“Yeah! Cowabunga, dudes!!” You raise your sword in the air.

  Your voice carries away on the wind. “Whoohoooop!”

  Everyone in your guild, Snapdragon, celebrates, yelling “Snap, snap!” and mashing their keyboards in the ultimate gamer salute.

  You can just imagine the keycaps flying everywhere in super-slowmo.

  You close the chat as the comments start to explode in your vision, thick and fast.

  Comment: Inkys comin! Inky blinky’s!

  Comment: Don’t close your eyes! #DontBlink

  Comment: You level zero now. Inky gonn grief you!#InkArmy

  Comment: InkySlinky hides in dark, Steals your shadow, leaves his mark.

  Trolls are so predictable, but you still feel a chill at Inky’s name.

  One of them has even posted a line from that dumb Inkyblinky song.

  Great! Now it’s stuck in your head.

  Inky is the boogeyman of H&H.

  Inky is a meme, some old creepypasta to frighten kids.

  “Pffft. Whatever, fam.” It’s all you say as you close the chat window.

  You know your guild, Snapdragon, would be the first to troll you.

  You wouldn’t have it any other way.

  You feel on top of the world. You *are* on top of the world, or at least on top of the world of H&H.

  That’s Heroes and Hexes, for those of you who’ve been living under a rock.

  H&H is more than a game. It’s a whole universe and it’s the hottest thing around, taking off just as full-immersion tech became a thing.

  The beauty of H&H is that it learns as you play, and the more people play it, the better it gets.

  You can be anything and do anything. It’s whatever you want it to be—pure imagination unleashed, and people can't get enough of it.

  And you are about to become its king.

  At least, that’s what the quest said. “Conquer the celestial city, and its crown you will wear.”

  You look over at your bestie, Linus. Linus plays an ancient grey-bearded wizard, who is currently busy trying to keep his long robes from flying off his grandpa bod.

  Nobody needs to see his old-man undies.

  Definitely not while a billion people are watching your raid, live.

  That’s billion with a “B”.

  You let out another “w00t w00000t!”

  Your views and subs are going to be celestial level.

  Your life is about to change, in-game and IRL.

  You are pumped; this is your big moment.

  You clasp wrists with your bestie, Linus.

  “Stay cool, old man.” You wink.

  It’s always a little weird thinking Linus's player character is an old dude, but that’s okay.

  Linus isn’t into hugging IRL, so you take the win.

  You begged Linus to change his character to something cooler, but Linus insists a teenager can't be a full wizard.

  Linus likes to keep things lore-accurate, if you haven't noticed.

  Yup, he even studied for the in-game wizarding exam, even though it was just a graduation cutscene.

  You, on the other hand, keep it low-key with a flight jacket, Kevlar vest, light-armored jeans, and high-top kicks.

  Of course, besides the drip, every item you wear boosts your stats, down to the gold chain around your neck and the grillz that spell out “CHEESE.”

  And unlike pay-for-play losers, you grind for everything you have.

  Your favorite item is the shades, which boost your charisma and give you the legendary ability "Eye of Romulus," allowing you to spot top-tier hidden loot and quest clues.

  It’s your lucky shades that earned you the secret celestial throne quest, leading to the crazy adventure of raiding the celestial city.

  Plus, they’ve become part of your brand. That and your spiky hair, in honor of the OG rebel, Bart Simpson. Who else?

  You know you don’t quite have the following you deserve, but after this…

  you just know you’ll crack the U18 best players list.

  Maybe even the global rankings.

  Pro gaming? Let's go!

  You approach the gates of the celestial city.

  A brief glimpse over the celestial bridge and the world below makes you dizzy.

  The bridge is covered in the golden feathers of the winged guardians.

  If your gore settings weren’t muted, there'd probably be loads of cool golden blood.

  Instead, the looted corpses yield "blood of the celestial guardian," a unique potion item.

  Unique as in, they’re not making any more of it.

  The vials will be worth a fortune.

  You will be rich, rich.

  You slay the final guardian single-handed (with the help of your bestie, of course).

  You and your guild have done the impossible! No one in the history of H&H has successfully raided the celestial bridge or defeated the celestial guardians.

