Taiyõ no Hai
An unknown cosmic phenomenon is causing the Sun to lose mass at an alarming rate, gradually forcing Earth into a widening, fatal orbit. As temperatures plummet, an unforgiving winter engulfs the planet’s surface. Ecosystems collapse, countless species vanish, food chains disintegrate, and human life expectancy declines under the strain of famine and cold.
In a desperate bid for survival, governments initiate genetic enhancement programs to engineer individuals capable of enduring the extreme climate. What begins as a noble scientific endeavor is soon corrupted by war, political collapse, and moral decay. In their desperation, humanity creates beings with blood so unnaturally hot it can evaporate moisture on contact, creatures who dare to call themselves human.
Yet these engineered survivors carry a catastrophic flaw. Neural instability in certain subjects gives rise to a severe condition known as Gnosis: a perceptual distortion that reshapes reality itself. To them, the world becomes flesh. Snow resembles layers of fat, walls pulse like living hearts, and every leaf hangs heavy with veins and sinew. The grotesque becomes beautiful: the beautiful becomes grotesque.
The cold did not merely freeze the world outside, it froze the human heart as well.