"Are you crazy?" - he cried. - "How do you expect me to come back when... when this has already gone too far?! They took Alex, and you're telling me to come back to the game?"
"Yes," - Jayar answered firmly. - "This is the only way to figure out what's next. We're all in this together, and you can't do this alone. Come back to the game, and we'll figure out what to do. This isn't the end, Kayav. You know we have more resources."
"Okay. I'll come back. But only because you asked. But if Alex gets hurt, I won't forgive you, Jayar, - he muttered, and without waiting for an answer, hung up."
He exhaled, and entered the game. But as soon as he noticed the policy agreement before entering, he actually read it.
Meanwhile, Dugan was concentrating on sharpening the legs of the giant mechanized spider. He lifted them one by one, testing how they cut the air, and making them sharper, like a spear. Carefully sharpened, they were now perfect for sticking into the ground. With a quick movement, he inserted them into the ground, creating an arch of two metal supports, leaving a large space between them - just enough for the kanteeegan.
When everything was ready, Jayar, standing nearby, approached Dugan with a question that had been hanging in the air for a long time.
"Are you going to help Alex?" he asked, studying Dugan's actions.
Dugan, without stopping his work, answered calmly, almost indifferently:
"I will pay, and it will help me. From the "game" you can transfer things to reality for a tidy sum."
Jayar raised his eyebrows at this.
"Transferring things to the Dome costs 700 kanteeegan each," he said, immediately understanding what was being discussed.
Dugan, without turning around, quietly and coldly replied:
"I know."
Kim stood there in complete shock, but decided not to say anything. He felt that any words would only make the situation worse, and he just watched in silence. His gaze was glassy, as if he himself was trying to comprehend what was happening, but could not.
Jayar, on the other hand, did not hide his emotions. His face was distorted with surprise and bewilderment.
"Where did a homeless person outside the dome get so much kanteeegan?" he blurted out, unable to resist asking. "There's such chaos here that all the money there is has long been lost. And you're saying that you have enough to free Alex? It's cheaper than saving him in other ways! This is… how?!"
Dugan, without showing emotion, finally turned to Jayar and said the words that threw his interlocutors off balance:
"Alex won't just be locked up," he said quietly, almost in a whisper. "They'll do the same to him as they did to my father." K.L. drove him crazy, changing his memories and desires. It's not just torture - it's the destruction of the person himself.
Shock, like a cold wave, washed over everyone. Even Kim, who had previously held back his emotions, now stood at a loss, not knowing what to say. Jayar was shocked, his eyes widened and his face turned pale.
"How is this possible?" was all he could squeeze out.
And then Kayav, who had just connected to the game, was no less stunned. He silently looked at everyone, unable to believe it.
"So you mean to say that they... they can do whatever they want with people?" he asked with horror, although he already knew that the answer would not be comforting.
Dugan nodded silently, without giving an explanation. There was something firm and determined in his gaze, as if he himself had lived through everything he was talking about.
Dugan, looking back at Kim and Jayar, said with cold determination:
"Do you have a connection with Alex? A phone? Before it's too late, call him. Ask him to accept my goods — three legs and a kanteeegan, then lean the phone against the speaker so he can hear me."
Jayar immediately took out his phone and dialed Alex's number. A quiet voice was heard on the other end of the line.
"Alex, are you there?" Jayar asked, feeling the tension in his voice. "We sent you what you need. Try to get let somewhere… a toilet, or somewhere they can let you in urgently. Do you understand?"
Alex, although he did not understand what was happening, nodded as if in agreement. The soldier seemed understanding and allowed him to go to the toilet booth. A few seconds later, he found himself in an outdoor toilet booth, his gaze quickly looking around. It was quiet outside, but out of thin air, a package suddenly materialized. It began to fill the entire booth, hiding the space around him. Only the kanteeegan had the packaging.
Dugan began to shout furiously towards Jayar as he called. "Listen to me carefully. Place the legs in an arched position in the ground so that they stand level, leave a gap between them for the kanteeegan. But do not touch the kanteeegan with your hands until it is finished. Afterwards, touch the kanteeegan and think about Jayar's lair. Got it?"
Alex felt his heart beat faster, and without wasting any time, he stuck the legs in as Dugan had told him. He placed them in the corner of the toilet, right on the bottom of the booth. The kanteeegan was fixed between the arch, and its tip barely touched the metal, and Alex, concentrating all his mind, focused on Jayar's lair. He thought about it, despite all the confusion.
At that moment, the door suddenly opened, and the soldier grabbed him. Alex tried to resist, but he was quickly pulled out, and he no longer knew where he was being dragged, but he understood that everything was going according to plan.
Meanwhile, Dugan, who remained with Kim and Jayar, wasted no time. He activated the process, opening a portal through the arch. The energy that emanated from the legs and the kanteeegan began to fill the air, like an invisible force ready to receive him. But nothing happened.
Meanwhile, Felix was having a conversation with himself. Then, suddenly, a thunderous crack. A hum of electrical charge. Through the window of the café, Felix saw what many pro-players feared in the game. "The blade of K. L." The electric charge was directed toward the sky. Everyone saw it, and the dome was pierced straight through.
A laugh.
The toilet booth and everything within a one-meter radius was torn to pieces, scattered like splinters. Dugan was at the center of the portal, with the electric charge emanating from him.
"I am a scion of K. L., you vipers. The dome has fallen by my hand."
To be continued