3. Homeless

Mumbai, one of the largest cities in India.

It contained within itself, the great aspirations of those who came over from nearby and afar, hoping to make a name for themselves. The city of riches so to speak, it was as if being enshrouded in light, a beacon of hope for many.

Yet, it was only one of the many aspects of the city. The residents knew better than that. It was as the great philosopher Madara Uchiha once said, "...where there is light, there are shadows to be found as well..."

With hope came despair, with riches came poverty, with light came the darkness. Such was the city of Mumbai.

The slums of Dharavi, that were recognized as the largest in the entirety of Asia. If the city was the beacon of light, these were the shadows cast by it. Here the long hands of the laws couldnt reach, death was a common occurrence around here. Killing and looting were still ongoing rampantly.

The situation had worsened, ever since the technology started to develop rapidly. Although on the surface laws were being implemented and followed, the real situation could only be seen after staying a night or two. After all, it was but a neglected corner or the city where insignificant people gathered.

.....

In a shanty corner of an impoverished shack, a young man could be seen sleeping. He was about 17 years old, with fair skin and a handsome face. Well it would have been handsome, if there wasn't an ugly scar across his face, running over the bridge of his nose. Aside from that he had a few scars and sloppy stitches scattered across his body.

The sun rose, it's rays shining down upon the world. The bright light filtered through the broken window falling upon Sid's face, making him frown involuntarily. He opened his eyes, staring blankly at the roof above its head. "I have a feeling that it's today, finally the day of the showdown is here." He said, stretching his body, making some loud crackling noises, well... it was more that a bit concerning.

Sid got up, washing his face from the bucket of water at the side. He changed into the single casual pant and a t-shirt hanging at the wall.

Then he went to the corner of the house, picking up the rugged bag containing his stuff. Taking out a makeshift pistol from his bag, he held it in his hands, looking at it fondly.

"Damn, it's so slick, it suits my heroic image well." Admiring his gun, he forcibly wedged it into his belt. Then putting his bag over his shoulder, he got out of the shack.

Standing at the door he looked above admiring the clear sky, as he breather in a lung full of fresh air.

Cough! Cough!... "Son of a bitch! Is smells like shit." Well, what can you say, he was in the slums.

Admiring the clear sky above,while holding his nose down, he walked into the distance, a look of reminiscing clearly visible within his eyes.

"It's been two years now, ever since that life and death battle, I haven't been the same person as before. Just look at my charisma, how many people have called me brother till now, I'm preety sure even our gang leader wasn't this cool when he was young."

"Sigh... guess that damned dog wasn't that bad afterall. That battle is what has shaped me into this veteran today. Now, I am no longer afraid as I was two years ago running from those gang members." He sighed once again, touching the makeshift revolver at his waist, a doting look in his eyes.

.....

It had been about two years since Sid lost his parents and his home, running away to a distant territory. He had actually changed quite a lot from back then. Atleast he wasn't homeless wandering around like a stray dog anymore. Not to mention, he could actually afford his own food every now and then.

After coming over to the new area, he had succesfully joined a small gang to get around his addiction problem. These small gangs were just right, although just an errand boy, he could still come in contact with the black market, or some local dealer to get by.

He had been working rather hard to meet the gang's standards. After a year of labor, his efforts had paid off. He had successfully joined the main debt collecting team, although just as a junior. After exchanging the vows of brotherhood with his senior brothers, he was officially among one of them.

During this past one year he had been diligently working, collecting many (false & shady) debts, killing many people (a few weaklings), as well as participating in many gang wars (as an insignificant side character). He had made countless brothers with his strong charisma. Now, he was a veteran of his profession.

.....

Arriving at the front of the gang building, there were a few cars parked afront. It was a rare sight, as cars were mostly used by gangs for important businesses, afterall the narrow alleys were their most prominent business spots.

Although rare, for a veteran like Sid, it was a common sight. He had seen too many big things in the past two years. He went around, not entering the building. He squatted near a broken brick wall, from where the view of the building was relatively clear.

"I knew it, today is the day. Though, I shouldn't need to worry much, after all, I've been preparing for this day ever since I joined this gang. Hehehe... today my expertise as a veteran will come in handy yet again." He muttered under his breath, his eyes still vigilantly looking through the window.

