The room was small, just wide enough for Ark to stretch out his arms and walk over to the only furniture present. A chair was placed to face the entrance of the room—the kind with a rest for both the head and the legs, leaned back so that the user would be lying rather than sitting.

Carefully, Ark lowered himself into the chair, leaning back against the rough leather that had several holes from what he suspected was a minor rodent infestation. Nothing came out of it, though, and so he focused on what was to come.

With trepidation, he watched as his netlink came alive with activity, interacting with something without his guidance. He did not like that at all, and felt the small room closing in on him as he breathed faster, sweating with anxiety. Finally, just as he was about to get up and demand to know what was going on, the monotone voice spoke directly into his mind.

“One moment, please. Your netlink is being calibrated to the system.”

Ark breathed a little slower, but he was still on full alert. If this really was Vanguard speaking directly to him, he wanted to be prepared for anything. The idea that the intelligence guiding the station could just penetrate his netlink without any warning was alarming. He wondered if he would have any chance to resist it, if it truly wanted to harm him. The answer to that question might partly answer why no one used the system any longer, outside of the cost.

“Calibration complete,” the voice said, “No changes have been made to your connection with the Neural Network. You will be alerted if a choice will result in permanent changes to your netlink. Please begin the initialization procedure when you are ready.”

A window hovered in Ark’s vision, providing him the option to begin or to cancel. It flickered, as if resetting, then became stable again. Controlling his breath, the way he had been taught to do, Ark mentally pushed the button to proceed. He had come too far to go back now.

The moment he initialized, the world around him faded away into a haze of white and black, twisting the periphery of his into a tunnel of impressions before completely obliterating his view of the small room.

Losing his senses in this way was familiar, and it even relaxed Ark when a virtual world began constructing itself around him, granting him a sense weight as an eternal floor spread before his feet. In every direction, an expanse of white created a thin horizon against a scene out of pure legend.

Above, a dark sky full of blinking lights grew like a dome, filling out empty space until a perfect image of a night sky on old sky surrounded him. Breathless by the beauty above, Ark stood slack-jawed and stared at it, when he heard the monotone voice again—this time right next to him.

“Welcome to the Neural Network System, Subject 042, Ark.”

Spinning on his heels, and taking a defensive stance, Ark stood face to face with a creature with such perfect features that calling them human would be demeaning. It had a humanoid form, standing a head higher than him, with alabaster skin that shone in the starlight and brilliant blue eyes sparkling with intelligence. Soft curls fell down from its head in purest gold, held in place by a military cap that fit the rest of the uniform the creature wore.

“Are you—“ Ark felt his mouth go dry, even in its virtual form. Swallowing, he tried again, “Are you Vanguard?”

The creature hardly even acknowledged his presence. It’s eyes seemed distant, as if it was contemplating something important, leaving very little attention to Ark. “I am a subroutine of Vanguard, designated to the NNS. My function is to guide you onto a proper job-setting for your netlink and to inform you of the cost, should you accept this change.”

Ark felt his mouth open and close. He understood that he was simply in the presence of a fragment, but that alone felt momentous. Vanguard was an invisible watcher, an administrative intelligence that had a hand in everything, but most inhabitants of the station never interacted directly with it. To stand before it, even virtually, was difficult to fathom.

Feeling a need for clarification, Ark tried again. “So, you really are Vanguard.”

The blue eyes shifted, piercing Ark with a gaze so cold it felt like his soul froze over when he met the creature’s eyes for the first time. “Yes, Subject 042, I am Vanguard. A small part, but I am her.”

Stunned, Ark stood buck still, repeating the words over an over in his head. In the end, he helplessly croaked, “Call me Ark, please.”

“Very well, Ark. Shall we begin?” Her eyes shifted into the distance once again.

“Wait,” Ark said, relieved when her gaze left him, “You know of the Maze? You know I was a subject?”

Vanguard seemed not to react for a long moment, then her jaw worked and she spoke in a steady monotone. “As a subroutine, I have limited authority to review classified information. My parameters limit me to information on affiliation and personnel records. Beyond that, I must confer with a higher-level program.”

Licking his lips, Ark hesitated, then dared the next question that had been burning in his mind since he had realized that he might soon be face to face with Vanguard. “Do you know if it still exists? The Maze, I mean—is it still functional?”

“I do n—“ For the first time, Vanguard’s face twisted and morphed into an unnatural expression, before her entire form flickered in and out of existence for a moment. Once she was stable again, she continued. “I am not at liberty to discuss former, current, or future projects, Ark,” Vanguard said, eyes forward and uncaring.

