Overhead the roof shook as another piece of debris had struck the cities kinetic dome barrier. Here I am, enjoying the last day of my life, with my little brother, in a broken city that belongs to a broken reality that has never been able to sustain the lofty goals humanity has wanted for it. Hi, you don’t know me yet but here I am being a downer already. My name, is Julius Octavian, eldest surviving member of a disgraced noble house of Earths ruling powers. The year is 2470 AD, 4th Century of the Solar Councils formation. Spoiler Alert, humanity is still shitty. I’ve survived and struggled to take care of my brother in a system of oppression untold in human history. This is a world, and we are a species, who has come so far technologically that we no longer have a use for life that doesn’t hold immense value to the powerful leaders of the human collective. An AI system decides the value you have on the Day of Choosing, the choice is simple. Serve the Solar Council by enlisting into the military academies of your home planet, or leave your body behind, and upload your consciousness into the Numinous System. As I sit here watching a promotional trailer of the new virtual reality created by Numinous, the world of Draghoul, a land of mystery and high fantasy. I’ve already made that choice. So in this final moment, while I have my brother asleep resting his head in my lap… I wonder if it’s the right choice to make? Am I leaving him behind? Am I fleeing a reality that I could help fix? I have so many questions, but I know that I’ll choose the same thing regardless of the answers I arrive at. Draghoul, Numinous, and the unknown. They’ve been calling me ever since this trailer was broadcast, and even though I know my brother thinks that it’s just murder, that there is no such thing as a virtual consciousness, I can’t help but believe otherwise. So that is my choice, and this is my last day on earth. My name is Julius Octavian, and I choose Virtualization. Numinous System Engaged. Transporting in 3...2..1.