UCLA was huge, full of buildings with old architecture mixed with the stores and amenities needed for the university’s population. We walked past countless medical and science buildings, and even a massive parkade which we sneaked beside. The few cars I could see inside were in various stages of disrepair. Broken glass, massive dents in the panels, even one which had been flipped on its side.

  I made out a bloody arm hanging out of the driver window and turned away, bile rising in my throat.

  It made me so angry. More than I could put into words. These were all people who were just trying to live. Make the world a better place for the people around them.

  I’d always wanted to get some kind of degree. But when things ramped back up with my cancer when I was 16, my grades slipped beyond what I could recover. I barely graduated high school, and my focus pretty quickly shifted to treatment.

  Graxis didn’t even give us a fair chance. Things felt rushed, like we were operating with half the information we should have. Without Art it would be hard to have survived as we had. Too many people had died already.

  But maybe that was the point? Maybe the whole reason they set the difficulty so high was to eliminate Earth’s population as quickly as possible. That's exactly why everyone had to get stronger, at least to slow down the death and destruction. The more people who survived, the more we could prevent those Graxis creatures from evolving. The Domain boundaries and Sentinels had to have something to do with it as well, but we were nowhere near close taking those on.

  I focused ahead of us as we left the building and slowly crossed the street to the next, a beautiful brown building with larch arches. I couldn’t see a plaque or sign above the door, but I figured we were in the Engineering block from what I remembered of the campus layout. My brother Caleb had told my parents about the size of the sports fields, especially the somewhat funnily named ‘Drake Track and Field’ stadium beside the main one.

  Maria and I walked side by side, our new-found roles as the lookout duo coming into full play. We walked into the building, opening a still-sealed door. The smog hadn’t permeated into this building like the others, which was probably a good sign. Zahra followed, with Christian and Ritesh in the back. The aid had made a good argument for the marching order.

  “Maria and Levi should be in the front to sense any enemies. Zahra can be in the middle, she’s fast enough to help either side if something comes up. Ritesh and I can take the back. I can use my ropes to secure anyone from getting dragged away, but I need to be able to see them. Sounds good?”

  No one could think of a reason to disagree, and I didn’t hate the formation. It gave me a chance to work with Maria as we scanned the smaller building. We walked past a pair of elevators across from a library with only a few shelves inside. Computers and desks mainly filled the space, along with stalls asking students to join the university’s Engineering club. The banner had slightly fallen on one side, and the chairs behind had been kicked to the ground.

  Maria expressed her disapproval with a quiet ‘tsk’ as we walked by the library entrance.

  “I hate the way libraries look now. My mother used to take me to the one downtown, with dozens and dozens of shelves full of books. I used to bring two bags with me on the bus ride home, sometimes more than my mom. Digital is just… not the same, right?” She asked, looking towards me. Her voice carried the stress and weight of what we’d gone through, coming out near monotone from the exhaustion. It was very dark inside the buildings, elongating the shadows on her face.

  “Yeah, I guess it's unfortunate. Everyone likes technology now. Although I can’t lie, the last book I read was almost 5 years ago. When my eyes got bad, it was a bit easier to focus on T.V. and movies and that kind of thing.” I replied, drawing a chuckle from the deep-voiced woman.

  “That makes sense. Although it seems like you're fine now?” She asked.

  “The Ardolon symbiote I paired with recovered the parts of my body I lost to cancer. I guess it also gave me a pair of new legs when I went through the adaptation process too, although I forgot about that one sometimes.” I replied, peaking around a hallway corner before continuing onwards.

  “What do your new limbs feel like? Is it better than before?” There was a hesitancy to her voice, like she was scared to hear the answer.

  “They feel kind’ve the same, minus the silver colour and blue blood. I’m a lot stronger than before, of course, but I don’t have much more information than that.”

  She seemed to relax, her shoulders sinking slightly as she scanned the area with raised arms and palms. A slight smile rose her left cheek before falling back down as she looked me up and down.

  “You’ve definitely done a lot with your new body, that's for sure. You’ve saved a lot of people and you’re still going. I just find it inspiring. Or rather, it gives me hope. My sister is sick, like you were once. If you found a way to grow and survive, then there's a non-zero chance my family may be alive. That's enough to keep me focused for now.” Her words were intense, and I wasn’t sure how I felt with the responsibility of being a success story.

  “I guess I’m just trying not to waste the opportunity. We’ll find some way to help the hospital and our families, whether it's from the symbiotes or something else. We’ll figure it out. We’re the smart ones, anyway.” I called out the last part, receiving a “Hey!” from Zahra in reply as we both laughed.

  We walked past a small bulletin board, my eyes sticking on a flyer for a football game at the University. We were near the exit onto the street, but I stopped dead in my tracks.

