Twenty years ago, the world as we knew it was an ordinary place. The greatest wars were fought between humans, and supernatural tales were confined to the pages of books or movie screens.
Until that day... the day of "the Great Emergence."
Pitch-black dimensional rifts tore through the skies across the globe without a single warning. They were wounds upon reality, and from them bled not droplets of water, but swarms of monstrous beasts from other dimensions. City after city fell, and human civilization was pushed back to the very brink of extinction.
Those terrifying dimensional rifts came to be known worldwide by a single name: "Gates"—portals to nightmares no one had ever dared to imagine.
But just as despair was about to consume everything, a new light of hope was born.
Certain humans began to awaken supernatural powers within themselves. They could control fire, create ice, possessed superhuman strength, or even heal grievous wounds. Humanity called these gifted individuals the "Awakened"—a new hope in the fight for survival.
Now, the world has fully entered a new era. All the rules have been rewritten, with "Gates" and the "Awakened" at the very center.
Gates are dimensional dungeons that appear at random and remain until they are "cleared" by the Awakened. Their danger levels are generally classified into six ranks, from Rank E, which is no different from a playground, to Rank S, which is considered a national-level catastrophe.
Like Gates, the powers of the Awakened are also measured and ranked, from Rank F, barely different from an ordinary person, to Rank S, who are like walking weapons of war. Above them all is the legendary Rank SS, a class so rare that only three individuals in the entire country have achieved it.
To manage these threats effectively, the Awakened formed "Guilds," which have since become organizations of immense power and influence. The three most powerful guilds in the country are:
Nightcrow Guild: The number one guild, the strongest in offensive combat.
Aegis Sanctuary: The number two guild, serving as a "shield" to protect the people.
Trinity Spire: The number three guild, excelling in magical and technological research.
In an age where strength is everything, everyone struggles to climb to the top... Amidst this fierce competition, countless stories were born. Some became celebrated epics, others were recorded as legends. But this story... begins in the quietest, most ordinary corner of this new world.
The bubbling sound of water in an electric kettle signaled the start of another perfectly ordinary evening for Silla Crestwell. He stood in the middle of his compact living room, dressed in soft cotton pajamas. The faint, floral scent of the fabric softener he'd chosen himself was strangely comforting.
This condominium was his entire world, a fortress of normalcy he had painstakingly built to escape the shadow of a family that was far too large... larger than a Rank F Awakened like him could ever hope to measure up to.
Ting!
A holographic screen lit up on the glass coffee table. It was a message from his older brother, Seyrus. The accompanying image showed a handsome young man in gleaming platinum armor, grinning so widely that every tooth was visible. Behind him were the ruins of an ancient castle and the strange purple sky characteristic of a high-level Gate.
[Big Bro: My little Silla! Miss you like crazy! Look at this, I just soloed an A+ Rank dungeon and got the 'Tears of the Fairy Queen'! Super rare! They say if you get a good craftsman to make earrings out of it, it'll give you sweet dreams! I'll send it over right away! Love you, my little rabbit!]
Silla let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head at his brother's over-the-top acting. He typed back a simple reply, as he always did.
[Silla: That's amazing, Seyrus. Don't overdo it, okay?]
Before he could lift his finger from the virtual keyboard, a message from his mother popped up.
[Mom: You must have heard from Seyrus, my love. Don't forget to take the vitamin supplements I've prepared for you. The automated delivery system will bring a new batch tomorrow morning. I love you, sweetie.]
"I will, Mom," he murmured to himself, knowing she couldn't hear him.
This was his family... a family composed entirely of S-Rank Awakened. In a world where a person's worth was measured by their power level, the light element was a god-given talent, sought after by every guild. But Silla's light-element power... was Rank F.
It was utterly useless. It couldn't heal so much as a paper cut, couldn't create a protective shield, nor could it illuminate the darkness. The only thing his power could do was generate a faint warmth in his palms, as gentle as the morning sun in spring... completely and utterly useless.
Silla went to pour hot water into a plain white ceramic mug, a birthday gift from his mother. Cradling the warm mug in his hands, he walked to the glass balcony and gazed out at the sparkling lights of the metropolis that stretched as far as the eye could see. Here, he was just a single star that had fallen to earth... so faint that no one ever noticed. And he was content with that.
He never could have known that this light he deemed worthless was about to become the most coveted thing by the man who stood at the very pinnacle of the world.
…
The ragged, gasping breaths of the survivors echoed through the underwater temple ruins. The metallic tang of blood, the scent of ozone from dissipating magic, and the damp smell of ancient stone mingled into a nauseating stench.
At the heart of the Sunken Cathedral of the Abyss, an S-Rank Gate notorious for its madness, the colossal body of the Watcher of the Abyss lay still upon the ground. Its dark blue blood pooled across the area. Many members of the Nightcrow Guild had collapsed, utterly exhausted. Some were receiving urgent first aid from the field medic unit.
Only one imposing figure in jet-black armor remained standing as still and silent as a mountain.
Lucian Thorne stepped over the corpse of a lesser beast without a second glance. His armor was so immaculate it looked as if he had just walked out of a dressing room, completely devoid of scratches. Black energy still swirled around him like a living cloak. His sharp, obsidian eyes scanned the area, assessing the situation.
"Status report." His deep, cold voice broke the silence, sending a chill down the spine of everyone who heard it.
The vice-leader of the guild hurried over to report, his demeanor deferential.
"Eleven moderate injuries, three severe. No fatalities, Guild Leader! We took down the boss just before it entered its final phase, exactly as you planned!"
"Recover the power core and all items. Sweep the area one more time for any signs of a hidden boss," Lucian ordered, his words brief but carrying absolute authority. "We withdraw in fifteen minutes."
"Yes, sir!"
"Guild Leader, over here! The magic energy detector is picking up an unidentifiable power signature!"
Lucian turned toward the voice. A member of the reconnaissance unit was standing, stunned, in front of the boss's corpse. Lucian approached, his obsidian eyes narrowing slightly.
The power signature... was coming from inside the boss.
"Cut it open," he commanded.
Two members of the combat unit quickly used their energy swords to slice open the beast's tough abdomen. Amidst the disgusting internal organs and gushing blue blood, a smooth, ovular object was floating silently. It was completely untouched by the surrounding fluids.
It was an "egg."
The egg was slightly larger than a football. Its shell was as black as onyx, yet it reflected no light, as if it were absorbing all illumination that touched it. Upon its perfectly smooth surface, faint silver patterns swirled slowly, like a galaxy of stars in the night sky. It was at once beautiful, mysterious, and powerful.
"Never seen an item like this in the database... Can't identify the energy type... It's... alive, sir," the team's analyst reported, his voice trembling with excitement.
Lucian stepped closer. He waved for everyone to back away before removing his black armored gauntlet, revealing a pale hand that seemed at odds with its owner's immense strength.
He slowly reached out, his fingers making contact with the egg's cool, smooth surface.
The moment his fingertips touched it...
A feeling flooded his mind. It wasn't an attack, nor was it a curse. It was... an intense desire, transmitted directly from the egg. A feeling of a long, long wait... a yearning for completion... and a need for
light... but not just any light he knew.
It was a cry for a very specific kind of warmth.
For the first time in his life, Lucian felt he had encountered a puzzle that even his intellect and strength might not be able to solve. He gently tightened his grip around the egg.
This... it was his. He could feel it.