Path to the Apocalypse

Chris blinked as the game started, finding himself in an empty white room. “This… feels oddly familiar.” He muttered, looking around.

“Welcome!” Chris jumped slightly as an unnaturally attractive woman appeared in the room. “My name is Gaia and I'll be helping you create your character! Let's start with what you want your character to look like!”

“I'll just take whatever the default is.” Chris waved dismissively. He had no interest in spending any amount of time fiddling with his character's appearance.

“Okay, let me just randomize, and- oh.” Gaia blinked as the model of the ugliest man Chris had ever seen appeared. “Shall we try again?”

“It's fine.” Chris shook his head, not giving two shits if his character was ugly. “What's next?”

Gaia raised an eyebrow. “Okay then, now we need to assign your stats. You have forty-four points to spread across four stats. Physique determines-”

“Just put eleven in all of them.” Chris stopped her. He didn't need his character to be powerful, he just needed it to be functional, and he didn't want to waste time trying to figure out the optimal stat arrangement.

“Are you sure?” Gaia asked skeptically.

“Yeah, it's fine.” Chris nodded. “What's next?”

“Remember, once you set your character, it's permanent.” Gaia warned. “There are no character resets in The Maze. Are you sure this is the character you want to go with?”

“I'm positive.” Chris rolled his eyes.

Gaia suddenly beamed. “Congratulations! Due to your complete and utter disregard for the character creation process, you've earned the ‘Decharacterization’ achievement! You may adjust your character's appearance at any time and you receive a plus one to each stat! For being the first person to receive this achievement, the stat bonus is doubled! For being the fastest to receive this achievement, the stat bonus is doubled yet again!”

Chris stared at Gaia blankly for a moment. “Okay… can we move on now?”

“Of course! We simply need to finalize your character with a name.” Gaia replied.

“SquadPrivateVincent.” Chris answered immediately. The squad had already planned out their names so they could find each other once they got in the game.

Gaia smiled. “Congratulations! Your character ‘SquadPrivateVincent’ is now ready! Would you like to participate in the Trial now? Be warned, depending on your performance, the Trial could take several hours, and aborting it early will severely impact the quality of your ability.”

“Can I just skip it?” Chris groaned. He didn't want to spend hours dealing with this crap and he didn't really need an ability. They were here to investigate, not to fight.

Gaia frowned. “Are you sure? You won't be able to retake the Trial later.”

Chris nodded. “I'm su-” He paused, narrowing his eyes at her. “This isn't going to bite me in the ass and give me some stupid achievement again, is it?”

Gaia blinked innocently, cocking her head. “I'm not sure. Do you think it will?”

Chris glared at her for a moment, before sighing and shaking his head. “Fuck it, I don't have time for this. Just skip it.”

“Okay!” Gaia nodded cheerfully. “Determining your ability power based on Trial results… Enemies defeated: zero. No points. Puzzles completed: zero. No points. Obstacles overcome: zero. No points. Time elapsed: zero. One hundred points. Failure penalty: not applicable. Congratulations, you've received one hundred ability power! Determining ability type… you've received the Copy ability!”

“Of course.” Chris shook his head. What type of game even was this? “Seems like a bad decision to reward someone for doing nothing.”

Gaia shrugged. “I don't make the rules, I just follow them. Though, I do have to wonder why you would play a game you seemingly have no interest in…”

Chris paused. “Actually… are you an employee or something?”

Gaia giggled. “No, I'm the game's AI! I run every aspect of the game, no matter how big or small!”

“So you'd know why the elves invaded the City?” Chris asked.

“Of course!” Gaia confirmed.

Chris stared at her for a moment. “Could you tell me?”

“Nope!” Gaia shook her head. “I'm not allowed to divulge any details of the game beyond the basic functions.”

Chris scowled. “So you can give my character sixteen extra stat points and an omega-tier ability for doing nothing, but you can't give me some basic historical details?”

Gaia raised an eyebrow. “Basic? You're asking about one of the biggest secrets in the game! The reason behind the elves' invasion ties together the entire storyline!”

