The energy cell was swept across the city by high-altitude winds. Jai followed, tracking the cell into the depths of Nu Sector. From his vantage, the cell's distinctive white glow was clear on the ground and up for the taking. Only to watch as someone snatched it up and vanished into the masses. Too high to distinguish features but low enough to witness the theft, Jai's mission had become yet another chase.

Angling his body, Jai braced for a landing. His feet struck the ground into a controlled roll, momentum slowing. The parachute collapsed behind him in a heap of nylon fabric. He released the clips of the harness and followed after him, determined to close the gap between them.

Sprinting through the narrow alleys between skyscrapers, he frantically scanned for anything recognizable. A flicker of movement caught his eye. Someone paranoid, repeatedly glancing backward with unmistakable guilt. Their eyes locked in a moment of recognition, and instinct took over. The chase ignited, leading deeper into the heart of the Nu Sector's. They headed toward a bizarre, thick cloud of multicolored smoke that hung low like fog.

Plunging into the haze, Jai was immediately overwhelmed by a concoction of scents. Its intensity made it hard to breathe, forcing him to cover his face with his sleeve. Nearly blind, he pushed forward, occasionally catching glimpses of shadowy figures. Residents were scattered in various states of highs in a collective smoke session designed to enhance their hallucinations through colored fumes.

His sinuses violently rebelled as tears streamed from his eyes and mucus ran from his nose. The overload caused him to trip over a lying figure.

"What the hell? Watch where you're walking, dumbass!" The stranger yelled.

"Shit! Sa orry about that." Jai said, squinting to adjust his eyes. The identity of the figure became unmistakable. Kago laid flat on his back, limbs stretched out in every direction in a daze.

"Kago!? What the hell are you doing out here?" Jai yelled back in disbelief.

"Enjoying the high, what the hell else would I be doing?" He responded lazily.

Kago cracked open a single eyelid and extended his hand, offering a smoldering blunt. "Interested?"

"No thanks, appreciate the offer though," Jai crouched beside him, completely lost now. "Look, I could use your help. Did you see anybody run by here at all?"

"Of course not, ya can't see a thing out here," Kago drawled, eyes drifting closed again.

"You don't say...," Jai stated sarcastically. "Guess I should've expected as much."

Kago's eyes snapped open, a spark of clarity breaking through. "Now, hold on just a minute! I happen to know a guy who just might be able to help you out."

Hope came back to Jai. "Fantastic! Can you bring me to him?"

"Of course bro, I got you. The high's wearing off anyway. Follow me." Kago lankily pulls himself up off the ground.

Kago led Jai out of the cloud, both of them taking lungfuls of fresh air as they emerged. Kago chuckled softly to himself, savoring the momentary sensation of rebirth. Then, without warning, he launched into motion, sprinting away before Jai had fully recovered his senses.

"Come on!" Kago's voice trailed behind him, challenging Jai.

The offer transformed into a chaotic obstacle course throughout the Nu Sector. Kago maneuvered between buildings and pivoted sharply around corners as if he was trying to lose Jai rather than guide him. Contained laughter escaped him as he led Jai on a seemingly pointless chase. Jai's energy reserves began to dwindle along side his patience.

"Where the hell are we going Kago!? Quit messing around; this is important!" Jai shouted.

"Almost there!" Kago shouted back over his shoulder as he vaulted over a chain-link fence with practiced ease.

Landing behind the barrier, Jai spotted Kago make a sharp left turn ahead. His patience finally depleted as he rounded the corner.

"Okay, that's enough! Where the hell are you-"

The words died in his throat as a building blazed with thousands of lumens that nearly blinded him. Kago's silhouette stood frozen before the spectacle, a dark cutout against its brilliance.

"We're here!" Kago announced triumphantly.

Above the entrance, a lone sign pulsed, concealed by the surrounding towers. Jai's jaw dropped at the name across it: Divine Deep Dive. He moved forward in a trance, standing beside Kago.

Deep Dive VR!? I thought it was only in development! There's VR, sure, but deep dive!? How the hell...

"Kago... Are you for real?" He asked with doubt in every word.

"Hell yes, I am! Tonight, we venture into uncharted territory in search of the ultimate high!" Kago's exuberant cry echoed between buildings.

