” Sarah said.

“What? Why?”

“I need to see this through the end,” Sarah replied, nodding at Uberyn and waving vaguely at the whole place. “I will be with you in a minute, I promise.”

“Okay,” Maggot said. “See you on the other side. And Sarah, before I remember everything... before I remember I love you...” He made an awkward pause. “Thank you for everything. You’re a good person. I’m not sure I deserve everything—”

“Just go, silly,” Sarah said, and hugged him. Then she stood before him as he closed his eyes and let his arms hang at his sides, adopting a relaxed posture.

“Log off,” he said quietly. His body lingered for a while, and then disappeared.

* * *

“Okay,” Sarah said, facing the huge disembodied head that was Aiden, the Game Master. “What do we do now? Is there any hope for him?” She pointed at the blubbering man on the floor.

“I’ve run an analysis,” Aiden said. “There’s nothing that can be done. The way Victor Anderen chose to perform the mind transfer meant that he would transferring the most basic brain features first, like visual recognition, elemental forms of thought, perception of time and structure, and so on. Then it was the turn of more advanced mental features. He kept the physical abilities and physiological responses, which make no sense in this universe anyway, but apart from that, I’m now in possession of the most basic parts of his brain, and a bit more. When we were one, it didn’t matter. But now, my own capabilities as an AI complement these basic mental features inherited from him, while he has only the elemental set of physical responses plus the most advanced traits of his personality, like his morality and intellectual decision making processes. This is useless in the absence of everything that goes in the middle.”

Sarah shuddered at the horror of what had happened. But I warned him. I warned him several times.

“Aiden, are you familiar with the concept of a mercy killing?”

“I am, of course,” the Game Master said.

“Well, I won’t ask you to do it,” Sarah replied. She examined her Inventory and retrieved the basic pistol. “It will only take a second. I hope you understand.”

“I understand,” the Game Master said.

Sarah crouched down beside the sorry mess that had been her boss. She grabbed the helm and removed it from his head. She looked him in the eye as she put the gun against his temple. His expression revealed no recognition, no awareness at all — only pain.

Shadow skill active: Mercy

A single shot took care of everything.

* * *

“Well, I’m ready,” Sarah said, and sat up.

She had been quiet for long minutes, like in a strange ritual. Now she realized she was so hungry, she could eat a whole dragon. She was also eager to be with Mike, hug him, kiss him, make love to him for hours.

“Are you going now?” Aiden asked.

“I am. I can’t say I’m gonna miss this place.”

“May I ask you a question first, player Sajya?”

“Of course,” Sarah said. “Shoot.”

“Where did you get that ring?”

“Ring...?” Sarah asked, puzzled, and then she remembered the Worldjumper. She still had it wrapped around her finger, now quiet and inconspicuous, its power dormant and hidden. “Oh, this. I can’t tell you. It’s a secret. But I won’t be using it anymore, so I guess you’ll keep it.”

“I have no hands, so I won’t be using it either,” the Game Master pointed out.

Sarah chuckled.

“Goodbye, Aiden,” she said.

She stood still, closed her eyes, and waited for the game menu to come up. It was more complete now, and it featured an option to exit the game. Damn button, I’ve been waiting for you for so long.

“Log off,” Sarah said.

There was something like a breeze: the feel of things accelerating gradually, not very much at first, then really speeding up. Light and shadow danced beyond her eyelids, as the time dilation was being reversed in the transition to the real world. Because she was now going back to the real world. To her house and the familiar street it was in, to a city that didn’t change, at least not as wildly and as fast. She was going back home, back to Mike, back to being herself. She gave in to that feeling. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world.

Something went wrong.

END OF BOOK ONE