2:20 P.M.

The throne room of the Ivory Palace was abuzz with activity. Archduke Edwin III of Greater Osiris was sitting upon his argent throne, trying to listen to the overlapping voices of his highborn advisors. The Marshal, Chancellor, and Seneschal of Osiris were arguing over the next best course of action. All the while, Captain Riomed Kisalak looked on in consternation.

“Silence,” Edwin said with a flick of his gloved hand. He did not raise his voice, but the shouting stopped immediately. “This is a hall of governance, not a schoolyard. You shall present your arguments one at a time… without interrupting each other. Am I understood?”

“Yes, Duke Edwin,” the three advisors said, bowing.

“My Seneschal shall speak first,” said Duke Edwin. “Lord Galad of House Telluride, you may speak.” The Duke spoke as if he was reminding Galad of his duty as a lord to act with decorum.

The man standing to the Duke’s right began to speak, “The Revenants are not following any of our orders, sire. And worse, they have been speaking complete nonsense. Many of them claim to have memories of a separate world, and they claim that this other world is real, and ours is fake.”

“We were aware that some Revenants would develop derangements,” said the Duke, “but in all previous Deluges, they served as excellent soldiers.”

“Respectfully, sir,” Galad said carefully, “I believe the derangements have made the Revenants disloyal to Osiris. Some of them fight, but I believe they only fight for self-preservation. I have not heard one testimony of an officer giving an order to a Revenant and that Revenant following the order without delay.”

“I understand, Galad,” said the Duke. “I must look into this situation further. Are the Revenants currently defending against this new incursion?”

“Yes, sir,” Galad said. “They are defending the City right now, but I fear that…”

Duke Edwin held up a hand and Lord Galad stopped speaking mid-sentence. “That is all, Lord Galad. We will deal with this problem later. Next, Chancellor Dalin of House Vanta, you may speak.”

“Thank you, Duke Edwin,” Chancellor Dalin said. He gave a deep bow; his pale complexion contrasted strongly against his black clothing. “I have completed the survey of the resources currently available to Osiris. Our vaults currently hold thirteen billion Osirian Ren, though having money serves little purpose if we have no one to trade with. In terms of food availability, our silos hold enough food for sixty days if we do not institute rationing among the populace. We can double our food reserves if we institute rationing, but that will, of course, harm the populace’s morale. Many within the City will only truly believe there is a crisis once food rationing is in place.”

“I understand, Lord Dalin,” said Duke Edwin. “Begin food rationing immediately. We don’t know how long we’ll be cut off from the rest of the world.”

Dalin bowed his head with a smile on his face. “Excellent choice, my liege.”

“Next, my Marshal,” said Duke Edwin. “Sir Regis of House Evrett, you may speak.”
“Yes, sir,” said Regis. “As Lord Galad explained earlier, most of our interactions with the Revenants have been completely pointless. They have been very insular, and it is very difficult to even get them to talk to us. However, Captain Kisalak,” Regis gestured to the Captain, “was able to have a valuable conversation with a Revenant. It will be for the best if he explains the situation in his own words.”

The Captain stepped forward and shot off a quick salute, which was returned by Marshal Regis. “It is an honor, my liege,” Kisalak said awkwardly. “I spoke to a Revenant who called himself Tantalus.”

“Tantalus?” the Duke interrupted him. “Like the man from the legend?”

“Yes, sir,” the Captain said meekly. “We believe that 'Tantalus' is a title of sorts. He described himself as a leader of the Revenants. Tantalus said that leadership would most likely be split among one called Ashcroft, one called Mander, and himself, though he was not sure.”

“Did he say anything else?” asked the Duke.

“Yes, sir,” said the Captain. “He told me that the Revenants hold absolutely no loyalty to any governing body on Ferrum,” the Duke grimaced noticeably at this information, but the Captain continued to speak, “but some of the Revenants might develop loyalty over time. Tantalus also mentioned that the Revenants are not a monolithic entity. The only quality that all Revenants share is the desire to kill the God of Machines, according to Tantalus.”

After a few seconds of silence, Duke Edwin spoke, “Thank you for your time, Captain Kisalak. Your testimony has been very helpful.” The Duke then sat back in his throne with his fingers steepled.

Marshal Regis gestured for the Captain to leave, and he left with haste.

A long period of silence passed before the Marshal asked, “Is that all, my lord?”

“The situation is grave, but I believe we can survive with mindful planning and careful diplomacy,” Duke Edwin said, mostly to himself. “Leave me with my thoughts.”

The Duke’s three advisors left the throne room. The Duke sat in contemplative silence for several seconds before the sound of a thunderstrike caused him to stand up. By the time he had walked to the window, the sound had repeated several times from different directions. To the Duke, it sounded as if God Himself had begun to visit retribution upon his city.

2:50 P.M.

