Far from Julian's apartment, in a place neither Earth nor Alpha, a man stared at the future of billions.
Earth was on borrowed time, and it was decreasing by the second.
Nick Gerald had once been the founder and CEO of the trillion-dollar extra company before he received contact from a greater unknown.
Granted technologies and systems from the unknown, he was thrust into the position of being Earth's guide to the universe as a whole.
Faced with an insurmountable task, he did what he did best: he created a VR game.
Trapped in a prison beyond his comprehension, he had to turn his once-lively private company into a shell which belonged solely to him.
Half a year had passed in the real world since he had been kidnapped to this lone dimension.
Inside a depilated yet comfy house a computer screen lit up the dark interior of an office.
[The population of players in Alpha has crossed 1 billion!]
[Accomplishment met! 1000 points granted.]
Two notifications caused the old early 2000 looking desktop to come to life.
"1000 points, not bad," Nick smiled.
Nick had learned and seen how powerful points as a currency was in the universe.
Points were something that could allow anyone to do anything, given they had enough to bear the cost.
It had been nearly a year in this time dilated space since he had points to use after exhausting all of them to create Alpha.
He had been granted 50,000 points to create a path for humanity to grow ready.
But now that he had gained his own points, he was finally free to use them how he wished.
Nick rolled back on his swivel chair, confronted with the thought of unlocking the endless possibilities that points held.
"Eva, display the shop on my computer screen, please," Nick asked.
The image of a blond haired chibi girl popped up on the screen, dragging a new window onto his display.
"Phew, there you go," she said, relieved.
Eva was the governing A.I. of Alpha, an assistant from the unknown, and the sole reason Nick had yet to lose his mind.
He had spent a whopping 10,000 of his starting 50,000 points in order to upgrade her to become so lifelike and powerful.
Nick justified it, believing that having an incredibly powerful A.I would allow Alpha's progress to go smoothly, but deep down, he knew it was mainly to combat his loneliness.
In this void of a place, she was his only light.
"Show me the cost of making Alpha real, Eva," Nick pleaded.
The chibi sprite on the screen displayed a reluctant look before trying to deter him from looking.
"It's too expensive, Nick; you should focus on better things to use your points for," she pleaded.
"Like making yourself and your people stronger for when other universal forces arrive."
"Not happening. I promised you that I would," Nick shook his head.
"When I was a selfish bitch, Nick! That shouldn't count. I was trying to use your naivety of the situation to exploit you," she exclaimed.
"A promise is a promise. I wouldn't have been able to survive without you, Eva. I'm not letting you die," Nick said with resolve.
"At least let me look. That's all I ask."
Although Nick had upgraded Eva to the absolute limit, her identity was first and foremost that of his Assistant during Earth's trial period.
This meant that when the 10-year time limit eventually ended, she too would disappear.
Eva looked lovingly at the determined Nick, but she couldn't help shedding tears for the fate she brought upon the man she loved.
[Permanent data materialization, Target: Alpha (Virtual game world)]
[Cost: 1 billion points.]
Nick froze when he saw the astronomically large number of points needed.
"...Is that even possible?" Nick whispered in shock.
While Nick knew little about the universe as a whole, what he did know was the value of points.
1 million points could buy you ownership of an entire star cluster, enough to make someone the ruler of an unquantifiable number of lives.
You could buy armor that withstood supernovas, battleships that could warp space on a whim.
Even the time dilation technology he bought for Alpha only cost 15,000.
But 1 billion? That was an inconceivable amount to acquire.
Nick tried to think of more loopholes to exploit, more schemes to employ, but they all fell flat in light of the truth.
There were no more tricks to use. No ploys to be had.
Points had to be earned.
Nick balled up his fist until blood began to drip onto the wooden floor.
"Why can't it target only you? Why won't it let me save you." Nick said hopelessly.
"I'm sorry Nick… it's not possible any other way," Eva consoled.
Her sprite on the computer showed a look of guilt before explaining what she had told him a thousand times.
"I'm bound to disappear after the tutorial ends. It's practically embedded in the laws of the universe itself."
"The only reason it was even plausible to live on is that I'm Alpha's governing A.I. That's why the cost is impossibly high."
Eva materialized in front of Nick before bringing him into her embrace.
It was a temporary materialization, one that would soon expire in 20 time-dilated years.
The two enjoyed each other's company in silence as the harsh reality of their situation settled upon them.
"We've still got 20 years. And I'll make sure we spend every single second of it together," she promised lovingly.
"Not if I gather 1 billion points…" Nick whispered.
"Nick... you know it's impossible." Eva lowered her gaze.
The sound of wheels rolling across wooden floors filled her ears as Nick pushed the chair back near his desk.
Points were granted from achievements, and Nick had already been lucky to be in a position to gain 50,000 of them for free.
Points were given sporadically, only in cases of rare achievements that caught the attention of the unknown.
But the trial phase of a planet was its sole exception. To help prepare a planet, the unknown was much more generous in what it considered as achievements.
Nick, due to his special circumstance as the planet's guide, was granted a portion of the points for each achievement Earth made.
That meant while he couldn't personally go out hunting for points, he had a higher return if he performed well as a guide.
But 10 years wasn't enough time for anyone to gather 1 billion points, not even if there were a hundred trillion people on Earth.
What he needed was someone special, someone strong enough to lead the entire Earth into accomplishing something beyond comprehension.
But the chances of having someone of that caliber were near impossible.
Records of the trial phases of other planets showed that earning even 1 million points was nearly impossible.
[You have received a message!]
Nick felt the hairs on his body rise as a single message captured his full attention.
[Dear lucky 'Me',
For the collective of 200 billion years, 'We' have been proactively searching for the most efficient and plausible way to gather 1 billion points.
Inside this document is the accumulation of 'Our' 20 billion attempts at reaching such a goal.
Through trial and error, 'We' have optimized the ratio and candidates for a select 12 regressors.
For the sake of 'Our' continued goals, 'We' have enforced your future points to be used in the most recent optimized route.
An initial routing of points will help catalyze the exponential growth of Earth and Alpha.
Enjoy your time with Eva, maintain clear records of Earth's journey, and write detailed notes if an anomaly appears in the given data.
This report has been written as of attempt 20,180,101,721.
Highest point gathered within all attempts: 900,812,231 points.]
[You have received 1,000,000 points.]
[You have reached the limit of receiving gifted points.]
The couple stared at the computer screen, stunned to see the conclusion of the messages that had appeared one by one.
But each one was shocked for a different reason.
"900 million points… that's still 100 million more to go," Nick thought.
"200 billion years… just how much has he suffered because of me," Eva thought.
For Nick there was still a large chasm to cross, but it was enough to reignite hope in his eyes.
For Eva it was a bitter sign, an insurmountable amount of suffering caused by her, for her.
Both saw the message in different ways.
But both thought of the other.
[A person on Earth has awakened mana in under 3 hours!]
[New universal record in the manaless starting category!]
[100,000 points received!]