The building rose above the city like a monument to ambition.
Aestra stood at its base, dark eyes lifting to follow the sharp glass edges cutting into the night sky. LoiSys Corporation dominated the district—not through size alone, but through presence. It didn't try to impress. It expected obedience.
Louis stood beside him, hands in his pockets, clearly at ease.
"Pretty cool, right?" Louis said. "Most people never get past the lobby."
"It looks expensive," Aestra replied.
Louis laughed. "That too."
They entered without stopping. The doors slid open automatically, security systems recognizing Louis instantly—and Aestra a half-second later. Inside, the building was silent, white, and impossibly clean. Data streamed across transparent walls, symbols and numbers shifting faster than the eye could fully follow.
An elevator awaited them.
Louis pressed a button marked only with a symbol.
"Basement?" Aestra asked.
"Way below that."
The elevator descended smoothly, faster than any normal system. Aestra felt the familiar pressure in his ears, his body instinctively bracing. When the doors finally opened, they revealed something entirely different from the polished world above.
A vast underground chamber stretched before them.
Circular immersion pods filled the room, each one sealed with a transparent dome. Blue light pulsed softly within them, and faint holographic projections hovered above each capsule—fragments of landscapes, city ruins, unfamiliar symbols.
The air vibrated with power.
"This is the full-dive sector," Louis said more quietly now. "Once you're inside, the system connects directly to your neural pathways."
Aestra's gaze lingered on one pod. "And the game?"
"Feels real," Louis said. "Too real, according to some testers."
Footsteps approached.
A man emerged from the far side of the chamber, his posture straight, movements precise. His presence alone carried authority. Silver hair, calm expression, eyes sharp enough to miss nothing.
"Aestra," Louis said, straightening, "this is my father."
The man inclined his head slightly. "Étienne Moreau. Welcome."
Aestra mirrored the gesture. "Sir."
Étienne studied him for a moment longer than necessary. "So this is the one you insisted on."
Louis smiled nervously. "Yes."
Étienne turned toward the immersion pods. "End of Laws : The Last Generation is not about winning," he began. "It is about choice under collapse. The world inside has already lost its systems—governments, protections, laws. What remains is humanity, stripped to instinct and belief."
A massive hologram activated in the center of the room, showing a ruined city divided into factions, symbols shifting constantly.
"The environment," Étienne continued, "is identical for all players. Same dangers. Same opportunities. Same consequences."
The hologram shifted again—this time showing three figures standing side by side.
Aestra focused immediately.
Each figure appeared twice.
Once male.
Once female.
"At the start," Étienne explained, "players choose one of three protagonists. Their background, skills, and starting position differ—but the world does not adapt to their gender. Only their identity changes."
Louis glanced at Aestra. "Same story. Same difficulty. Just… who you are."
Aestra nodded slowly. "That makes more sense."
"The system observes how players react when identity changes but circumstance does not," Étienne added. "It reveals much about perception."
Aestra's eyes moved over the figures. "Then I'll choose the male version."
Louis stiffened.
"…About that," he said.
Aestra turned. "No."
Louis sighed. "You remember the bet we made earlier?"
Aestra's gaze sharpened. "What bet."
"The one where the loser lets the winner choose which version the other plays."
Silence.
"You lost," Aestra said flatly.
Louis shook his head. "Barely—but no."
Aestra stared at him. "You planned this."
Louis raised his hands. "I swear I didn't expect to win."
Étienne watched with faint amusement but did not interfere.
Aestra exhaled slowly.
"…So," he said, "you're telling me I came all this way, and I don't even get to choose the gender of my character."
Louis winced. "Technically, yes."
Aestra closed his eyes for a brief second.
When he opened them, his expression was calm again.
"Fine," he said.
Louis blinked. "Really?"
"I lost the bet," Aestra replied. "I'll take the female version."
The hologram responded instantly. The male variants faded, leaving the three female protagonists standing clearly defined as streams of data poured into their forms.
Étienne nodded, impressed. "Most hesitate. Few accept so easily."
Aestra stepped toward the nearest immersion pod.
"What happens now?" he asked.
Louis swallowed. "You lie down. And when the game starts… you wake up as her."
Aestra placed a hand on the capsule's edge.
"…Then nothing changes," he said quietly. "Only the perspective."
The pod opened.
And the world without laws prepared to receive him.