chapter one

A 15-year-old teenage boy appeared before a luxury-looking office building, which is the head office of Arcs Technology.

Arcs Technology is one of the largest companies in Canada, if not the world, that makes all kinds of household technology, many kinds of vehicles, and even military equipment and weapons.

The boy is slimmer and shorter than most boys his age. He desires a more muscular physique. However, with his feminine face that resembles his mother, he is often mistaken for a girl.

His name is Link Black-Fox. He is the only child of Altria Black-Fox, his mother, although Link hasn't seen her since he was 4 or 5. Sora Black-Fox is Link's Father. Although Sora is usually busy with work, he still makes time on weekends for Link to watch anime, make model kits, or cook.

Link entered through the automatic door. "My name's Link Black-fox. My Father, Soar, asked me to be a human interface tester for a new piece of equipment being released today..." he told the receptionist, indicating his business.

"Right..." the receptionist picked up the phone. "Miss Barrett, Mr. Link Black-fox is here. Yes, I'll tell him you are on the way down... Miss Barrett is on her way down. Please have a seat."

"Think you." Link said before going to sit down.

After some time came a gorgeous woman with black hair styled short with long bangs partially obscuring her dark eyes. She is dressed in a black business suit, high heels, and a fedora-like hat.

"Ah, Link, there you are. Sora is in his usual room; please come with me." said the woman.

"Ah, Six, thank you for your hard work." Link looked up from his phone.

The woman who came was Elizabeth Barrett, who happens to be his father's assistant. Link calls her Six because the tattoo "Cyber-6" is on her right arm. Her daughter is also one of his classmates, and because Link's Father is seldom home, she would often look after him when Link was younger.

Link walks down the busy office corridor, conversing with Six amidst the bustling activities of the people around them.

"I'm sorry for coming at such a busy time. Father says something called the cradle is being released today."

"Yes, it's scheduled to begin at noon today; Sora is currently conducting the final equipment check."

"Do you know what this cradle is?"

"Understanding that thing goes over my head."

Link and Six arrive at a door; six knocks on the door ahead of her. "Sora, Link is here." Receiving no response, Link enters the room without hesitation, waving Goodbye to Six, as this is his usual practice.

Link regularly visits the Objective Chamber, his father's workroom. As the Chief Technical Officer, Link's Father is acquainted with most Arcs Technology employees, so Link can move around without drawing any particular attention.

As Link entered the familiar room, he saw his Father, Sora Black-Fox, staring intently at the display screen and tapping the console with a severe expression—just as Link had expected.

Despite nearing his fifties, Sora was youthful, resembling a man in his mid-twenties. He tried to grow his beard to avoid being perceived as young, but everyone felt it didn't suit him well and had him shave it. Nevertheless, Link admired his father's unwavering dedication to his work. However, this was not the moment to appreciate his father's commitment to his work from behind his back.

"Sora, I brought your lunch; you left it at the front door again." Link has always called his father by his first name. It isn't out of disrespect; it is just some odd thing Link does; his father doesn't mind it.

"Mmm, I appreciate it, Link." When Link calls out to him, Sora finally notices his presence and slowly takes his gaze away from the display screen. Seeing the dark circles under his father's eyes... Link lets out a sigh.

"Here you go. I also added your favourite sweet egg omelet, Sora, so ensure you eat it. I know you're busy with work, but you'll collapse again if you don't eat."

"...I'm ashamed," Sora muttered with droopy, tired eyes

Link shrugged, assuming Sora was not fully listening based on his experience.

After washing his hands and face, Sora quickly devoured his lunch, pondering how long he had neglected to eat. "Mmm, it's delicious."

"Thank you very much. I'm trying new cooking recipes I learned off YouTube."

Link responds briefly to the compliment as he makes coffee for Sora from the instant coffee machine and caramel hot chocolate for himself.

Sora could not manage household chores, so Link cooked for his father. Link was particularly concerned about his absent-minded father's health, who seemed oblivious to his surroundings.

"It was thoughtless of me, Link. I'm sorry for asking such a thing to a student."

"It's fine, don't worry about it."

"I'm a lucky man to have such a talented child. Thank you for the meal." After finishing his lunch, Link's Father patted him on the head.

"You wanted me to test this 'cradle' thing?" Link usually agrees to requests when his father asks for a favour. He also gets paid to test a new product, so there is no real reason not to agree.

"Right over here." Sora led Link to a corner of the workroom with a cylinder-shaped bed connected to many cords and tubes.

Link surmised that this was probably the newly developed human interface in question. However, it did not resemble any machine that Link knew of. He tried to recall something similar from his knowledge and thought of a tanning bed. But that couldn't be what it was; Link knows ( he hoped) that Sora is aware that Link gets terrible sunburns with giant blisters.

"don't think too hard; this 'cradle' is just a single interface: a mechanical piece that covers the whole body. Countless transmitters within the unit generate a multilayer electric field connecting directly to the user's body. Information is sent not to the brain but to the cradle itself. And not just vision and hearing. Touch, taste, smell—the cradle can access all the senses. A simple "link start" spoken command instantly causes all external noise to fade and plunge your vision into darkness. Pass through a floating rainbow ring materializing out of the emptiness, and you're in a different world composed entirely of digital data. In other words, this machine can create a perfect virtual reality. The advertisement department coined "full dive" to describe connecting to the VR world. I hear the beta testers say it is more than worthy of the term. After all, the machine didn't just provide virtual stimuli to all five senses; it also intercepted and collected the brain's commands to the body. This was a vital function in providing full control within the virtual world. In other words, if your mental commands to your real body were allowed to pass, you might run within the virtual world during a full dive, but your real body would quickly slam into the wall of the machine."

"Sora..."

"Yes.." Sora was out of breath after his long-winded speech.

"I think I understand what you said, so in short, this cradle is like those virtual reality headsets you see in anime."

"yes."

"Let's hope no mad scientist tries to turn this machine into a device that could cause players' consciousness to disappear and turn them into eternally vegetated."

"Don't worry about that; we built a lot of fail-safes into the cradle so that wouldn't happen."

Link continued to gaze at the unusual device with curiosity.

"Would you mind changing your clothes? Regular clothes won't do." Sora said, putting on his lab coat and returning to work mode.

"Uh, okay... but if this has already been tested, what can I do?"

"Don't worry about it... this one was created for you." Link's father said, placing a hand on Link's shoulder.

Link wanted to ask what Sore meant by that, but He knew it was impossible to talk to him when he was like this, so he went to the changing room.

"I've changed my clothes, but..." Following the instructions, Link changed into a hospital gown and returned to the room, appearing uneasy.

"Link."

"Hm, what, Sora...?"

As Link approached the capsule, his father unexpectedly called out to him.

" I'll tell you one thing. When in doubt, always choose what you believe is the right thing to do."

"What do you mean...?" Link tilts his head in confusion as his father gives him a solemn stare, leaving him wondering about the reason behind it.

While puzzled by Sora's behaviour, Link lay down in the cylinder-shaped bed machine; feeling its softness, he relaxed.

"I'm very sorry I've been so absorbed in my work and neglected you."

"Wha, what, Sora? Isn't that a bit dramatic?"

"I will―"

The interface cradle was suddenly blocked, and he couldn't hear the rest. Despite this, he felt he knew what his father would say: ―I will always love you as a father, no matter what you become.