A young man stepped into the abandoned throne room of a forsaken god. The air was thick with dust and silence, heavy with something ancient. The moment his foot touched the cold stone floor, a ripple passed through the chamber — then, one by one, the candles perched on the broken pillars sputtered to life. Their flames cast long shadows across the crumbling walls. The room, forgotten by time, woke up.
He limped forward, using his katana as a crutch. Each step was labored. Blood stained the trail behind him. Yet he pushed on... towards the lonely throne that stood at the center.
His arm was gone, and one of his eyes was missing. He had lost far too much blood... If any normal human were in the same condition as him, they might have passed out from the pain itself.
But Alger didn't...
Step after step, he slowly made his way to the throne... The throne that was calling out to him.
He stood still. In front of the seat where a god had once rested.
And without a word, he sat down. His thoughts, slowly fading away...
But the moment Alger touched the throne, something strange happened. A glowing screen appeared in front of him...
[Welcome b-back-ba-b...]
[Welcome]
[Do you wish to strengthen your Soul?] [Yes/No]
Time until death : 3 seconds
Time until death : 2 seconds
Time until death : 1 second...
Alger was barely able to stay conscious, but he was able to muster enough strength to speak out loud.
".....yes"
[You have become a Soul—]
But before Alger could fully read the sentence, he lost consciousness...
—————
Alger woke up. He jolted upright.
His hands were still suspended midair, as if reaching for something just out of grasp. His breath came fast and shallow, sweat clinging to his skin.
Heart pounding, he quickly got up and checked himself — arms, legs, chest... all were still there. He was alive.
'A dream... Thank god!' He thought to himself.
Still gasping for air, he noticed the glowing screen that appeared in front of his eyes and the data beneath it.
[You have survived an encounter with — Red Fox]
[You have slain an Inferno Ascendant]
[You have received 12 Gate Points]
***
Name: Alger
Species: Human
Gates: [Tempest Ascendant] — 82/100
Tempest attributes: [Gale]
Soul Inventory: [Starting Object], [Tattered cloak]
Phase: —
Title: [The Called]
He looked around and quickly realised what had happened. A few meters from his feet lay a corpse... the Corpse of an Inferno Fox, with a rusty knife protruding from it.
The corpse of the flame fox lay still, its once-blazing fur now dimmed to a dull, ashen orange. Wisps of smoke curled from its charred tail. Around its body, the grass was scorched black.
Alger realised that he must have passed out while fighting the damn thing.
He looked down at his body.
His clothes were practically non-existent, and his skin was covered in blisters and burns. If anyone other than Alger were in such condition, they might have passed out again, just from the pain itself...
"12 points?! Only? Even after all that?! Damn it! Just how long am I going to be stuck as an Ascendant! I have been in the Veil for 3 whole months! Curse this place!" Alger said in frustration.
—————
Around a thousand years ago, humanity finally became the dominant species on the planet. They conquered the wilds, unlocked the secrets of the Gates and Elemental Energy, and some even ascended to wield Gates as high as the 9th tier.
The world was at peace... until it wasn't.
Humanity was suddenly faced with planetary extinction. Humans lost everything they had gained over the course of their history... everything was gone.
But all hope was not lost...
There were victims of the Extinction. And those who were brave enough to lead the survivors. They were the ones who founded the final Continent of Mytherra.
Even with a place to call home, humanity had still lost far too much.
Basic knowledge — maps of the outside world, the science behind various objects, and even the cause of the Extinction was lost. The only thing humanity knew about the lands beyond was that they were hostile... and that monstrous beings stronger than any human roamed freely.
But Humanity still had one tool left...
Elemental Energy.
A mysterious force that has been rumoured to exist since the dawn of time.
All living creatures, beast and human alike, can manipulate and shape this dormant energy with the help of a gate. The tier of your Gate determines how efficiently you can channel it, and ultimately, how powerful you are.
Starting at the tier of Broken, having a Broken gate means nothing. You're practically a normal human, just with the chance to grow into something more...
To bring your gate to the second tier, Ascendant. Or in general, to bring your gate to a higher tier, all you have to do is very simple. You have to fight and kill creatures. You have to push yourself to the limits, you have to struggle so much that your body is forced to open the gate in order to survive. And eventually, you will become an Ascendant, with an Ascendant gate.
With the aid of Elemental Energy, humanity spread in all directions — conquering, building, surviving — until it reached the edges of the world.
In the North, an endless freeze.
In the South, a sea filled with unspeakable dangers.
In the West, an ocean without end.
And in the East... the Veil.
A mysterious phenomenon discovered in the Eastern Territory nearly five years ago.
A shimmering wall of swirling color that stretched for thousands of kilometers across the Eastern frontier.
Many Brave souls have tried to cross it. But none have returned. So, eventually, humanity stopped trying. The Veil became a boundary... and then, a sentence. Criminals and exiles are now cast into it — discarded like refuse.
No one expects them to come back.
No one expects Alger to come back... not that he has anyone waiting for him.
At 16, Alger was convicted of a crime he didn't commit. Without a place to call home or people to call family, Alger truly had nothing worth living for. And when he was sentenced to death, he had accepted his fate... that these were his last few days to live.
It was supposed to be his last moments to live.
But when he was thrown into the Veil, something strange happened... He clearly remembers the first time he ever saw the glowing screen.
[Welcome, to The Trial of Beginnings]
[Objective: Reach the Beacon]
[You have received Artifact — Starting Object...]
What was meant to be his end... looked like the beginning of something new.
Or so he thought...
Alger soon discovered that the Veil was merciless to the weak — it was the home to many high-tier creatures, and the worst of all... There was no way to escape.
Alger, who only had a Broken Gate, stood no chance.
And yet… he survived. For three whole months, no less.
Slowly, he began to rise. His Broken Gate awakened.
And after two long months of struggle, he finally crossed the threshold. He had become… an Ascendant.
—————
After a while, Alger slowly walked towards the corpse and removed the bloody knife from its gut.
He placed his hand on the corpse of the fox.
And in the next second, the body slowly disappeared... Layer by Layer, starting from the skin and the muscles, then the organs, and finally the bones.
When Alger turned around to look at the screen.
Name: Alger
Species: Human
Gates: [Tempest Ascendant] — 82/100
Tempest attributes: [Gale]
Soul Inventory: [Starting Object], [Tattered cloak], [Rusty Knife], [Dead Fox]
Phase: —
Title: [The Called]
Out of sheer habit, he tried to do something...
He raised his hand and said something out loud.
"Starting Object"
And as he said that, he saw another glowing screen appear.
[Error! Artifact: "R29kJ3MgYmxvb2Q=" can only be summoned under specific conditions.]
"Damn it!"
Clearly frustrated, he kicked the ground.
"I hate my damn luck! Born without parents and an incurable disease, thrown in jail for a crime I didn't commit, A useless title, and a useless Starting Object! Can it get any worse?!"
'Damn it... when will I escape this cursed place. I made a damn promise to myself... that I'll return,' he thought to himself, before turning around.
He looked past the trees near the horizon and quietly acknowledged the beauty of the jagged line of mountains that reflected the final rays of sunlight...
But that wasn't what drew his eyes.
There was something else — a beam of light.
A pale, white beam rose straight into the sky from somewhere near the horizon. It shimmered faintly, steady and unnatural. A single golden string was connected to Alger's chest and led to the gleaming light. There was something eerie about it... and yet, it was beautiful.
That was the Beacon...