1 Prologue: Light and Darkness (1) 

Light and darkness exist side by side. In some places, they overlap, supporting one another. In others, they destroy everything in search of the other.

These patterns shifted over time; from creation, to destruction. It was supposed to be an eternal beginning, and yet…

First, let's go back and see how it all started—

High in the sky, the rising sun burned almost everything in the world below.

Trees and foliage caught on fire alike, yet amidst some blazing forest, one place remained green.

It was a lake.

A massive one, like no other. However, it would be foolish to consider this inland sea a sanctuary.

And yet, dreadful creatures raced there by thousands. They all craved for fresh water in the feeble hope of surviving a little longer.

But not all were born equal to survive a disaster. Some never even had a chance.

Yet Mother Nature didn't care.

As if She wanted to express it, the lake surface reflected the powerful sun rays, blinding the unluckiest creatures. Disoriented, they fell to be trampled by the larger ones in their tracks.

Ironically, some of them had no clue what they would do once they reached their destination; breathing underwater was a gift they did not all have.

In contrast, the heatwave spared none: squeals and shrieks equally cradled the stagnant water.

As the few surviving animals dived to find some coolness, a low-pitched scream outshined the remaining ones. Spreading from the lake's centre, this cry of despair would make any human heart quiver. He was no fish.

It was a child. At best four-year-old, he was barely concealed behind the splashes of his fateful swimming attempts. Inexperienced, he made broad and uncoordinated movements, hoping to wade through the water.

Tears rolled down his round cheeks as he tried his utmost to swim toward the nearest land. He somehow floated but could barely keep his head above water as the waves he created threw him back and forth.

Much too young and panicked to control himself, his hysterical swimming moves sent many water jets flying. Some of these spilled into his nostrils. The murky liquid seeped into his naval cavity, then fell back down his throat. He coughed several times, nearly choking on it.

This was only the beginning of a long nightmare. A nightmare from which he might never escape. Between the deadly rays of the burning sun and the pull of the abyss, the child had no way out. Indeed, Light and Darkness didn't treat him equally: Envied by one and loved by the other, his destiny had already been determined.

A dozen minutes passed, and he grew exhausted. Yet the shore remained as far away. Indeed, he was as stagnant as the water.

With his nose mostly submerged, every new breath of air was a victory. A respite that postponed the inevitable. In great desperation, he tried to suck in massive gulps of air, yet only liquid seeped into his lungs. His airway blocked before he could swallow more.

Once again, time passed, and he could do nothing but approach his last breath. As one sign of his worsening condition, bloody veins slowly topped off his eyeballs, obscuring his chocolate irises.

Each second felt longer than the last as he swallowed more and more water. If a four-year-old contained ten litres of water, this one was now made up of two more. He couldn't even scream as his throat overflowed with the greenish liquid.

The first impacts quickly showed up; his wide, frenetic movements became narrower and narrower.

Yet, his reduced range of motion wasn't coupled with a loss of speed.

Instead, his hands and feet shook wildly as if a powerful electric shock was passing through his body. It was a wonder he was still floating.

Even so, the sixteenth mouthful proved to be one too many.

As he swallowed it, the movement of his limbs slowed down. Little by little, he sank. In his descent, small pieces of his reddish, swelling, peeling skin remained on the surface.

The water engulfed him.

In utter despair, the boy tried to grab and pull some of the liquid. Yet no matter how much he tried, it kept slipping between his baby hands. While hope is life, madness leads to death. Still, madness was his last hope.

Unable to prevent his demise, he sank further into the depths, where Light had no place.

With beast-like facial expressions, his face savagely twitched in unpredictable directions. This lasted a few minutes, till, suddenly, his muscles loosened… Even after the end, his terrorised eyes remained wide open.

There was no hope without life. No will without hope. And no effort without will.

After hours of struggle, fuelled by his rage to live, his mind had not given up, but his body did. It had no more resources, no more oxygen. The water seeped into his bloodstream and diluted the plasma, which led to organ failure.

Or rather, that is the outcome that the virtual reality machine's AI calculated.

This young child was Loris. He had yet to celebrate his fifth birthday, and it was one of his first experiences with virtual reality.

On the overpopulated Earth of the late 25th century, sports facilities were reserved for professionals.

This was especially the case in wealthy areas, where the price per cubic metre far exceeded the height of the tallest skyscrapers. So youngsters could only learn through virtual reality if they were not from rich families.

At that time, Loris was reckless and full of himself, like any other young Merigenians.

In fact, standing out was all that mattered where he lived.

His particularly overgrown pride didn't help either. It had developed as a psychological shell against his unheard-of developmental delays.

Still, all the details leading up to this fateful experience were unclear to him.

No wonder given his young age at the time.

But as little as he could remember, he had disobeyed his mother's instructions and set up a lake for his first - fully immersive - virtual swimming session.

Little did he know that the resulting trauma would scar him for eternity.