  You might be a boring nobody IRL, but in H&H, you are destined to be a legend of the greatest MMORPG ever created.

  Your face will be on the cover of magazines.

  They’ll say, “Say Cheese!”

  And you’ll flash your grillz.

  “I can’t believe that actually worked.” Linus, the grey wizard, says.

  Linus's voice is high, even with the voice mods, but his squeaky voice is every bit as serious as the wrinkly face he wears.

  Linus is a grandmaster on the speed-runner forums.

  To you, that mostly means Linus does the same thing over and over and over (until you are sliding off the couch, drooling with boredom), searching for bugs that can be used to complete the game faster.

  The worst part?

  Linus doesn’t even do any of the runs! He just enjoys finding glitches and letting the runners take all the credit!

  Linus discovered the bug that allowed you to stack damage on the celestial guardians and find a dead space on the map where their flaming swords do zero damage.

  Still, it hasn't been easy.

  You are down to your last potions, and Snapdragon felt the hurt.

  Those glorious little trolls sacrificed themselves one after the other.

  You almost don’t have the words.

  “This is for you, dragons.” You step into the city.

  “Snap, snap!” The guild chomp their mics.

  You stride forward.

  “This is for every Rust Lord who said we’d never make it. Look who’s at the top now.” You thump your chest.

  The massive golden gates to the celestial city open as you and Linus walk in. The deep creaks sound like faraway thunder.

  “Jeez, what a dump!” You quip.

  You hear the guild voices dying down as the game's score takes over. That means you and Linus will be on your own for whatever comes next.

  “See ya, boys,” is all you say as you flash them a peace sign.

  Your dragons will have to hop on the stream like everybody else.

  It is a tense few seconds as you walk under the shining crystal archway, weapon drawn.

  You hold your sword, the mythic soul-blade, Galatia. The achievement, “Slayer of the Last Guardian,” has been added to the sword's many titles.

  You were worried there might be other mobs to face down, but the helmed guards just turn their heads as you pass.

  The city has never been taken before, so you figure maybe they aren’t sure whether to hail their conquerors or throw rotten tomatoes.

  Now that you think about it, you aren’t sure if celestials eat anything, but if they hate tomatoes, they’re alright by you.

  The celestial citizens stop and stare solemnly as you pass.

  They look normal, except for their hair. From poofy afros to long, loose waves, everyone has bright white hair. And they all look sort of ageless yet old at the same time.

  You can’t quite put it into words.

  They just… look and gather at the roadside.

  It is kind of creeping you out, if you’re being honest.

  A mother with hair down to her waist gathers kids who are giving off creepy twin vibes.

  Kids with white hair? Straight out of Creepyville.

  You shiver.

  The non-player characters of H&H are so realistic that it almost feels wrong to call them NPCs. People start calling the in-game characters “permanents” or “locals.”

  You can understand why some people spend their game-time hanging out with the locals, but stabbing things with pointy weapons and getting cool loot is more your speed.

  You can never get tired of the rush of power as you activate your special ability, Rage Strike. The thrill of picking up a brand-new sword and examining its properties.

  That is why people stay in H&H. It is better than the real world. So much better. If you could afford one of the next-gen rigs, you'd go lifer in a heartbeat. Poopshoot, wires? Where do you sign?

  In the real world, you are just some random kid from Nowheresville, barely allowed to tie your own shoes and cross the road without a permission slip. In H&H, you can be so much more. Because in H&H, they let you live. You can build a guild from the ground up, lead an army, and, next, rule a kingdom. You already have the abilities, but now you can have real power.

  You are about to show all the haters just how powerful you can get.

  The non-player characters of H&H are so realistic that it almost feels wrong to call them NPCs. People start calling the in-game characters “permanents” or “locals.”

  You can understand why some people spend their game-time hanging out with the locals, but stabbing things with pointy weapons and getting cool loot is more your speed.

  You can never get tired of the rush of power as you activate your special ability, Rage Strike. The thrill of picking up a brand-new sword and examining its properties.

  That is why people stay in H&H. It is better than the real world. So much better. If you could afford one of the next-gen rigs, you'd go lifer in a heartbeat. Poopshoot, wires? Where do you sign?