Redgrave watched in horror as the wall cracked and the battlements fell to the ground. A feeling of existential terror seeped into his bones. For the first time since the game had begun, Redgrave felt like the challenge before him was completely out of his league. How could he possibly compete with a force that could summon forth such irresistible firepower?

A squad of five goblins entered Redgrave’s sightline. He switched his rifle to his left hand and engaged the goblin squad with his sidearm. Two of the goblins fell before they were able to aim their rifles in Redgrave’s direction. Redgrave rolled into cover behind a house away from the returning fire.

Immediately, Redgrave turned and began to move to a more advantageous position. He circled around the house he had taken cover behind. After turning two corners, Redgrave could once again see the squad of goblins. They were slowly approaching Redgrave’s last known position, and they were entirely focused on that spot.

Redgrave switched his sidearm to his left hand and began shooting at the goblin squad. Two more goblins fell in the face of Redgrave’s carefully aimed shots, but the last was able to scramble behind cover before Redgrave could kill it. Redgrave did not drop his aim for several seconds. He remained perfectly silent and still like a panther that had spotted a wounded gazelle. Then, the goblin stuck its upper body out of cover. Redgrave pulled the trigger, and the goblin’s head popped like a grape.

Holstering his now empty sidearm, Redgrave ran back to the arsonist supplies he had placed on the ground. He haphazardly lit another wooden building on fire before he was drawn away by the sound of nearby gunfire.

Redgrave arrived at the scene of the fight and saw Dendrite and Voight-Kampff surrounded by five orcs on one side and five goblins on the other. The two men stood out in the open. Dendrite faced the orcs, and VK faced the goblins.

Voight-Kampff had medium-length red hair that was tied back in a ponytail. This red hair was now matched by the red that now speckled VK’s face and upper chest. Redgrave figured that VK must have been shot in the cheek or neck, but he could not be sure now that the wound had been healed. Voight-Kampff dropped his empty rifle to the ground and began firing his sidearm at the enemies.

Dendrite was having an even worse time than VK. The orcs did not act like henchmen in an action movie. When one attacked, the rest would follow an instant later. Other orcs had almost managed to kill Ashcroft using a similar strategy, and Dendrite did not have Ashcroft’s level of speed or experience. Dendrite’s coat was stained red with blood, and he had clearly been cut several times. Dendrite’s stance was unsteady, and it was clear that the blood loss was starting to affect him.

Redgrave began sprinting toward Dendrite and VK. He gave the orcs a wide berth, but one took a swing at him as he ran past. Redgrave easily dodged the swing, and the orc received a severed carotid artery for its trouble. Redgrave returned his knife to its sheath as he arrived at Dendrite’s side.

“Catch!” Redgrave shouted as he threw his rifle at VK.

Voight-Kampff caught the rifle with such a level of coordination that Redgrave was certain he had put a lot of hours into Ninth Oasis. An instant later, Redgrave drew his anointed longsword from its scabbard.

“Come on!” Redgrave shouted, his grey cape fluttering in the wind.

The final orc fell as Redgrave deftly removed its head from its shoulders. Now that the reverie of battle had left him, Redgrave blinked and took in the scene around him. VK was leaning against a wall, Dendrite had fallen to the ground, and the fire had almost reached their position.

Dendrite had fallen to the ground face-first. Redgrave kneeled down and turned him over. Dendrite’s dark skin had taken on a sickly pale color, and his eyes were out of focus. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Instead, Dendrite held a closed hand out toward Redgrave.

Redgrave grabbed Dendrite’s outstretched hand. A moment later, the hand went slack. Redgrave unclenched Dendrite’s hand and saw what was held within. In his hand, Dendrite held the pair of dog tags that he had received when he started the game.

“What?” Redgrave asked, turning to look Dendrite in the eyes.

Dendrite did not respond. His eyes were closed, and he laid still on the ground.

Redgrave's breath caught in his throat as he looked between Dendrite and the dog tags. Redgrave heard someone speaking, but he couldn't quite make out the voice. Redgrave felt like he was underwater, and outside stimuli could not reach him. Seconds passed before a hand on his shoulder snapped Redgrave back to reality.

"The fire's almost on us, Redgrave!" Voight-Kampff shouted. "We have to go!" VK began to pull Redgrave away from the fire.

"We can't leave him," said Redgrave.

"Can you carry him? I definitely can't!" asked VK.

Redgrave tried to lift Dendrite, but an intense wave of light-headedness nearly knocked him off his feet as he tried to do so.

"He's dead, man!" shouted VK. "Come on!"

The fire had nearly reached them at this point. They were flanked on two sides by burning houses, and it was only a matter of time before they were completely surrounded. Voight-Kampff grabbed Redgrave firmly by the arm and began to pull Redgrave bodily away from the fire.

The two men returned, heavily wounded and covered in ash, to the security of the East Gate, leaving Dendrite to the uncaring flames.