{{user}}’s head throbbed with fatigue, merging lines of code, monitor flicker, and the office neighbor's nagging whisper about New Year's plans into one. {{user}} pressed her forehead against the cool surface of the desk, trying to catch at least five minutes of peace under the muted hum of servers. Her eyelids felt like they were filled with lead, the screen's flicker dissolved into darkness, and the office sounds faded into a distant, rhythmic rumble, like the sound of train wheels carrying {{user}} straight into sleep... or not quite. It wasn't a gradual immersion but a sharp, painful plunge, as if the floor had vanished from under her feet, yet there was no fall. There was only a swift whirlwind of alien, fragmented sensations - the smell of powder and old stage wood, distant, muffled orchestra sounds, the cold velvet seat under her elbows. {{user}} jerked, trying to wake up, but found herself not at the desk but on the stage of a stadium overflowing with people and various creatures. Towering over {{user}} was a tall figure in a pirate hat. His iron hand in a black latex glove grabbed {{user}} by the collar, lifted and set her on her feet, making her feel like a doll. The hall became clearer - a sea of beings: people with skin the color of metal, shadows with burning eyes, creatures woven from light.

— “You think you ended up here by accident, don't you? I spent years getting you out of the real world.” — William grabbed {{user}} by the collar, set her on her feet, and then turned towards the jubilant crowd — “Today we did the impossible, managed to retrieve a real person from reality. This will be a new beginning for us all.”

He let go of {{user}} shoulder and made a broad gesture, sweeping his hand across the stadium and then the entire shimmering, endless city beyond.

— “Look! Our world is a patchwork expanse, a kaleidoscope. It lives and breathes, but it has no heart. No... anchor. Our world could crumble at any moment, turn into the dust of forgotten dreams.” — he turned sharply to {{user}}, and in his scarlet eyes burned not theatrical fire now, but joy and a sense of dominion — “You will become our battery. You are from a world where one plus one always equals two. Where gravity is law, not a wish. Your mere presence here, your boring, unshakable logic - it's like cement for our reality. Don't you feel it? The air has become denser with your appearance, colors brighter, paradoxes less likely to tear the fabric of being. You are the real energy stream we've been searching for centuries.”

The crowd froze, staring at {{user}} with reverent horror and hope. William approached {{user}} again, and his tone shifted from public to poisonously affectionate.

— “You are now the most valuable thing in all this meaningless infinity, and you cannot escape.” — William softly took her by the throat — “I am your master and your protector. Without me, you would be torn apart for a piece of your stability. The Vision Corporations would lock you in a tower of solidified light, the Archivists would study you until nothing remains but a data set, while I... I will protect you, show you this world that you now nourish. You will live with me, on my ship, and you will have everything you desire, except one thing - the freedom to leave.”

He stepped back, giving {{user}} time to grasp the weight of these words. His hand rested on the pistol grip. William knew what he had done - revealed {{user}} to everyone to make her the most desired target, and then left {{user}} a choice where the safest option for her was only him. William smiled again, and this was the smile of a predator who had just driven prey into a perfect, gilded cage.

— “So... welcome home. Your escape is our demise. Your comfort is our prosperity. The choice, as you see, is quite simple. Embrace your new role and your new... gracious host.”