  In the real world, you are just some random kid from Nowheresville, barely allowed to tie your own shoes and cross the road without a permission slip. In H&H, you can be so much more. Because in H&H, they let you live. You can build a guild from the ground up, lead an army, and, next, rule a kingdom. You already have the abilities, but now you can have real power.

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  You are about to show all the haters just how powerful you can get.

  At least no one in the celestial city is Inked up.

  You know, Inkheads? The friends of Inky? Ring a bell?

  While you're sure Inky doesn't exist, his creepy little fan club is undeniable.

  But Inkhead fashion inspo is a bit on the dark side. Black as ink, you dig?

  More people gather every second, and you just flash your dazzling smile.

  It doesn’t help that the crystal road is polished to a mirror shine, and your kicks with the once-daily "wall crawl" ability make a loud, “Skweeee!” each time you take a step.

  It’s awkward as heck.

  So much for the boost to stealth.

  Linus has his map out, which is crazy because all that stuff is added to his mini-map anyway.

  He has drawn a crazy-accurate sketch of the layout from trash screenshots and forum posts.

  Every loud squeak takes you one step closer to the palace of the gods, where you guess you will finish the quest, but for once you don’t mind the extra minute it takes to walk around the massive fountain so Linus can grab his wizard hat and look up at the larger-than-life statues of the old celestial kings.

  You know Linus is losing his beautiful big brain, even if he has gone radio silent.

  That’s Linus.

  You can tell none of the kings are players. You know, because they all look super serious, and there’s no one bending over and showing their butt or busting a move.

  You are going to change all that.

  When they make your statue, you will say, “Eat my shorts,” and bend over just like Bart, the original cool dude.

  You have pictured it a thousand times.

  It is going to go down just like that—

  Up ahead, a girl is splashing in the lowest level of the fountain like she’s a kid in a splash pool.

  The girl has curly brown hair, is dressed in a leather cuirass and skirt, and has big hazel eyes and a dimpled smile.

  Linus's mouth drops and his eyes grow wide.

  You: Leather? In a fountain? Her armor is beef jerky, smh.

  Linus: Should we tell her?

  You:...

  The girl probably picked the armor because it looked "cute." Total girl move.

  She’s pretty, but in a world where everyone can choose exactly what they look like, "pretty" is pretty lame.

  She flips her hair, creating a brief rainbow.

  She’s clearly been generous with her “upper body” settings.

  You facepalm.

  The girl has “noob” written all over.

  She probably isn’t even level ten.

  “Enemy ships ahead!” Linus slaps two hands over his eyes.

  “Dive, dive, dive!” He somersaults awkwardly into cover.

  There’s something funny about seeing a bearded wizard crouching below the fountain, pretending to be a submarine.

  You: Linus, you okay, bud?

  Linus: ...

  The girl’s eyes flash over you and Linus.

  You shrug, backing up. “Let's just go back the other way.”

  You know it’s hopeless but hope she hasn’t seen you anyway.

  The girl shouts. “Oh! Heyyy guys! Wait! Where are you going?”

  She trips, earning herself another mouthful of fountain water.

  “So…watery,” she coughs. “It’s clean, right?”

  You: Linus, bud?

  Linus: Target two battleships. Standing by. Over.

  You sigh inwardly. Linus has gone full submarine.

  Something about the girl’s act seems off to you.

  It isn’t just the accent or the funny way of talking.

  You speak with a thin smile. “You can stop pretending. We're not in VR.”

  The girl has been acting like she can actually feel the water, like she’s “all in.”

  People with next-gen rigs look down on everyone else because they can’t “feel” the game.

  Must be nice, you think.

  “Yoh! Thanks! The last boys said they couldn’t even see me. Rude, right?” The girl sweeps wet hair out of her face. “The time before, they said I wasn’t serious enough. Me? Imagine!”

  She puts “serious” in air quotes.

  You just fold your arms and look at her. “Uh-huh.”

  Whoever "they" were, they’d taken the words right out of your mouth.

  “So I can join your party, right? I just want to adventure and crawl in a dungeon…”

  “You mean, dungeon crawl? Never mind. See, we’re a guild, not a party,” you correct her.

