Prologue 1

They say that 'curiosity killed the cat,' but I think that is one of the most basic instincts in human nature—probably second only to self-preservation. Since ancient times, it has been the driving force that pushed humans—and not only humans—beyond the boundaries of the known and opened the doors to the great unknown, and probably even further than that, to explore, invent, discover, and learn things that no one would have ever imagined.

However, curiosity, in and of itself, can be tricky as well. It can be dangerous or rewarding, sometimes even both at the same time. Occasionally, the reward is not worth the risk, and in other instances, there’s no reward at all if you lose so much in the process.

“No pain, no gain.” I guess that makes sense.
This quote hits more than close to home.
It's spot on, right on the subject.
Bullseye!

And it's exactly that curiosity that pushed me and my friends to our limits and beyond.

"Was there a reason behind it?" you may ask."
I don’t know..." would be my answer.

"Was it worth it?" you might wonder.
"I’m not sure..." would be my response.

Looking back at it now, there's only one thing I can say for sure.
One thing I can affirm for myself.
From my own point of view.
From my own perspective.

After everything has been said and done...
If I had another chance to do it all over again... To go through the same cycle, loop, tragedy, comedy, drama, thriller, horrors—or whatever you want to call it, depending on your subjective or objective perspective—I would have done the exact same thing all over again.

Without a second thought...
With my eyes closed...
Without skipping a beat...
With no extra consideration...

"Experience" is what you gain by "doing," not just by reading books or other people’s stories. Yes, they can help you, it's true, but they can also rob you of the benefit of learning on your own.

Living on your own.
Accepting on your own.
Rejecting on your own.
And more importantly, being your “own”.

But I think that’s enough of a prologue, right?

If it were in my hands, I would have kept mumbling and "philosophizing" endlessly...

However, the writer who is currently listening and recording my story in order to turn it into a book has started to grow impatient to the point—I fear—of changing the protagonist to some other character that talks less about prologues and more about the actual facts of the story.

Though I really must ask at this point.
"Philosophizing"?
Is that even a word?
Does it actually exist in any dictionary?
I would have to look it up.

So let’s continue with the story so it won't drag on too much. Or to be more accurate, one of the many stories that we "lived". "Took part" might suit better, but for us, every story was more like a different lifetime than just a passing adventure.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I don’t want to spoil anything. They might be different stories, but they are all linked together in the end.

Just like our lives...
Just like our fate...
Just like our heart and soul...

To be honest, I was thinking about starting somewhere in the middle of it all and not from the very beginning. However, after thinking it over, I realized that it might be a little confusing for the reader. Yes, they can read about all the events, but without knowing how we end up there or even the reason why.

So, I guess I will start from the top...
From the very beginning...
Or the very end...
Or a bit of both, actually...

Because the first story is both of them...
And none of them at the same time...

I really need to stop using this kind of structure...

I might have to label the part you've just read as 'Prologue 1' because there's more explanation needed on how everything began. I need to ensure that, so I don't end up repeating myself in the next volumes. But there's a catch... if I start right from the very beginning, anyone reading it might just get confused, and that's something I want to avoid at all costs.

Perhaps I'll include a brief prologue in each book to provide an explanation about the elevator, the buttons, and the different dimensions...

I believe I've shared too much. The author is growing frustrated and irritated, so let's move on to 'Prologue 2'...