Chapter One ; QUESTIONS
Prologue ; A course of bizarre, related events.
…
The scorching, mid-day sun illuminated the rocky, gibber desert. Gales of wind blew specks of sand against the hard terrain.
Concussive booms and clanks of stricken steel traversed the air, and rattled the hard earth, as two silhouettes tore through the clear, ancient, azure skies.
Ritokoji Arufa, moved like a blur of dark lightning. His pitch-black hair whipped through the wind, matching the heavy, layered grey robes that flowed around his frame.
His massive broadsword whistled through the air, its hard steel collided against hardened flesh. The blade's obsidian accents reflected the appearance of a powerful, mysterious, humanoid creature.
With a deafening boom and successive head-rattling shockwave, Ritokoji delivered a devastating, heavy blow, launching the creature clean across the shattered landscape. The beast collided with the hard desert earth, leaving a massive, molten, smoking crater in the bedrock.
"Heavens!. Did I really hit you that hard? Please accept my apologies." Ritokoji said, landing gracefully at the precipice of the crater, a cocky smirk playing on his dry lips.
The creature's long snow-white hair flowed upward against gravity, contrasting sharply with its heavily muscle-defined, ash-grey skin.
Deep, slitted openings lined its back, pulsing rhythmically as they dragged streaks of raw environmental ryoku directly into its musculature.
Webbed cracks at the edges of Its eyes glowed with a blinding solid white.
The Dreadspawn rose from the rubble, its bones snapping back into place. Within moments, it had restored to its pristine masculine appearance, slightly slipping as it attempted to regain its footing.
A wide playful, grin formed on its uncanny, humanoid face,
"Don't get ahead of yourself, human," the Dreadspawn spat, its voice dripping with pompous arrogance.
"Aww, don't be like that," Ritokoji mocked, resting a hand on the hilt of his massive blade.
Inside its own harrowing mind, the Dreadspawn's thoughts wondered about. 'Such overwhelming strength for a mere human mortal… truly incredible.'
"I have to admit," Ritokoji continued, dragging his broadsword against the rocky terrain with a low, metallic hiss. Looking down to dreadspawn at the center of the crater,
"You're a bit more... sturdier , than the filth I'm used to. "
"Haha… Is that so?" the Dreadspawn chuckled as it grinned menacingly.
Ritokoji's expression brightened, "Oookay! Why don't we continue from where we left off? Brace yourself, vile thing."
Ritokoji took a low stance, closing his eyes as his ryoku flared into a blinding torrent of pressure as the air turned heavy. He raised his massive broadsword , then gripped it with the other hand, focusing his ryoku into the cold steel.
Blade Art: Mountain Cleaving Fissure!
The Dreadspawn's eyes widened in shock as it felt the sheer density of the incoming attack.
'That pressure... that technique... could it actually be him? The one I'm fated to... No... I'll wait. It's likely he's not the one.'
It braced itself, assuming the human's final strike would ultimately pack a punch... not a pinch.
"With this, I'll grant you a swift death. Cower!" Ritokoji declared, his voice dropping into a deadly, venomous register.
He lunged forward, unleashing 'Fissure'. The blade swung in a perfect arc, releasing a crescent wave of concentrated ryoku that sliced the crater in three.
The attack, powerful enough to split mountain ranges, tore toward the beast. Yet, just as it struck, the energy violently split into two separate streams, carving the earth to the left and right of the target as if deflected by an invisible, impenetrable mountain.
Ritokoji's eyes widened as the dust settled. "Impossible... how did you... "
The Dreadspawn stood completely untouched in the center of the destruction, laughing all maniacally.
Hahaha,
"Really, you humans tend to kick up a lot of dust, don't you?"
Ritokoji frowned, his grip tightening on his broadsword. "Haa…?."
"Honestly, what was it you intended to accomplish?" The Dreadspawn mocked with indignation, wiping a speck of molten glass from its ashen-grey shoulder.
"To stir up a mild breeze?,
Do you use that trick to blow out a few lanterns?
Seriously, you must belong in a wild circus... Your performance was rather entertaining!
Hahaha,To think you actually believed that party trick would grant me my death."
Composing itself, the creature's expression turned predatory as it slightly tilted its head. Its wide grin still played on its inhuman face.
"Now that I look closer, you are exactly what I've been hunting for. You're one of those heaven-blessed abominations, aren't you?,
…I thought mere humans stood no chance against me... but I see a glimmer of hope within you." The Dreadspawn's tone was filled with impatient joy.
"Yes! Marvelous. I can't wait, I want to see when I get to satisfy my ever so gluttonous boredom."
The beast extended its clawed, ash-grey hand directly toward Ritokoji who remained silent the whole time, paralysed by his folly,
"Evensage Progeny!"
