Heinz Harper reviewed the stack of paperwork set before him a by the Precognitive Division. Terrorism, potential terrorrism, and malefactors everywhere, more stuff that reminded him that his 'elitist' approach to things was wrong. Thankfully, there were consolations like being able to conjure up a cup of coffee; Magi can only conjure as much stuff as their own body weight a day, but that limit wasn't really a problem when you used your powers sparingly.

Other compensations were the presence of one's proxy family, such as Balthazar, Conor and their crew. They were good people, albeit a bit hardened and vicious like most people in Intelligence are, but still of a better stripe than most others in spywork. Heinz liked that; he may have humbled himself before the other agencies, but there was still a streak of self-rigtheousness in him, a streak of self-rigtheousness that years in the espionage business had only dampened.

Then, on one of the documents he was reviewing, the man found something incredulous, something that, though possible, was still unbelievable. Something that seemed closer to an Anime plot, no, closer to a specific Anime's plot, than Real Life. Of course, with Magic, Real Life resembled Anime, a little.

"Lizzie," he messaged his secretary, "arrange a meeting with Agent Balthazar, and our [i]Unofficial[/i] operative, Conor right away. Tell him the business is urgent, as in, [i]millions of people are at stake urgent[/i]." The emphasis was clear; Lizzie needed to move now.

[b][i]Some Hours Later[/i][/b]

Heinz had teleported himself, Balthazar, Conor, and the other agents to the briefing room, where he, with his own magical powers instead of technology, was projecting various holograms - holograms, not illusions; illusions can be broken by willpower.

"A few weeks from now, the Electronic Entertainment Expo is going to start in New York, with four MMO developers, Akira Kariya, Elizabeth Cortes, Anya Tarnova, and Ken Saddler, joining. Why does this merit Agency attention, you ask? Because one of those developers is trying to create an [i]MMO that traps people in the virtual world[/i]. If people's videogame selves die in said virtual world, they die in Real Life, and that's a bad thing because MMOs have millions, or perhaps even billions, of users."

"Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find that fucker, and neutralize him, dead or alive, before he traps millions of people inside a videogame just to satisfy his own God Complex. You have free choice of gadgets and methods, just don't overly expose yourselves; you're secret agents, not superheroes. Don't drag the Agency through the mud, or further certain...sterotypes about us."

"The E3 Convention, thankfully, has been moved to New York due to the...personal preferences of the Convention's sponsor, [I]Arcana Unlimited[/i]," he said the name with contempt. "This gives the suspicion that ArcU is somehow involved, which isn't surprising, as despite their dominions in the Developing World, their headquarters is still legally in Troy; close to New York City. This means that you have to be on watch for corporate goons."

"And, finally, despite the transfer, E3 is an exclusive convention; only people with a connection to the videogame industry are allowed to come in. So, your covers are as reporters for PCGamer Magazine. I trust that you two are good at cameras and creative writing?" he asked Balthazar, Conor, and their fellow agents. Heinz then handed them, through telekenesis, several dossiers. "Memorize them; again, you have a few weeks."

[b][i]A Few Weeks Later[/i][/b]

Akira Kariya was a genius; plenty of people were nowadays - or was it just that geniuses were more visible in this time and age? He entered university at 12, became a computer developer at 16, published his first game at 18, and it was a hit, incorporating both magic and technology to produce a realistic, immersive experience. And, yes, he was a Mage, and a powerful one. And, from his early life...

...From his early life, he had wanted to own a city and the lives of the people within it. As he grew up, he wished to own a [i]world[/i], not this world, don't worry, Earth was too mundane, but rather, his custom-made world, where he had power of life and death over people. He wanted to reign as a god over people, and with his new game, Realms of Gremania, he was going to do so, very soon...