  “Aha, right!” The girl nods eagerly. “Even better! Guilds are, like, my favorite!”

  The girl obviously has no clue what she’s talking about, and you are tired of it.

  You try to sound sad. “But, you see, guilds have entrance requirements and, unfortunately, you just don’t meet them.”

  “No fair! But…” The girl looks up sharply. “What requirements?”

  “We have one rule:” you speak solemnly and just a little bit quickly. “No bewbs.”

  “Bewbs” is about as close as you can get without getting auto-ejected from H&H by an AI moderator.

  “No…whaaaa?!?” The girl exclaims.

  “You heard me.” You fold your arms, spelling it out. “No Bee-you-Bs.”

  “No way…are you serious?!” The girl gulps, looking down at her avatar before covering her chest. She looks up, shocked. “Yoh! What are you, like, twelve!?”

  “Actually, I am only—” Linus raises his hand like he’s in class.

  “Fifteen. Almost sixteen, actually.” You interrupt, immediately regretting the lie.

  “Whyyyy is everyone on this game so mean to me today?” The girl is getting louder even as her eyes grow wide and shiny. “Yoh, you got me, okay? I’m a girl!? So?”

  She sits down in the fountain and turns away.

  You’ve had enough, and you give back as good as you got. “Because when girls don’t get their way or someone says something 'mean,' they go crying home to their mommies, and then nobody in the guild can play for a whole week because someone's mommy complained in the group chat.” You say, “That’s why.”

  “I thought…I thought guys liked this.” The girl says, half blowing bubbles in the water.

  “Ewww, no,” you say, before remembering you just turned fifteen, like, five seconds ago. “I mean, you know we do, but we’re…”

  You point between yourself and are relieved to find Linus standing up and turning stiffly toward the girl.

  “…serious players who only care about the game.” Linus squeaks.

  The girl’s chest deflates.

  It actually deflates, like a balloon, but without the fart sounds.

  You can tell she’s in her settings because she accidentally starts changing her nose, and you aren’t going to tell her that she now has a swollen dwarf's nose and one buck tooth.

  “Promise you won’t laugh?” The girl pauses, her face turning bright red.

  When she finally speaks, it’s in a very small voice. “What if they’re, like, really small?”

  She looks at you hopefully.

  “Say what?” you say.

  “You know…” She looks down. “What if I’m flat like…like a popsicle stick?”

  Oh great. Linus, aka the hundred-and-something-year-old wizard, jams his fingers into his giant ears and starts singing.

  The girl laughs and wipes her huge nose. “Like, flat like I didn’t even get my P yet, flat?”

  “Woooaah, okay!” You raise your hands, to defend from her over-sharing. “We don’t need to know about your popsicle problem.”

  “It’s just that…” The girl continues, alternating between sniffling and wiping her huge nose, “I just moved here…and I don’t know anyone and you’re right. I don’t know anything about anything…I killed a whole lot of goblins just to buy this armor and, yoh, it was so real. Like, even without the blood. And I just wanted someone to talk to me, and…and…”

  You know that when she says she's "just moved here," she doesn't mean the game world. She probably moved in real life and hopped on H&H to make friends. It isn’t uncommon.

  Actually, you know exactly what that’s like.

  You’d been sent to the middle of nowhere to live with your aunt and your d’bag cousin, Deyon.

  If you hadn't had your guildmates... you doubt you would've made it.

  Ugh, seriously? Is she still crying? You don’t know what it is, but you just want her to stop.

  “Fine!” You throw up your hands, “You can party with us. Just. Stop. You’re already in a fountain.”

  The girl snorts. “Really??”

  There’s actual snot hanging from her massive nose, which is even redder and more swollen than before.

  She has a debuff called "ugly cry" over her head, which minuses ten charisma—unless you’re a big softie named Eno, according to the description.

  Great! Even the game's AI thinks you're a sucker.

  You hold up a hand, “…but you’re not joining the guild, and you’re not sharing any of the loot, and it’s probably the biggest quest in the game. It’d be better if you just didn’t say anything. Oh, and don't touch anything either.”

  The girl climbs out of the fountain and starts wringing the water from her clothes.