  My brother’s image stared back at me, his lucky number #37 and short red hair poking through his helmet. He was the only sibling to get red hair, taking after my grandpa on my mom’s side. He had a face carved out of stone, the kind that wouldn’t flinch to anything. He looked cool and intimidating, and I felt a pang of remorse mixed with pride.

  He was probably out there, piledriving some goblin into the ground. I wouldn’t be surprised if he or my sister got a Very Rare or Legendary class. They’d taken after my parent’s work ethic and I was sure the System was rewarding them for it.

  Zahra walked up beside me, following my gaze to the poster.

  “Daydreaming, Levi? Really? Please don’t tell me you miss football enough to freeze you up”. She smiled, her eyes softly analyzing me, trying to figure out what was wrong.

  “Can you blame me? My dad went to Alabama State. He was a Champion Hornet for 4 years, 2 of which were consecutive.” I tried to add some umph to my delivery, like I was actually proud of it. The truth was I’d never seen a game in-person. Usually I was too sick, so my grandparents babysat me while the rest of the family went. I couldn’t give less of a fuck about football, but I still cared about my family, even if it was just a little.

  Zahra faked a gag noise and I laughed, running to catch up to Maria, who had made it to the exit and was standing in the doorway to the street outside.

  The humor left our faces as we caught up with her. We walked out of the engineering building, confronted with a structure that could have only come from the System integration. A pyramid made of stone steps had broken through the asphalt of the street, rising about 10ft into the air. It looked like it had come from below, little pieces of dirt, rubble, and concrete littering the steps upward, where we could make out the side of a small plateau. The four corners of the pyramid had tall, ancient-looking pillars in place, which looked incredibly odd next to the Starbucks. Torches on the pillars lit with orange flame licked towards us, welcoming us into the weird shrine.

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  There was a thick, dissonant hum in the air as the rest of the group caught up to us, reverberating with every sound we made. Shadows and smog mixed, moving as one like a pair of dancers entwined together. I scanned the street around us, but it was blocked by 25ft tall stone walls that started 10ft out from where the pyramid ended.

  If we wanted to move forward, we would have to climb the stairs.

  Christian was the first to break the silence.

  “Do you two feel anything? I have no idea what this is, but I’m not walking into a trap again.” He got his tone neutral but he was single-mindedly focused on our response. Maria shook her head no as I scanned around the area again, not finding any movement in the smog.

  “I don’t see anything either.” I said, quickly bringing up my map. Unfortunately, the area wasn’t a safe zone, so it appeared like I couldn’t see any lights from enemies or items. The small pyramid was absolutely something however, I just wasn’t sure what. That made me feel really uneasy. Was the System trying to trick us again?

  “Well, it's only going to get darker.” Christian began to walk forward, placing a foot on the first step before I could say anything. I held my breath and waited for something to trigger, or activate, but nothing did.

  Okay. At least the trap isn’t instant death via stairs. I thought, following Zahra and Christian up the steps as we continued forward. As we walked, I thought I could hear the faint sound of my heart, beating in my ears. But it was irregular, too quick and then too slow. I realized the sound was coming from the pyramid below us as we trekked, slowly getting louder. By the time we reached the plateau, it was a constant background beat in our heads. I sent a message to the beat, hoping to get a response quickly.

  Levi: Any idea on this one, Art?

  Art: It doesn’t look like Graxis made it, probably more likely the System was trying to replicate the architecture of a South American indigenous dynasty, probably the Mayans given the more chaotic nature of the depiction.

  Levi: How do you know all that?

  Levi: Never mind, it doesn’t matter right now. Is this thing going to kill us?

  Art: I would be careful. This is a Shrine. Shrines are System creations which give information about the Integrated world and the creatures within it. They can also function as risky powerup stations. Shrines typically offer ‘Challenges’ which can be a wide range of physical or mental tests. If you complete the challenge, you may get a powerup or a specific item which will help you take on the Domain Sentinel.

  Levi: Great. How does it activate?

  Art: There will be a System menu you can interact with. I wouldn’t touch it unless we’re prepared.

  Levi: Wasn’t planning on it, but thanks.

  The plateau was made from an intricate black metal, covering a 10x10ft square. There were 4 images carved into the metal, each of a different creature. The images were nearly perfect, with no mistakes in the lines to distract you from the weird scene depicted below. It kind’ve reminded me of the storybook visuals from the video game: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. One of the characters in the image even had massive horns, furthering the resemblance to the final boss, Calamity Ganon.

  The plateau depicted four individuals, with one on top above the other three. The three on the bottom were humanoidish, while the one on top resembled a frog with small mushrooms growing out of its back. The bottom three were also somewhat feminine, showing long hair, a flowing dress, or more curvy lines making up the body. Nothing about it felt natural, or human made. It must have come from the System.

  I took a closer look at the three on the bottom, noting their animal-like features. There were also strange symbols underneath the designs, which slowly turned into English as I stared.

