"One hundred and fifty years ago… the sky betrayed us."
It began with a storm unlike anything recorded in human history.
Thunder that shook continents.
Clouds black enough to swallow daylight.
Lightning that did not strike down—but tore through reality itself.
Where each bolt touched the earth, a wound opened…
A gateway to worlds we were never meant to see.
Worlds crawling with creatures stronger than steel, faster than bullets.
Worlds soaked in a power humanity had never encountered—
Infernal energy.
Our weapons failed.
Our armies fell.
Civilization crumbled under claws, fangs, and flames from realms beyond imagination.
For decades, humanity ran.
Hid.
Survived on fear alone.
But from the ashes of ruin… something changed.
A spark awakened within us.
A rare few began to absorb the very energy that destroyed our world.
Their bodies evolved.
Their strength surged.
Abilities that defied logic were born.
We called them The Gateborn — the first humans shaped by infernal power.
With their rise, humanity struck back.
Forging weapons from metals stolen from the monster realms,
creating blades and guns capable of killing the unkillable.
We reclaimed our cities.
Our borders.
Our hope.
Yet the lightning storms never stopped.
The Gates kept opening.
Stronger.
Deeper.
Darker.
Agencies formed, ranking Abyss Walkers from E ranks to SS ranks.
Their mission: enter every new Gate, destroy its core,
and prevent another nightmare from reaching our world.
This…
is the story that begins on the day the sky roared again.
The day lightning fell—
and a new Gate opened.
Mark Angus — seventeen, buzzing with excitement — finally gets his license as an Abyss Walker.
He stares at the printed rank on his new ID card:
D–Rank Abyss Walker.
Not the strongest… but not the weakest either.
For him, it's perfect.
"YESSS! Finally!"
He practically vibrates in place.
Mark:
"I'm gonna be doing real missions. Fighting skeleton soldiers, beast hounds, shadow crawlers— ALL THAT COOL STUFF!! Let's gooooo!"
He's pacing through the lobby of his agency, grinning like an idiot at the card as he weaves through the crowd toward the exit of the Abyss Response Unit (ARU), still staring at the card like it's treasure.
Mark:
"My first gateway raid… I can't WAIT!"
Then—
Bump.
He crashes into someone.
His card slips from his hand and flutters to the floor.
Mark:
"Ah—! Sorry! My bad, I wasn't looking"
He drops down to grab it.
At the same time, she also drops down to help.
THUNK.
Their foreheads collide.
Girl:
"Ouch!"
Mark immediately freezes, eyes wide.
Mark:
"Oh— oh my god, I'm so sorry! You must be really hurt— I swear I've got a very hard head, it's like hitting a wall, I'm so"
He rubs his forehead.
She rubs hers.
They look ridiculous.
Mark:
"…Me and my thick skull…"
She lets out a little laugh — embarrassed, but cute.
This is his crush.
The girl from his school.
The one he's never talked to.
And here they are… headbutting each other in front of the whole agency lobby.
Lizzy.
A brown long–haired, beautiful girl with soft pink eyes that looked like they were glowing under the agency lights.
Mark's brain immediately malfunctioned.
"S-so pretty… oh crap… no no NO! This is my chance! The chance I've been dreaming of! Act cool, Mark. ACT. COOL."
He tried to focus…
He really tried…
But instead he ended up making the dumbest face known to mankind.
Lizzy leaned forward slightly.
"Umm… hello?"
She waved her hand in front of his face.
Mark snapped back to life.
"Oh—sorry! Uh—um—uhhh…"
He scratched the back of his head so fast it looked like he was rewinding.
"I was just coming to get my Abyss Walker license!"
(HA! Nice one, Mark. She'll definitely be impressed.)
"I'm actually pretty strong," he bragged, chest out. "I'm a D—"
"Woah!! Really? You're an Abyss Walker?" Lizzy gasped, instantly excited.
"I am too!"
Mark's soul ascended.
"W-we could… uh… raid a gate together sometime…" he said, trying to sound casual but failing miserably.
Lizzy smiled — actually SMILED.
