Prologue - II

Alexander King had a secret. He was the mysterious ‘Guild Master’ of the famous “Vagus Draco”. In other words, he was a veteran VRMMORPG player. What’s more, he was a fairly notorious one. Vagus Draco was a Guild that did as they pleased, often to the dismay of many player-killers and ‘evil’ Guilds. The Guild consisted of five members at the core called ‘Elders’ and then the Guild Master and Vice Guild Master. These seven in all consisted of the upper echelons of the Guild. There were many other members, usually selected through a vigorous selection method or personal connections with the upper echelons. Vagus Draco was a Guild named after its founder and Guild Master. It was a Latin name which translated to “Wandering Dragon”. However, the public referred to it by another name, “Unpredictable Dragon”. That name itself hints towards the ‘popularity’ of the Guild.

VRMMORPGs had been around for more than a decade and had made many improvements over the course of the years. In 2020, the first Virtual Reality game “War of Gods” had made its debut, guaranteeing over 70% realism. From there, the technology gained other applications and improved over time.

The world had made big leaps in the medical field of neurology and psychology because of virtual reality. Gaming itself had undergone a revolution unlike any other. The world had exploded with VR capsules and the likes. As a decade had passed, VR capsules had become cheaper and more accessible to the populace. War itself had changed its face as country’s found VR’s to be perfect ‘battlefields’ to solve their problems.

POV – Rex King

King Technologies was a branch of Ouroboros that focused on the aspect that had shaken the world market a decade ago: Virtual Reality. Rex King had been one of the pioneers of Virtual Reality when it first presented itself to the world. He currently headed his own research group to cross the final threshold of the problem that had plagued him for over five years: 100% realism.

Today was a great day for Rex, he had overcome the final barrier and could now show the world the fruits of his labor. While Rex was celebrating with his fellow researchers, he received a text from his daughter. As Rex read the contents of the text, his originally flushed face paled and he shouted for his assistant to get him a car.

POV – Alicia King

Alicia King was one of the most powerful businesswoman of the 21st Century. She was currently in a meeting with some of her subordinates, discussing the success of her husband’s research. Suddenly, her secretary dashed into the room with a panicked face. Alicia showed an annoyed expression before her expression froze upon hearing her secretary relay the contents of the call that had just come from her daughter. She didn’t bother excusing herself and practically ran out of her office.

POV – Sophia King

Sophia King was terrified. Her boyfriend Marcus had gone to meet up with her brother only to witness him being hit by a truck. While Sophia would usually look and claim to be indifferent or tolerant of her brother, in reality, like any other pair of siblings, she cared a great deal for her brother. Now, her brother was practically on the brink of death. Thankfully, Marcus had managed to call in an ambulance in time. She stood outside the emergency room, having contacted her parents, leaning on Marcus for support.

POV – Marcus Healy

Marcus Healy was extremely calm. He had seen something that he’d never forget for the rest of his life. His best friend, Alexander King, had just been hit by a truck. He should have been going crazy, losing his cool or going hysterical. But, Marcus was terrifyingly calm. Marcus hated being calm. But he waited outside the ER while embracing his girlfriend trying to calm her down.

POV – Hayley Caldwell

Hayley Caldwell had been dumped by text. Arthur Weiss, had sent her picture of him with a woman on each side, captioned with “You’ll always be Alex’s bitch!” It hurt her, but it didn’t hurt as much as watching the state in which her childhood friend was in. A part of Hayley had always had a crush on Alex. She didn’t understand how she could even think of dating someone like Arthur Weiss who hated someone who was her childhood friend. It didn’t matter now. Hayley hated herself. She blamed herself for the state Alex was in. She was in shock. The nurses asked her a series of question trying to ascertain if she herself was fine. She just nodded to all of their questions.