One century ago, specifically around 2097, a huge war around the world known as World War III, started.
No matter where people went, the flames of war burned and surrounded them. Countless corpses, both the corpses of civilians and soldiers, were seen in the streets.
This long and tragic war lasted for 3 long years.
The population of the world dwindled from the original 8 billion to 7 billion. This alarmed various organizations and even made them wonder what was the reason behind the determination of all the governments from around the world to continue the war.
This made the people of various countries to rally and make a plea to their governments to stop the war. Billions of people united in order to stop the so-called "pointless war".
But to their dismay, their government and respective leaders who listened to them and made numerous promises during the elections, turned a deaf ear to their shouts and pleas. They only gave empty promises and sweet words to appease the masses.
As such, the war continued.
It caused famine to many lands, it caused the deaths of many people, it caused the destruction of many places, and most importantly, it caused the Earth to slowly crumble.
In the midst of the war, a newspaper containing their respective governments' announcements were given to the masses.
At first, this gave them hope. The hope of the possible end of the war.
However, as soon as they read the words in the newspaper, people from all over the world despaired and became hopeless.
Due to the announcement in the newspaper which urged them to evacuate because the world war that they loathed was about to become worse.
The reason for this was because the countries around the world planned to use their nuclear weapons.
Some gave up, some desperately fled and some accepted their fates.
But just as the governments of various countries planned to put their respective nuclear weapons in use, they all stopped their operations simultaneously, leading to the sudden end of the war.
The people were confused, but most importantly, overjoyed that the war finally ended.
Even though some intelligent people still wondered about the reason for the war's sudden ending, they had no choice but to put it in the back of their minds due to the government's suppression.
The governments from all over the world dismissed all the protests from the masses by saying that they stopped the war to save the Earth from destruction.
They have the same words, as if the words that each government from various countries had said were planned from the start.
These words convinced the majority of the population. Only a few people were skeptical about it.
Soon enough, years passed and this issue was buried in time.
The world's technology rapidly advanced, even virtual reality games became mainstream.
Even the world's population, which decreased by over 10%, roughly recovered too.
It was unknown whether it was due to the government's intervention, but the war that happened was hardly the topic of any news or articles. It also made the newer generations ignorant about the war that happened, only those who have truly experienced the war knew about it.
And so, the true reason behind the sudden end of the war remained unknown.
***
Back in Zen's private ward…
It had been about an hour or two since their parents had left them.
The siblings chatted about the things that happened in the past, the things that they experienced which were unknown to others.
They laughed, got sad, got angry and felt all sorts of emotions together as they talked, making the atmosphere of the room peaceful and wholesome.
Zen was now laying on his bed with his hands on the back of his head while Sera was laying down on the couch.
They laid there peacefully, not bothered by the other's presence at all.
They were just like this even when they were kids. They enjoyed the silence together, not at all awkward with each other.
Soon enough, Zen noticed the clock on the wall.
Zen sat up in shock and thought, 'Damn, it's already 4:30 in the morning!?'
He quickly grabbed the gaming device located on his bedside table.
"Hey sis, I think I gotta log in the game now."
Sera looked at her brother in confusion.
"Hmm… why? Is it something urgent?"
"Yes, very urgent!"
Hearing her brother's response, Sera also looked at the wall clock and was surprised to find how fast the time passed.
"Oh shoot, I gotta go too!"
Soon enough, both of them finished wearing their own gaming helmets and proceeded to enter the game.
In a happy mood, Zen whispered, "Dive In."
Just as Sera was about to do the same, she seemed to have remembered something and asked in a hurried voice.
"Oh right! Brother are you still there?"
She looked at Zen through the tinted lens of the helmet and saw her brother who was quietly laying down on his bed as if he was asleep.
"Brother? I need to know your name in the game!!"
Hearing no response from her beloved brother, Sera grunted and proceeded to enter the game too.
'Ughh, forget it. I can just ask him next time.'
"Dive In."
The familiar feeling of weightlessness assaulted her senses.
***
The same familiar feeling of weightlessness was also being felt by Zen as he descended unto the Free World, or in Arthur's words, the World of Freedom.
'Ahhh shit, I think I'm gonna get an earful from teacher.'
Zen thought as the feeling of weightlessness gradually faded.
Calling someone "teacher" was not foreign to Zen. After all, during the time he was bedridden, he also attended some online classes in order to acquire new knowledge and distract himself from his bitter reality.
He soon opened his eyes only to be met with the familiar worn out ceiling.
Feeling the warm bed he was laying on, Zen confirmed that he had finally logged back in the game.
He looked around and was met with Arthur's annoyed expression.
Zen had a sheepish expression on his face as he said while waving his right hand.
"Hehe… Hi teacher~"
Not receiving any reply, Zen became even more nervous, causing him to fidget around while still laying in the bed.
"Come have some breakfast first."
Hearing Arthur's voice, Zen finally exhaled in relief. He also heard some grumbling noises coming from his stomach.
Remembering the simple-looking bread which tasted delicious, Zen could not help but drool in hunger.
He proceeded to stand up and followed his teacher, Arthur, out of the room.