Deep under the sea, in the cold and crushing dark, something ancient opened its eyes.
For hundreds of years—maybe more—it had not moved. The water around it was still. Silent. Only the faint sound of shifting rock and faraway sea creatures filled the black depths.
He sat alone, in a hidden chamber near the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The room was carved by his own hands long ago, protected by pressure and stone. No human had ever found it.
Here, he had rested.
Not sleeping.
Waiting.
This being—this man—was not quite human. Not anymore. His name had long been forgotten by time. He had lived as many things over the ages: a hunter, a flame, a beast, a guardian.
But now, he only called himself one name.
Eon.
A low hum echoed through the water. It was not sound, but a pulse—a vibration in space and time.
He felt it in his bones.
Something had returned.
"It begins again," he said softly.
Far above, in the middle of a city filled with cars and tall buildings, a girl named Rin stared up at the sky.
The clouds had started to swirl.
Not like a normal storm.
This one spun perfectly—circular, slow, glowing faintly blue.
At first, no one else noticed.
But then, Rin's phone buzzed. She looked down.
The screen flickered. Strange symbols appeared.
She blinked.
"What's going on?"
Her hands started to tingle.
A strange message appeared on her phone.
[ALERT: RIFT OPENED – PHILIPPINE ZONE 03][CLASS: UNAWAKENED][TALENT DETECTED – VERDANT HEART][SYSTEM SYNC INITIATING…]
"What is this… a game?" she asked, confused.
But then—her heart skipped a beat.
The city suddenly felt… quieter.
Like the world had paused.
And in that silence, Rin heard something—not through her ears, but through her soul.
"The world is shifting. Wake up."
Far beneath the ocean, Eon stood for the first time in years.
His body moved smoothly, power hidden just under the surface. His skin looked normal, but glowing lines ran across his arms and back—like ancient scars that pulsed with light.
He looked up.
Even through the thick water, he could feel the change in the world.
"The System has returned," he whispered.
He stepped toward the chamber's exit.
His long black hair floated around him like seaweed. His armor was smooth and dark, made from things older than steel. His eyes burned softly with gold light.
As he walked, the sea parted for him.
The rocks moved.
The water obeyed.
He was no ordinary man.
He was a being of evolution—one who had passed through every age.
And now… he would return to the surface.