I left the group and waved my hand to them. Slowly I walked toward the fortress.

"Make a death wish..." one of the girls whispered behind my back.

When I passed the spear that was buried deep in the ground, I ran my hand along its shaft as if I owned it, my insides shrinking in anticipation of yet another one already in the air, about to pin me down like a large beetle. One step. Then another. A bead of sweat slid down my face. My feet raising clouds of dust as birds sang in the sky, I walked, moving my wooden legs, until I entered the shadow cast by the skull. I stopped right in front of its grimacing face and tilted my head up, peering into the dark void of its eye sockets. Slowly, its jaw opened, allowing me access to the fortress. Looked like I made it.

Chapter Ten

F rom the Analytics Department report made at the AlterWorld Corporation's last board meeting.

Agenda: The tendencies in AlterWorld's self-induced development.

Recently, we've been witnessing a new and rather frightening tendency as AlterWorld seems to be switching to perma mode all by itself, not only acquiring more and more independence but also gaining depth, recreating and generating its own past and present.

Just one example. During our worldbuilding phase, we came up with a multitude of myths and legends for our game concept. One of them was the story of Centaurs that had populated the world's prairies from ocean to ocean, then disappeared in as yet unknown circumstances. The gaming community kept pestering the admins to create an event that would bring the Centaurs back into the game. A week ago, the forums exploded with the news of their return, complete with videos and screenshots, even unique loot items that suited the new four-legged mounts. The sole problem being, we hadn't introduced any Centaurs, not even at a design draft stage! The world had created them on its own accord.

We won't even mention little details like the discovery of the Cursed King's lost sword or the grave of the legendary hero Sadaus, etc., etc., that we the developers have nothing to do with!

J. Howards, Director of the Analytics Department

* * *

The dragon skull's massive lower jaw dropped open, thudding against the ancient cobblestones. Its mouth was at least fifteen feet wide—big enough for a wagon to pass had it not been barred by a row of teeth, perfectly white and straight. So how was I supposed to squeeze through?

The problem resolved itself naturally. Noiselessly, the front teeth folded in, exposing a dark cavity behind. I caught a cool whiff of lavender as air escaped from inside. Did they have an aircon there or something?

I stepped in quite willingly, especially as the darkness proved not as pitch black as I'd thought. The skull bones emanated a greenish glow making movement inside quite comfortable. I had barely taken a dozen paces when the teeth shut close behind my back. The glow turned crimson; my head felt as if clasped by a steel band. My vision darkened. I dropped to my knees. The heavy boulders of someone else's thoughts stirred in my mind,

What an interesting sample of a sentient microorganism. He thought of using the Crown of the Overlord as a white flag, manipulating the lower organisms' primary instincts. Oh vain creature, you can't even start to comprehend what it is that you're wearing on your empty head. Heaving said that, who am I to accuse anyone of having an empty skull? And you seem to collect astral marks. The mark of a newborn god, three High Spell cooldown bars, the mark of a Dark Princess and of my little Bone Dragon brother. Next time you reincarnate, don't forget to thank him for the few extra moments of life his mark has granted you. And now, prepare to part with your power willingly. That would considerably simplify and quicken the process of killing you whilst giving me a few extra bits of energy, allowing me to drag out my miserable existence for a short while. I still might see the Titans come back; even Ophion himself might turn his regard to his prostrated servant...

The alien conscience tolled in my head, suppressing my own will. Thinking was a struggle: I just couldn't force myself to resist the dragon's will, let alone do something against it. I just couldn't have cared less. If only I could take a nap in this cool numbness...

I don't know what gave me new heart. It could have been the Fallen One's power forcing its way through the magic-absorbing ancient bones. It could also have been my inner greedy pig throwing a wobbly in my head as he realized we were at the point of being not just killed but also robbed.

"Wait," I forced my lips to move. "What's the point of killing the golden goose? You need strength, don't you? I can arrange for hundreds of sentient beings to scale your walls and dozens of volunteers to cram into your mouth for you to chew on."

The pressure on my chest subsided somewhat. I could finally take in a lungful of air.

"You sound interesting, o micro sentient. Speak on."

"Have you ever heard about the First Temple?"

"Have I?" the glow around me flashed as a wave of crippling aggression assaulted my consciousness, sending me reeling back to my knees. Blood trickled from my nose and ears as my life bar blinked, shrinking rapidly.

"Have I!" I heard as if through a layer of cotton wool. "I was the first to take the impact of the astral breach! The lands around the temple were littered with my scales and the bodies of the slain metal giants and their steel-shelled servants. It was after that battle that the Scarlet Hills had turned into the Dead Lands and their beautiful poppy meadows had become the Valley of Fear. All life had turned into dust and those who possessed enough magic to combat the invisible death had become the walking dead. Look at the proud freemen crawling my spine in the shape of skeletons! Arise, o sentient one. No one dies here without my permission."

A refreshing surge of life coursed through my body, returning me my sight and hearing. I shook my head. "What happened after the breach, then?" I managed. "Did they close the astral portal?"

"The Titans never left enemies behind. Once they'd squeezed them back into their own realm, they followed them, intending to teach them a lesson and find their true rulers. None of them have ever come back, though. The Temple was destroyed, the Titans were gone, and all life was terminated by the invisible force: in the three days that followed, all the flesh came off my bones which still glow until this very day. Here I lie now, feeding on crumbs of micro energies. Now you've raked it all up... so much so that I even wasted some of my precious energy on healing you, you miserable piece of protoplasm. Now the time of my rebirth has been moved another twenty-four hours. If it keeps going like this, I'll only need to hold out for another hundred and eighteen thousand years. Plus another day which you owe me now. Speak up!"

Jesus. How's that for blackmail. First he tried to strangle me, then he poured some cold water over me and fixed me up with a bill.

"Ahem," I cleared my throat. "I can restore the First Temple."

Bang! It was like being stuck inside a giant church bell hit by a howitzer. In an already well-practiced motion, I dropped to my knees, opening my mouth in a silent grunt. As I clutched my ears, blood poured down my hands.

"You bastard dragon! You're gonna kill me before you have a chance to really learn anything from me. Can't you keep your emotions in check?"