“Understood,” Ark said and sighed. He had not expected it, but he had hoped to get a hint at the very least. Her unstable form worried him though, and he could not help wonder if there was something wrong with the system.

“Shall we begin?” Vanguard repeated.

“Y-Yes!” Ark shook his head, getting back into the present. “How does this work?”

“As a first-time user, you will be evaluated based on your choices and answers to questions during the session. The more accurate a display of ability, and more precise the answer, the better the end-result will be. You will have access to the three standard job-templates from the outset, but according to your performance, you will receive a selection of skills to pick from. Please choose wisely, as the changes done to your netlink will be permanent. Do you understand?”

Ark listened to the words carefully, nodding along until he finally said, “I understand. Please proceed.”

Vanguard had no change of facial expression, but simply continued. “We will begin by establishing a baseline of your abilities in combat. Please pick a weapon.” Vanguard waved a hand in front of her, and a long table with weapons appeared alongside her gesture, polygons assembling in front of Ark’s eyes as if by magic.

Staring at the long row of swords, spears and bows, Ark ignored them in favor of the section of guns. He was tempted by some of the assault rifles with more firepower, but he had never trained with them. Eyes lingering of the long barrel of a sniper rifle, Ark instead chose a gun like the one Harkon had showed him in the armory—a wolverine.

Looking at the barrel, Ark narrowed his eyes and looked back at Vanguard. The creature stood like a statue, waiting for him. “Can I pick another weapon?” He asked.

“As many as you like,” Vanguard answered, voice monotone.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Turning back on the table, Ark could have walked down to the section he wanted, but he wondered how much control he had in this space, so he engaged his netlink. Through it, he quickly noticed an access point in the program that surrounded him, and with a mere thought, he reached out and waved his hand. In front of him, the table responded to his command by moving perpendicular to him, zooming past without any of the inertia of a physical object. It stopped the moment he wanted it to, right in front a row of daggers.

Looking them over, Ark picked up one that looked most like his gear, then he stepped back and said, “I’m done.”

“Very good,” Vanguard said, dispassionate, “You will first experience a combat with your access to the Neural Network disabled, then another round with full access, including the proposed changes by the system. You will have an opportunity to adapt these changes, as well as an opportunity to reject them before they become permanent, after the simulation. Do you consent to these terms?”

Ark nodded and said, “I do. I’m ready.”

Vanguard nodded, then Ark felt a hammerblow to the head along with a message from his netlink.

Neural Network is limited… initiating diagnostics

Eyes blinking, Ark realized he had not fully linked up with the Neural Network after his little adventure below Vanguard. It had been a week since then, and he had not really thought much about it, until now. Now it hit him like a ton of bricks, and he staggered.

“What is this?” He heard Vanguard’s voice and looked up. Her stoic form had turned all of her attention on him, studying him as the diagnostic tool caused havoc inside his head. Her blue eyes were shining like two opal suns, scanning him from head to toe, looking for what was wrong.

Perfect eyebrows furrowed, she blinked out of existence and reappeared right next to Ark, just as another splitting headache sent him down on his knees. She caught his arm and looked straight into his eyes, the light from her warming his virtual skin at an alarming rate.

“What have you do-do-do-do—“ Her virtual form began flickering, repeating itself like an old record, scratching and echoing a single syllable over and over. Ark tried to retrieve his arm, but her hand was iron and her glowing gaze held him completely captive.

Ark thought about attacking her, but the last thing he wanted was to piss off Vanguard more than he had already done. What had he done? He had absolutely no idea.

Finally she stopped repeating herself and flickered out of existence again, only to reappear in the same spot she had been standing in when he entered. She stood straight, once more, eyes cast into the distance.

“Welcom—“ Mid-sentence, she froze, turning into a virtual statue.

Carefully, Ark approached her, waving his hand up in front of her face but seeing no reaction. Is it a malfunction? He thought, stepping back to look around. Feeling a sudden chill, Ark grew alarmed when the virtual world around him began to stutter. The bright expanse dimmed, and the once-stable floor seemed to ripple beneath his feet. Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw it—a dark, coagulated mass rising from the ground, taking on a familiar, yet nightmarish shape.

Gasping, Ark stepped back and immediately tried to turn off the program, but all his access was being restricted by something very powerful that had contained this session. He tried every avenue to return the session to Vanguard’s network, but he was shut down every time. Closing his eyes, Ark focused on the diagnostic tool that was supposed to reconnect him to the Neural Network. If he could reconnect to that then maybe—

“What are you doing?”

