This is a fan translation of Emperors of Illusions (Императоры иллюзий) by the Russian science fiction and fantasy author Sergei Lukyanenko. The novel is a sequel to Lukyanenko's Line of Dreams (Линия грёз) novel and can be considered a fan fiction of the original Master of Orion game.
Chapter 8
Kay watched the shooting stars. As expected, they were originating from a single point in the night sky, as unexpected, they were weaving a pavilion of fiery strokes over the Evil Lands, setting down simultaneously beyond their edges.
Leaning against the jeep's hood, Kay counted the shooting stars. Three waves, about a hundred fiery flashes each… Then again, Kay knew the exact number and could even make an excellent astronomical prediction. A large troop transport was deploying a hundred and one combat pod simultaneously. That was exactly how many of them were on each deck, and the transport had nine decks.
He glanced at Arthur, who was sleeping on the unfolded jeep seats. In the dim dashboard lights, his face seemed calm and peaceful. Then Kay caught Tommy's gaze, he wasn't sleeping. The young man opened the door carefully and climbed out of the jeep.
The sky flashed with the fourth wave. Tommy looked up. Kay waited curiously if an unnecessary question would follow.
"Should we wake Artie?"
No, that was a good question, and Kay spent a moment thinking about it.
"No need. As you can see, they're all landing around the perimeter of the Evil Lands. They know they shouldn't go inside."
"How many are there?"
"Nine hundred and ninety-nine. We're under a full lockdown."
"But the transport—"
"Has a thousand pods. The command pod probably dropped first, I didn't notice it."
"Is that important?"
Dutch didn't reply immediately, "Yes, I'm afraid so. We're being protected by the Evil Lands, but there was Isabella Kal."
They both glanced at Arthur and fell silent. A man and a teenager under a sky covered in flashes. Kay Dutch, who was on his way to God to ask him a single question, placed a hand on Tommy's shoulder.
"It's going to be fine, my boy. We're surrounded by the Evil Lands. It became this way by accident, only because Curtis van Curtis —you—was afraid. He needed a guard for his treasure, an impassable barrier hiding the Threshold. And the barrier appeared. Now it's going to save us… I hope."
The sky flashed for the last time.
"If something happens, leave. Okay?"
Tommy looked him in the eye, as an equal.
"You gave me the freedom to decide, Kay. I'm not giving it back."
"No one can give freedom. I only taught you to see it," Kay chuckled quietly and patted Tommy lightly on the head. "Here, everything's in here. Evil Lands and paradise gardens, betrayal and nobility, death and love. You don't have to prove anything to me, I know that all of that exists inside both of us. So if it gets too hard, leave. For now, I'm making decisions about Artie. But you have the right to choose for yourself."
Tommy's smile was bitter.
"Okay. Maybe we should wake Arthur after all and keep going. I'm going to think about your advice."
Clinch Commander Shegal sensed the Door. There, just past the narrow band of the river, among inconspicuous rocks, the edge of the worlds was broken.
God awaited there.
He was feeling neither fear nor trepidation. All that had burned away long ago, when he came into this world through his own Threshold and his own Door.
The Line of Dreams hadn't tricked him, gods probably couldn't lie. All had been as it was supposed to, until Curtis and Kay Dutch got in his way.
Vyacheslav turned to look at the silver lens of the troop pod. He landed right in the middle of the Evil Lands; Curtis's protective zone couldn't hurt him, the creator of this world. Ten tons of armor and weapons, his personal blaster for Kay Dutch, stood in the vicinity of the Threshold. Then again, Shegal had no intention of using heavy weapons.
He wasn't afraid of his opponent.
Despite this, Kay seemed to him to be a far greater problem than Curtis. The actions of aTan's owner were understandable and explainable.
Dutch wanted something strange. He'd been trying to destroy the Emperor with fanatical obsession, and now, with just as much perseverance, he was rushing to the Threshold. It had been a long time since Shegal had an opponent like that, and the hunt for Dutch was a good adventure.
But it was time to end it.
For good.
Then he would drag Curtis's pups—who were they, anyway: twins, clones?—back to Terra and pick a suitable successor for van Curtis.
Shegal sat, leaning against a small tree, and watched the Threshold, through which he'd stepped through long ago, something he would never dare do again.
Then he got to his feet to start a campfire.
The path was familiar, very familiar. The jeep even stopped working at the same distance from the Threshold as the last time. Sometimes, Kay wanted to turn around to make sure that he wasn't followed by two identical-looking boys, the former Arthur and Tommy.
They came out to the Threshold by nightfall. The river, a small grove… and a campfire.
Kay stopped. He sensed that Tommy and Arthur froze next to him, his little team.
"It's father," Arthur said.
