One ordinary day, when no one expected it, during a time of peace, an event shook every nation on Earth.
14% of the world's population vanished without a trace. Babies, children, adults, and the elderly — there was no pattern. People disappeared from every corner of the globe. That day saw countless accidents involving drivers, pilots, and operators of heavy machinery in large factories and industries. Within a single week, more than 10,000 deaths were recorded as a direct consequence of the disappearance of 980,000,000 people.
2026
2026 For two years, every country on Earth — with their best scientists, doctors, and religious leaders — tried to explain what had happened. During this period, people split into countless religions, especially those that believed flying objects had taken the missing. This belief grew stronger after numerous reports of UFO sightings across the skies on the very day of the disappearances.
Conflicts erupted between Christians and followers of alternative faiths. However, the hypothesis accepted by the majority was that this had been the Rapture. Many atheists converted, and faith somehow grew stronger among those who waited daily for the Apocalypse — which, according to Jewish and Christian traditions, would come shortly after the Rapture.
There was also a group of skeptics who believed the missing had been transported to a parallel universe as the result of a scientific experiment. This theory gained traction because, one month before the event (now called the "Great Purge"), the third attempt to activate the new particle accelerator had taken place, which had affected Earth's magnetic field.
2030
2030 By 2030, after the world had somewhat stabilized and life returned to a semblance of normality, a sect called Mallovic — which had existed in California since 2023 and defended the theory that the Purge was caused by aliens — carried out a terrorist attack in a football stadium, killing over 50,000 people and injuring thousands more. That day became known as the opening of the last portal on Earth.
These worshippers of Moloch claimed that a great sacrifice was necessary to take those who remained and open the seal for the New Era.
Two days later, a team of Syrian explorers discovered a fissure inside a cave. From it emerged a giant insect-like creature, which died a few hours later — something never seen before.
Fifteen days after that, a massive portal appeared in front of the Obelisk of the New Order in Berlin, a monument built with the help of the world government using components intended to stop solar storms caused by the earlier damage to Earth's magnetic field.
On that day, the world was consumed by fear and darkness. Countless terrifying creatures and beings poured out of the 100-kilometer-wide portal and began slaughtering and devouring humans across Germany, eventually spreading into neighboring countries.
In the following days, more portals were discovered in various nations: the second in Senegal, Africa; the third in Washington, United States; followed by Shanghai in China, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Nagasaki in Japan, and one in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
3032
2032 Over the next two years, 33 portals were confirmed worldwide. The armies of the major powers united, but the number of demons proved far greater.
In those two years, half of the world's population was wiped out. Only 3 billion people remained. Survivors began gathering in fortified shelters within single cities now known as Defensive Poles.
Governments built massive fortresses and armed brigades to protect the remaining population, but resources grew scarcer every day. Food shortages became critical. Even the combined forces of the United States, China, and Russia could not withstand the demonic waves. Nuclear weapons were deployed in a drastic decision that obliterated Australia, yet the portals in that country remained intact.
2034
2034 With time, humanity began to surrender to the demonic forces. The world population had fallen to just 600 million. Many countries were completely wiped out. Survivors gathered in the Defensive Poles, forming a single massive cluster. Governments tried desperately to preserve life by building walls and defenses against the demons.
Of the original 33 portals, only 12 remained open; the rest had vanished. Still, more than 10 million demons and creatures now roamed the Earth.
Each country faced creatures drawn from its own cultural myths: yokai in Japan, ancient Egyptian gods in Egypt, Aztec and Mayan entities in North and South America, and so on. Every demonic horde had leader entities — the "Greater Gods" — crowned as kings of their respective regions. Moloch was one of the first demons and ruled the northern region of the United States.
South America managed to preserve only part of Brazil, which took in refugees from neighboring nations. The United States retained a significant portion of its territory, but at the cost of countless soldiers. Half of Europe was reduced to ashes. Asia isolated itself within China, creating one of the largest Defensive Poles. Other countries were completely overrun by demons, and no one dared enter them anymore.
Technology had vanished. There was no more money or electricity. Humanity had regressed to a medieval existence, surviving only by planting and harvesting.
2036
2036 In 2036, the 12 remaining portals released the 12 Emperors of Hell. The conditions had been met. According to the scriptures of the Mallovic sect, the world's population needed to be reduced to 500 million to bring back the rulers of the world. Humanity now stood on the brink of its imminent end.
The stars fell from the sky, devastating much of the planet's flora, forests, and waters. Gradually, the Emperors spread various plagues across the world — pestilence, famine, storms, and tsunamis — destroying many Defensive Poles and survivor colonies. The Black Death and malaria returned with far greater potency, alongside floods and volcanic eruptions. Those who died during this time had their souls corrupted and transformed into demons, further swelling the army of darkness.
