As the message from the System faded from Nick’s view, clarion alarms rang out. Their screams were accompanied by a frantic broadcast, playing from speakers mounted to the wall above his head.

“Code Red. The periphery of this dimensional space has been breached by a class SS entity. All personnel are to cease orientation activities immediately and proceed to the nearest emergency evacuation portal. The intruder has been identified as Taltos, Lord of the Labyrinth, also known as the Mad God.”

Nick turned to face Pax, trying to make sense of what was happening. When he saw the horror in her eyes, he realized that the situation was even more dire than he’d feared.

It was deeply unnerving to see sheer terror on a face that had survived thousands of battles. It was worse when she spoke, voice shaking with fear. “Oh shit. Oh fuck. Taltos is coming. He’s managed to hack the System again and will be here within minutes. This is really happening. Don’t freak out, Pax. Remember your training.”

“Pax, talk to me. What is happening?” Nick was now certain that catastrophe had descended upon his head. He needed to get some answers now, while he still could.

“Taltos has infiltrated the sector and stolen your world from the Green Mother. He can’t bypass the System for long, and its enforcers will be here soon to undo the damage. But by then, he’ll be gone with your planet in his pocket, spiriting you away to his seat of power.

“His domain is known as the Labyrinth of the Mad God, a twisted mockery of the natural order. It’s an ever-shifting maze of worlds, dimensions, and other planes of existence where the Sytem’s influence is weak. A blood-drenched playground for Taltos and his pantheon. The sadistic bastard loves corrupting newly integrated worlds. Those he doesn’t destroy outright and recycle for raw materials.”

“That sounds less than ideal, Pax. What can I do?” As Nick spoke, the room continued to shudder. That was when the roof began to buckle and warp before falling away, torn free from the walls within a handful of heartbeats.

Behind the white tiles drifted the starless expanse of an endless void, which felt lifeless and barren compared to the space Nick had floated in before. He already knew from the look on her face what Pax was going to say.

“There’s nothing that anyone can do now. Your planet and your people are in peril. The System can only offer you minimal protection once the Earth is plugged into the Labyrinth. But that only matters if you can convince Taltos that your world is worth keeping to begin with.

“Try to find a way to escape the dead zone. If you do, I’ll contact you and help you as much as I can. Focus on surviving the tutorial for now. Even Taltos can’t override the integration protocols completely, although his mods will tilt the scales against you at every turn.”

As a forcefield flickered to life to seal the breach, the speakers blared once more. “Ward blocks 1 through 277 have been destroyed. Blocks two-seven-eight through four hundred are still active, but their collapse is imminent.”

That was when a voice rang out, cutting through the clamor like a blade—a booming growl thick with irritation originating from the void looming over Nick’s head like the graveyard at the end of time.

“Astra, you have something that belongs to me. I suggest that you return it before I grow weary of this farce and annihilate your followers inhabiting this pocket dimension. Even outside the Labyrinth, your strength is no match for my own. You are merely delaying the inevitable. If you continue to annoy me, I will make you bleed for it.”

With that declaration, Nick felt an immense sense of pressure—a cruel, merciless presence suppressing his ability to think. He collapsed like a rag doll, body no longer responding to his commands.

In that terrible moment, he couldn’t blink or breathe, let alone try to escape. Not that there was anywhere for him to run that would lead him somewhere safe.

“All ward blocks have been destroyed. Taltos is approaching this vessel. His estimated time of arrival is: Imminent.”

With those words, the side of an immense face along with a gigantic eye peered over the edge of the shorn ceiling, staring down at Nick. His mind went blank, unable to comprehend the sheer size of the titanic being, let alone the overwhelming aura of bloodthirst it emanated.

“Take these. I give them to you freely and without coercion.” Pax slid the last two cookies into the pocket of his bathrobe. Then she reached out to embrace him before taking his hands within her own.

“May fortune smile upon you, Nick, even as you walk within the heart of darkness. Be brave and be bold. Find a way to live on, no matter what. We’re all counting on you.” At her touch, the pressure threatening to grind him into oblivion lifted, if only by a hair, letting him move his limbs again.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

As Pax clasped Nick’s hands between her own, something pricked his flesh. He looked down to see a single drop of blood beading on the end of his fingertip. He thought he saw something that looked like a shard of glass protruding from the wound. But when he blinked, it was gone.

“I’m sorry, Nick, but I need to leave while I still can. There’s nothing else I can do. The only tools that can help you now are those that you claim for yourself.” She looked into his eyes and then down at the floor, where hundreds of weapons had fallen from the walls in scattered piles.

Without warning, her body flew back into a rack of polearms, and the grizzled warrior landed in a heap. The booming voice resounded once more, words dripping with scorn. Nick could see irritation flashing in the giant’s eye.

