1 Prologue

(DISCLAIMER! : Before reading further, please understand that this is only a fictional story. I am not an anti vaxer!)

♦️ ♦️ ♦️ ♦️ ♦️

2020, the biggest turning point in all of humanity…

It all started with a global pandemic that ravaged and consumed the entire world. An extremely contagious, deadly disease called "the Schlechtes virus" came out of nowhere and was the cause of millions of deaths worldwide.

Society was absolutely ruined; people had to wear face masks and numerous establishments of work including even schools were forced to completely close down.

Various people lost their jobs and the economy was ruined by the mass hysteria towards quarantine to the point that even toilet paper became more expensive and rarer than gold.

Yet, humanity, at least most of it, was patient for a vaccine that the government had promised them. And, in 2021, the next year, the promised vaccines were finally introduced.

However... Due to the virus's evolutionary nature, the vaccines proved to be completely ineffective...

If anything, they led to even more deaths and dispair than before...

The entire world was outraged— riots and protests in every country around the world, cities in mayhem and several people sick.

The governments tried to calm the masses by saying that it was all an accident— that they had overlooked a very specific gene pool and they had no idea about the new variants of the virus.

They tried to urge the people to not panic and stay home while they develop a new vaccine that would set things right. But, at that point, people's patience had reached its limit— their trust for the government had faded away, now nowhere to be seen…

Despite the immense backlash and tragedy, new work of a vaccine was still underway and people all around the world still stayed home out of fear of the now even more powerful virus.

However, just when things could not get any worse, they somehow did…

Humanity had been neglecting the climate for too long, and it was time for mother nature to give her retribution…

Over the years, pollution had only been getting worse and worse, people rarely using reusable energy sources until one point, the air outside was simply unbreathable and did not allow for any wild-life or plants to flourish. The sky was now completely yellow, filled with almost nothing but sulphur and carbon monoxide to the point that a full recovery was but a distant dream.

Earth was growing more and more uninhabitable, and with no hope of escaping to Mars anytime soon, people began to lose hope of ever taking another breath of fresh air...

The only reason humanity could even survive was due to various breakthroughs in science from some of the world's brightest minds.

Eventually, after these new life-saving discoveries, humans grew more faith in scientists and tried the new vaccine proclaimed by the government.

And, to everyone's pleasant surprise, they worked exactly as intended with no side effects.

Still, now that only meant that masks indoors were unneeded, social interactions could once again go back to normal, and that the economy began to show signs of recovery. However, the damage done to the earth was irreversible, and would never be the same…

Everything was documented in videos seen online, of a past that they so deeply wanted to experience, a world much brighter and freer than the one they live in.

People dreamed of a world with no more pollution, a world full of green, where one could look up at a clear blue sky with the sun shining down instead of a yellow, polluted mess, where they can go outside without fear and breathe fresh air, see the animals flourish, stare at the clear night, starry skies, experience nature instead of being locked in this deep, dark, depressing world they lived in.

2142,

A video game company named "New Era" announced a game that would shock the world. The game was called "Rebirth".

A fully immersive, full dive VR videogame in a luscious green land of magic and swords, a world not polluted and liberating, the graphics simulating reality to its utmost capacity with the highest quality textures they could muster. A fully immersive experience simulating the human senses to an impressive degree, with of course some technical restrictions due to data and so people did not lose sight of what was game and reality.

Although the game developers could not yet let it be a full online MMORPG, they still allowed CO-OP play, group raids, and PVP along with a full single-player campaign for players to complete, which really excited people to experience the new world with all of their friends.

Once they developed more and got more used to all the new technologies, they did promise to release a new, massive update that would allow full MMORPG features in a massive open world with thousands of players all at once in the coming years, just like the masses had been asking for.

The world had never been more excited for anything in many, many years. It was almost like a dream come true, something that only ever happened in movies, books, anime, and manga, but only now they were able to touch it with their own hands.

It was a game that capitalized and grabbed onto people's desires to experience a cleaner, better world, reaching an audience that gaming had never before seen. The game not only interested gamers, but the entire world of all ages, growing to be the most purchased game ever in only the first hour after its launch.

Rebirth came out to critical success and acclaim, praised by all. The world absolutely loved it and it did not disappoint like some people feared.

Yet, that did not mean that the game was by any means perfect. It was still an early concept, the first of its kind. It was plagued by many bugs, some minor and some game-breaking: many area, spell, and movement restrictions were put in place, the graphics were not 100% accurate to life, and, senses were not fully accurate either like some things were advertised.

Nevertheless, for what it was, it was unquestionably fantastic and completely shattered what humans previously thought was possible. And, with the massive update along the way, things only looked to get even better.

***********

Don't forget to vote to support the story in the contest and for a chance at an anime adaptation!