Prologue

On planet earth, there have often been conflicts from ancient times to the present day. People found ways and opportunities to kill or seize other people's territories.

Gradually, various military associations began to appear, which sought to protect themselves by joint efforts.

And when people reached the apogee of their development and when various military associations began to threaten the inhabitants of the earth with complete extermination.

All over the world there were different wars and an hour when the world could be destroyed at the whim of stupid people.

One night, the world was painted with white light and abruptly disappeared. The next day, the inhabitants of the earth learned that all the nuclear weapons of all countries had disappeared.

Everyone fearfully expected that the third world war would begin. Pogroms began all over the world, turmoil in stores where food was sold, there were often fights for bread about paying for it. Someone celebrated the beginning of the end of the whole world indulging in all possible desires.

But on one of those days, when crowds of people were walking in big cities, breaking shop windows and robbing everything that their hands could reach.

Around the world, the emblem of all the countries of the world appeared on still partly whole large screens.

After some time, a representative appeared who was dressed in a business black suit. His styled short black hair wearing round glasses that showed blue eyes ran around in a panic looking at the screen from which he was supposed to read the message.

From his behavior, it was noticeable how nervous he was and sweat dripped down his temple.

- Dear inhabitants of the earth, we ask you to stop and listen to important news concerning all of us. - Stuttering, trying not to lose his voice, the representative addressed.

Many inhabitants of the land did not pay attention to the speech of the representative, continuing to engage in robberies.

- From today, the decision of all countries of the world. It was accepted that from now on all conflicts between countries will be resolved on virtual battlefields. - Trying to speak in a calm voice, the representative looked around.

Residents of countries where the screens were still intact, at least partially, began to stop

in place. They were waiting for anything but not the fact that now wars will take place in a virtual environment.

- We ask you to go home, otherwise cruel methods will be adopted against the violators to suppress the violations. - The representative tried to give his voice a hard note in his voice, but he did it poorly.

After the appeal of the representative, the screens again all over the world fell silent. Some of the residents listened to the words of the representative of all countries of the world and went home.

Those who continued to run amok had to get acquainted with the rubber bullets of government officials in different countries of the world. As time passed, rampant violence in the world fell to an extremely low level.

As the representative of all countries said that day, all hostilities were transferred to the virtual world. Games were created to resolve conflicts. Such conflicts lasted longer than any of the inhabitants could imagine.

The inhabitants of the countries did not know what the winners received, but they did not care as long as they lived in comfort. The decision of the countries spurred the emergence of civil games and gradually the new generation of VR games eclipsed all possible games.

- The online multiplayer game "Damn Angel" starts today. - There was a pleasant female in the commercial, which showed the colorful gameplay of the game.

The young man who watched this video was looking at the video game with a bored expression. "Damn Angel" was a promising game that many fans of MMO games have been waiting for.

It had everything that the players dreamed of, in addition to the graphics, as if the player was real life.

But two important novelties that excited the imagination and fear of the players were the feelings of pain and the ability to feel the taste of food.

Andrey, as a real fan of computer games, was waiting for this game, but there was still some time left before the start.

Clicking the mouse and the sound of the video stopped, stretching, you could hear his back cracking from this action.

He sat at the computer for a long time and while there was time, Andrei decided to think about how to spend the rest of his time.

Thinking about what he should do, he picked up the phone, an unlocking click was heard, flipping through the contacts, he thought whom to call from classmates to kill time. Andrei was 19 years old and he was in his second year at the institute.

Stopping your finger on one of the contacts, thinking about whether to call this contact. The young man looked at the time now it was 12:49 and the servers would be available only in the evening, having not found anything to do before that time, he clicked on the phone pressing the call.

Listening to the beeps and waiting for the person he called to answer, Andrey looked at his room and thought about his life.

He lived alone in his apartment, in addition to studying, Andrei tried to work so as not to depend on his mother, who tried to help him.

But every income has an end, so he did not want to burden the life of his mother, whom he loved very much.