The voice was deep, grating to the very soul, and with a playful tone that belied the danger that Ark felt crawling down his spine. Opening his eyes very carefully, he looked at a coagulated mass of red goo that had risen from the virtual realm and taken a humanoid form. An amber orb was slowly rising through the stomach of the aberration, through the chest and up its neck before settling there like the bad imitation of a head. Within the golden surface, a pantomime head revolved into realization, grinning with an open mouth.

“You.” Ark breathed, trying to contain his panic. How was it here?

“Me.” END agreed, giving Ark an appreciative nod.

“Why—No; how are you here? We had a deal!”

The red humanoid began pacing back and forth, its head bobbing almost comically in tune with the movement. “What are you doing Ark?” It said, ignoring his question.

“What am I—?” Ark bared his teeth, snarling as he spoke, “What the fuck are you doing, END? We had a deal. Answer me!”

“What am I doing?” The being stopped and tilted its head back and forth, “I am stopping you from committing the worst mistake of your life. Aren’t I nice?”

“You agreed to get out of my netlink!”

“I am out.” END said, stepping closer, its liquid-red body looming above Ark with a menacing tilt to its pantomime head. “I will accept a lot of blame and accusations, Ark, but I am not a liar. I never lie. Got it?”

Stepping back, Ark tried to rally his courage, but he could sense END’s presence through his netlink, and it was overwhelming. Whatever he had faced down below, END was much more powerful now. He could feel it in the way it had securely locked him out and maintained the separation of this virtual space from the rest of Vanguard.

“I got it,” Ark said, carefully, “But then how are you here? Won’t Vanguard notice you?” He nodded toward the virtual statue, still frozen in the middle of its greeting.

“That?” End looked at the subroutine with contempt, “That thing won’t even realize that time has passed when I turn it back on, don’t you worry.” It then turned back on Ark, the hollow eyes within its pantomime face staring directly at him. “And thanks to you, I am now—technically—a part of Vanguard. As long as I’m careful, I can go where I please.”

“Why now? Why here?” Ark said, trying to figure a way out of this mess.

“How have you been feeling for the last couple of days, Ark?” The virtual creature said, as it began pacing again.

Closing his eyes, Ark thought back to his last conversation with the entity. There was no point in resisting its pace of conversation, not when it held all of the leverage. “Just fine,” Ark said, resigned. He tightened his grip on the virtual gun that he still held in his hand. If this was a trap, he would go down fighting.

“Fine?” END amber head jerked in his direction, “You call that fine?” A liquid hand gestured in his general direction.

Ark knew he looked back. The bags under his eyes had grown larger, and he felt light-headed, even now. “Alright, I’m not fine. Happy?”

“Not in the slightest. Seeing my investment like this is a travesty,” END said, resuming its walk. “You should get that arm checked, you know. It’s killing you.”

“What?” Ark looked down at his left hand, where a representation of the crystals embedded in his arm was mirrored in the virtual realm. It had become such a natural part of him that he rarely even thought of it. “What do you mean, it’s killing me?”

END just shrugged. “That’s what I mean. It is my gift to you, but it has consequences. Figure it out. Now, you have been feeling like shit because I cut off your link to the Neural Network a week back. You’ve been having withdrawal symptoms.”

“You mean…?” Ark’s eyes widened as he thought of his dreams over the past couple of days. He had figured it was just exhaustion, but they had come so suddenly after his meeting with END.

“That’s right,” END said, its face a twisted grin, “Good ol’ Vanguard had you hooked up good. She keeps all of her little puppies on a tight leash, didn’t you know? I took that disgusting thing off you, and now you want it back on?” END shook its head, a scornful look on its face. “I won’t allow it. Your potential is wasted on Vanguard.”

Biting his lip, Ark gathered his courage, straightening his back until he was barely at the chest height of the being. “I need it,” he said, looking into the empty hollow that represented its eyes. He squeezed the gun so hard that his knuckles turned white from exertion. He was ready—if it was time to pay the price for getting in bed with this creature, he would pay it. “Without it, I can’t keep up with the others. I need this power, END. Even if it comes with a leash.”

“No you don’t,” END whispered, it’s voice slithering through the virtual space as it slowly approached, head undulating back and forth like a snake on the prowl. “I can offer you more than Vanguard ever could. Power, freedom, everything you desire” It reached its hand, a self-satisfied smile on its hollow lips.

Ark’s breath caught in his throat, and his hands shook. He wanted it. He did not want it from END. He wanted to reach out and take that hand, clasping it and consume it until he had taken everything from his tormentor. If he could, he swallow take it all.

END saw it in him, its horrid grin spreading further across the amber marble. “If you truly crave it, I can make you something more than a mere human. Something that even Vanguard would fear. I can make you into a god.”