In a world where technology was still in its base form and carriages were one of the world's most advanced technologies and humans lived with their biggest fear ever being natural disasters like tsunamis and sudden assault of forest animals.
Humans were ordinary on the surface, but every generation produced a few people with strange, sharpened instincts. Some called it talent. Others whispered that it came from the old spirits. Whatever the source, these gifted humans were the only reason the towns still stood. They were the last hope of humans when there was a sudden assault of forest animals.
On one of the peaceful mornings in Arcanis, the calm broke. A man sprinted through the streets, breath sharp, voice carrying over the rooftops.
"A new phenomenon has appeared across the world! It's expected to reach this city in a few days!"
He was a messenger, one of the information collectors who traveled from city to city. Normally they charged heavily for anything this important. But today, he wasn't asking for a single coin. That alone startled some of the early risers gathering around him.
"We don't know what this phenomenon will bring," he went on, chest rising and falling, "but everyone is advised to stay cautious. Be ready to leave your homes the moment danger arrives."
Murmurs spread through the crowd.
"Don't you think they're just trying to scare us?"
"Look at him. He only wants to make us panic. Why isn't he charging if this news is so 'dangerous'?"
"We're not falling for that. Ignore him!"
A woman raised her voice, trying to steady the people. "He's exaggerating! Nothing will happen to us. Go about your day!"
But the messenger didn't stop. Fear was written in the way he kept glancing over his shoulder, as if the phenomenon he spoke of was already close enough to taste.
And in Arcanis, fear rarely came without reason.
Four days after the messenger had ridden out of Arcanis, still muttering about stubborn townsfolk who wouldn't listen, something appeared at the forest's edge. It was a huge circle hanging in the air like a polished mirror, perfectly still and perfectly wrong. Sunlight slid across its surface but never reflected back. It was as if the world simply ended at that shimmering line.
At first people thought it was just one. Then scouts returned with pale faces and shaking hands, reporting that there were more of them. Seven in total, scattered around the outskirts of Arcanis like silent sentries. Each one was identical. Each one hummed with a faint vibration that made the air feel tight in the chest.
The forest, already feared, now felt alive with a new kind of tension. Even the animals had gone quiet, as if waiting.
No animal was seen near the mirrors. Not a bird, not a fox, not even the smallest insect dared come close. The townspeople whispered that the forest itself was holding its breath. Children who wandered too near ran back screaming of reflections that weren't their own, shapes flickering just beyond the glassy surface.
Even the hunters, men who had tracked wolves and bears their whole lives, refused to step within a few yards. The mirrors seemed to hum with an invisible energy, and the absence of life around them made the forest feel… wrong, like it had been paused, waiting for something no one understood.
A week had passed, and the mirrors hung silently at the outskirts, perfectly still, perfectly indifferent. Their surface reflected the world as it was, yet somehow… wrong.
"It's just a trick. Nothing is wrong with them," an elder said, shaking his head as he passed the largest mirror on his way to the market.
"Exactly," another replied. "We can go on living peacefully. No point in letting a few floating circles scare us."
So the town returned to its rhythm. Children played near the fountain, merchants shouted their wares, and hunters ventured into the forest as if the mirrors were nothing more than odd scenery. The hanging mirrors became part of the backdrop, like an ancient tree no one paid much mind to.
But the air around them hadn't grown any warmer. The forest had not resumed its normal sounds. Even the shadows seemed longer near the mirrors, stretching unnaturally when no sun should have allowed it. And deep in the town, some of those rare humans with sharper instincts; the ones who could sense when the forest shifted, felt it: a slow, deliberate pulse coming from the mirrors, like the heartbeat of something awake, something waiting.
Another week passed, and the forest no longer seemed the same to those who walked its paths. The hunters, once ordinary men and women accustomed to tracking and survival, found themselves changing in ways that defied explanation.
Some could see through the densest undergrowth as if the forest were a map laid bare before them. Others discovered a strength that allowed them to topple trees or wrestle a boar with a single hand. A few moved with uncanny agility, landing on narrow branches or leaping across ravines as though gravity itself had softened for them. And the rare ones, mostly men, though a handful of women also showed signs, developed instincts sharp enough to predict danger before it even arrived.