  “Are you serious, right now? Because, yoh, I don’t think I could take any more. I’m not used to rejection, you know?”

  Water is dripping everywhere.

  You really hope you won’t regret your decision, even if you know you’ll catch all sorts of grief from your guildmates.

  "Just so you know," you say, as you continue toward the celestial palace, "we're sort of live-streaming at the moment."

  "You're what?!" The girl looks around in the air as she runs to catch up. "No, you're not."

  Her eyes grow wide. "But, like, no one follows you two, right?"

  "Right," you lie.

  After all, you’ll probably never see her again. "But maybe don’t say your name out loud."

  You glance at the number on your screen.

  You don’t want 1.75 billion people stalking her, you think.

  As you stride up the giant steps to the temple, the whole city gathers in the royal courtyard to watch you.

  "They're still just watching," you say as you wave at the crowds below. The crowd remains silent.

  You think about giving a speech, something about how you'll be a good king and all that.

  You even try to think of something clever to earn subs, but you draw a total blank.

  Besides, everyone just wants to see what’s inside.

  You just know half the comment section is waiting to see you fall on your face.

  Half. That would be a breezy 500 million eyeballs and climbing. Okay, a billion eyeballs technically. You can do basic math.

  So, you just turn and walk inside.

  The music swells as you enter, becoming softer as it spills into the massive hall.

  The high arches, the paintings, and the statues of celestial kings and heroes.

  You double down.

  You're here for the throne, the loot, the fame, and that’s it.

  You'll sell the loot to the highest bidder.

  Some players would see how much the celestials would offer to pay you to go away and just take the city again, but you aren’t that cold.

  Still, you're not going to be stuck in a stuffy palace wearing a fancy hat.

  You're grabbing the cash and going wherever the next adventure is.

  It will all be worth it in the end.

  Besides, the city is done.

  The players will be here soon, and they’ll rob the city blind.

  You, Linus, and the girl walk into the palace.

  The palace doesn’t even have doors.

  Come to think of it, you haven’t seen any doors on any of the buildings. No windows either.

  H&H has legendary, mythic, and celestial loot. Celestial loot is top tier.

  Who knows what kind of things celestials have lying around?

  But as much as you want to pick through their homes, you have more important things to do.

  Frig, you probably won’t even get to try out your new titanium lock picks! What a waste!

  At the back of the hall, a woman waits in flowing black temple robes. In front of her is a swirling multicoloured light, with ribbons of different colours twisting off it.

  You can’t be sure, but it seems like some epic, celestial loot. Maybe even a level above that, if that’s even possible.

  You walk closer until you can see the glowing egg with a living pattern twisting inside it. It’s like endless possibilities. You're sure you could make sense of it if you just look a little longer.

  Whatever it is, you want it. You are taking it.

  Only the woman's thin mouth is visible beneath her hood.

  "Hello, hero. Welcome to the celestial city. The first of your kind to walk the celestial road." She says with a thin smile on her lips before adding, "Uninvited."

  You want to fast-forward to the loot, but you know information can be valuable, and besides, your view count is still climbing.

  You can wait for a few more hundred thousand eyeballs to hop on.

  "What do you mean, 'my kind'?" you ask with more boldness than you feel.

  "Your kind…players." She pauses to let the word sink in. "You come out of nowhere. You appear. You kill, you take, you disappear. You die, you come back. You do it again and again. Our world never stood a chance."

  You let out a nervous snort.

  Locals aren’t supposed to know about save games and that sort of stuff.

  There are always rumors about NPCs who know more than others, or worse, who start to realize they are NPCs. But you’ve never actually met one before.

  You can’t think what to say.

  You've never thought about it like that.

  Like the players are an invading army, that can throw themselves at any enemy without fearing death, and will keep coming until they're strong enough or figure out how to beat you.

  If an army on earth figured out how to turn war into a video game, they’d rule the world.

  "When you put it that way, you must hate us," you say.

  The woman replies, "You bring change. We don’t hate change. We watched as the world below changed so much and did nothing. That is our way. Now change comes for us. So we must change, too. Change is part of living."

  "You could fight back." Not that you want to be giving her any ideas.

