The air changed the instant they crossed, sharp and artificial, as if they’d stepped into an air-conditioned chamber. Gravity loosened its grip and their spines stretched, enough to make them stumble. The spectacle waiting ahead may have contributed.

  The space unfolded wide, a circular hub with pathways stretching in perfect symmetry. Sixteen gates stood along the outer edge, each anchored at the end of a walkway. The ceiling rose into layered shadow, high enough to lose its shape. Rotating sigils flickered above, shifting through patterns that refused to settle.

  The architecture clashed and harmonized in turns, metal and stone intersecting at strange angles. Sci-fi lines wrapped around fantasy motifs. System energy pulsed through everything, steady and faint.

  Behind them, the gate they’d entered dimmed.

  A line of text slid across his vision.

  System Notice – Commander Hub Identified

  Total Commander Gates Active: Your Assigned Gate: Access: Cross-Gate Travel: Local Conditions: Map Functionality:

  Before James could speak, wooden fold-out chairs thunked into place out of nowhere.

  Bob, as he’d remembered him from his Commander’s Space, leaned back into one, arms folded behind his head, posture too casual to trust.

  “Well,” he said, “welcome to the Commander’s Hub. Good fight by the way. I wasn’t expecting you to risk your bond like that.”

  Something was different. James realised that Bob was no longer speaking in his mind or via the system. He was speaking out loud.

  James blinked. “This is… ours?”

  “Shared custody,” Bob replied. “Sixteen Commanders. Sixteen anchors. You’ve got Gate One. That one behind you? Erranoc. Your sandbox. Your mess.”

  Lae’ni turned in a slow circle. Her gaze flicked from gate to gate. “They’re all lit.”

  Bob nodded. “Every gate leads to a different world on which a Commander was placed. This is the in-between. A central point. It’s your quiet before the storm.”

  Edward gave a low whistle. “Sixteen.”

  “Sixteen alive,” Bob said ominously.

  Ja’ra folded his arms, eyes on the distant upper tiers. “This isn’t a circle. It’s a ladder.”

  James frowned. “So that’s what’s inward. What’s outward?”

  Bob’s grin widened.

  “Ahh,” he said. “That’s for you to explore and find out.”

  He rose from the chair, made a show of dusting himself off, then turned in a slow circle to take in the space.

  “This isn’t just a waiting room. It’s layered. Zoned, really. You’re down here because you got in early. Might even be a record. I’ll have to check the… records.”

  James felt that one land. Fast wasn’t always good, but he couldn’t deny the pride.

  “You’ll climb zones automatically as you level,” Bob continued. “Each level unlocks the next zone. Simple math.”

  Ja’ra’s eyes narrowed. “And we can’t just skip ahead?”

  “You can fight up

  Bob turned his head slowly.

  “You probably won’t like what’s waiting there.”

  Ken said nothing. His fingers clenched tighter on his staff.

  Edward frowned. “What about fighting down?”

  “Limited to two levels,” Bob said. “Any more than that and the System locks you out. Stops you from farming bosses and baby Commanders for sport.”

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “And here’s the part you’ll love.”

  James braced for it.

  “For now,” Bob explained, “if you fall more than three levels behind the lowest active Commander, the System flags you. One-line warning. You’ve got twenty-four hours to fix it.”

  “And if we don’t?” James asked.

  Bob’s smile thinned, just enough to show teeth.

  “You get pulled into an Arena fight against the highest-level Commander in the system.”

  Trish took a sharp breath. “No choice?”

  “Oh, you’ve got a choice,” Bob said. “You can forfeit. Walk out of the game. The System pulls you home, cleans the slate.”

  Squire shifted against James’ neck. He didn’t need the warning.

  “What does ‘cleans the slate’ mean?” he asked.

  Bob looked directly at him.

  “It means everything’s gone.your memory.

  Silence rippled through the group.

  James couldn’t look at the gates anymore.

  “And if you lose the Arena match?” he asked.

  Bob’s voice dropped.

  “You die. No retries. No loopholes. You lose without forfeiting, you’re gone. The System doesn’t give second chances.”

  No one spoke, despite the absurd terms being thrown around.

  , he looked around the group.