The 12 Emperors divided themselves among different regions of the world. Each commanded their own army and sought to dominate the countries they had claimed. Eventually, the demons began fighting among themselves for territory.
2037
2037 Only six countries still maintained intact Defensive Poles: Canada, Japan, France, Brazil, and the United States. All other nations had been conquered by the demonic Emperors, their populations either killed or enslaved.
2038 The six remaining countries decided to unite for humanity's final stand. Thus, the LAST EMPIRE was created, headquartered in Paris, France. In the attempt to move survivors to this location, only 100 million people managed to arrive alive. The human armies fought a single massive battle to escort the survivors to France, but half of their forces were lost in the process.
Father Dom Greco from Vienna had brought with him strange crystals he had found in a cave in his homeland. When placed in pure water, these crystals multiplied. The survivors discovered that they could repel demons.
The "last government" began mass-producing these crystals to protect the SANCTO EMPIRE. A great dome of crystals was erected, shielding the remaining population — now no more than 70 million people — spread between Paris and nearby cities.
2041
2041 That year, within the Last Empire, a faction known as the Resistants emerged. They refused to simply wait inside the fortress for death at the hands of the demons. They formed several groups that left the safety of the walls in search of salvation. For two years, every attempt failed, resulting in heavy losses.
Until one day, a 25-year-old young man named Riam Delvonar found a mysterious artifact in a river near Annecy. When he brought it to the priests of the Resistants, they declared it to be the Holy Grail, an object capable of bringing salvation to humanity.
2044
2044 Over the next three years, the Resistants received support from the Last Empire's government to build a massive Crystal Tower to protect the artifact and shelter the survivors while they searched for a way to summon the Savior — or simply waited for Him. However, the demonic forces attacked the fortress more relentlessly than ever.
That same year, a miracle occurred. While everyone slept, the tower suddenly grew, reaching over 30 kilometers in height and 110 kilometers in width. The door on the first floor, once crossed, transported people to an entirely different place — a world without devastation, demons, plagues, or death.
Almost all inhabitants of the Last Empire began entering the tower. When nearly everyone had migrated to the first floor, several demonic portals suddenly opened inside. The army of the Last Empire managed to contain the demons within the tower. Gradually, life began to take shape there. Many people attempted to climb the tower in hopes of reaching the heavens, but no one knew how many demonic portals existed on each floor.
2045
2045 In 2045, seven people living inside the tower began awakening supernatural powers. They were called the Seven Emperors of God. Chosen because of these new abilities, they trained for a full year before setting out to climb the tower. They fought countless demons and crossed many floors, but upon reaching the top floor, these Resistants were killed by an unknown force.
At the exact same moment, all the people who had disappeared in 2026 began reappearing inside the tower — and every one of them possessed powers similar to those of the Seven Emperors of God.
Following this event, the Holy Grail, which had been kept on the seventh floor inside Solomon's Cathedral, was taken by an angel who appeared suddenly. The angel shattered the Grail into 100 pieces and declared that they would be scattered throughout the tower because of the sins committed by its inhabitants.
The great archbishops proclaimed that these fragments had to be gathered again, or the tower would collapse.
2047
Two years later, the tower had become the "world" for most of Earth's remaining inhabitants. The people who returned in 2033 came to be known as Heroes, for they fought to rid that world of demonic forces. Some even ventured outside the tower to try cleansing the "real world" of darkness, but most explored the tower's 100 floors.
It was gradually discovered that each floor represented different timelines and biomes: desert worlds, frozen lands, savannas, ancient civilizations, and countless other environments. They contained every beast and monster recorded in history, along with many that had never been heard of before.
2049
In 2049, the 12 Emperors decided to unite and invade the tower all at once. They had learned that the fragments of the Holy Grail could bring salvation to humanity. Thanks to the betrayal of one of the Heroes who had been exploring outside the tower, the Emperors managed to enter and sent their armies to climb the tower and stop the Heroes from succeeding.
From that year onward, the struggle for the artifacts began. Returned humans fought against demons as they climbed the tower, searching for the pieces of the Holy Grail.
A group known as "The 12 Strongest" had already reached the thirty-second floor when the same angel who had shattered the Grail appeared once again. He declared that one of them was a traitor working for the demonic forces. He instructed them that, if they wished to save the world, they would need to reach the top floor within 333 days and gather all the fragments of the Grail.
The 12 Heroes would have to climb 68 floors in less than 10 months, while also dealing with the traitor within their group and the demonic armies that were also ascending the tower.