MASTERS OF REALITY

  BOOK 3

  AARON CRASH

  CONTENTS

  Summary

  Black Forge Books Mailing List

  Author’s Note

  1. Fake Denver’s Night Sparks

  2. It’s All in the Details

  3. The Studio and the Song

  4. One Last Dive

  5. Outside Room 1501

  6. The Medusa and the Sea Nymph

  7. Gifts from Gary

  8. Zeus’s Margaritas

  9. The Prophecy and the Riddle

  10. Sweet, Hot Churros

  11. The Snow Sphinx’s Lair

  12. Inside Room 1501

  13. Dinnertime Talk

  14. Upgrading the Heiress

  15. Three Weeks

  16. Before the Temple Show

  17. Opening the Temple Doors

  18. Fight Like a Valkyrie

  19. On Board the Yellowjacket

  20. The Dead Docks

  21. The Merge Function

  22. Crystal’s Hopes and Fears

  23. Terri’s Phone

  24. Breaking in the Bedroom

  25. Shutdown Warning

  26. Breakfast Optimism

  27. The Executive Docks Elite Nirvana

  28. Kerellian Xylophones

  29. Alone with Dizzy

  30. Gamelit Girl Powers

  31. Fighting and Kissing

  32. The Vermillion Archivist & Librarian

  33. The Sassy Deene Show

  34. Killer Bees

  35. The Sugarhill

  36. The Insect’s Database

  37. The Pleasure Deck

  38. On Veritas IV

  39. The Awful Truth

  40. After The Doom

  41. The Protocol

  42. Crystal’s Love

  43. The Battle of Paradeisos Island

  44. On the Temple’s Doorstep

  45. Heart of the Universe

  46. The Mourning Son

  47. Celebration Day

  More Adventures…

  Books and Reviews…

  FREE Short Story

  More Books by Black Forge Books

  GameLit, Harem, and Cultivation on Facebook

  LitRPG on Facebook

  Even More litRPG on Facebook

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Patreon

  About the Author

  SUMMARY

  The truth shall set you free…but first you’ve got to fight for it.

  Jem, Crystal, and Ruby have found themselves trapped in a world that may or may not be real. However, one thing is clear—their music is the key to unlocking the secrets that keep them captive in a reality beyond their understanding.

  Back on Paradeisos Island, there’s a new building—the Temple of the Morning Sun—but it’s locked up tight. To get inside, Jem and his wives will have to journey to distant galaxies, fight killer insect aliens, and try to find a lost starship beyond the edge of the universe.

  Hearts will be broken but souls will be saved as Jem finally understands what the Erebos Experience has been trying to tell him all along.

  Life is the ultimate adventure, and Jem and his wives are destined to become…Masters of Reality.

  Disclaimer: Masters of Reality is a steamy harem mystery/adventure that features scenes of an adult nature. No fading to black. No closed doors. Nothing but sexy fun. Welcome to a mind-bending experience from Aaron Crash, the bestselling author of the American Dragons and the Princesses of the Ironbound series.

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  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Masters of Reality #1 was originally published on my Patreon site (https://www.patreon.com/aaroncrashbooks) as a fun little erotic adventure that I sneaked in while I was working on other books. It was called Night Sparks, and it was just a little passion project. If you are interested in seeing the raw, unedited version (with an additional sex scene and about double the spice), join my Patreon, at least at the $5 level. Thanks so much!

  For more stories about Jem and Crystal out in the real world between books one and two, join my Patreon at the $10 level at https://www.patreon.com/aaroncrashbooks. To get Ruby’s story in the real world, sign up for the Black Forge newsletter at https://blackforgebooks.com/. Thanks for your support!

  1 FAKE DENVER’S NIGHT SPARKS

  Jeremy Creed stood outside the bar on Broadway in what he thought was Denver, Colorado. That wasn’t the case. Sparks streamed down from the sky above. It wasn’t a meteor shower. No, it was proof that what he thought was the real world wasn’t real. What was he going to do with that fucking piece of information?

  Jem’s wife, Crystal, only smiled. “Can you frickin’ believe this?”

  “No. No, I fucking can’t.” Ruby’s face lost all color. “I never told you about…about these memories I have from when Sheriff Pluto killed me. I didn’t think they were memories, but now I’m not so sure. I remember wires, mostly. But not like when we were in the Erebos Experience facility. Different kinds of wires. And really fucking old computers.”

  “What?” Crystal lost her grin.

  Ruby’s eyelids fluttered away tears. “It was just these random images of computers. I don’t know. Mostly, I heard people crying, everyone crying, and the place smelled terrible. I was pretty sure I was dead. Guess I might not be that far off.”

  “We’re not dead,” Crystal said sternly. “Mr. Oregon said some people were real and some weren’t. No, Ruby—you, me, and Jem are real, and we’re not dead. This is like that movie Inception. Or what The Matrix movies could’ve been. Levels of reality.”

