The world was no longer as it once was. The day magic and monsters appeared, humanity lost its control over the land. The sky darkened with ominous clouds, and the ground trembled beneath the weight of unknown horrors. Cities crumbled, nations fell, and civilization teetered on the brink of extinction.
But humanity did not surrender.
Among them were the Awakened—humans blessed with supernatural abilities, their powers manifesting in the direst moments. They became the last hope of mankind, warriors who fought against the monstrous tide.
The Five Who Sacrificed Everything
A hundred years ago, the sky split apart.
Darkness flooded the world as monsters beyond human comprehension emerged from the abyss. Cities crumbled. Kingdoms fell. Entire civilizations were erased overnight.
Amidst the chaos, five warriors stood against the tide.
They weren't just Hunters. They were legends. Each of them wielded power that could rival gods, bending the laws of the world itself.
But even they could not defeat the monsters.
The creatures were endless, their existence a plague upon humanity. And so, the Five made a terrible choice.
They performed the Grand Seal—a forbidden technique to lock away the strongest monsters, trapping them in a prison outside of time.
But such power required a price.
To complete the ritual, the Five had to sacrifice themselves.
Without hesitation, they offered their lives.
The world was saved. Their names were lost. Their sacrifice was forgotten.
For a time, the world sighed in relief.
But peace was an illusion.
their seal… was breaking.
---
A City in Ruins
Screams echoed through the broken streets.
A myth-tier monster had appeared—one of the creatures the Five had sealed away. It towered over the ruins of the city, its golden eyes burning with hatred.
The Strongest Association, the elite force that responded to only the greatest threats, had arrived. The most powerful Hunters fought with everything they had.
And yet… they were losing.
Even the greatest warriors of this era were nothing before a being from the past.
And in the middle of it all—
Kael was dying.
---
The Orphan Who Was Powerless
Kael had always been nothing.
A nobody without an awakened ability.
An orphan who never knew his parents.
A weakling struggling to survive in a world ruled by the strong.
People like him weren't supposed to live long.
He had no power. No future. No reason to exist.
But there was one person who had never abandoned him.
---
The Girl Who Never Spoke Her Worries
Her name was Iria.
She was strong. She had awakened a power.
Unlike him, she had a future. She could have left him behind, but she never did.
Iria never openly said it, but Kael knew—she worried about him.
She never let him starve. She stood beside him in silence.
And now, as he lay dying, he regretted never telling her… how much that meant to him.
---
The Brink of Death
Blood poured from Kael's wounds.
The myth-tier monster had struck him once. That was all it took.
He hadn't even seen the attack coming.
Pain tore through his body. His vision blurred. His mind screamed at him.
Move. Run. Survive.
But his body refused to obey.
Around him, the Strongest Association's Hunters fought desperately.
Even they—the mightiest warriors of this era—were being overwhelmed.
Kael knew the truth.
He was already dead.
---
A Choice in the Darkness
His consciousness faded.
Everything became silent.
For a moment, there was nothing.
Then—a voice echoed.
"You have been chosen."
Kael's eyes widened.
Suddenly, memories not his own flooded his mind.
The Five who had sacrificed themselves.
The power they had sealed away.
The truth of the world, hidden for a century.
And then—something inside him shattered.
A force unlike anything he had ever felt surged through his veins.
This wasn't the power of a Hunter.
It was something forbidden.
Something that should not exist.
He had gained the ability to open the Gates of Heaven and the Gates of Hell.
---
A Being Reborn
Kael gasped as his eyes snapped open.
He was alive.
But something was different.
The air around him shook. Unseen chains shattered, releasing something ancient and uncontrollable.
The battlefield fell silent.
The myth-tier monster stopped moving.
The Strongest Hunters, who had been fighting desperately, stared in disbelief.
Kael, the orphan who had never mattered, stood among them.
Reborn in power.
Unchained by fate.
A legend that should have never existed… had returned.