"Sure. Anytime," she said.
Mark's heart stopped.
His brain rebooted.
"I'm Mark by the way," he said and offered his hand. Smooth handshake time, let's go.
"Mark Angus."
"Lizzy," she said, shaking his hand gently. "Nice to meet you."
"Lizzy!! Time to go!"
A voice shouted from behind her.
She turned. A guy from her squad was calling her.
"I've gotta go, Mark. See you soon!" she said before running off.
She disappeared into the crowd.
Mark stood there for a second.
Then—
"WAIT—"
He slapped his forehead.
"I didn't even tell her I'm a D-Rank Assassin type… That was my whole FLEX! That's unfortunate…."
But then a grin stretched across his face.
"Still…"
He puffed up proudly.
"I did pretty good. I'm sure she'll be thinking about me for eternity."
He strutted out of the agency lobby with the widest grin of his entire life, practically floating.
Mark was still smiling like an idiot, walking like he owned the whole world.
Then—
A shadow fell over him.
"Well well well… if it isn't Mark Anus himself…"
Mark froze.
Standing in front of him were three boys.
Dwayne in the center — tall, petty, and proudly stupid.
Stephen on the left — round, sweaty, and breathing like he just ran a marathon even though he didn't.
And Kyle on the right — skinny and silent, the "supporting background character" of the bully squad.
Mark sighed loudly.
"Hello, Dwayne…" he said lazily.
"What have I done now? Actually, wait—doesn't matter."
He opened his arms wide, like he was welcoming a friend.
"Here I am. Whatever you wanna do, just do it fast."
Dwayne blinked.
"...What the hell is wrong with you today?"
Stephen frowned.
"Well that just ruins the fun…"
Dwayne regained his villain energy.
"Well, I saw you talking to Lizzy."
His eyebrow twitched.
"And for every word you said…"
He punched his palm.
"You're getting a punch in the face."
Mark's soul left his body.
"HUH?! I–I SAID A LOT!!"
His eyes went wide.
"I didn't sign up for this!! My abilities don't stand a chance against B-ranks!!"
Then his brain activated survival mode.
"HEY, WHAT'S THAT OVER THERE?!"
He pointed dramatically behind them.
The three bullies turned instantly.
"Where?!"
"Is it food?"
"Huh??"
Mark sprinted away like his life depended on it.
"HA! IDIOTS!!!" he yelled behind him as his legs blurred.
Dwayne's eyes widened.
"GET HIM!!!"
And so the chase began — three angry B-ranks vs one panicking D-rank running like a headless chicken down the agency hallway.
Mark stumbled into the corner of an alley, chest heaving, hands on his knees.
"I think… I think I lost 'em…"
He straightened up to leave—
"THERE HE IS!!"
Kyle's voice echoed from far away.
Mark's eyes bulged.
"CRAAAP!!"
He bolted again, legs screaming, lungs burning.
He sprinted through the alleys, turned left, then right—
Until he slid to a complete stop.
Dead end.
A tall concrete wall stared back at him.
Mark whispered, "No… NO—this is illegal—dead ends should be banned…"
Footsteps thundered behind him.
Dwayne's silhouette appeared first.
Stephen second.
Kyle last, fire already swirling in his palm.
Dwayne cracked his knuckles.
"You're dead, Mark."
Mark swallowed.
"Guys… c-c'mon… we can talk about this—"
"Nope."
Dwayne lunged.
Mark dodged the first punch — barely — and tried to counter with a kick.
Dwayne blocked it easily and shoved him back like he weighed nothing.
Stephen charged next, body glowing faintly yellow.
"EARTH BULWARK—SHOVE!!"
He slammed into Mark like a boulder, sending him crashing into the wall.
Mark gasped, "I was not built for this—!!"
Kyle stepped forward, one palm igniting.
"Let's heat things up."
A small, spiraling fireball formed in his hand — the signature of a C-tier flame specialist.
Even this weak version was deadly to a D-rank like Mark.
Mark's eyes widened.
