The Door to Victory. The Doors of Despair, #5

Maya San Lucas had been lost in her dreamworld for the better part of five years. Desparia was just a fantasy world for her to explore during stretches of boredom at school and at home. Going to that world let her have adventures, exploring secret locations, and searching through towns and cities for loot to come away with. The life of a thief was so much more exciting than high school, especially with no friends to speak of.
With the emperor coming to Earth, and the group stuck in The Citadel, things weren't looking good for Maya and her friends. Or Earth, for that matter. But there were plenty of people out there that know the secret of their mission. The secrets of their world. And as the group struggles to find their way home, help comes from some rather unexpected places. Drake was just an ordinary trooper, following the orders sent to him from the emperor.
Part of a larger team that was wandering the empire, settling the more wild parts of it. But when he returned as one of only two remaining members of their team, he was given a new assignment. A new, special, assignment. One that changed the lives of many people, setting them all on course towards destruction.