As her virtual self descended farther into the dark reaches of the lake, she could see it take shape—a giant simulated stone circle similar to the Thunderbird’s Nest on which she sat in the real world. But the ’Verse’s ring of fallen obelisks housed a different supernatural creature. As Bugz expelled a flurry of bubbles that floated toward the surface of the lake, an enormous pair of red eyes blinked to life. The scaly mouth beneath them broke into a grin. Suddenly, Mishi-pizhiw’s dark form darted backward like a crayfish and swam around in a circle before meeting her.

“Hello, beautiful,” Bugz said. She gripped the back of Mishi-pizhiw’s horns and held on as he pulled her toward the petroform. Letting go, Bugz drifted smoothly toward the center of the virtual stone circle. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she entered a trance. The state intensified the closer she moved to the center. Soon, settling into the lake bed, electricity coursed through her body and behind her glazed eyes.

The lake bed in the center of the stone ring undulated and disappeared suddenly, leaving in its place a nexus to the real world. If Bugz hadn’t been alone, an observer in the Floraverse could’ve seen her sitting in the center of Mishi-pizhiw’s nest, her real-world self and the Thunderbird’s Nest mirrored beneath her in the portal. The two worlds, now connected, revealed two sides of the same coin. Bugz felt tremendous power. Not power as she imagined presidents or rich people felt, but power like she felt in the Sundance ceremony—something bigger than any one person.

Bugz shook her head, amazed again that an ancient Anishinaabe spiritual site shared a counterpart in the virtual world of artificial intelligence and blockchain. She remembered her first time here, and how she’d discovered she could respawn her virtual self directly into the Spirit World, bypassing the grind of having to earn her way back from AR mode.

Bugz picked up a handful of clay from the lake floor. She blew on it, causing water to whip up the tiny virtual sand particles. This miniature whirlpool spun quickly and became a hatchet, an ax, and finally a giant tomahawk. Bugz inspected the weapon and lowered her head. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning crashed from the sky and through the depths of the lake. It struck the tomahawk, leaving it glowing silver-blue with a newly imbued energy.

“Just like Thor,” Bugz whispered to herself. She double-checked that her video and audio feeds were off. She always disabled her livestream when she came here. It was important to keep this secret. If others found her path to success in the Floraverse, Bugz knew they’d try to copy it—and water down the power of this place in the process.