  Edward and Ken were shocked by these revelations. James got the feeling that the rest were acting shocked. Like they already knew some of this already.

  Bob turned, circling back toward James, tone casual again, though the eyes didn’t match.

  “That’s also your fastesttop eighteverything. Cards. Power. Memories. Access. You get to keep it all.”

  “And if I’m not in the eight?” James asked.

  “Then you’re not a winner,” Bob said. “And you don’t get to keep your toys.”

  Lae’ni stepped forward, voice calm but cutting.

  “Are you a god,” she asked, “to play such games with people’s lives?”

  Bob turned toward her.

  "Yes," That shut everyone else up.

  James, however, didn’t quite believe it. The System made people powerful — sure. But gods?

  The word stuck in his throat, heavy as stone. Bob didn’t like a god. Not in the lightning-and-thunder sense. But not either.

  The question sat in his chest like a weight. Why any of this? Why now?

  Instead, he gestured toward the gates, the structure, the impossible space they stood in.

  “Why do all this?”Why me? didn’t quite make it to his lips. “Why bring in outsiders at all, for that matter?”

  Edward and Ken gave him a look — surprise, maybe, or quiet agreement.

  The others didn’t react at all.

  Lae’ni’s gaze didn’t shift from Bob.

  Ja’ra stood still, unreadable.

  Trish just wrapped her arms tighter around herself, eyes flicking between the gates.

  The air shook around them.

  Not with sound. With presence

  It pushed at the edges of James’ thoughts, made his skin crawl. Something bigger, older, . For a moment, he wondered if Auras were real here. It felt like one was pressing in, brushing the back of his mind with fingers he couldn’t see.

  Then, just like that, it passed.

  No answer. No explanation. Just silence.

  Bob clapped his hands.

  “Soo, my favourite part. You’re the first ones here! And I think that deserves a reward, don’t you?”

  Everyone nodded — all but James, arms folded tight across his chest.

  Bob noticed. “James has it figured out already.” He let the silence stretch a beat too long.

  “It’s another Trait.”

  Trait Obtained – First to the Party

  You arrived first. The System noticed. Before your next boss fight, you will be revealed to all enemies 10 seconds early. During this time, you cannot be harmed, targeted, or moved. However, you may deploy traps, summon allies, or prepare abilities. Survive the encounter, and this trait will upgrade to . Anyone who fights alongside you in that boss encounter will receive the upgraded trait permanently.

  Party Bonus – 100 Gold Distributed

  For party supplies.

  “See?” Bob said brightly. “Party bags. Loot duplication, inventory perks, morale buffs. All yours, all theirs, if you win. What a host you’ll make.”

  James ground his teeth. “You call that a reward?”

  Bob winked. “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.”

  Bob’s grin lingered, sharp at the edges.

  “Oh, and before you go getting yourself killed poking around in someone else’s dungeon…” He wagged a finger. “You should know something. Yours?” He gestured lazily toward the dimming gate behind them. “It was scaled to level. Customized. Very fair. Very polite.”

  His grin sharpened. “But if you decide to raid someone else’s? It won’t be scaled down. It’ll be scaled up.

  Edward swore under his breath.

  Bob chuckled. “So maybe don’t go joyriding just yet. Go back. Level. Get some gear. Try not to die. And—” his eyes flicked to James, “say hi to Anne for me.”

  James stiffened. “Anne—”

  But Bob cut him off, rolling straight on.

  “Speaking of experience,” he said, snapping his fingers, “you look like you need a little more.”

  System Notice – Card World Overcharged

  Verdigris Echo destabilizing.

  Bob spread his arms like a man revealing a final punchline. “You should probably go and warn them. You know, neighborly duties.”

  Then, without another word, he bent at the knees, crouched low, and

  Stone cracked under the force, and in the next heartbeat he launched himself upward, a cannonball of System fire and smug divinity.

  He shot into the endless dark above, vanishing like a meteor swallowed by shadow.

  James stared up at the emptiness. His throat felt tight. His skin buzzed with the aftershock.

  System Event – Verdigris Echo Dungeon-Break

  Time Remaining: 9:59

  “…Shit.”

  ??? System Note: Squire attempted to challenge Bob for godhood.

  

  As far as she was concerned, she won.