A violent purple gale thrashed the recently formed canyon, blinding Ritokoji for a split second. He braced for impact, but the wind died down as quickly as it had arrived.
He inspected his chest and arms. "What... no damage?What– What exactly did you just do to me?"
"Clown... " coughs " I mean, human," the Dreadspawn explained calmly, its voice echoey and smooth.
"That was merely a branding curse,a beacon used to signal the birth of a worthy descendant. An individual down your bloodline , who might actually put up a real fight instead of a comedic opening act."
"You piece of shit! I'm not done with you! Don't you dare belittle me!" Ritokoji roared, stepping forward to strike again.
"Don't bother," the Dreadspawn replied coldly. "Your strength is admirable, but your understanding of the position you're in, is entirely obscure. Human, allow me to bestow upon you the embrace of true power.
Rejoice, mortal human. Death awaits."
The Dreadspawn pulled directly on its connection to the dark void within, its eyes flaring. The ambient light in the canyon began to bend and warp as it activated an innate
Realm Augmentation: INFINITY'S EDGE.
The world turned inside out. Before Ritokoji could swing his blade, a pocket dimension collapsed around him, swallowing him into a sea of absolute despair and mortal indignation.
Inside this kingdom, Ritokoji was instantly paralyzed, his mind and soul completely subjected to the Dreadspawn's malice.
An ash grey hand held a pale yellow banana, then another hand proceeded to gently peel its skin.
Where Ritokoji stood his skin peeled as well, showing the hidden crimson flesh beneath,blue veins squirming about.
He was trapped in a continuous loop of a living nightmare: the sensation of his skin being torn from his flesh, raw and agonizing, over and over again with every single heartbeat.
When the pocket dimension finally shattered and spit him back out onto the ruined Earth, the legendary Chief General was reduced to a trembling, whimpering mess on his hands and knees, gasping for air as cold sweat drenched his robes.
The Dreadspawn looked down at him, its expression stern, bored, and utterly detached.
"Don't bother standing back up to fight. Just go home, and copulate with your many spouses to give birth to offspring who can actually put up a fight"
Ritokoji forced his trembling lips into a bitter, blood-spat smile. "I hope… For humanity my descendants... beat the absolute shit out of you," he wheezed.
Turning on his heel, he used the last of his failing energy to flee the battlefield.
'Turned out the information that cunning kasdeja gave me was pretty accurate ... . hahaha what a wonderful day!.' The dreadspawn thought, its mood ecstatic.
'Now, I'll have to wait for three millenia
… how frivolous ',the ashen grey Dreadspawn looked up to the azure skies and proceeded to walk into the distance… never heard from again
- - -
That Dreadspawn was later recorded in the deepest vaults of history under the title –Tenkiroshi -- acknowledged across generations as the among the toughest, most mysterious Dreadspawn ever encountered by the Association.
- - -
Driven by a bitter, lifelong grudge and desperate to breed a warrior strong enough to break the curse of Tenkiroshi, Ritokoji Arufa went on to marry and father children with over fifty wives.
Because his physical and soul-body was exceptionally potent, he possessed a vast surplus of energy and stamina, traveling far and wide to sire a lineage large enough to fill a small city.
Every single one of his children was born a natural-born Auramancer.
The line of natural-born Auramancers declined exponentially due to them being branded as cursed lightning rods who brought ruin to innocent towns as the spike in dreadspawn sightings increased the more auramancy was practiced, launching a series of brutal, fearful public prosecutions to purge them from society. To survive, the remaining descendants fled into the shadows, completely hiding the practice of auramancy from public view.
While whispers of its existence remain in ancient lore, only a select, authorized few are permitted to practice it today.
— End of first related event —
- - -
Three Millennia Later: The Modern Era.
Aftermath of the Hamatsu district incident.
Hamatsu prefecture. 12.30 pm …
The electric glare of city lights gleamed beneath a brilliant full moon, as a rather athletic looking middle aged man walked calmly down the concrete streets.
He wore a tight black T-shirt, loose grey cargo pants, and had jet-black hair framing his slender, calculating eyes. He paused, his gaze lifting toward the silhouette of a man atop a high-rise building.
"What do we have here?" a gruff, theatrical voice called down from the rooftop.
"Monkey's aren't supposed to be out this time of day… but locked behind their iron cages … Don't you think, Kogoshi Arufa? "
The speaker stood directly against the backdrop of the massive white moon, wearing a long, black leather trench coat, a tilted half-top hat, and a stark white face mask painted with eerie crescents for eyes and a smiling mouth.
Behind Kogoshi, a low, guttural growl echoed from the shadows. A lower-tier Dreadspawn... a monstrous creature with a dog-like head, snapping jaws, a four-legged posture, and a humanoid torso bulging with corrupted muscle... crept out, salivating.
