From the beginning of the 21st century, humanity focused on expanding its territories through brutal and merciless warfare, including starvation, massacre, rape, and human experimentation, as well as the devastating use of chemical warfare and atomic bombs. By the end of the 21st century, humanity had unified its nation through agreement, marking the first truly humane reconciliation. This unified world was called "Fantasia," or, more commonly, "Elysium." The overseer of this world was called "Maind," chosen by lottery every five years from anyone interested in politics, regardless of their social or biological background. While the same Maind was elected four times in a row, there have been no major issues to date. This year marks the 70th anniversary of Fantasia. Since ancient times, children, the nation's capital, have been classified according to their abilities. They were expected to live happily and comfortably, living lives suited to their abilities. This created the utopia known as Fantasia. Yes, we lived that kind of life, but on the other hand, there were those who were preparing for war. They were the anti-government forces. We called them "Reds," and those who suppressed them—the government forces—were called "Whites." I never learned the reason for this, but it's said to have been a term that's been around since the first Reds emerged. It was through this encounter that we realized that the war was perhaps the starting point of all this.
I wanted to be a scholar since I was young. Among them, I wanted to be a chemist. To that end, I worked hard to get a perfect score on the "Semicolon." However, if I failed the exam regardless of my will, I would have to spend a year preparing for the next "Semicolon" with a C grade. This was the 18th exam of my life, the last exam before becoming an adult. I achieved the score I wanted, but I was ordered to enter the military academy in Peto. This was not the future I had dreamed of, but I followed it, believing that my abilities were optimal for this place.
Life at the military academy was hell. The exams I took every year were like the doljabi (studying for a 20-year-old). We were expected to be role models for the soldiers, so we trained earlier, longer, and more extensively than them. Every day was a wartime situation, and even I, who was deemed fit, needed a year to adapt. During operational training, I learned how to execute efficiently through VR. Food was limited in VR, and the images of my comrades tearing and tearing their flesh right next to me are still vivid in my mind. Above all, if I failed once, having to start over again was the most arduous. Now, I had to overcome the final hurdle: directing the battlefield myself.
In the final exam, the commanders are divided into pairs. Since regular soldiers must follow only the commander's orders, if the commander dies, they cannot carry out their missions independently. My partner is Casey Dalton. We were classmates at the military academy. We lived far apart, but we became close after entering the academy. Especially after grueling training, cooling off with him over decaf coffee and sharing stories about our lives was my only pleasure. While he wasn't exactly a childhood friend, he was a true comrade and a role model who never missed the top spot in the academy. I believed that any operation would go as planned, and always did. At least in virtual reality...
Our operation will be conducted at Falcon-1, the media editing center within Parus Sfatium. While media transmissions are always conducted from the CMC (Central Media Center) in Manus Sfatium, the editing takes place across Parus Sfatium before being relayed to the CMC. The name of the operation being conducted on Falcon-1 is scæna. As the name suggests, the central government agency has been consumed by war and bloodshed, making it a truly tragic event. Our goal is to eradicate all "red" within the area.
This place was beautiful. It was definitely beautiful. But this place had become a 'ruin'. All around was dust. There were no animal bones, no human corpses. There was just dust, devoid of any life. Children would never understand that this was the true nature of war. They would never imagine that the White Army, the government forces, would die so cruelly and miserably. How cruel it was that their heroes died so miserably, without even a body. But I saw it. And my comrades died right before my eyes. In reality.
“GenX..”
The Red Army was clearly in a worse situation than us. They likely only had weapons they'd purchased with their own money. However, our troops, equipped with bulletproof vests, the latest weapons, and undergoing rigorous training, had difficulty breaking through their lines, and instead, our lines seemed to be pushed back further. Where did their morale come from? It was a scene I'd never seen in virtual reality. We tried to minimize our losses, but the fierce enemy resistance left us with no choice. Casey was positive about this operation, but I couldn't understand why they would undertake such a reckless operation. They already possessed a force beyond our control, and I think they believed we could never stop them with the methods we'd learned.
“Why are you trying to do this?”
"You know, we've been here for over three months. And all we've done is radio the supply unit that we need more ammunition."
“But they’re holding out from the inside, and our army is going to surround them and launch an attack?”
"Our state-of-the-art weapons and firepower are nothing to them. We have no choice but to go in and destroy them one by one. If we keep doing this, we'll be the first to fall."
“….”
"Ewha, for us, the most important thing is to complete the operation quickly. If we keep putting it off like this, we'll never graduate."
I finally agreed to Casey's plan. Deep down, I didn't want to carry out such a reckless operation, nor did I want to see more casualties. The days of training in virtual reality flashed before my eyes. Watching my comrades, my own juniors, die right next to me was terrifying.
And then I went into the room and saw someone's picture and chuckled.
"Yoongi, how are you?"
My childhood friend, Yoongi, flashed before my eyes. I missed Yoongi, who had moved away when I was young because of my father's work. We were friends who had done a lot for each other. We had been through a lot together. That's what I thought. But
"Yoongi..?"
I never thought I would meet you like this.