This is the Age of the Shinobi.
My name is Inochi Yaskue, and this is my story.
Centuries ago, a clash between two deities shaped the fate of Earth.
They granted humans a miraculous power known as Essence a gift meant to forge bonds, inspire love, and connect all life.
But as the ages passed, humanity grew selfish. Some sought only more power, Wars erupted.
More multiplied, destruction became commonplace.
Observing this, the Sun God Ra, ruler of Earth, deemed humanity unworthy.
They had no right to wield such power.
In his judgment, he commanded one of his soldiers to summon Selena, the God of the Moon, and ordered her to unleash a flood that would wipe out all of humanity.
The waters came, and Earth was drowned.
At first, Ra felt justified he had acted to correct the corruption of humankind.
But the higher deity, keeper of cosmic law, intervened.
"Ra," the deity said, "you were not to take life, Your power exists only to give."
Ra argued, his voice steady despite the weight of eternity "They were destroying themselves, I only punished them to prevent further chaos, my act did not interfere with the natural order they needed to face karma."
The higher deity's gaze was unyielding. "Every action has a consequence, You have broken the law, and you must be punished."
With a surge of divine authority, the deity stripped Ra of his power and sealed him to a rock.
His hands and feet were spread wide as the deity transformed the essence of the sun into a legendary Sun Hawk, tasked with torturing Ra for ten thousand years.
Selena, too, was punished for obeying Ra's command.
She was sealed within a dark, mystic cave, where a legendary serpent bit and paralyzed her, injecting venom that left her in unending pain.
For ten thousand years, their screams echoed through time.
Ra's guts were torn out by the Sun Hawk only to heal instantly, repeating the agony without end.
Selena endured bite after bite, her body frozen in pain, each strike relentless.
When the ten thousand years finally passed, the higher deity returned.
Standing over Ra, the deity asked, "Have you learned your lesson? What is the purpose of your power?"
Ra, staring at the cosmos above, exhausted and hollowed by the torment, whispered, "To give life… and not take it."
The deity nodded, "There is one final punishment. You and Selena shall be reincarnated as humans on Earth.
Only then will you understand the laws of Essence, and why it was given to the world."
Ra's eyes widened in dread as the deity extended a hand.
Using a divine technique, all of Ra's memories were wiped clean, and his soul was cast into darkness, beginning a journey that would test him in ways he had never imagined.