Inside the building a middle aged man in his late thirties sat at the couch, puffing a cigar in his mouth. Next to him sat another middle aged man, maybe in his early thirties, ah... who gives a damn anyway. He too was puffing a cigar, blah, blah, blah... and all that. Basically they were some unimportant characters.

"Huh, it gang leader, and... opposite him seems to be the gand leader of neighbouring territory. There seems to be a heated discussion. I wonder, why these old fogies like to talk to much anyway, just pick up a gun and shoot. It's about to start a gangwar anyway."

"Sigh... either way, it's got nothing to do with me." He said, his gaze determined, as he stood up. With one hand over his pistol, he vigilantly walked forward. With practiced ease, his legs moved at a pace that was neither fast nor slow. Hiding in the shade of the debris and garbage lying about, he moved avoiding the prying eyes of the gang members stationed at various shacks nearby.

He walked on a determined path, as of he had prepared just for this moment. Gradually his pace slowed down. Straightening his back, he relaxed a bit, still moving forward.

Boom... bang, bang, bang....

Soon, there was a sound of explosion, although not too loud. Following that, a series of gunshots could be heard, mixed in with clocks of metals clashing from time to time.

"Damn... those motherf*ckers, it's good that I already had the insight to escape before they started fighting, or with my strenght I would only be killed by a single gunshot. Those damned f*ckers carry real revolvers, while my baby...."

"Forget it, forget it, it's good that I'm a veteran at this. After escaping three gangs in a row, somehow it feels more natural now, I am not as afraid as I was two years ago. Guess my skills are also improving, how impressive is that."

"Anyway, I still feel somewhat grateful for that damned dog, afterall I got all this courage after that fight. I wonder if he still survived, nah, that's impossible, he was already dying before getting kicked by me." He walked over as he continued mumbling to himself.

"Sigh... i wonder how many brothers i will lose this time. Well, for now, let's move ahead, maybe this time, I'll end up making a bunch of new ones in the territory I start working in. I hope there's atleast a good local dealer for me to replenish my stalks." His mood was quite refreshing for some reason, as he walked forward.

.....

He continued moving, arriving at a neighbouring territory. Suddenly his steps slowed down. Looking up, his attention was grabbed by a advertisement that hung over a three storied building.

"Man, that's so cool." He looked admiringly at the man in the advertisement, he was rough looking with a scruffy beard. He was carrying a machine gun with his bare hands, shooting at the young man opposite him, who was carrying a sword, wind swirling around him.

Soon, there was an explosion of dust covering the entire scene, in which the word 'Destiny' was carved. The entire scene seemed extremely natural and fluid.

Then there played various scenes that seemed out of this world. Not to mention these stuffy slums, even the advanced cities outside, which he had only seen through the photos he rarely chanced upon, seemed rather unremarkable.

He recognized it at a glance. Infact not to mention him, even a five year old child in the slum, who had not seen the world, could tell that it was the advertisement of destiny, the latest VRMMORPG which was currently all the rage in entire world.

There were many VRMMO games before this, after all, the Virtual Reality was not a budding technology anymore. The civilization was rapidly developing at every turn. It was the era of the technological boom.

But, 'Destiny' was beyond what one would expect from this era. Perfectly integrating all the senses, it was no different from reality. In fact it was a hyperrealistic experience, not to be expected from VR. Some people even acclaimed it to be another world, while other extremists called it more real that reality, if it made any sense.

Their developers were kept anonymous, but there was a rumor ongoing, that the government of all the countries had invested heavily in this project. Just it's extravagant advertising was enough to showcase the amount of money that was being spent on this project.

To play destiny was not that hard, after all it was made while keeping in mind, the pockets of all classes in society. Be it rich or poor, it was a game where everyone gathered. One could pay to get a better experience with exclusive VR capsules, but a normal capsule worked just as well.

Despite all these, Sid's empty pockets were among the very few that couldn't afford to play it. He couldn't only look at the large advertisements at the roadside, some even covering the buildings, and dream of owning a capsule himself. After all, the services like the VR cafes were still an unknown territory for a slumrat at the bottom, like him.

.....

"Sigh... forget it, forget it, let's just move forward." He sighed, it was a world of upper echelons, unlike him. He continued to move forward, his mind still distracted by the complicated thoughts.

Suddenly, his steps came to a halt, as his eyes vigilantly looked forward.