How is it that every time I leave that damn Castle, something more insane happens?

  The first time I left, trying to see this new world, the savages were waiting, ready to smash heads unprovoked.

  So I went back, put on the Crown, and spent days trying to gather courage, only for Ephe to force me out again.

  Now, out again, thinking I was somewhat prepared to handle the damn bastards… oh no, haha, here comes a FUCKING GOD flying at Mach 10 above my head.

  How was I supposed to prepare for that?

  How was I supposed to explore, like the Custodians wanted me to?

  How was I supposed to see that, get up, dust myself off, and go about my day like I didn’t just see a creature that would make the entire scientific community jump off buildings after witnessing it?

  And how was I supposed, even if I succeeded, to bring my wife back into a world where this kind of fuckery flew around?

  “Ephe, what in God’s name have I just witnessed?” I asked, still lying on my stomach, minutes later.

  Only for Ephe to respond with words I really didn’t want to hear.

  [Subject: Unknown.]

  [Species: Unknown.]

  [Age: Unknown.]

  [Reigncraft Classification Detected: Sovereign.]

  [Risk Level: Catastrophic.]

  [Final Advisory: DO NOT Engage.]

  “If you, for even an iota of a second, thought I’d engage with that… creature, then you are sorely mistaken, Ephe,” I said through clenched teeth, pushing myself up. “I am going back to the Castle.”

  [Directive Unchanged: Explore.]

  My head throbbed, a migraine splitting it in two.

  Probably the aftermath of that goddamn screech, though Ephe’s attitude might’ve actually been the reason. Or maybe both. It didn’t matter, really.

  “I am the wrong guy for this, Ephe. I’m not made for this,” I muttered, shaking my head as I walked toward the giant feather. “Whatever this is.”

  Another of the creature’s distant screeches tore through the air, and I ducked instinctively, my heart leaping into my throat.

  “Yeah, no. Fuck this,” I hissed, grabbing the soft feather and turning back toward the castle, dragging the absurdly light thing behind me.

  The feather’s vibrant color reminded me of Julia’s eyes and how little I actually managed to grieve her passing.

  Before I was brought here, between funeral arrangements, endless phone calls, and paying for everything that needed to be paid so that her funeral was as she requested, I didn’t get much time to properly sit on the fact of the matter. I was a numbed robot running to get everything sorted before I could allow myself to crumble like dust to the ground.

  And here, in this world, I’d had even less time. Between trying to survive this new world, understanding what I was supposed to do, and arguing with Ephe for answers that never came, grief had barely gotten a chance to matter.

  Even in that hour I spent in the flower garden, my thoughts weren’t on her, but on the Julia I hoped to have revived. Not the one who didn’t exist anymore. My wife.

  My mind was wearing thin, and numbness was the only thing keeping the pieces from spilling out. But even that, I knew, had limits.

  And yet, despite the absolute terror that still lingered from that godlike being that flew overhead, I knew that doing nothing wouldn’t make my life any easier or bring Julia back.

  It came down to two choices: follow the Directives Ephe gave me and do what they wanted.

  Or let go of it all. End this farce. Send myself back to her.

  Either way, I would die or see Julia again. But at least trying offered me the illusion of purpose, the one thing I was still desperate to cling to.

  The Directive to Explore remained unfinished, which meant that Ephe, or the Custodians, still wanted me somewhere.

  And although they claimed I could go wherever I wished, I knew better. They bastards would find a way to steer me exactly where they wanted, to show me what they wanted me to see.

  So, despite every pep talk I’ve given myself, despite every time I’ve given up since coming here and let the fear, doubt, and anxieties that haunted all my life win, I say, once more: fuck it all.

  So I turned east, after the beast. Because where else was there to go?

  Half an hour into my walk, past the same sea of colossal trees that never seemed to end, the godlike creature made itself known again. I groaned in pain as the headache intensified, weird shapes and colors flickering at the corners of my vision. I was getting closer.

  [Is the ‘Subject’ certain that He wants to do this?]

  “Is Ephe ready to tell me why I shouldn’t?” I asked, staring straight ahead even as her voice echoed through my splitting skull. “Or are we going to dance around abstractions again? ‘Directive Unchanged: Explore,’ remember?”