"Kyle—buddy—wait—think about the steak you could grill with this flame instead of wasting it on me"
"Still trying to be funny huh?"
Kyle launched it.
Mark rolled desperately, the fireball smashing into the wall and exploding with a burst of heat that singed his hair.
He tried to run, but Dwayne grabbed his shirt from behind and yanked him back.
Dwayne punched Mark in the stomach.
Hard.
Air fled Mark's lungs as he collapsed to his knees.
Stephen grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back.
Mark screamed.
"Aaaagh—! Okay—okay you win—STOP—"
Kyle formed another fireball and shoved it just inches from Mark's face.
The heat scorched his cheeks.
"You talk to Lizzy again… and we'll turn you into charcoal," Kyle hissed.
Mark trembled, trying to wriggle free, but Dwayne pinned him down with his knee.
Dwayne leaned close, whispering mockingly:
"Should've stayed out of our way, Mark Anus…"
Then Dwayne punched him again.
And again.
And again.
Stephen slammed him into the ground with a shockwave-assisted shove.
Kyle fired a small fire bolt straight into Mark's side — not enough to kill, but enough to brand him with pain.
Mark coughed, blood on his lip.
His vision blurred.
His ears rang.
His whole body screamed.
He curled into himself, arms weakly protecting his head.
He tried to speak, voice breaking—
"S-stop… p-please…"
But the beating kept coming.
Three B-ranks vs one D-rank.
It wasn't a fight.
It was a slaughter.
The bullies kept hammering Mark, fists and abilities slamming into his body.
But none of them noticed the world around them changing.
Not at first.
The sunlight dimmed.
A chilled wind swept through the alley.
Shadows stretched unnaturally.
Mark blinked weakly.
Why… is it suddenly dark…?
Above them, the sky churned — clouds swirling into a massive vortex.
WEEE WOOO WEEE WOOO—!!
A deafening siren sounded across the district.
People in the streets screamed:
"EVACUATE THE AREA!! A STORM-TYPE RIFT IS FORMING!!"
Dwayne froze mid-punch.
"What the hell…?"
Stephen looked up, face pale.
"The sky… it wasn't supposed to—"
Kyle slowly lowered his burning hand, his flame flickering out.
Thunder rolled so close it felt like the sky itself snarled.
Mark, lying on the ground, stared upward.
The swirling clouds looked… wrong.
Dark purple veins of energy pulsed through them like cracks in reality.
Lightning began crashing down, one bolt after another—
but not randomly.
Each one struck in a circle… closing in around them.
Dwayne's voice cracked.
"We need to get OUTTA HERE!! NOW!!"
They all scrambled away—the bullies sprinting first, Mark staggering after them, half-limping, half-running.
The air vibrated with electricity.
The hairs on their necks stood straight.
Suddenly—
KZZZZZZZAAAAAAAP!!
A massive bolt struck directly where they had been standing a moment ago.
But this time, the lightning didn't fade.
It expanded.
The ground beneath them split open as blue-white energy cracked reality itself.
Wind roared, pulling them backward.
"KEEP RUNNING!!" Kyle screamed, terror in his voice.
But the pull grew stronger.
Mark felt his feet leave the ground.
A horrifying suction dragged all four of them toward the center of the lightning.
"NO—NO—NO—!" Dwayne yelled as he slid across the ground, trying to grab something.
Mark reached for anything—
His fingers brushed a loose pipe—
But the force ripped him away.
The light swallowed them whole.
For a split second, Mark saw a glimpse of something on the other side:
Black skies.
Burning red rivers.
Towering skeletal beasts marching across a blood-colored plain.
A world that radiated hate.
Then—
THWOOMPH.
Silence.
The sky above the city cleared instantly, as if nothing had happened.
The sirens stopped.
The clouds dissolved.
Sunlight returned.
The emergency officers looked confused.
"Where's the Rift?"
"It vanished?"
"There was no gateway left behind—what happened?"
No trace of the lightning.
No trace of a Rift.
No trace of Mark… or the bullies.
It was as if the phenomenon had completed its purpose in seconds—
And then sealed itself shut.