"Haha, Let me guess… the beast is trying to free its little naive son from its cage, Aye Kogoshi?" the masked man sneered from the rooftop.
Kogoshi didn't even bother to turn around. 'Hmm he learnt to control a low-level stray that crossed the world barrier?'
While looking at the masked figure, he pressed, "Listen, you have something I need. Just hand it over, and I'll be on my way."
The beast behind him roared, lunging forward with claws outstretched.
"Flesh! Flesh! Flesh!"
Kogoshi didn't even flinch,"Hard way it is, then. Don't say I didn't warn you," Kogoshi muttered with a hint of annoyance.
Without even turning around to face the beast, he threw a flawless, blind back-fist.
The strike connected with the monster's snout with the force of a battering ram, sending the massive creature flying backward through brick walls and concrete.
Kogoshi then ripped a heavy metal streetlight pole clean out of the sidewalk.
Using it as a vaulting spear, he launched himself high into the air… with a twist to his torso, he tackled the masked man directly off the rooftop, using the streetlight pole as his primary weapon.
The masked man crashed through successive building ledges. Midair, Kogoshi vanished from sight, reappearing instantly above the descending man to deliver a crushing downward strike.
"One more time!" Kogoshi called out.
The man squealed in midair, "Agh?! You mad man !..Again?!"
The final impact drove the masked figure straight through the roof from the top of the building, threw the levels of floors and into an abandoned underground parking garage.
He lay prostrate in the center of a fresh concrete crater, coughing up blood but laughing in twisted amusement.
AHAHAHAHAHA…
"You're something else, aren't you?" the masked man said, as his mask partially shattered, now only covering his eyes. He threw something at Kogoshi, who swiftly caught it.
"You're giving it to me that easily? Don't you need to protect it?" For some reason ,the indifferent kogoshi asked.
"Look, do you want it or not? I'm more than willing to take it back," the masked man, clearly peeved, replied.
"OK, fine," Kogoshi walked away, tossing a heavy card that embedded itself into the concrete floor.
It was a summon from the Auramancer Association: an unusual influx of Dreadspawn sightings in Hamatsu, with multiple reported either or missing.
- - -
On the 37th floor of a high-rise luxury building overlooking the dark perimeter of the Hamatsu district, Kogoshi's silhouette materialized quietly near a wide, open window.
The room smelled heavily of old paper and leather bindings. The space was styled in mid-century architecture, dominated by rich redwood panels and towering bookshelves filled with esoteric knowledge.
A woman with long chestnut hair, wearing a tailored designer dress and silver-rimmed glasses, sat gracefully in a high-back chair beneath the glow of a single reading lamp.
She reached out with her right hand, clicking the dial to bathe the room in a warm, amber light, while her left hand kept her place in a heavy, open tome on her lap.
Without looking up from the text, she spoke in a casual, rhythmic tone. "That was surprisingly quick."
"That part of the city was already completely abandoned," Kogoshi responded, leaning against the window frame.
"There was no need to hold back."
The woman adjusted her glasses, her expression turning somber.
"It has been that way ever since the anomaly appeared. People have been confirmed dead, injured, or missing within a forty-eight-hour window."
She turned a page. "As a result, the entire sector has been sealed off and completely restricted from the public. Businesses, homes... everything was abandoned overnight."
Kogoshi dragged a nearby wooden chair over, sitting heavily near the open window to look out at the dark, silent cityscape.
"Are you aware of what actually triggered all this?"
"Sadly, I don't . However..." she closed the book with a soft thud,
"...according to the Monad Archives, the physical readings are unprecedented."
She stood up, walking toward a digital terminal.
"There is a massive cluster of unrefined Ryoku floating directly above the epicenter. If its surface tension fails, it is projected to detonate with the force of nearly twenty-four high yield nuclear warheads."
She shifted her posture. "And a highly volatile, rare Artefact was found embedded in the bedrock directly beneath it."
The only explanation for the cluster was if a large enough amount of raw Ryoku was released at once. Though the surface tension itself was sufficient to hold the cluster together."
Kogoshi looked at the destroyed city, his face grim.
"Where is our missing person?" he asked.
She replied,
"Ah, yes… Kuroshiraga Arufa, the one individual connected to both the recent hamatsu incident…as well as the crossroads incident two years ago"
She sighed with pained annoyance,
" That kid of yours was the only one confirmed missing as all other present at the hamatsu site have been confirmed dead, all their corpses were found mummified with either being cut in two or burnt to a crisp …
…Not even remnants of their soul bodies were found"
She continued her expression colder as she recalled,
"The ryoku used to mummify the people in the area belonged to a member of the greed sect of the Cult of dialuna.
While the ryoku used to char those corpses belong to Kuroshiraga…
Speculation within multiple factions claim Kuroshiraga had betrayed The First Mother Balisca and is now working with the rogue terrorist association "
Turning her head she looks at Kogoshi
"Did the array Artefact you 'borrowed' to find him give any information on his whereabouts."