  [The Custodians’ advice is to Proceed with Caution.]

  “And what’s yours, Ephe?” I muttered mindlessly, just as a clearing appeared a few hundred feet ahead.

  [To Take Care.]

  I froze, blinking in confusion. “Was that real emotion coming from you, Ephe?”

  [No.]

  “It was, wasn’t it?”

  [No.]

  “Whatever it was, do more of that,” I said, turning toward the clearing with a bad feeling crawling up my spine.

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  It was a bad idea from the start, but I would soon learn how truly bad it really was.

  Still, Ephe’s warning made me tread more carefully, staying within the shadows.

  And Gods, good thing I did.

  As I drew closer, the trees began to thin in number, and the light opened up. My eyes adjusted to the brightness of a wide clearing, a village of large, primitive huts with thatched roofs.

  [Danger.]

  [Multiple Lifeforms detected.]

  [‘Subject’ not yet Seen.]

  [Directive ‘Explore’ Followed - Registered.]

  [Reign Index Increased: 0.03% → 0.04%.]

  [New Directive: Remain Unseen.]

  I ducked behind a thick tree at the forest’s edge, placing the stupidly giant feather vertically against the tree as I steadied my breath before peering out again.

  What I saw froze the blood in my veins.

  Beyond the scattered huts stood a stone structure, fifty feet tall, towering above the rest, a pyramid eerily similar to the Chichen Itza of the Mayans from back on Earth.

  But it wasn’t the architecture that made my skin crawl. It was the crowd gathered at its base, chanting, painted, trembling. And above them, spiraling around the pyramid, was It. The same godlike serpent, its vast body coiling like a jade storm, head lowered toward a woman tied and weeping at the altar.

  “What in…” I whispered, though deep down, I already knew.

  “Sun God, Haul,” an old man cried out, his back painted white, bones littering his hair. “Smile upon our souls as you did for our ancestors! Accept these sacrifices prepared for your visit!”

  It was a ritual.

  A human sacrifice.

  [New Optional Directive: Rescue the Sacrifices.]

  But before I could even think about what madness Ephe was asking me to achieve, the beast shrieked, its ruby eyes blazing, locking onto the trembling woman below and enjoying the terror that surged in that woman's soul.

  Then… Snap.

  She was gone.

  Madness was all I could utter as the savages cheered the death they’d just created.

  “Ephe, I couldn’t save her, you know that,” I whispered, hands trembling as I gripped the bark for dear life, as if I were the one devoured.

  [No.]

  [The Optional Directive is for the other Sacrifices.]

  “The others…” I muttered, scanning the village for anything that resembled a normal human.

  Then I saw them, three figures kneeling between two huts: a teenage boy, a young woman, and a lean, warrior-looking man with pointed ears poking through his blond hair. A goddamn elf.

  Four guards surrounded them, spears of black, glassy material that looked like obsidian. The guards were distracted, grinning at the horror unfolding before them.

  But if I tried to approach, they’d see me. And worse, the godlike beast would too. That’d be the end of me.

  “It’s impossible,” I hissed, pulling back behind the tree. “I can’t reach them without being discovered; I’d be going against your other Directive.”

  [Reminder: Optional Directive.]

  I sighed, peeking out again just in time for the old man, probably the shaman of the savages, to start yelling.

  “Oh, Sun God, there is much more for you to enjoy!” he cried, raising his arms as the beast lowered its head, a massive ruby eye stopping mere feet from his face.

  There isn’t enough piss in existence to compare to what would’ve flown out of me if I were standing in that shaman's place.

  “W-We prepared more, yes, yes,” the shaman stammered, as if answering some silent question. He turned toward the guards. “Bring out the next one. Something big for our Lord to enjoy.”

  The guards nodded and grabbed the elf. He resisted fiercely. Two couldn’t move him. Four barely could. He kicked, thrashed, and struggled, but being tied up to both hands and feet made it impossible to escape.

  The other two Sacrifices could only watch in horror as they watched the elf be dragged before the shaman.

  “Sun God,” the old man said, trembling but trying to sound composed, “Grant us passage so we may prepare your meal.”