"Cool, but what about the guy we're looking for?"

"Oh right, he's inside. Come on." Kago's responded nonchalantly.

Jai exhaled a heavy sigh of relief, still processing the events that had led him here. Kago stepped toward the entrance, suddenly falling to the ground after his temporary energy surge abandoned him completely. With another sigh, Jai hoisted his arm over his shoulder and walked him inside, desperately seeking assistance.

The interior greeted them with film-noir dimness, eerily punctuated by strobing white lights emanating from a back room. The reception desk stood conspicuously unmanned, with only a battered sofa shoved unceremoniously into a corner to welcome visitors. It was off-grid and extremely unsettling.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Jai called out, his voice echoing in the nearly empty building.

A voice responded from a side room. "Be with you in a moment."

Moments later, a bearded man with glasses emerged, his lengthy brown hair secured in a man bun. His physique was a sleeper build, with substantial muscle hidden beneath his oversized jumpsuit. Raising a water bottle to his lips, he froze mid-sip after seeing Kagos state. Water comically sprayed from his mouth in surprise.

"Kago?! Looks like he didn't quite make this time. Set him down on the couch for now." He commanded with familiarity.

Jai carefully laid Kago onto the cushions. "Is he gonna be alright?"

"Don't worry, this happens all the time," the man reassured him, splashing water onto Kago's face.

The cold shock jolted Kago back to consciousness with a groan, his hand immediately clutching his forehead against a punishing headache.

The bearded man turned his attention to Jai, eyes narrowing with curiosity. "Now then, who the hell are you supposed to be?"

Jai held out his hand. "The name's Jai, nice to meet you..."

"Riff," the man responded as they shook hands. "Thanks for taking care of my boy."

"Don't mention it."

Kago stirred, pushing himself up off the couch with visible effort as he gradually returned to normal. "Yo, Riff!"

"Kago my man!" Riff replied, clasping Kago's hand in a satisfying pop.

"Woah," Jai muttered, captivated by the sound.

Kago's lips curled into a knowing smirk, his blood-red eyes blazing with excitement. "Is everything ready?"

"You know it," Riff responded, light glinting dramatically off his glasses as he adjusted them. "Right this way."

Riff guided them into the back room where the strobing lights came from. Two imposing deep dive hubs were stationed like technological monoliths. Cables cascaded from the ceiling, connecting to headsets that rested atop beds with enhanced padding. Mounted screens displayed disconnected vital signs. Between the two hubs sat a desk supporting a hefty computer where streams of binary covered the monitor.

"Holy shit! Where did you get these Riff?" Jai couldn't mask his astonishment.

"I was a beta tester for some developers," Riff explained, his tone matter-of-fact. "They lent me the prototypes a while back when they got outdated. They only run a handful of games, but Kago and I have been using them freely for ages. You're welcome to try if you want."

Caution tempered Jai's excitement. "Really? Isn't it dangerous?"

"Relax Jai, lighten up. We've done this hundreds of times," Kago interjected confidently.

Jai's skeptical eyebrow rose in silent challenge.

"Okay, you got me. Maybe more like 10," Kago conceded with a sheepish grin. "But it's harmless, just look at me!"

Jai tilted his head with a subtle, sardonic smirk. Before he could voice further objections, Riff's arm wrapped around his shoulders in a gesture of reassurance.

"Don't worry man. If anything goes haywire, I'll pull you out right away. Whadya say?" Riff's offered, patting Jais chest.

After a moment of though, Jai nodded. "Fine, let's do this. But only if you agree to help me find something after."

"Deal."

Kago pumped his fist triumphantly as both he and Jai settled into their respective chairs. Both put the helmets over their heads, the visors plunging them into temporary darkness. Riff rolled his chair up to the central computer, dancing his fingers across the keyboard in rapid, precise keystrokes that mirrored his years of expertise. With a final, emphasized button push, he turned toward his subjects.

"Everyone ready?"

Both students responded with a thumbs-up. The monitors accurately displayed vital signs in real-time: brainwave patterns held steady, heart rates were even, and body temperatures remained optimal. All systems were primed for immersion.

"Diving in three... two... one..." Riff's countdown ended in the decisive smash of an oversized red button.

Blinding white light flooded their visors as consciousness transferred them from reality to a digital dream world.