The changes were sudden, brutal, and exhilarating. But with them came a gnawing unease. The affected hunters didn't understand why this was happening, only that the mirrors, ever silent and still, seemed to pulse faintly whenever one of them drew near.
Rumors began to circulate in the town. Some called it a blessing, others whispered of a curse. And deep in the forest, the shadows beyond the mirrors began to stir once more, as if recognizing the new hunters as a challenge.
In Arcanis, six friends who were also hunters who had spent years moving silently through the forest were among the first to notice the strange changes in their bodies.
Akira Takahashi, the leader, stood taller than most, his muscular frame honed from years of swinging two double-edged battle axes with deadly precision. His presence alone seemed to draw attention, the kind of presence that made others instinctively step back.
Then there were the twins, Kenzo Hunter and Renzo Blackwood. Though they shared the same face and body, tradition had forced them to take different surnames; one from their mother, one from their father. Kenzo wielded a sleek katana, his movements precise and fluid, while Renzo's chain knife whipped through the air with a deadly, chaotic elegance. Together, they moved like shadows in sync, a seamless extension of one another.
Kaito Storm was a different kind of force; a stocky, massive figure with a rugged face and a presence that commanded respect. His weapon, a flexible wooden staff etched with golden designs along both edges, seemed to bend with his will, flowing from offense to defense without effort.
Among them, the women were no less formidable. Kaelia Frost, with icy blue eyes and sharp, angular features, moved with the compact power of a predator. Her dagger was a mere extension of her body, striking with surgical precision. Lyra Stone, slim but resilient, carried her bow as if it were part of her spine. Every arrow she lost found its mark with ease, her movements a perfect blend of grace and lethal efficiency.
Together, they had faced the dangers of the forest countless times but the hanging mirrors, silent and unyielding at the edges of Arcanis, felt like something entirely new. And now, with the strange gifts coursing through their bodies, they couldn't ignore them any longer. Something had shifted in the world and it was coming for Arcanis.
"Do you think we should really live without thinking about those hanging mirrors?" Kaelia asked.
" We can't do anything just yet. What we can do is to train." Renzo and Kenzo said in sync and then looked each other in the faces before bursting with laughter.
"You guys truly are twins." Lyra said with a smile. "But can we actually stay without doing anything?"
"Nothing should be underestimated at this point. We'll continue training like we always do." Kaito said with a deep voice.
"Yes. Let's do what we can for now." Akira added as they walked past one of the hanging mirrors further into the forest.
"A new era has just begun."
*****
""Hey, everyone, look! What are those creatures heading into the town?" a man shouted as he saw unsightly beasts crawling toward them, their gnarls and roars echoing through the streets. Strangely mutated lions, dogs, eagles, cats, wolves, tigers, and other animals moved with terrifying coordination.
"They're coming out of the hanging mirrors!" A hunter screamed as he ran through the chaos. The creatures looked grotesque, yet there was something eerily familiar about them. The energy radiating from the mirrors was the same that pulsed through the creatures' bodies.
RAWRR!
A lion-like monster, larger and more vicious than the others, roared. Instantly, all the creatures surged forward, massacring the town. The townsfolk fled in terror as blood became the new paint on the cobblestones.
Amidst the carnage, those who had noticed the changes in their own bodies stepped forward as hunters, determined to defend the town.
"Hunters! We're the only ones who gained these powers. Let's not waste them. Let's fight with every ounce of our body and soul for humanity!" A man shouted, rallying the defenders.
Over a hundred people had already fallen. Some hunters led civilians through secret tunnels to safety, while others prepared to face the horrors head-on.
Among the fighters stood six friends, ready to put their training to the ultimate test.
"Lyra, Kaelia, why don't you help evacuate the townsfolk?" Akira
asked.
"This isn't the time for suggestions," Lyra said calmly.
"We didn't train this hard to become useless," Kaelia added, her eyes burning with resolve.
"There's no back out now. Here we go."