  The beast shifted, uncoiling from the pyramid. Its eight wings opened wide, sending a shockwave that knocked people to the ground as it ascended into the sky, a lazy spiral above the treeline.

  “Hurry, you useless shits,” the shaman muttered, panic visible in his eyes. “Or the Sun God will not look our way again.”

  That was when it hit me, the savages who’d chased me days ago weren’t planning to kill me. They were planning to feed me to this thing. Just like the others.

  This could be my chance. My only chance to save the boy and the woman.

  The elf was too far, already doomed. But the other two… the guards were distracted, the crowd entranced, and the “god” had flown off.

  “Ephe, how long could Veilstep last me?” I asked, panic and bile rising together in my throat at the madness I was thinking of committing.

  [Eight Seconds.]

  Eight seconds. Too little time for too far a distance. Especially when I wasn’t sure I could even run while carrying two people.

  No. This was madness. I couldn’t save them.

  Yet when I looked toward the pyramid and saw the guards beating the elf into submission at its peak, I moved by instinct.

  I dashed out from behind the tree into the clearing without thinking.

  Fuck, I was dumb. But it was too late to go back now.

  I sprinted to the nearest hut and pressed myself against its side, chest heaving.

  “Ephe?” I whispered.

  [‘Subject’ not yet Seen.]

  Then I ran again, hut to hut, knees burning, heart slamming.

  [‘Subject’ not yet Detected.]

  [Danger.]

  [Above.]

  I flattened myself against the wall just as the godlike being passed overhead, its shadow swallowing the clearing. The air pressure alone nearly lifted me off the ground.

  Then, impact. A thunderous crash shook the village as the creature landed atop the pyramid.

  It didn’t see me. So I leaned past the tent, watching it coil its gigantic serpentine body around the stone again, while the guards, now back on the ground, turned their focus back to the creature.

  I had to time this perfectly.

  I bolted. Two more huts crossed.

  “Ephe,” I gasped, crouching low.

  [‘Subject’ not yet Seen.]

  “How far?” I whispered, peeking around the corner. The beast loomed, sniffing the terrified, bloodied elf.

  [Four Huts.]

  [Proceed with Caution at the Next Hut.]

  I ran again, ducking low, skirting around a pile of black glass shards behind the hut, only to freeze mid-step.

  I was closer to a fool than a bloody court jester. I had nothing to cut the ropes.

  I crouched, grabbed the sharpest shard of the glass I could find, and kept moving.

  [‘Subject’ not yet Detected.]

  Two more huts. Just two more.

  I waited, heart hammering, peeking past the edge of the final hut.

  Then the signal came, the beast shrieked, a deafening sound that shook the ground.

  I sprinted, ignoring the disaster of a headache the sound caused me.

  The noise masked my footsteps as I reached the captives just as a snap brought everything to silence for a second.

  “Shh,” I muttered, and the woman almost yelped at the sight of me before realizing I wasn’t one of the savages.

  The shard bit into the rope at her ankles. My hands shook violently, slick with sweat and adrenaline.

  “Come on, come on,” I muttered, half to her, half to myself, while the crowd roared in the distance.

  When the rope finally broke free of her ankles, she got to her feet, ready to run, only for me to catch her hand and bring her back to the ground.

  “Stay here. Don’t run yet.”

  But then the cheers stopped.

  “Fuck,” I gasped, moving to saw through the boy’s bindings as fast as I could.

  The rope snapped free just as the shaman’s voice rose again. But Ephe's voice muffled the man's words.

  [Directive ‘Remain Unseen’ Followed – Registered.]

  [Reign Index Increased: 0.04% → 0.05%]

  [New Directive: Escape.]

  [Warning.]

  [Subject has been Discovered.]

  [Run.]

  “Hold tight,” I muttered to the two just as I heard something I never wanted to hear directed at me. A wild shriek as it moved from the stone pyramid toward our location.

  I didn’t look back. I didn’t need to.

  I closed my eyes, terror filling every part of me.

  “I, Ruler of Calcan Castle, Seed of the Reigncraft, Deny the order of time. Veilstep.”

  Color vanished from the world as time froze.

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