Aqif's life had always been about fighting. He was born in the dense area of Kuala Lumpur, and he was the pride of his family. His father was a factory worker. He worked a 12-hour day and went home to his family, tired. Despite that, he still worked day to day to support his family of five.
Aqif was the middle child. He had an older brother who is working in software engineering and earning five figures a month. His younger sister, is still in university, learning sports science. For Aqif, he was a world class athlete. His father no longer needed to work because Aqif brought fortune to the family by using his fighting skills. He was the champion of a fight promotion. From a young age, his parents supported him with his dreams despite their hardships. They never doubted his abilities.
To Aqif, the Muay Thai gym was his second home. He poured blood, sweat and tears into every training session. When there was a fight coming, he trained twice a day, for eight weeks. In the early days of his career, his dedication paid off as he won the national championship and was offered a contract to join the organisation as a fighter. For quite some time, he basked in glory and adoration by his fans.
He climbed his way up the rankings and then reigned for almost a decade. At the age of 25, he experienced his first loss.
The fighting world was merciless. He faced an opponent who was stronger and smarter than him. Despite his efforts, he lost. He was knocked down three times in the match lost by technical knockout. Even with the fight money he was paid, he was sad. Depression took hold of him and he became a shut-in. His spirits was crushed, then the fans and spotlights faded.
A knock on his door was heard.
"Aqif, how long are you going to stay in your room? It's been three months since you've gone outside?!"
His sister called out to him every day to check up on him and send him his meals.
His coach and other family members had already given up on him. Only his sister was still dedicated to save him from his shackles. To save him from despair.
In his room, he found solace in a game called Frontier. He came upon it one day in the online game store after scrolling for a while. He never had any time to play video games before, so he looked at the images and was interested. A sci-fi colony simulation game where you take control of your colonists to survive in a new planet. Dangers and threats everywhere you go. The Frontier was unforgiving.
His first colonist was a combat droid, with a gladiator background. To him, the backstory was suitable for him. He also spawned with other colonists. He spent countless hours playing the game, exploring every nook and cranny of Frontier. For the first time in a while, he felt happy from something else instead of beating someone in the face. Hours bled into days as he immersed himself in the game, isolating from everyone he loved. He named his first colonist Azrael.
One lonely night, as Aqif sat slumped over his keyboard, the screen's glow the only light in the room, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Panic surged through him as he clutched at his heart, but there was no one to help. The world faded to black, and Aqif's last thought was a wish for a second chance.
"Damn! Is this how it ends?..."
…..
"Am I dead?", he thought to himself.
Surely not, right? I can still hear my thoughts.
To him, it was possible that this was the afterlife, but there was nothing around him. Only pure darkness.
Suddenly, a loud echoing voice was heard.
"Enjoy your second chance, player." It said.
Second chance? Wait! So I did die then?! So is this a new life?
Suddenly his consciousness faded again, for quite some time, it was darkness. Then his ears picked up noises. His body felt like he was lying down on something hard and cold.
"….you hear me?"
Huh?
When Aqif opened his eyes, he found himself lying in a metal pod. The surrounding air was cold, and the smell of scorched electronics filled his senses. His body felt weird. It felt like he was no longer human.
Then to his surprise, his vision was filled with lines of texts and numbers. It looked similar to a drone or a game user interface.
"Rebooting System..."
System? What is this? What's going on?!
[All Systems nominal. Current planet: Frontier.]
[Days spent in cryogenic sleep: 14610 (40 Years)]
[Combat Systems rebooting. Time left: 23 hours 59 minutes]
[Environmental Analysis Module: ACTIVE]
The interface showed other information that was useful to him, but Aqif was more focused on the line where is stated he spent 40 years in cryo sleep. Furthermore, to his understanding, he couldn't do combat because his systems was still rebooting. It could mean that for the time being, he was currently defenceless.
"Hey dude? Can you hear me?" A female voice spoke out. As he struggled to comprehend his new existence, the pod's door creaked open. Bright light flooded in, and Aqif shielded his eyes—or at least tried to. A group of people stood before him, their faces a mix of curiosity and caution.
[Four unknown individuals detected. Caution is advisable]
Oh? I can scan people? Neat.
"Are you alright?" a woman asked, her voice steady yet concerned. She had a tomboyish appearance, with short-cropped hair. "I'm Zara, the leader of this colony. Can you understand me?"
To his 'sensors', what she spoke was English, so it would made sense that he would understand. Besides, English was his second language.
[Would you like to translate to [_____]?]
His system prompted him to translate the words they are speaking to a language that he was more comfortable with, but he didn't want to because he had a good understanding of the language. He wasn't an idiot. He was educated.
"I do. Where am I?" He replied. To his surprise, his voice came out as if a normal human spoke it, instead of it sounding robotic.
"You're on Frontier," she said with a faint smile. "Or at least that is what we call this place."
The colonists helped him out of the pod. As he was being brought out, he felt something. To him, his body doesn't feel as different as being a human. It felt normal. He acknowledged that he was no longer human, and was now a combat droid. The colonists though, had a little problem bringing him out because he probably weighed more than an average human, but he looked like one.
"Now, may I know your name?" Zara asked, holding her hand out for a handshake.
Today, Aqif is a different person entirely.
"Azrael. My name is Azrael." He shook her hand firmly.