Prologue

"It wasn't just a game; it was part of our reality."

I watched the old woman bargain endlessly with the vegetable seller; despite being loud, their voices were drowned out by the jarring noises of the busy thoroughfare. From the second floor of the coffee shop, I could see the full length of the Old Market street; it was brimming with activity. Despite being called a street it was completely closed off to any vehicles, only pedestrians were allowed and the sellers set up their mobile shops right on the road.

"Is it always this noisy?" The young man who was sitting in front of me asked. I could tell that he had never been to a country like this before; his clean shirt, and neat hair contrasted greatly against the grimy atmosphere.

"You have never been to Indochina before?"

"No, though I heard that a lot has changed."

"Nothing has changed." I said bluntly.

"Why?"

"The more things change," I stopped to look at my surroundings. The coffee shop, which was a renovated building since the colonial era, proudly displayed its French Architectural history. The bright yellow walls, the white columns and window corners, the arches, and the dazzling floor tiles were all survivors; they have outlived several generations and will probably outlive me too. I continued, "the more they stay the same."

"Enough, I'm sure you are not here to ask me about politics." I added.

"I would want to leave that subject aside too."

"What do you want then?" I asked the young journalist in front of me with a hint of annoyance; who wouldn't be annoyed? I thought I was going to have a quiet Saturday, however, this young man wanted to have a meeting with me.

"Uhh… about the incident of June 2026," he said nervously, " You know, the one involving VR games in Japan."

"You mean," I paused, trying to recall memories from my college years in Japan, " Operation Juno of Gun Gale Online?"

"Yes, certainly."

"What about it? I thought they closed the hatch on the whole affair years ago."

"Well, the Japanese and US governments did, but I wanted to hear the Players' side of the story, not the governments' cover stories."

"There are plenty of player written stories out there, why don't you ask those players?" I had thought about writing my own accounts too but decided not to, since so many were doing so.

"Actually, I had interviewed some other players too, but you are the exception."

I raised my eye brows after he use the word "exception" to describe me. "Exception?" I asked him with genuine curiosity.

"Because you were there, at the very last moments of Operation Juno, with a certain someone."

I flinched when I heard the journalist said that. I wish he had not added the last part; thinking about that someone still brought me great pain, pain I knew too well.

He must have seen my reaction and promptly apologized, "I'm sorry, if talking about…"

"You should be sorry," I said in a rather harsh tone," but the wounds already hurt, it would be a waste if I stop talking now." I continued, "So what do you want to hear?"

His face lit up with relief, he said, "I have plenty of time, why don't you tell me from the beginning, with as much detail as possible." He pulled out his phone and began the recording.

A phone is all you need these days.

"Well I don't have time," was my casual response.

"Ah, then please, at your own pace."

I let out a huge sigh and sank further into the coffee shop chair. I began telling him the story, my story, of how I ventured deep in to this world called GGO with a certain someone. I had found many things and lost plenty too, but I have ingrained those memories, good and bad, into my Fluctlight, my soul.

June 2026

GGO, HQ Room

I made it inside the room, barely made it. The huge, blast proof gates slid closed behind me with a locking sound. I lied prone on the cold steel floor examining my surrounding. The HQ chamber was lit with a dim blue color emitted by rows of touch screen glass keyboards and translucent displays. The Commanders' station was at the center of the large room; there a holographic display showed the trajectory of the ICBMs and the time left to save GGO.

2 minutes 45 seconds

Shit! Just in time.

I wanted to rush forward and begin the abort sequence of the ICBMs, but something made me feel uneasy. No, it was someone; I can feel his present lurking just beyond me, waiting for me to pop my head up and then… shoot.

I checked my AK-74U,

Ammo: 27/60

my side arm the FN Five Seven,

Ammo: 20/100

and my equipment.

Frag grenade: 0/3

Flash Bang grenade: 1/3

I gave a quick look at my surrounding again and saw no one there, but he was there.

I can feel it.

I reorganized my thoughts to come up with a plan. This player was probably very skilled and determined to defend his objective; if I just charged in I would be killed almost instantly because he had a good defensive position. I also had a lot of cover that I could use but fighting between cover to cover will take too long; I will either run out of ammo or have no time left to save GGO. That means an all-out charge is the only choice, granted I destroy his defensive stance first.

The Flash Bang grenade! I can use it to disorientate him, while he is recovering, I will kill him.

I steeled my resolve, equipped the Flash Bang, and got ready to move. This was, in fact, a great gamble because if my opponent had a protective mask then the effect of my grenade would be significantly reduced, thus also reducing my chances of success. Despite having second thoughts about this I had no time to spare; the die had been cast.

This ends now!

"Hold on! Hold on! Slow down there, aren't you going to tell me from the beginning?" The journalist was alarmed at how I started.

Well, maybe I did start the story off too far ahead.

"Well then, I suggest that you buy me a drink, oh and, a chicken sandwich would also be nice."

"Alright, it will probably take a while, so why not? Waiter!"

We gave our orders to the waiter and I can see the innocence in his smiles; he had no idea how many chicken sandwiches it was going to take!