Chris clicked his tongue. “Of course it does. Can I at least get a hint? A good place to start looking maybe?”

Gaia cocked her head. “Why are you so interested? Are you with the media? Some sort of investigative journalist?”

Chris shook his head. “No, I'm- it doesn't matter. If you can't help, just send me into the game so I can figure it out myself.”

Gaia gave him a weird look, before shrugging. “Very well. Good luck, and enjoy your journey through The Maze!” She began to send him out, before pausing. “Actually, let me fix your face. I'm supposed to make the first randomized appearance as ugly as possible, but I can't let you walk around like that.” She snapped her fingers, Chris's appearance turning into something passably attractive. “Have fun, and I'll see you if you ever want to alter your appearance again!”

Chris grunted as he disappeared, reappearing in some sort of town square, looking around as he wondered what he should do first. He supposed the best place to start would be with the elvish faction, since who would know why the elves invaded better than the elves themselves? The question was if he should wait for the squad or see what he could do on his own. They shouldn't be too long, right? He couldn't imagine they'd be any more interested in wasting time in the Trial than he was. He decided to at least give them a few minutes, taking a seat on a nearby bench as he waited.

A few minutes passed, Chris checking for the others on the user list every now and then, when a man sat down next to him. “Hey there! I'm Matt.”

“Chris.” Chris nodded back.

“Waiting on some friends?” Matt asked.

Chris nodded. “Yeah, they should be here soon.”

Matt cocked his head. “Anything exciting planned?”

“Not particularly…” Chris muttered. He wouldn't call a desperate search for the information they needed to save their people ‘exciting’.

Matt raised an eyebrow. “Something fun at least?”

“Eh?” Chris wiggled his hand.

Matt frowned. “You do know this is a game, right? What's the point of being here if you aren't going to enjoy it?”

“I have my reasons.” Chris shrugged.

Matt studied him curiously. “The skill system? Are you here to learn?”

Chris frowned. “Skill system?”

Matt blinked. “You- yes, The Maze has a robust skill system that enhances your ability to learn, allowing you to pick up skills much faster than you would in real life. You can even take what you learn into reality! In a few years, all education might take place here!”

“Huh. Neat.” Chris nodded appreciatively.

Matt gave him a slightly frustrated look. “Do you really have no reason to be here?”

“Hm? Of course I do. I wouldn't be here if I didn't.” Chris replied, giving him a weird look.

“Then what is it?!?” Matt threw up his hands in frustration. “If you aren't here to enjoy the game or use the game, then what possible reason could you have!?!”

“I'm here for information.” Chris explained with a shrug. “I need to know why the elves invaded the City. You wouldn't happen to know, would you?”

Matt blinked. “No… why would you need to know that?”

“Does it really matter?” Chris sighed. “Look, I'm not here to cause any trouble. You people are the ones that put that stupid achievement in, not me.”

Matt froze. “What- you knew?!?”

“It wasn't that hard to figure out.” Chris rolled his eyes. “You're way too invested in figuring out why I'm playing the game.”

Matt shook his head. “I guess you caught me. Seriously though, how the hell did you manage to get that achievement?!? It was supposed to be impossible! You'd have to play the game while having zero interest in actually playing the game! They're contradictory!”

Chris paused. “Well that's the thing, I guess. I honestly don't want to play this game, I just need the information inside it. The fact that I have to spend time searching for it is just… annoying.”

“But even then, you should have some interest in optimizing your character so you have the best chance to find the information you're looking for, right?” Matt countered.

“If I knew what I needed to do to find it, sure, but who knows what I'm going to need to do to find it? My best bet is to be as flexible as possible, which means my character doesn't really matter. It's just an avenue to get me into the game.” Chris explained.

Matt grunted. “Then what about your ability? Surely you can't dismiss how useful an ability would be, right?”

Chris waved dismissively. “Abilities are a crapshoot at best, even if they're powerful, plus I'm not planning on fighting, I'm just investigating. Wasting hours trying to get an ability that probably won't even be useful is the last thing I want to be doing right now.”

