D_Light knew the right move was to give a status update to the rest of his team, but his only compulsion now was to find Lily. His intuition told him where she was, and now he knew to trust it.
Lily’s normally golden blond hair was darkened and slicked back as she swam in the lake. She was swimming toward D_Light, but she did not appear to see him hidden in the thick foliage. Surrounding the lake on that side, sheets of marble rock jutted down steeply into the water, save a small sandy beach. It did not take an analyst to know where she was swimming.
The OverSoul has brought you to me! D_Light thought. He wondered if she had been sleeping at some point over the past few hours, which prompted them to rendezvous here. Or perhaps the OverSoul has some connection even while we are awake. Either way, it is her will, the will of the Divinity-this game is about to end.
D_Light ducked back into the garden and crept over to the beach. As he squatted, concealing himself behind a tall flowerbed, he heard in the distance a culler’s call, followed by another, and then another. They have found something.
D_Light opened a blink to everyone, which was readily accepted. Before he could report, Lyra sent a thought with maximum urgency. Thank Soul, you’re alive! They’re coming, the cullers are coming!
I found her. I found Lily, D_Light reported. She is at the lake.
For shit’s sake, if you have a shot, take it! Djoser blasted over the blink.
There isn’t much time, D_Light, Lyra emphasized. You need to end this fast!
It was a long thirty seconds or so before Lily silently emerged from the water. Her bleary blue eyes were fixed on some distant point as though enchanted by the Great Stag standing patiently on top of a hill off on the horizon. She made a move toward the concealment of nearby hedges, but stopped when D_Light ordered her to do so. He stepped out from hiding, his crossbow leveled down on her. She was caught in the open.
There was fear on her face, but that emotion was battling with relief. A long hunt like this without the benefits of drugs was definitely taking its toll on the product, and now, at least, she would be released.
The analyst was right. The wheels are in motion. I cannot stop the MetaGame any other way, D_Light thought.
D_Light was surprised that he did not pull the trigger immediately. There was no reason not to. Nothing to learn from her, no interrogation necessary; only her death would end this game. The OverSoul has brought us together. Kill the product and end the game. The OverSoul wants me to win, as she loves me. The thoughts burned through him. But there were other voices too, distant but clear. God is love, D_Light. You must not betray God. You must not betray yourself.
His eyes started to burn. His whole body began to tremble. He wanted to shout and curse, but instead he shuddered and cried out, “I don’t want this! I don’t want the points or this damned game! I don’t want to lose…I don’t want to lose you!”
Lily fell to her knees. Her torso shuddered under a sudden outpour. At first she covered her face as though ashamed, and then she looked up at D_Light through tears and between heaving breaths, smiled sadly, and said, “I hid the bottle, the repellant. You can have it.”
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” D_Light lamented, now weeping. Tears ran freely down his cheeks.
What the hell is going on, D_Light? What is your status? The blink was a desperate plea from Lyra. Please, please, please end this! Lyra’s thought thread was not crisp. D_Light had received threads like this before. They were indicative of panic.
Holy shit, they’re close, Djoser blared. We’re in a tree! We’re going to die in a fucking tree! Oh shit, I can see them!
Lyra begged, Save us, D_Light! I swear to Soul I’ll love you forever! I’ll repro with you. We’ll live together forever. I love you. Stop it, please make it stop. Lyra’s thoughts poured in like floodwater.
Through tear-blurred eyes, D_Light beseeched his familiar, Smorgeous, help me do it. Give me something so I don’t feel. It’s the OverSoul’s will. I’m failing her.
Master, I am uncertain as to what chemi will facilitate your request. However, I will attempt to suppress your inhibitions with SaniMind™.
Although the drug’s effect was nearly instantaneous, D_Light still did not pull the trigger; he merely stopped trembling.
Before Lyra was ripped to shreds, she had completely opened her audio and video feeds to broadcast what she saw and heard. It ended so quickly there was little to see-a blur of hair and skin leaping up the tree as though drawn up by a powerful magnetic force. Terrible teeth and claws and rending wetness as flesh tore. Gargling screams and hoarse shouts. And then there was nothing.
Through sobs Lily stammered, “D…D_Light, they’re coming, I can hear them. You need the repellant.” With these words she pinged him the location of the bottle; it was hidden under a rock at the edge of a stream. It was not too far from where he was now, but the cullers were close.
Smorgeous, give me the odds of survival.
Master, given distance and time required for metabolism-
Just give me the odds!
Fifty-three percent chance of survival, Smorgeous answered.
“You need to go! Do what you must and go!” Lily begged.
Fifty-three percent is not good enough, D_Light thought. Running for my life is not good enough-not this time. Do what I must?
“Yes, there is something I must do. I still have time to make it right.” D_Light sat down and Smorgeous walked over resolutely, sitting on his haunches across from his master.
Smorgeous, I want full sensory override with maximum power diverted to a Cloud connection, a connection straight to the Authority source tree.
Lily screamed at him to get up, but the sensory override deafened him. She kicked wildly and slapped him, but he barely felt it. His glazed-over eyes closed slowly as his mind connected. The official banner of the Divine Authority appeared momentarily while D_Light’s credentials were processed.
D_Light, player #49937593, status “demon.” How can the Divine Authority be of service?
I wish to correct an error, D_Light responded.
The Divine Authority appreciates your time in remedying this matter; however, due to the possible security ramifications of your request, we must do a deep scan to confirm that this change is in the best interest of the OverSoul. Would you like to learn more about deep scan?
No, D_Light answered.
Very well, if you are not familiar with the terms and conditions of deep scanning, please review them now.
By now, the dull blows from Lily had stopped. He could not afford to wonder why. He had to stay on task.
Like days before when he had attempted to check into the source tree, D_Light saw a graphical progress bar constantly apprising him of how much time he could expect the scan to continue. Like before, he felt tingling all over his body, experienced both audio and visual hallucinations, and felt countless fleeting emotions.
My Soul is yours to know. From somewhere under the folds of his mind, the words “ God is love, God is love, God is love… ” echoed.
And then, finally, the tingling stopped.
The OverSoul is pleased to grant you access at this time. Based on your scan, you will require approximately two minutes to complete your transaction, after which point you will be logged out. Please begin your transaction in three…two…one…
D_Light plunged into the source tree, the code and data repository that made up the Game. There was no time to waste. Quickly, he found Lily’s profile. From what he could tell, the reserve from which she had escaped did not want her reported as missing. He did not take the time to ponder why. Within her detailed profile, he zoomed in on the following data fields:
Organism ID: Homo sapiens #4038430298 (camper)