The night sky bled red.
Where once hung a gentle, pale moon, now glared a crimson monstrosity—The Blood Grail Moon, as the old mages called it, their voices hushed with awe, dread, and reverence.
Unseen by most, hidden beyond the veil of the ordinary, the Gates stirred. They groaned open with the sound of groaning stone and whispering madness—thresholds to places no scripture dared name, no legend dared speak aloud.
Only a rare few could sense these doorways. Fewer still possessed the will—or the madness—to call something through them.
This was that night.
Tonight, mages would gamble everything. They would summon beings, Heroes, older than myth, barter their lives, souls, and sanity, all for a single, impossible prize:
The Arcanum Eidolon!
A Wish-Granting Relic!
Not a simple wish, but a reweaving of fate itself!
For this miracle, for this hope, mages would do anything.
Because no matter the era, no matter the world, humanity's longing for what it cannot have is endless.
Even the ancient spirits they dared summon—entities whose names had long since turned to ash—were, at their core, nothing but…
Sins.
And so, beneath the bleeding heavens, the death games began.
****
A deserted school ground, swallowed in darkness. The moonlight spilt red across the empty field, soaking the earth in eerie luminescence.
All was silent—until the clash began.
Ting!
Tang!
Steel clashed, each blow ringing like a scream. Golden and silver sparks burst into the air as blades met, slid, and rebounded.
A young woman stood at the edge of the battleground, motionless, her long, dark hair flowing over her shoulders. Her face was beautiful, pale, and set in a mask of icy calm, though her blue eyes burned with a deep, hidden resolve.
She watched as her champion—a white-haired man with eyes like molten gold—traded blows with their enemy: a man whose hair was jet black, streaked through with gleaming gold, and whose lips curled in a mocking smile.
Without raising her voice, she spoke: "Envy, end this. Now."
The black-haired man arched an eyebrow, his amusement clear despite the intensity of the fight.
"So heartless, my lady. I just arrived, and already you want me dead? Honestly—where's the romance?" He spun aside, feinting left, his staff cutting through the air with a soft whistle. "Can't a man get a proper introduction before you write his eulogy?"
The young woman's lips twitched, just barely. "You're the one who attacked us, Greed. And your Master hasn't bothered to show—looks like you've been abandoned. If it's mercy you want, I'll give you a quick end."
Her gaze never left the fight. "Envy, finish it."
Envy's golden eyes narrowed. Without hesitation, he raised his blade. In his grip, the sword shifted—shimmering, warping, until it became a bow, strange and deadly.
"Don't take this personally." His voice was cold, final, as he drew back an arrow of pulsing light aimed straight at Greed's heart.
Greed grinned wider, lifting his staff wrapped in weathered ribbon. "Likewise, friend," he said, and suddenly the ribbon's ends sparked with golden light, forming strange symbols that shimmered in the gloom. "Nothing here ever is."
Suddenly—
Crack.
A sharp sound cut the air—wood splintering, a branch breaking beneath a foot.
Greed's grin vanished. He spun toward the source, scanning the shadowy hallways bordering the school grounds.
"Who's there?!" His voice was edged now, all humour gone.
He squinted, spotting a figure darting away through the darkness—just a glimpse of movement, just enough to know they'd been seen.
Greed's face went grim. Without a word, he vanished into the shadows.
Envy stepped back, looking to the young woman, "There wasn't supposed to be anyone else here," he said quietly, voice tight. "If Greed finds that—"
The woman's eyes widened—then she moved.
"Go!" she shouted, breaking into a sprint. "Stop him, Envy! Don't let him hurt anyone!"
Envy nodded once, disappearing into the night.
She raced through the halls, heart pounding.
Magic and mages lived in secret. The world could not know their war, especially not on a night like this. The rule was clear: if someone witnessed the ritual, they could not be allowed to live.
That was the law—brutal, absolute.
"Please don't let them die…" she whispered, breath ragged. She knew the rules, knew her duty, but the thought of someone dying because of her failure was too much to bear.
She reached the top floor just as Envy came into view, standing silent in the corridor... At his feet was a body, unmoving.
She stopped, chest heaving, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood. For a moment, she closed her eyes, steeling herself, then forced her legs forward.
"Check the rest of the floor," she ordered, voice trembling with effort. "If he's still here, find him. Quickly."
Envy nodded, vanished down the corridor.
Alone now, the woman approached the body. The pool of blood was already spreading across the polished floor, staining her black gown as she knelt.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, voice cracking, "this is all because of me…"
Her hands shook as she gently turned the body over to see the face, "I'll contact your parents—"
Thud.
She collapsed, horror twisting her features as she recognised the face staring up at her.
"Why… why are you h-here? W-Why you of all people!!" she choked out, disbelief and anguish tangled in every word. "S-She'll kill me if she finds out I let this happen to you… Oh god…"
She pressed a trembling hand to her forehead, the weight of guilt and fear almost overwhelming.
Then—
Clang.
A silver chain coiled around her wrist, cold and a green pendant glimmered against her skin, pulsing with an otherworldly light.
She stared at it, voice barely more than a whisper.
"I… I'm sorry, Father."
And then—
Light.
Blinding, green, and unnatural. It bloomed from the pendant, flooding the hallway, swallowing the shadows whole.
Above them all, the Blood Grail Moon flickered.
It convulsed—its surface rippling, bleeding Red—Blue—Green, as though reality itself was fraying.
And then, the clouds surged in, thick and fast, smothering the sky. The haunted light vanished behind the veil.
And silence returned.
_______
[Author's Note: I know what you are thinking, but this is not what you think... Just continue, and you will understand.