The makers of the “Firefall” game have a strange sense of humor: they fling journalist Nikiforov—known in the gaming community as Heigen of Tronie—into the unexplored reaches of the Tigalian Archipelago, where players are forbidden to go. Ahead: crashing waves, pirate ships, mysterious islands, meetings with corsair captains and sea monsters, saber battles and the jokes of the gods. And in real life, too, you’d better keep your eyes open—because the knot of events tightens around the main character’s neck, and very soon it may turn into a loop…