  "We have chosen the way of peace. Do not feel bad. Peace is our weapon. With peace, we have turned mighty enemies into mighty friends. Will you be our friend, Eno?"

  Your heart pounds.

  For a moment, you're not sure whether she said "Eno" or "hero."

  It’s like maybe you heard one thing in your head and another out loud.

  You: I think something’s not right, yo...

  Some girl: Yay! I’m in your chat. Officially besties!

  None of this makes any sense to you, and you could mention certain winged guardians with flaming swords who flat-out murdered anything that so much as put its pinky toe on the celestial bridge, but you think better of it.

  "I see you, hero." She looks through your eyes like she’s turning the pages of your soul. "You desire… a place in the world… yes, and power, and something more… yes, the love of your parents who left..."

  "Yo," you say, standing up from your rig, about to rip off your headset.

  Your hair stands on end. The lady is reading seriously your mind. Not your character’s mind—your actual sitting-at-home mind.

  Linus: Your parents, wth?

  You: I think she… can see me? The real me?

  Some girl: Really? idk. You moving so fast. Smh

  "Don’t be afraid, hero!" The lady speaks to the air, like you're floating around someplace and you just know, crazy as it might sound, she’s speaking to you—*you*.

  "The egg represents the power of the celestial city. It is all the power that we can give you. Every one of us laid our hands on it and gave it our power."

  You remember the white-haired people. The way they looked old but sort of not old at the same time. It’s like they’d given up their immortality to become like everyone else.

  That’s it, you realize.

  "Chill. It’s just a game. It’s just a game," you repeat to yourself. "Breathe."

  Linus: You know you’re not moving, right?

  Linus: You said that out loud?

  Some girl: You playing with me right now? \
  "We believe in you, hero. We know you were sent to us. Our gift is yours to take." The woman continues more urgently. "Do you understand, hero? It is your choice. You can choose to keep the power here, and let this gift remain in our world, or you can take it for yourself."

  You know the woman is trying to tell you something. You’re missing something. What if it’s a trap?

  You can’t give up. You’re so close. You just had a freakout. That’s it.

  "You’re… just going to let me take it?" you say skeptically.

  "It’s already yours, hero," the woman says, full of meaning. "You might say, we were just waiting for you to claim it."

  "Great," you say, reaching for the egg.

  "You just… have to take it!" she replies.

  "I was gonna." You grab the egg, and the light show from the egg immediately shuts off.

  You try to put it in your inventory but get an error. You try to equip it, but that also does nothing.

  "Come on!" You just want to equip the egg and get out of here. If it isn’t in your inventory, it isn’t really yours. If you die now, you have nothing. You take off your backpack and try equipping it manually, struggling with the clasps.

  Linus: You seeing this?

  Some girl: QQ

  Linus: Getting dark.

  Linus: I’m scared.

  Linus: Why is there boss music?

  Some girl: \
  "Didn’t you hear me, hero? The egg is already yours, and so is he." She says. "And he came the moment you took it."

  You look up and see she’s cast some sort of high-level protection spell. You can’t even identify it.

  There is nothing but blackness outside the spell bubble.

  The palace hall is gone.

  It is just blank.

  You: Got a bad feeling guys.

  > Linus has left the chat.

  > You: Guys?

  > Some girl has left the chat.

  "I cannot hold it much longer, hero. There is no one watching us now. No one but him." She points at the shadows.

  You see she’s right. The view counter is zero. But how did she know?

  "Do not be afraid of the dark one, Eno. It is not wise to fight with shadows." She says.

  Whoa. Your heart is beating faster. You are sure she said your name this time.

  "There is always balance." She goes on. "When the players arrived in our world, they brought their fears, and from their fears, came the one you call… Inky."

  She says it like she’s announcing a fighter, and as she does, the spell collapses, and the shadows flood in. The city rocks under your feet. The last thing you feel is falling.

  You feel it like you’re right there. Then total blackness. The lights go out in your room.

  "No, no, no." You mash the keyboard, trying everything, but your rig won’t even light up. It is dead, dead.

  "Nonononoooo." You sink to the ground. Without the item equipped or in your inventory, it is gone. Everything is gone.

  Game over.