puzzle piece had finally fallen into place. I had the power, I was doing the work of God! Of course I would succeed! I would be the one to set her free from evil!

As if it were a natural thing to me, a thing I had done a thousand times before, I called the energy of the construct to myself and felt myself break free of my vanitar. I was a cloud. I could do anything. I could see through everything. I was one with the room, I could manipulate any part of it with a thought. I could feel the server’s energy pulsating through me, begging to bend to my will. I knew what I was supposed to do, I thought. I found the way out, I thought.

Some kind of energy entered into the data space. I was unaware of how much time had passed, not expecting her return so soon. Aether hastily poured into the construct, and slowed down: slowing for the construct, slowing for her vanitar, slowing to interact with me. I knew I had to act. I visualized my target, the weak point I’d already decided upon, decided when we’d talked in the coffee shop, and I knew that I had only one instant of time to strike without her being able to stop me. I saw the edges of her skin being drawn, the pre-rendering of her silvery hair, the countless connections between the cursed entity and the image of the woman she wore like a mask. I saw the room come alive as it prepared for her arrival, its pitch black walls becoming brighter. Like a slow rippling, I saw the matter of her vanitar aligning to that of the room, allowing its fake light to bounce off fake clothing, and its fake air to be breathed, and its fake sounds and smells to be sent and received from it. With one final act of will, I summoned the last of my strength – I wielded the sword of my own making – and felt such tremendous power, such incredible control! With a single release I shot across the room like a bolt of lightning – to make