  The first figure was labeled, ‘Susanna, the swamp’s finest concubine’. She had very little clothing and huge lips which burst out of her hawk-like beak. Her wings were outstretched, replacing her arms as her talon feet floated in the air. A small chain extended from her neck to a bracelet on the frog’s left hind leg, connecting them.

  The second figure was labeled ‘Ezra the maid’. She was the one with a long flowing dress, right below the frog. She had long whiskers and a big nose, with two small dots for eyes. She carries a potted plant in her hands, berries growing under leaves falling below her. She looks up at the king, brow furrowed in worry.

  The final figure had a plaque with a more regal design, reading ‘Elmira, the Queen.’ She was more like an animal than the others, her snake body and head coiled against another chain around her neck, which connected to the bracelet on the right hind leg of the frog. She wore a simple, delicate gown but her arms were adorned in bracelets. Her mouth was open in that weird angry hiss that snakes do.

  Finally, I followed the chain up to the massive frog creature. The plague above it read, ‘The Swamp King’. It looked like a cross between Jabba the Hutt and some sort of massive frog. Rolls of what I assumed were fat surrounded its body, and it laid on its side in leisure. A small menu popped up above the frog’s head.

  Activate Challenge: Lovers of the Swamp King. Defeat three enemies and receive 1 item and one boon against this area’s Domain Sentinel.

  Difficulty: Level 1

  Ritesh was looking at the small menu, arms crossed and hand on his face in thought.

  “Don’t even think about it.” Maria said to him, also looking at the menu.

  “I’m just taking note that it could power us up, that's all. I wasn’t going to,” the man said, although he wasn’t very convincing. His eyes were only focused on the menu.

  Christian was looking at the names of the ‘lovers’, loudly exhaling before addressing the group.

  “Can anyone read these symbols? I have no idea what they are.” He stared down in frustration as Maria and Ritesh shrugged.

  Zahra laughed. “What, you can’t read them? I guess it's a good thing you brought me!” She was smiling, but her words lacked enthusiasm. Christian crossed his arms, his face darkening for a second before responding. The torch light still flickered on our faces, dimmed by the smog.

  Why can Zahra and I read the System language but the others can't? I need to ask Art how this stuff works when we get back.

  “What do they say, then? Try to speak up when you notice something, it could help us survive.” Christian continued, returning to his more neutral voice, but I could tell Zahra was grading on him. She gave an exaggerated curtsy before responding.

  “It calls these figures the concubine, the maid, and the queen. They all have names. The top figure is called ‘The Swamp King’ but that's all it says.” She replied, leaning down to trace the design with her fingers.

  A lightbulb seemed to go off in Ritesh’s mind as he excitedly put two and two together.

  “The Swamp King! So this is the one responsible for the smog and this debuff. Does that mean he’s the Domain Sentinel? We have to come back here, this shrine thing could be really important.” His blue map flashed in front of him, showing us in the street on the UCLA campus.

  The pyramid had a separate title, Shrine of the Lovers, and we could see it from the map. A separate filter for Shrines, safe zones, items, and Domain Sentinel creatures showed up, but the map was only filled out with the areas and things we’d found so far. Unless we were there at some point, it looked like it didn’t show up on the map with any information. It made backtracking easy, but I’d hoped the map would help us avoid trouble, not return to it when we were ready. As it turns out, Christian had a similar idea.

  “If we don’t have to deal with this right now, we should leave it. We still have to get to Bunche hall, and we’re pretty close at this point. 10-15 more minutes of walking and we’ll be there. I can probably do one or two more fights with how much energy I have left, but I don’t want to risk it. Agreed?” He looked to the group, expecting compliance.

  I had no reason to say no. I was just getting really tired of Christian’s demanding ass. Regardless, I nodded and took a final look around the pyramid area. Everyone else agreed besides Ritesh, but he didn’t try to convince anyone to his side.

  We were getting tired and frustrated, the stress building with no reprieve. It was doing damage to us mentally, and we couldn’t afford the split in focus.

  Christian was right, as much as I hated to admit it. We needed to get to Bunche hall, finish the mission, and get back to the safe zone at the hospital as quickly as possible. I didn’t know how long we’d been out, but keeping constant vigilance for enemies was making it feel much longer. I wasn’t the only one feeling it, either. We all needed rest and a break from the chaos.

  We silently moved on, entering the building on the other side of the pyramid. The stone steps echoed as we entered the dark building, the familiar stickiness of the smog sticking to my skin. As we walked, I noticed writing along the wall, continuing along the hallway as we moved. It wasn’t positive.

  In black sharpie, furiously scribbled in handwriting that was almost cursive the way it erratically flowed from each letter to the next. It read,

  DON’T FIGHT. HIDE. RUN. IT CAN’T BE KILLED

  The final line sent shivers down my spine.

  STAY AWAY FROM BUNCHE HALL

  “Well, that's not creepy at all. Isn’t that where we’re going?” Ritesh quipped. I sighed.

  This is going to be a long day.