Chapter 1: Before the Fall

The sky was a painted tapestry of oranges and reds, streaked with the faint glimmer of distant stars breaking through the dusk. Edward Huning stood at the edge of the research facility's helipad, gazing at the horizon as the last remnants of sunlight dipped below the Earth. His thoughts were heavy, burdened by the responsibility placed on his shoulders and haunted by thoughts of his fiancé, Nala. She had called him earlier that morning, her voice trembling as she spoke of the coming apocalypse, begging him to return home. But Edward couldn't. Below him, the sprawling facility hummed with life: a sea of workers, engineers, and scientists rushing to complete their tasks.

Edward pulled his coat tighter against the evening chill, his mind replaying the events that had led to this point. Five years ago, the news had come. The asteroid, now named Noah-7789, was on a collision course with Earth. Despite humanity’s technological advancements, the collective efforts of the world's governments have been a string of catastrophic failures. Nuclear warheads launched to deflect the asteroid had only chipped at its surface, their detonations doing little more than angering the celestial beast. Plans and plans were created. They have tried many things. To shatter it, magnetically alter its trajectory, and even push it off course with propulsion systems but all had crumbled under the weight of impossibility.

Many researchers came together to think. And with that, The Ark Project—or TAP, as it was coined. It was one of the desperate bids they planned in case other plans failed. Its goal was not to destroy the asteroid but to preserve humanity. Designed by a coalition of the world's brightest minds, TAP revolved around a self-sustaining "Ark Reactor," a device capable of generating limitless energy and shielding Earth’s last survivors. It was Edward's creation, a culmination of years of his expertise in advanced engineering and quantum computing.

"Darn, I'm too old for this...but I'm still young to die"

Edward sighed, his hand brushing over the ring in his pocket. Nala, his fiancé, had begged him to leave this life behind, to spend their remaining months together in peace. But how could he? He had a duty to protect her and everyone else.

The research facility was a marvel of modern engineering, a monolithic structure nestled in a remote valley, far from the chaos of the cities. Edward walked briskly through its halls, the rhythmic click of his boots echoing off sterile walls. Screens displayed complex data streams and simulations, and scientists debated fervently at every corner. In the center of the main laboratory sat the Ark Reactor, its skeletal frame gleaming under the harsh fluorescent lights. It was nearly complete, a monumental achievement in the face of certain doom.

Edward paused at a workstation, glancing at a news feed playing on a nearby monitor. The anchor’s voice was grim: “With less than 3 months until impact, global evacuations continue, but chaos has gripped many regions. Supplies are running low, and tensions are escalating. ” The Ark Project vessel has been installed in a couple of nations now, however, it is still not enough to occupy the whole population of Earth.

He turned away, unwilling to dwell on the desperation spreading across the planet. It only fueled his determination to succeed.

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“Dr. Huning,” called a young technician, jogging to catch up. “The VR calibration is ready for your input. Shall we proceed?”

Edward nodded, his lips pressed into a thin line. The VR system was essential for handling the reactor’s delicate components, allowing him to manipulate its intricate quantum lattice with precision no human hand could achieve.

As he entered the VR chamber, the hum of machinery enveloped him. He placed the neural interface, a sleek band of metal and sensors over his head and settled into the chair. The world around him faded, replaced by the holographic projection of the Ark Reactor. It floated before him, a maze of circuits and energy conduits, its core glowing faintly like a dying star. Edward’s hands moved deftly in the simulated space, each gesture commanding tools to assemble the reactor's final pieces.

Minutes turned into hours as Edward lost himself in the work. His focus was unshakable until the ground beneath him quivered. At first, it was subtle. Edward was still in focus even when the ground rumbled. With his mind preoccupied, a sudden system error appears in his sight. Whispers of unease flooded his mind. Then came the roar—a violent earthquake tearing through the facility.

Equipment toppled, alarms blared, and the room was bathed in the strobe of emergency lights. The VR system sparked, the holographic reactor shattering into fragments. Edward’s eyes snapped open just as the chamber’s lights flickered, plunging him into intermittent darkness. Warning sirens blared, as the cacophony of alerts screaming over the intercom: “Structural instability detected. Evacuate immediately.”

Panic seized the halls as personnel scrambled to escape, but Edward remained frozen. A surge of energy pulsed through the room, and before he could react, the Ark Reactor’s containment field failed. A blinding flash consumed the chamber as the reactor exploded, releasing a wave of energy that tore through the facility.

BOOM!

Edward’s body convulsed, pain searing through his mind as the VR interface overloaded. It was as if his very consciousness were being pulled apart, threads of thought unraveling into an endless void. He screamed, but the sound felt distant, as though it belonged to someone else.

When the light faded, silence reigned. Edward’s eyes fluttered open, but the world around him was unrecognizable. He floated in a strange liminal space, his senses dulled and fragmented. Even thou his sense was dulled, the reminder of the pain gave him shivers. In the distance, he saw a figure—his own body, motionless on the floor of the chamber. The sight filled him with dread.

His lifeless form was a grotesque lump of flesh. Blood pooled beneath his head, a jagged piece of shrapnel lodged in his chest. His eyes once filled with determination, now stared blankly into the void. The neural interface was fused...no, it melted to his skull, thin trails of smoke rising from the charred metal.

"Huh? "

"Wait, what..?!"

Edward’s mind reeled. Was this death? Was this some cruel twist of fate, to witness his own demise?

The pain returned, sharper and more insistent. He found his thoughts difficult to control. He felt as though someone had ruthlessly lashed at him in head again and again. No, it was more like a sharp object prying open his brain. He tried to move, to scream, but his body was unresponsive. His vision blurred as the facility’s automated systems engaged. “Critical failure. Initiating lockdown,” a robotic voice sounds throughout the facility. Massive steel doors slammed shut, sealing the lab and snuffing out the remaining light.

Edward’s consciousness flickered, his thoughts unravelling as darkness enveloped him once more. His final thoughts were of Nala, her face etched in his memory, her words echoing in his mind: “What good is saving humanity if you lose yourself?”

Is he really going to die like this? His mind was a stir of mix emotions.

And then, there was nothing.