Prologue

It's not like humanity had utterly forgotten about it. Humankind probably still remembered that place and even dreamt of its scenery, just as the eighteen-year-old was doing now.

He could only remember that place in his dreams. It's not like he had forgotten about it. He just hadn't encountered any cues to help him retrieve these memories. Nothing could trigger his memories of that scene. There was simply nothing in the virtual world that resembled it at all. If he tried, he could undoubtedly remember, but he lacked the opportunity to do so.

Suddenly the youngster jolted forward, wide awake and drenched in sweat.

"Still in my three by three by three cube." He muttered to himself in an attempt to calm his mind.

Sitting in a tiny corner of nowhere, there was nowhere left to go. Surrounded by four plain, grey walls that had one small window, and a ventilation system for oxygen circulation, the youngster, sat on his only piece of furniture, his bed.

The world we know has changed drastically, filled with grinding oppression and palatable misery. The ruling elite manipulates the masses; the boy was not the only one stuck in a cubicle. Only the one percent was not trapped in the same circumstance as he was; the population's vast majority was treated like cattle.

The world that used to be... It is merely a faint memory, lingering in their minds—a flickering candle flame, waiting to perish.

Due to a lack of resources and not even a faint possibility to live a decent life in the real world, many, if not all people, choose to spend most of their time in the world of virtual reality.