  Jem waited for Ruby to say more. The air was cool, crisp even. Autumn in Colorado felt so good after the long, hot summer. They stood in the parking lot, but cars zoomed past on Broadway, lit by the buttery glow of streetlights.

  After several moments of silence, Ruby shook her head. “Maybe I should’ve said something.” Her eyes went far away. “But it’s like I don’t want to remember. Can we not push me on this right now?”

  Crystal took the singer’s hand. “Sure, babe. We have time. It’s not like we’re being attacked by minotaurs at the moment.”

  Jem was worried about Ruby, but he had one thing he needed to do. He called Gary Syngva again.

  A groggy voice answered. “Hello?”

  “Gary, this is Jem Creed.”

  “Jeremy Creed. Fuck, dude, I don’t know what you want from me. I don’t know shit.”

  Jem had danced this same dance before with the guy. “Gary, you just texted me. You must see it.”

  “I didn’t text you.”

  Jem forwarded the text in question.

  There are many realities you need to master. Get back into the game, brother. Get back into the game and sing your song.

  He waited a beat while the person—if it was a person—on the other end read it.

  “Master of reality? Wasn’t that a Black Sabbath album? Or maybe a song. I don’t know, man. I can see it was from my number, but it wasn’t me. Don’t know what to tell you.” There was a long pause. “Are you a musician?”

  Jem didn’t know how to answer. In Erebos, he was a musician, definitely. Out here? He’d played one show and done some busking. It didn’t feel like enough. Maybe it never would.

  Jem made the decision. “Yeah, Gary, I am.”

  “I always wanted to be a musician. It looks like you need to sing a song, or whatever, but I don’t know. You’re barking up the wrong tree. Should I block your number?”

  “Don’t,” Jem said quickly. “I have this song. I mean, there’s this woman I play with, Ruby Inke, and it’s really her song. And my wife Crystal’s. Let me send it to you. Once you hear it, maybe you’ll remember something.”

  “Sure, man. But look, this is fucking weird. And it feels like a scam.”

  Jem’s mind raced. “It’s not a scam. I’ll text you the song. Don’t block me until you hear it.”

  Gary’s sigh created static. “Fine. But just know it better be the best fucking song in the world because I ain’t got time for this shit.”

  Then the line went dead.

  Ruby looked like she might freak out at any minute.

  Crystal gazed down at her phone. “Ha. Yes. Syngva looks like it was this old Norse word, and it might be where we get the words ‘sing’ and ‘song’ from. Dang, why didn’t I look into this before?”

  Jem knew. “It wasn’t time. I can’t help but think this is all playing out like it’s scripted or something.”

  He pulled up Terri Deme’s number. “We need to record ‘The Ballad of the Broken Master.’ To do that, we need our drummer.”

  “Don’t call her tonight,” Ruby said. “And don’t say that we’re seeing the night sparks, okay? We have to be really fucking cagey or she’s going to know something is off. We can’t lose her. She’s our way back into the game.”

  “But it’s not a game,” Jem muttered. “It’s an experience.”

  Crystal’s giggle sounded a bit maniacal “Uh, yeah, are we sure? Because this is feeling like a mystery game we have to figure out. Ruby is right. We call her during normal office hours. We say we need her to drum for us. We record the song and send it to Gary, and see if that shakes up any memories.”

  “Is he the Oddity?” Ruby asked. She looked like she was about to jump out of her ski
n.

  “Maybe,” Jem said. He recalled that Dr. Deme said that there might not be an Oddity and that they stopped looking for it. “How do we record a song?”

  Ruby finally seemed to relax. “Now, this is something I can handle. We get into a studio. It won’t be cheap, especially not last minute like this. I met some people who have contacts in Denver, but I couldn’t afford it.”

  Crystal tucked her phone into her pocket. “Don’t worry. I’m going to liquidate all my assets. Everything. Don’t you see?” She waved her arms around at the buildings, the streets, the few cars driving past. “All of this is fake, so I’m pretty sure my 401(k) isn’t real either. I mean, during ‘Broken Master’ tonight, all those people froze and listened, like it was the most important song they’d ever heard. Let’s go all in.”

  Jem nodded. “And if we called Terri and said we just wanted to record a version on our phones, it wouldn’t carry the same weight. But if we actually get a studio, and get her there, I’m wondering what she’s going to do when she hears it.”

  “She’s heard it before,” Ruby pointed out. “She was there when we wrote it.”

  “Most of it,” Crystal said. “But she heard the demo version. How much work did we do on it after she left?”

  “A lot,” Ruby admitted. “It’s better, fuller, and yeah, it might knock some sense into the good doctor. But what if it freaks her out? What if she hears it and says we’re out of the experiment?”

  “That won’t happen,” Jem said sternly.

  “How do you know, Mr. Man?” Ruby shot back.

  Jem grinned. “Because if this is anything like the Erebos Experience, it will work out for us. Like it always does.”