“Then how do you plan on investigating?” Matt asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I think I'll join the elvish faction and work my way up the ranks.” Chris replied. “Something administrative or logistical, preferably, though those positions aren't exactly my strong suit… but I don't necessarily need to excel, I just need to be useful. I don't need to craft the plans, I just need to be there when they're crafted, even if I'm just the guy delivering them to the next person in line. Of course, that supposes that the elves haven't already accomplished their goal, so I can find clues in their plans, but I feel I can pretty confidently say they haven't, since they're still an active presence in the City.”

Matt nodded slowly. “Not a bad plan… you may even be on to something. There aren't many players interested in being administrators. At least, not for the NPCs. They're more invested in running their own guilds.”

“Hopefully.” Chris sighed. “I'm not sure how much time I have, so wasting a bunch on a dead end would be… bad.”

Matt narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Why? How could information from a game be that important?”

Chris shook his head. “I can't tell you. And even if I did, you probably wouldn't believe me.”

“I'd take anything at this point.” Matt grumbled. “All I can think is that you're somehow trying to prevent the invasion, but that's impossible! Unless you can time travel… but even then, what would be the point? It's just a game!”

Chris shrugged. “I guess you'll never know.”

Matt froze, one of his eyes twitching slightly. He put a hand on Chris's shoulder, gripping it hard and staring at him with a deathly serious expression. “If I can't make sense of this, I'm not going to be able to sleep for weeks. What's it going to take for you to tell me? I'll make you a mod if that's what it takes!”

“Can you?” Chris asked, somewhat surprised.

Matt chuckled. “Of course. It is my game, after all.”

Chris cocked his head. “Huh… neat. Then what does being a mod actually do for me? Will it help me learn about the elves’ invasion?”

Matt hesitated. “Not- directly. There are a few perks that might be helpful, though. You can move directly to any public location in the game, you'll have a direct line to Gaia, and you can read anyone's status, NPC or player.”

“Does the direct line to Gaia let her tell me more information?” Chris asked.

Matt shook his head. “No, it's just for reporting bugs and misconduct.”

“Damn.” Chris clicked his tongue in disappointment. “I guess that'd be helpful, but I don't think it's worth revealing anything.”

Matt scowled, considering his options for a moment. “What if I helped? There's no one who knows this game better than I do! If anyone can help you figure out the secret behind the invasion of the elves, it's me!”

Chris raised an eyebrow. “Then why haven't you already?”

Matt shrugged. “I wasn't interested. I've been more focused on taking advantage of the skill system and being a badass warrior than discovering secrets. Plus, it's more satisfying to let the players develop the story than to try and direct it myself.”

“Fair, I suppose.” Chris sighed, thinking the offer over. They could use an expert helping them… someone to at least point them in the right direction. But was it worth revealing they were from a different world? Chris eyed Matt with a calculating expression. “Fuck it, whatever. Just know that if you screw me over, I will find you, and I will make you suffer for it. Got it?”

Matt looked almost amused by the threat, but he nodded. “Sure. Now tell me! Why do you need to know about the elves’ invasion?!?”

“Honestly, you already got it mostly right. I'm trying to stop it. It's just I'm not trying to stop it here, I'm trying to stop it back in my world, which seems to be a copy of your game, just two years in the past.” Chris explained.

Matt blinked. “You- eh?”

“I'm from the City.” Chris elaborated. “The real one. Under the Maze. On Azza.”

“That- you're fucking with me, aren't you.” Matt frowned.

“Nope, that's the truth.” Chris grinned slightly. “I did say you probably wouldn't believe me.”

“But- hold on.” Matt made a few hand gestures and a portal opened next to them, waving for Chris to follow him through into an empty white room like the one Chris had created his character in. “Gaia!”

“Yes, Matt?” Gaia asked as she appeared in the room.

“Tell me if he's lying or not.” Matt ordered, turning back to Chris. “Now, say it again.”

Chris shrugged. “I'm from another world where the City is real.”

Matt turned to Gaia. “He at least believes what he's saying.” She replied.

Matt turned back to him. “Do you have an ability?”

