1 CHAPTER 1: THE FANTASY WORLD
On the day of December 20, the year 2020, in an alternate universe, there was a planet just like Earth, Nova. But this planet is 10 times larger in its size than Earth. This planet is also experiencing its greatest breakthroughs in science and technology, just that they are a bit more advanced than our Earth. The people of this world are enjoying the modern day's lifestyle in traveling their automated AMX cars with AI programmed or traveling on a train that travels 800 km/hr or going shopping with their custom made robots carrying their bags.
Even when everything looks normal on the outside, everyone had the same inner thoughts running through their head. It is not a normal day for the people of Nova. Because today is a day they have been waiting for 'eternity'. Well, actually the 'eternity' is about 10 days. Yep, before 10 days the VRMMORPG game Fantasy World or called by the masses as the Second World is closed for their 10 days maintenance update. It's was a massive VR game in which more than half of the world spend their days and that was the reason it's called the Second World.
The fantasy world was a game launched by the world's top gaming company ZEON, two years ago. It's a creation that made the perception of human change. After the launch of the game in December 2018, it had swept the whole world with its marvelousness. Because of the reality like game surroundings and the AI NPC that has the highest intelligence, it was flooded with half of the people around the world in less than two years.
The reason for Fantasy World growth is, it's lifelike reality. The game produces the reality of senses to the people and the environment of the game is almost like the real world. The senses can be adjusted so you can smell, feel touch, and tastes food. The AI NPC in the game is with high intelligence that all expresses human-like feelings. At the start of the Fantasy world, lots of people could not differentiate the reality from the Fantasy World.
The growth of the Fantasy World led to the integration of itself into the real world's economy, with both corporations and individuals seeking their fortunes through the game. It led to the investments of world top companies from different parts of the world into the game or the second world.
Everyone in the world had signed up an account in the game for themselves. So even the educational system of the world had taken a dramatic change to depend on the game itself. The minimum age to hold an account was fixed to 10 years old. So people's livelihood started to depend on the game.
The whole world is with great expectations for the update and to enter the game by 6:00 pm, which was the time said by ZEON to launch its servers. Actually, 10 days isn't a long time, but the reason for their 'eternity' feeling is due to the reason they have been spending most of their time in the game for two years. When something becomes a habit, it's hard to stop it...
At around 5:30 pm, everyone around the world started to lie down within their game capsules as if it was to show their 'Unity of World'. Yes, it's game capsules nowadays. As the VR helmets are outdated after the second update of the game. The reason everyone could afford the game capsule is that the world governments provided them to not break the balance of the world with a correlation of ZEON.
Even though things are like that there are still some people or beings that look like humans roaming around the streets in search of something.
Around 5:45 pm there was a young man sitting on the terrace of his big mansion and having a coffee, without care for the world. He has a sharp eye with a dark pupil, just like his hair. He has a handsome face with a clean shave.
But now his expression is that of a one who was so lazy to do a thing. At that time he heard an affectionate voice from his behind.
"Are you really not going to enter the game now? "
Without even turning around he knows it was his mother Amanda's voice. She is thirty eight years old, however, she looked to be around less than thirty. She was beautiful. His gene comes from her.
" I will... "
He started to say something,
'maybe not'
he thought.
He finished saying,
" just a little later" with a small smile on his face.
" Okay, I have to go since I have a meeting in-game after update see you," said his mother with a consent look on her face on his smile.
" Okay, bye. Have fun. " said her son, turning toward her with a smile on his face.
'It's my time to leave. Let's meet again.'
Looking at that look he gave to her, she looked at him for a minute before turning to walk downstairs, leaving him alone.
"Alone again, this is a heavy burden," said as he turned and looked at the sky before leaning on his chair. He had a mischievous smile on his lips.
After running away from her son, she got down to the hall and met a middle-aged man who is making preparations for the game launch. When he saw her coming down from upstairs, he smiled at her and she did the same. Both of them smiled at each other.
" How does he look? " he asked. His named is Richard, the father of the guy upstairs and her husband. He is a lawyer who owns a leading firm.
" He has a melodrama face," she said. She is a Psychotherapist, yet she couldn't fathom what his son was thinking.
He was a mischievous kid and has a happy smile always on his face until he was 7yr old. Everything changed after his 5th birthday. It started with his dreams. He said to her in his dream, he saw a lot of people in white dress laughing and being happy. Sometimes he looked confused but things were okay.
But that too changed on his 7th birthday as he started crying in his dreams saying some random thing. When she asked him about it. He said while crying,
" I was standing in the center of a battlefield, there was the only corpse around me. As far as I could see the land was filled with blood running like a river "
After the constant nightmare of the battlefield, he lost the smile on his face. He often smiles to comfort them. Things have changed now after his 17th birthday, yet she could understand him.
" Yep, he is good at it," said Richard as he too, knows his son well. From a small kid, his son put on the best action to comfort them. They thought he is just a kid and things will change as he grows as they couldn't do anything about dreams, but they are wrong. His changed as he grew. He acts before everyone, so even he can't sometimes read what is in his mind. But he knew something his wife doesn't know that his son practices martial arts in secret from 10 years of age. He has seen him practice fist arts, sword, spear, and lance. His son is best with guns and bow too. So he knows there is a secret which his son can't reveal and so he didn't pry into it and stopped worrying too much about him. And more than anything he is a strong-willed person.
" He will come " saying that Richard started to open the capsule and enter. As he knew his son isn't weak.
Looking at him enter the capsule just like that, like his son's behavior doesn't concern him at all, Amanda said,
" Say something to him " with a stern look on her face.
" I will " saying that Richard lay down inside the capsule.
After closing the capsule, he dialed his son. When the call was answered.
" Hi son"
" Hi dad"
" I'm..... Bye son, see you soon"
" Bye, dad".
Beep... Beep...
-------
The young guy at the rooftop looked down at his wristwatch and said to himself,
"December 20,.. the year 2002"
'That was when everything started'
CLICK...