  Crystal laughed. “We should’ve known this place wasn’t real. I mean, last time we were out here, Jem got into two fights in the same week. And I had this strange encounter with this woman at the grocery store. Why couldn’t we see that?”

  Jem knew. “Because we had to assume we were in the real world, right? Ruby knew something was off. Sorry we didn’t take you more seriously.”

  The singer touched the phoenix tattoo on her right arm. “No. You’re right. It would’ve made it harder and crazier if you had said, ‘Rubes, this isn’t real. We’re still in the game, or whatever.’ I know, I know, not a game. But still…” She closed her eyes. “What am I supposed to do now?”

  “Come home with us,” Crystal said gently. “I’m not going to let this freak me out. Nope. Not this girl. I’m going to have fun with this. We can live a bit more dangerously. Not too much, because I don’t want to end up in jail, or disgraced, or whatever.”

  Ruby opened her eyes and nodded. “Yeah, we have to be good little lab rats because at this point, if we don’t get back into the Erebos Experience, I might really lose my shit.”

  Jem took Ruby’s hand, and then Crystal’s. “So it’s business as usual. We go to work—”

  “Damn!” Crystal grunted. “I so wanted to play hooky and totally blow off work.”

  “We go to work, “Jem repeated. “We keep our eyes peeled. And we get studio time as soon as possible. We record the song, and we don’t even mention going back to Paradeisos Island to Terri. Not until she’s heard the song. Deal?”

  Both of his wives nodded. “Deal.”

  Jem pulled them into a hug. He smelled Crystal’s blond hair, and then Ruby’s long dark tresses. He was going to protect them. He was going to get to the bottom of the mystery. And Crystal was right—he was going to enjoy this new aspect of the mystery.

  So far, the Erebos Experience hadn’t let them down. He was going to have to trust that whatever had helped them before on Paradeisos Island and in FarWind would continue to help them now that they’d discovered a whole new layer of reality that was pretending to be Denver, Colorado.

  He just had to hope that Gary Syngva didn’t turn out to be just some asshole in Oregon in what was supposedly the real world.

  2 IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS

  In the end, Crystal didn’t need to nuke her entire savings, and neither did Jem. Last minute, they booked an expensive studio in Denver’s LoDo area, in what used to be the warehouse district. Now the buildings were all high-end lofts with a price tag only oil barons or drug dealers could afford.

  Crystal and Jem did have to take a good chunk of cash out of their bank accounts to get an hour in the studio, but it wasn’t like they’d need that money, not in any real way. Because the world wasn’t real.

  Everything was set as far as the studio was concerned. At 3 p.m. on Saturday, they’d get both the space and a sound engineer. The only thing they had to nail down was Terri. No pun intended as far as the nailing went.

  For Jem, work that Friday was like taking a trip through a dream.

  Jem found himself just staring at the screen of his central monitor—he had three hooked up to a kickass laptop. But there were no monitors and no laptop. Not really.

  He kept thinking about what Ruby had seen when she’d been taken by Sheriff Pluto—wires and computers and people are crying. Was that the real world? It seemed likely. Ruby didn’t want to talk about it, though, and there was no convincing her of anything different.

  Jem had gone through the network again, looking for any sniff of Erebos servers, and he’d pored over his phone. Nothing new from Gary Syngva.

  Jem couldn’t concentrate, which wasn’t surprising. He ended up in the break room, making a pot of coffee. It was empty, which meant some asshole drank the last of it and didn’t push the one fucking button to make more. What was wrong with people?

  Jem opened the refrigerator in the break room to see the piles of plastic containers, some filled with mold, some new and marked with “This is Albert’s! Don’t eat!”

  The freezer was filled with a variety of packaged foods, Lean Cuisines, frozen pizzas with layers of ice crystals, and a few ice-encrusted packages of vegetables for those who thought they could eat healthy when everyone else was going out for cheeseburgers.

  “It’s the details,” Jem muttered.

  If this was all simulated, the A.I. was giving them details that perfectly matched real life. Every company’s break room in America was probably very similar. Or was the Erebos Experience’s engine using Jem’s experiences? Dr. Deme said that Paradeisos Island had been partly coded, but mostly it was an interplay between the Participant and the A.I.

  So the fridge’s variety of clichés might just be what he expected.

  Jem’s phone rang, and he answered it.

  It was Crystal. “Hey, babe.”

  “Hey, Crystal.”

  “Are you having the weirdest day ever?”

  Jem laughed and watched the coffee drip into the pot. “Yeah, something like that. I was just pondering the level of detail this simulation has. Or are we crazy?”

  “Not crazy, Jem. Ruby is calling it Fake Denver. So we’ve been to Paradeisos Island, FarWind, and now we have Fake Denver. Just one more reality. It does make me wonder where our real bodies are.”

  Jem had a thought. “What if we were isekai’d and we just don’t remember being isekai’d?”

  Crystal laughed. “That might make sense. You did get magical powers and a harem out of the deal.”

  “As long as we’re dead to together,” Jem said. “And it’s our harem, baby. Yours and mine.”