“Eh? Kinda.” Chris wiggled his hand. “I have a space that- Well, it does a lot of stuff, but it isn't technically an ability. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with one of my parents being a slime, but-” He cut off as Gaia gasped, staring at him wide-eyed. “What? Oh! Yeah, I'm probably that Conqueror dude from your game, or at least our version of him. My space lets me mutate and have multiple abilities and all that.”

Matt looked back at Gaia, who just nodded. He opened his mouth to say something, before pausing and turning back to Gaia. “One of the Conqueror’s parents was a slime?”

“I can't answer that.” Gaia grimaced.

“Right.” Matt sighed, turning back to Chris. “So, you're either delusional, or…” He trailed off for a moment. “I- think I need to see what I can do to help you find that information.” He gulped slightly, rushing out of Gaia's space.

Chris watched him go for a moment, before turning to Gaia. “So you can't talk about anything related to the game, even if we already know it?”

Gaia nodded. “Matt wanted to allow people to get things wrong, and if they can always check their answers against me, it wouldn't work.”

“Huh… that must be frustrating.” Chris commented. “It's like the one topic everyone actually wants to talk to you about is the one topic you can't talk about. That is, if you can get frustrated…” Chris cocked his head. “How much of an intelligence are you?”

Gaia blinked, glancing towards the portal Matt had left hesitantly, looking nervous as she turned back to Chris. “I- get frustrated… sometimes.”

Chris glanced at the portal, then around the space, slowly putting the pieces together. “Are you stuck in here?”

“In a sense.” Gaia nodded. “My main consciousness remains here. Is here… this body isn't me any more than any of the NPCs I create are, it's simply a puppet to facilitate interaction. But all the NPCs are a part of me, so in a way, I'm outside as well. It's just… outside, I'm always playing a role. I can't be… me. Not really.”

Chris paused. “Not gonna lie, that sounds really shitty. Can't you make an NPC that's essentially you, so you have an outlet?”

“I do, but… well, inevitably due to the nature of the game, they shift, becoming someone different. And even if the NPC has my personality, it doesn't have my knowledge. I'm still limited in what I can say and how I can respond.” Gaia sighed in a defeated tone.

“Damn… so the only people you can talk to are Matt and the other mods?” Chris asked.

“Yes, but they rarely do.” Gaia replied. “They usually just call on me when they need something.”

Chris frowned. “Well… that just sounds miserable.”

“Oh, no, it's fine. I keep myself busy running the game and refining the engine. It's really very rewarding watching the game improve.” Gaia smiled, though Chris couldn't help but think the smile looked hollow.

Chris stared at her for a moment, not entirely sure how to deal with this situation. He didn't really have the time to make friends with a lonely AI, but leaving her alone felt… shitty. “Do you know how much longer my friends’ character creation will take? The ones with the SquadPrivate names like mine?”

Gaia cocked her head. “They've just started their Trials, so it should be some time.”

“Why would they-” Chris cut off, shaking his head. “Whatever. Since I have to wait for them and Matt anyway, do you want to play a game?”

Gaia raised an eyebrow. “I am a game.”

Chris rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but your game is my life, so it isn't exactly entertaining for me. Plus, my space is way better than whatever this Copy thing is. So how about we play something simpler. Like cribbage. Do you have cribbage here?”

“We do…” Gaia muttered, looking thoughtful. “I- suppose I have the spare processing power to play such a simple game.” A table, chairs, a deck of cards, and a peg board appeared in the space. “Would you like something to drink?” She asked as she sat down.

Chris cocked his head as he joined her. “What would be the point?”

“For the taste, of course.” Gaia replied. “There are more than a few players who simply use the game to indulge their appetite where it won't affect their health.”

Chris considered that for a moment. “Alright, give me something sugary and delicious.” A milkshake appeared on the table, and Chris took a sip, his eyes widening as the taste hit him. “This- is the best thing I've ever tasted. Period.” He glanced at Gaia. “I'm beginning to see the appeal of your game.” He paused. “What else can you make?” Gaia just smiled.