- Hello, Andryukha, how are you? - A slightly hoarse male voice was heard.

Andrei sighed, his friend Maxim, whom he called, was popular among girls but also a lover of computer games. And they both waited for the release of this game.

- Hello, do you want to walk around the city? - Andrey asked, considering what they could do.

On the other side, sounds were heard that were picked up by a friend's microphone. Andrey ran his hand across his face realizing that most likely Maxim had just woken up.

- Andryukha, let's meet where? - listening the interested voice of Maxim.

Thinking about where he and his friend could meet, Andrey came up with the idea of ​​a shopping center that was right next to him and his friend.

- Come on, at the mall in half an hour. - Andrey answered.

Having agreed with a friend about the place of the meeting, after finishing the call, he turned off the computer.

Rising from his chair and going to the closet and opening the doors and thinking what to wear, Andrei looked at the clothes for a long time.

He was a fan of dressing beautifully, in addition to computer games, he liked different styles of clothing and changing hairstyles.

He often changed styles of clothing and thanks to his height which was 1.9 and a lean physique, Andrey was not afraid that some style would not suit him.

Going to the closet and opening it, he began to drive his eyes over the clothes, thinking what to wear.

Choosing a loose white T-shirt without a sprint and black jeans with light holes, taking things out of the closet and putting them on a chair. Thinking about what he had to do.

Having scratched his unshaven face, he was too lazy to go do his hair, but a habit is a habit. He headed to the bathroom, like most guys in 2023, he kept an eye on his appearance although he spent a lot of time in games.

Entering the bathroom and turning on the light, he saw his bored face. His unshaven black hair was still not very strong, so he did not want to shave.

His eyes, which were called a chameleon and changed from mood color, were now green, his ash-blond hair was of medium length. He was currently wearing a loose-fitting blue sleeveless T-shirt and black shorts.

After washing and brushing his teeth, Andrey took out the styling paste, smeared it on his hand and rubbed it on the other hand and doing his hair.

Satisfied with the hairstyle and dressed, Andrei left the apartment, locking the doors and going down the elevator and out into the street.

He felt the air lightly touching his hair, sighing that his hair would not live longer than he thought.

Andrey lived in one of the Russian cities where there was often a strong wind, regardless of the season.

Children were running on the playground, parents were watching them. Other residents walked down the street, someone to work, someone just was not very hot, although it was summer in the yard.

Having gone down to the underground parking lot and got into the car, turning it on, turning on the music, he left the underground parking lot and drove to the shopping center. Where they agreed to meet with a friend.

Opening the window and listening to music, his mood began to rise. There were few cars in the city, as the students went home, and those who worked were on vacation.

Looking around and simultaneously switching transmission speeds, he saw girls and boys walking along the streets with couples.

At such moments, he had the thought "can I still try?" But realizing that he was not interested in the relationship, Andrei was fine anyway.

Someone was made to be in a relationship, but not him. Listening to music, the thought of relationships left his head.

His friends for a long time urged him to start a relationship with someone, but Andrei refused in every possible way.

He had an experience and an unpleasant one, he had enough of it, having arrived to the mall and parking. Andrei began to look around in search of his friend, but not finding him, he decided to dial him.

- Where are you Max? - Andrew asked while continuing to inspect the parking lot of the shopping center.

His friend was also in the car, so if his car was not there, then he had not arrived yet.

- I'll be right there, I'm on my way. - Maxim's voice was heard.

Looking around, he really saw how his friend's silver car was turning. Raising his hand for a friend to park nearby, Max parked nearby and got out of the car and approached Andrey with a smile.

- Healthy bro. Max said, holding out his hand in a cheerful voice.

He was shorter than Andrei, but unlike him, Maxim looked younger, his eternal smile and good mood helped him well in communicating with girls.

His friend was dressed in shorts and a purple T-shirt, he had a short haircut and blue eyes.

- Hello, where are we going? - Andrey asked while shaking his friend's hand.

