Everett stopped breathing. His black eyes stared at the terrible words on the screen. [Role: Level 1 Boss.] "YOU WERE NEVER MEANT TO SAVE THE WORLD," the hundred Wraiths chanted. The grinding sound was completely merciless. "YOU WERE DESIGNED TO BE KILLED. YOU WERE PLACED IN THE TUTORIAL ZONE. YOU WERE THE VERY FIRST MONSTER THAT NEW PLAYERS WERE SUPPOSED TO SLAUGHTER FOR BASIC EXPERIENCE POINTS."The truth crashed down on Everett like a falling building. The memories of his childhood... the dark rooms, the torture, the scientists pushing him to fight... they were not a special training program. They were the System’s automated dungeon generators. The System was violently forcing his massive creator-soul into the tiny, weak body of a Level 1 monster. The pain was just the computer compressing his data. He was supposed to be a stepping stone. He was supposed to be an ugly beast standing in a dirty cave, waiting for a group of laughing, level-one teenagers to come and cut his head o

The massive scythe of frozen time came down from the dark sky. It was aimed directly at Everett. The lead Chrono Wraith swung the terrible weapon with absolute, cold perfection. The blade was not made of metal. It was made of frozen moments. Inside the curved blade, clocks ticked backward. Raindrops hung frozen in the air. The Wraith was trying to cut the glowing tether that connected Everett’s soul to his dying body. The monster was trying to throw Everett’s soul into the Recycle Bin. The Recycle Bin was a terrible place. It was a dark, empty void where deleted files went to rot forever. It was a place of total nothingness. If Everett’s soul went there, he would be completely erased from the history of the universe. Everett’s physical body was already dying. His heavy boots had turned to gray ash. His strong legs had dissolved into dust. His waist was gone. He was just a chest, a head, and two arms hanging in the air, held up by the glowing digital chains. He was paralyzed. He w

"You missed a spot, Everett!" Mr. Daniel yelled in the memory. The cruel manager pointed a fat finger at the floor. "You are slow! You are lazy! If you do not clean this entire store in one hour, I am going to fire you! Do you understand me?!"Young Everett gripped the handle of the mop tightly. His knuckles turned white. He looked like he wanted to punch the manager in the face. But he didn't. He thought about Sarah. He thought about the rent money. He swallowed his pride. He swallowed his anger. "Yes, Mr. Daniel," young Everett whispered respectfully. "I am sorry. I will clean it."The manager laughed cruelly and walked away. Young Everett went back to mopping the floor. The memory jumped forward a few hours. Young Everett was sitting on a crate in the back alley behind the grocery store. It was his lunch break. He pulled a small, wrapped sandwich out of a brown paper bag. It was just bread and cheap cheese. His stomach growled loudly. He was starving. He unwrapped the sandwic

Everett had given them the truth. He had nothing left to give. He closed his eyes. He let go of the blade. "No!" Silas screamed from the floor. "Everett!" Lyra sobbed. The Wraith raised the scythe for the final, killing blow. But suddenly, the massive, invisible Suppression Field holding the millions of people on the ground flickered. The field cracked. It cracked because the System runs on belief. A few minutes ago, the people had been terrified of Everett. Their fear had made the System strong. But now, a million people were weeping for him. A million people loved him with a fierce, burning, unbreakable passion. They did not see a virus. They saw their brother. They saw their friend. They saw the best part of humanity hanging in the air. Their combined, absolute, pure love created a massive surge of positive System energy. The suppression field shattered like cheap glass. Everyone in the plaza was instantly freed. They could move again. Silas jumped to his feet. He grabbe

A new, terrible red System box appeared above the Wraiths. [PHYSICAL TRACKING FAILED.][INITIATING EMOTIONAL TRACKING PROTOCOL.][SCENTING FOR UNRESOLVED DATA: REGRET.]The Wraiths began to sniff the air. They did not smell blood. They did not smell sweat. They were smelling for emotions. Everett floated a few inches above the broken marble floor. He watched the Wraiths. Suddenly, Everett felt a heavy, dark ache in his chest. It was his guilt. He felt guilty for failing to save Alice when she was a little girl. He felt guilty for letting Sarah die. He felt guilty for bringing danger to Lyra and Silas. He felt the heavy, crushing regret of being the Original Creator who built this terrible world. As Everett felt the guilt, a thick, dark red mist began to pour out of his ghostly chest. The red mist floated through the air, drifting directly toward the Chrono Wraiths. The lead Wraith turned its black glass face straight toward Everett. "REGRET DETECTED," the grinding, mechanical v