During the Christmas of an alternate Earth’s 2001, the world’s first full-dive virtual reality device was released to the public. This extraordinary video game console was called ‘BABEL-1’, and alongside it released a famous game called ‘Cloud 9’. It was the first ever VRMMORPG the world had seen, and many took to it thanks to its unique gameplay. ‘Cloud 9’ rose in popularity, soon becoming the most-played game in the world. But as time passed and the hype inevitably dwindled, so too did the people’s engagement with the game.
A decade later, ‘Cloud 9’ became a shadow of its former self. Its player base dwindled, and it became a dead game, a nostalgia trip for past players to look back on. Several other players stayed committed to the game’s world, ‘Somnia’. Even as the developers began shutting down the servers, the small remaining player base remained dedicated, until only one server remained. On the last night of the server’s lifespan, many players logged on one last time to watch and say goodbye to the world of ‘Somnia’. To watch a world fade to nothing.
…But that isn’t what happened.
On the flip side, the world of Somnia had become rather sullen. The world had just finished a decade-long war between Daemonkind, with no clear victor between those involved. It was a loss of life on both sides, a stalemate neither party was satisfied with. Left to rebuild the pieces, the world tried to control and repair much of the damage that was caused, but the scars of conflict remain. Faced with more pressing matters, the Council of Crowns scheduled a meeting to discuss the aftermath of the war and their changing times. But that wasn’t all that occurred. . .