Shrugging his shoulders, Maxim went towards the entrance to the shopping center. He had only to follow him, approaching the entrance, the music that was playing in the shopping center began to be heard.

As people went out, they entered it, watching as his friend looked around and headed towards the clothing store. Andrey followed him.

Entering the store, he saw groups of girls walking around the store and choosing their summer clothes and laughing at each other.

Maxim, paying no attention to them, chose T-shirts for himself in the men's department. Andrey, having chosen a couple of things such as T-shirts and shorts, he was pleased that at that time there were still few people.

After looking at a couple more things but not finding anything interesting, Andrey went to the fitting room.

- I we to the fitting room, did you find something? - Andrew asked a friend.

Maxim looked up from the choice of T-shirts by looking at him and shaking his head continued to look at T-shirts. Andrey grinned and headed towards the dressing room.

Approaching her, he saw an employee who was standing in the fitting room with a bored expression on her face.

Her blond hair was braided, she was of average height, by the look to Andrei, she was about 1.75. She had a dark T-shirt with the letters of the brand on it.

After saying hello. She nodded and asked to lean the clothes against the tracker. Having done as she asked, Andrei received a number for how many things he had and began to reconcile.

When he was already leaving the fitting room, he heard the voices of the girls who were approaching her.

Coming out of the fitting, he gave the girl things and headed towards the exit when he heard the girls talking.

- Ksyusha, maybe stop playing computer games, huh? - One of the girls asked her friend.

Andrey looked doubtfully at the girls, there were three girlfriends, two were of average height 1.80 and the third was shorter than their height.

All of them were attractive in appearance, they were dressed in black tops and short shorts with a beautiful toned figure, one of them had light blond hair, long braided, the other had red hair of medium length, the third had black hair, short hair with shaved temples. He did not see their faces, but that was not what interested him.

- Dasha, why would I go to a nightclub with you? - heard a response from a girl who had light brown hair.

Andrei, who was scrupulous about intonation and the correct pronunciation of the word, could not help but appreciate the beauty of her voice.

- What's wrong with clubs? How long have you was a boyfriend, and I'm not talking about others! - The girl with shaved temples clarified in an offended voice.

Listening to the girls arguing, Andrei just shook his head, most likely their friend Ksyusha was interested in a game like Sims or similar.

He knew girls who played games but they all looked exactly the same. Catching the glances of a store employee, Andrei decided to quickly leave the store, watching Maxim standing near the entrance, until a misunderstanding arose.

After walking around the shops and going to the cinema, they looked at the time on the phones. Andrey saw missed calls from his mother.

Anticipating a headache, Andrei stepped aside fr Maxim and dialed her and listening to the beeps, waiting for a call.

- Hello, I called you, why didn't you pick up the phone? - I heard the interested voice of my mother.

Andrei, although he lived separately, but like any parents, she was worried about what her only son was doing.

- Yes, I was a movie with Maxim, now I'm going home, what happened? - Andrey asked, he doubted that something could happen.

Andrei's mother lived in the same city as him, but in another part of the city by his grandmother.

She had been divorced from his father since childhood. Andrew lived with her.

- No, I just thought I'd call to see how you're doing. - His mother explained the reason for the call.

Heading to the cars, Andrey said goodbye to his mother and discussed with Maxim where they would meet in the game, unlike the old games, there was no concept of how the server world was alone.

They looked at the time and thought a little, they came to the conclusion that it is better to prepare in advance. Unlike simple VR games, it was necessary to do certain things in it that were not accepted by the players with joy.

After saying goodbye to his friend, Andrey got into the car and heading home, he kept remembering the conversation of the girls and smiled. Driving through the twilight city, he drove into an underground parking lot, parked it and closed it.

Having risen to the apartment and changed into home clothes and turned on the computer. He took out an old VR helmet, making sure that it was intact.

Andrey connected it to the computer, heard the sound that the computer recognized, put it on the table next to the monitor, and went to get the last thing needed for this game.

- This will be annoying to do every time. - Andrei said dejectedly, examining the wires with needles.