“It’s time for you to go, servant of Astra. Any more meddling, and I will end you here and now. If even a hint of a spoiler passes your lips again, I’ll cast you into the void and seal you inside. Now leave, unless, of course, you wish to become part of my collection.”

“Sorry. Bye. Good luck.” With that, Pax scampered over to a hatch in the floor that hadn’t been there two seconds before. After one last look at Nick, she leapt through and closed the portal behind her, which promptly vanished without a trace.

“Much better. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as the sight of a prize newly won. Welcome to my domain, little light. I would offer you a proper greeting, but even with my… encouragement, the System will simply not allow it until your tutorial is complete. I do hope you survive, because after that, the real fun begins.”

Up to this point, the voice had sounded welcoming while addressing Nick, even downright friendly. But then it shifted, turning soft and sinister in a way that sent shivers running down his spine. “Before I send you on your way, let’s adjust these stale default settings to something with a bit more… spice.”

With that, a window appeared in front of Nick’s eyes, filled with the elegant geometries he had come to associate with the System.

Altering tutorial parameters based on the request of user: [Taltos, SS].

Problem: Tutorial difficulty exceeds the maximum threshold.

Warning: Illegal modifications detected.

Solution: Resetting all parameters to default and removing Taltos from the mentorship registry… Reset failed.

As he watched, a second script began filling the screen. Alien characters that undulated like serpents formed of hooks and jagged angles. After a moment, he realized that he could read these runes as well. Before his eyes, Nick beheld a struggle between Taltos and the System. Two incomprehensibly powerful entities, far beyond his understanding.

Although he couldn’t even begin to grasp the dynamics of what was happening, Nick was able to monitor the outcome of their conflict by watching the screen. The two fonts were warring with each other. Striking out, multiplying, and eradicating one another. As if they were living creatures instead of mere language or code.

After a brief but intense battle, the System messages stuttered and started to warp, taking on aspects of the other script. Nick had the sense that both entities had expended enormous amounts of energy.

In the end, Taltos had been willing to spend more, claiming the Earth at a considerable cost to himself. With that, the System ceased its struggles, and the notifications continued without further delay.

Altering tutorial parameters. Installing the following modifications:

System membership changed from [Citizen] to [Contestant].

Class rarity maximum changed from [Epic] to [Basic].

Class selection rescinded. Contestant class set to Survivor (Basic).

Starting inventory changed from [Generous] to [Minimal].

Contestant profile and questing menu access changed from [Free] to [Restricted].

System encyclopedia deactivated. Relevant information gated to [Knowledge Points] (Tutorial Only).

Additional event categories enabled: Taltos’s challenges and bargains.

An event has been queued. “The Fate of Earth” will be enabled upon tutorial completion.

“Much better. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Nick. I’ll see you on the other side. Try to live long enough to put on a good show. Our last contestants were so… disappointing.”

With that, the Mad God vanished without a trace. The immense sensation of pressure lifted, letting Nick draw in a ragged gasp. A gasp that contained only a fraction of the oxygen he was expecting.

He was still reeling from everything that had happened. The fact that Taltos had addressed him by name. But Nick wasn’t in a position to process the event right now. The air was rapidly thinning due to the gaping hole in the roof.

He looked up in time to see whatever had been sealing the breach cut out completely. He watched in horror as the entire armory was sucked into the void, a parade of longswords followed by a flock of leather armor.

Nick would have flown up to join them in oblivion if an even greater force hadn’t been pulling him in another direction, to where a shimmering portal had opened a few feet away from his head.

He felt like he was being torn in half, caught between two intense natural forces. But the pull of the portal proved to be fractionally stronger. His body began sliding toward it, drawing him into another dimension. Just as he was lifted into the air, he saw something rolling around near his feet. It was the wand that had been lying on the table.

Nick screamed, fighting against the portal's pull. He reached out and snatched the wand off the floor. He tightened his grip, certain that the thin length of wood represented a lifeline in the raging storm that had descended upon him.

But no matter how hard he tried to hold on, he felt the wand slipping from his grasp as his body was pulled into the portal.

MINE! he willed with every fiber of his being, acting on an instinct born somewhere deep within. After a second try, the wand seemed to vibrate and then settled into his hand, no longer caught in the dimensional drag.

With no time to think, Nick shoved it into his pocket, beside the pair of cookies Pax had given him. That small act of defiance took everything that he had, leaving him helpless to resist the pull of the portal. Not that he was inclined to fight it, given the alternative.

A heartbeat later, he was hurled into the shimmering ring of light, peeled away from the pocket dimension like a cellophane wrapper.

Then, once again, Nick knew only darkness.