Dutch didn't say that it would have been the best of all possibilities. He touched him with a brief, calming handshake and went ahead.
Vyacheslav Shegal got to his feet. The two men stared at one another across the flame.
"You're pretty good," Shegal said. "But you've still lost."
"Why did you create this?" Kay asked, as if not hearing him.
"I already told you, Kay. You're a fool. Our world—"
Dutch fired without taking the pistol out of his pocket. Beams from the Convoy illuminated Shegal's face, turning him into a flaming white mask. The Clinch Commander stared and passed a hand over his face. He said calmly, "My turn, right?"
When a plasma bolt hit Kay's chest, Arthur screamed and rushed forward. Vyacheslav tossed him aside casually and stepped to Dutch, who was splayed out on the ground. The clothes on his chest were smoldering.
"You shouldn't have hit him," Kay said, getting up.
Shegal took a step back. He glanced at Tommy curiously, then at Arthur, "I think you have to love him a lot for the Threshold's zone to protect him. Which of you is holding him, boys?"
"Both of us," Tommy said.
"How did you get them, Kay?" Shegal didn't seem discouraged. He started walking toward Dutch, who coughed slightly, taking a defensive powerkilling stance. "You're only human. You won't win."
Dutch waited.
"I can't kill you… here," Shegal laughed. "But there is another option, isn't there?"
His leap was barely noticeable. Kay and Shegal merged into a flurry of strikes and blocks. Fights between professionals never lasted long, and this was no exception.
First Kay fell down, a missed blow to the head stunned him for a few seconds. Shegal bent over him, removing the handcuff rings from his belt. There were clicks, and then he straightened out, calmly and casually.
Kay, with his hands cuffed to his ankles, remained on the ground.
"And there is it, buddy," Shegal smiled. His face was bloody, one of his fingers was broken and twisted, but none of that seemed to be bothering him. "Now we're going to leave the vicinity of the Evil Lands and will resolve all our problems. Right? You've already said too much during the interrogation, confused the Emperor… why add accusations of divinity against a simple operative to that?"
"You're insane," Dutch whispered.
"Come on. It's just a little bit of fun, a game. Your whole world was nothing more than a fantasy. A very entertaining and interesting one. And when I found my Threshold, I made it real."
Shegal glanced at Arthur, who'd gotten to his feet. He said in an icy voice, "I wouldn't advise it. Both of us are invulnerable here, but I can cause you a lot more pain."
"Stop, Artie!" Kay shouted.
Shegal nodded, "That's right. Listen to him. He's finally come to his senses… Kay, you were trying to drive the Emperor insane, claiming that everything around him was a hallucination. Do you really feel that you're an illusion? It's all far simpler than that. You're all real and free. You exist. But I wanted for this world to be the way it is. And anyone rising over the crowd must play by my rules."
"Your rules are insane," Arthur hissed.
"Calm down, kid. I need one of you. Just one. Think about that."
Shegal took a thin communicator from out of his pocket. He activated it and said dryly, "This is Shegal, I want a channel with the Emperor's residence… What?"
He stood there for a minute, pressing the quietly muttering device to his ear. A normal person wouldn't be able to listen in.
But Kay Dutch had been born a linguist. He burst out laughing after hearing about the Emperor's disappearance. Then after picking up the word "amnesty."
The Clinch Commander kicked him in the ribs. He took a few steps away and shouted into the communicator, "Tell them that Dutch is dead! I don't care about the interim council's orders! Only the Emperor—"
Shegal fell silent.
Dutch stopped laughing after he realized that he'd missed the final sentence. It was insane, it was impossible.
Shegal put the device away. Very carefully and slowly. He walked up to Kay.
"Well?" Dutch asked. "What are you afraid of? This world is yours. It was created by your dream."
The Clinch Commander tossed the handcuff keys to Arthur. Then he bent over Kay, who stopped short.
He read the anguish and hurt of a deceived child in Vyacheslav Shegal's eyes.
"I'll find Emperor Gray," he whispered. "I'll convince… I'll make him come back. You can stop cheering."
"Try to hit me," Kay said.
Shegal didn't move a muscle.
"A servant remains a servant. Right? Even in a dream?"
The Clinch Commander turned around and started walking to his pod. Kay watched him leave, while Arthur and Tommy were removing the cuffs. He watched and listened until the flame of the engine vanished among the stars, and the rumbling of the engine turned into silence.
"Why did he leave?" Tommy asked.
"Out of a sense of duty and loyalty, I'm afraid," Kay straightened out. "And I'm also afraid that now they'll be looking for me with even greater effort."
He gave Tommy a wink.
"Boys, I don't think we need to go through anymore. But I still want to see God."