These needles had to be inserted into the fingertips, many players who found out about this refused to buy it, let alone play it.

But this did not stop Andrey by connecting the wires to the VR helmet and holding the tips of the needles in one hand while looking at them.

According to the developers, this was a completely safe procedure, the novelty of this game, pain was transmitted through nerve endings thanks to the tip of the fingers.

When a player's hand is cut off in the game, he will feel as if it actually happened. But the most hardcore thing was that it was impossible to reduce the level of pain or turn it off altogether.

According to Andrey, it was not in vain that the motto of the game was "Only through pain, you become stronger, reject your weakness."

Looking at his VR which was one of the first models and he was very lucky that the developers of this game decided to take the entire niche of VR games and made this game available for all helmets regardless of the model.

The new VRs didn't need a computer turned on, they had more power and they could draw games themselves.

- Well, the poor do not cry, but are content with what they have. - Andrey said smiling.

Looking at the time, it was indicated 19:58, which meant that there were only two minutes left before the start of the game.

Putting the helmet on his head, Andrei took the needles with his right hand and brought the first needle to his thumb.

According to the developer, it was necessary to pierce the hand that was the main one. If a person was right-handed, he needed to pierce his right hand, if left-handed, then his left hand.

Deciding not to waste time, he quickly pierced the pad with the thumb of his left hand.

Trying not to pull his hand away, taking another needle, he pierced his index finger and the remaining fingers.

If someone saw him now from friends, they would say for sure that he was crazy in no other way.

Looking at the time, Andrei was glad that he managed to complete this procedure in 2 minutes. Flicking the switch on VR, waiting for the screen to load and selecting the game icon and watching the icon appear.

It depicted a cursed angel, in contrast to different beliefs, he was depicted with four wings, two wings came from the shoulders and the lower two from the waist.

The eyes were more bird-like than human. A beautiful face with white hair and bright green eyes.

He was dressed in armor covering the chest with shoulders and a stomach in the middle of the armor, a red stone was visible and the armor had an iridescent color from black to gray.

The lower armor was more conventional, resembling trousers with metal inserts. But most of all, Andrei was embarrassed that the damned angel was smiling.

After waiting for the cursed angel to disappear, the screen turned completely black. Andrei began to frown under the VR helmet, not understanding what could happen.

Already fearing that the helmet was broken, but after a couple of seconds, he stopped feeling his body.

And a cinematic scene played out in front of him where the damned angel tried to change the worldview of his creator, but the creator did not appreciate his desire and cursed him and the angels who obeyed him.

The curse was that they would wander the world forever and not knowing peace, deprived of the grace of their creator, the damned angels felt the opportunity to use the forbidden power of darkness and death.

Representatives of different races lived in the world - elves, orcs, trolls, people, werewolves, vampires, centaurs, gnomes who watched as black comets filled the sky falling down.

The cinematic scene ended and the inscription "Write your nickname" appeared before my eyes, Andrey thought. He wanted to start the story in this game first for himself and leave his old nickname in the past.

But he had a bad imagination and simply entered "Tumeu" and pressed the "confirm" button. A window popped up in front of him.

[Dear player!

If you confirm your nickname now, you will never be able to change it!

If you are sure then click on the "Yes" button to cancel "No."]

Having looked at his nickname, Andrey smiled and pressed the "yes" button. Before him opened a new view in front of him appeared another record that could not help but surprise him.

[Dear player!

Thanks to your blood, we can offer you a choice of race based on your blood!

To confirm, click "Confirm" if you do not agree to "no".

But if you agree then you can't change your race!

Approach wisely!]

Reading the same sentence several times, Andrei did not remember a single message about such a feature of blood.

He thought about it, but having come to the conclusion that there are no hobbits in this game, then nothing terrible can happen.

By pressing the "confirm" button, the icon disappeared again to show the same cinematic scene again, the camera moved closer and closer to one of the black meteorites that were flying down.

Until she showed a cursed angel looking like Andrey. The eyes of this angel were closed, the color of the wings was gray-black.