Kogoshi's face darkened,
"I tried… The damned thing didn't even react at all. It's as if both his physical body and soul body vanished without a trace."
"Well you have to hurry up then… The monard , The Auramancer Association and The first mother balisca have put out hefty bounties for him …. Dead or alive."
She stretched a little,"The bounty hunters have all gone into a frenzy…
I wonder what happened to your little boy shrouded in mystery."
- - -
In a dark,vast, lightless, expanse— flashes of crimson and white lightning illuminated the void. A young man with black hair and striking streaks of white was adrift within this endless space. The flashes of light glinted off his striking, dual-toned hair and was the only thing that could be seen in the suffocating darkness. That and the arms…
Kuro gazed into the abyss and saw countless, disembodied arms of infants and adult humans ; male and female alike.
Each of these arms were dark brown with deep gushes that let out black blood mixed with puss. Maggots occasionally squirmed about the open wounds that let out a black putrid miasma.
Kuro floated like a spec of dust toward the black sea of arms. Closer, and closer, into the arms and the soothing whispers of comfort.
Those soft convincing voices carried with them words of one's deepest, heartfelt desires, hopes, dreams and wishes. Who wouldn't be compelled to listen?
The sea of disembodied arms all reached out to him and whispered softly.
〔 Kuro, Kuro , Kuroshiraga, come closer dear, it's not your fault…..〕
Kuroshiraga wore a complicated expression, he couldn't help but clench his teeth. He violently grabbed his hair, barely holding back from ripping them out had he chanted,
"Huh… yes ... yes it—it's not my fault... I didn't do anything wrong… I tried my best!... it was me… it wasn't me… it wasn't me… it wasn't me."
〔 Yes, yes, yes, it wasn't your fault… you did nothing wrong… you tried your best… it wasn't you… it wasn't you… it wasn't you… it wasn't you.〕
Kuroshiraga endlessly chanted and wept as the pull of the arms whipped him into a frenzy. Strands of stark-white and strands of midnight hair drifted away from him into the darkness. The blood covered tufts of hair fell out of his hands as he lost himself in a daze. Kuroshiraga's body ever so slowly approached the sea of arms.
Above him, what seemed to be a piercing bolt of lightning flashed, but it didn't go away. It hung there in the dark sky growing sharper and more defined. It turned out to be a crack. It pulsed brighter and grew, until it broke through in a pillar of warm light. Kuro mumbled in a trance unable to notice the warm light that cradled him, halting his descent.
The warm but brilliant light plunged fiercely into the void. It scorched the shadows and boiled the vile sea of death. The arms touched by the brilliance of this light convulsed violently as blisters formed on the morbid skin.
The blisters grew rapidly and popped as they boiled under the tyrannical light. Clouds of steam billowed into the vast expanse as streams of black blood and yellow pus boiled on the wailing arms. The white and crimson lightning which had been striking aimlessly in the background zeroed in on the divine intrusion.
They gathered within the clouds of steam that came from the wailing arms. The dark realm fought back with crimson and shadow lightning. Each strike disappeared on the edges of the light.
The calm voices then turned screeching shrills and ravings that overlapped with one another. Pleaful voices of infants, children, women and men all cried out under the holy persecution.
〔 No!… No!… No!… it wasn't our fault!… We did nothing wrong!… We tried our best!… It wasn't us! … It wasn't us!… It wasn't us! … It wasn't us!.〕
The holy light ignored them and continued to burn. Kuroshiraga basked in the warm, holy light. The trance that held him was still there but greatly weakened. His hands which had been pulling at his hair floated by his side. He mumbled in confusion trying to return to the soft whispers.
The darkness lashed out against the light, trying to reclaim its prey. Surging waves of filthy bony hands rose, trying to grab the young man within the pillar of scorching light.
In response, the crack in the sky widened. And the darkness was bombarded. Falling vessels of all kinds crashed into the sea. Trucks, horse carriages, ox carts, and chariots emerged from the crack like meteors. They fell from the heavens and violently exploded upon contact with the black sea.
The blast sent shockwaves through the air. The blazing fires and shock waves sent an upwards spiral of energy back towards Kuroshiraga who floated like a speck of dust in the gargantuan pillar of light.
He drifted like a leaf on the wind, slowly rising as the turmoil sent wave after wave of blasts. The violent explosions had broken the hold of the demented sea that tried to seize him.
The closer he got to the crack the more clear his thoughts became.Upon reaching the crack in the sky, he couldn't help but look back.
'Ha–how?...how did it all come to this?'
Kuro stared in bewilderment at the sea of annihilating fire. The divine light dragged him through the crack. The world went white. His thoughts went blank. And all went deathly silent.
—End of chapter—