Volume 2 – Inheritance of Fire
Chapter 10 – Echoes of the Code
No one spoke. The chamber held their silence like an altar.
But I felt it shifting. The tension wasn't uncertainty anymore. It was longing. They knew it as well as I did.
Returning wasn't an answer. It was a delay.
"We do have options," I said finally, stepping from the circle and pacing the edge of the map. "We know this world wasn't created by us. But I believe… something about our world bled into it. Or maybe it was the other way around."
They turned, listening.
"In the vault beneath Hollowreach, I found artifacts. Not just magical relics. Bridges. Residual traces that react to code signatures from our VR dive software. It wasn't just our tech that triggered the transition. It was recognition."
Soren arched a brow. "You're saying our system responded to this world?"
"Or this world responded to our system. Either way, we triggered a resonance. A sync. And I think... I can reverse it."
Ezra's voice was low. "You want to bring our world here."
"Not all of it. But parts of it. The best parts. The training grounds, the NPCs we built, the framework. What if we brought the game into this world as a layer? An interface."
Naomi stepped forward, cautious. "You want to embed our creation into a real world. Merge fiction with truth?"
"Yes," I said. "Think of it. The NPCs we created... where did they go when deleted? Where do broken scripts vanish to?"
Ezra exhaled. "We always called it the unknown zone. A memory dump."
"What if that place—that void—existed here, too? What if this world is that unknown zone?"
They looked at me differently now. Not like a king. Like something else. A key.
"We install the VR framework into this realm. The five of us become the lead NPCs—immortal anchors. We assign missions. Structure learning. Form a central kingdom where players can train, serve, or rebel. But we control the code. If they step out of line, we rewrite them."
Darius grunted. "You're proposing we become gods."
"No. I'm proposing we become builders. We establish one continent—ours. This realm remains real. But outside our dominion, the other continents remain wild. Untouched."
"And when we release them?" Naomi asked.
"That becomes the DLC," I said. "Free reign. True player freedom. No interference. Kingdoms rise and fall based on merit. But here, in the core zone, we build something lasting."
Soren crossed his arms. "And while you're working out the merge?"
"We plan," I said. "We build a true kingdom. Not just empires of shadow or commerce or whispers. A unified realm."
I looked to each of them.
"Because even with all we command, we don't have the strength to rule the world. But together—we can shape the foundation of one."
No one objected. Not this time.
It wouldn't be easy. But it would be ours.