A world where the existence of another dimension was revealed. Mato appeared in Japan around the 21st century, shaking the modern order of Earth. It brought two things: a new disaster and a new opportunity.
The disaster is remembered as the Mato Invasion, the beginning of the day when thousands of humanoid creatures called shuuki flooded various points across the Japanese archipelago. Cities collapsed, defense systems fell into chaos, and the world was forced to witness that humans were no longer the sole rulers of this planet.
Yet behind that terror, an enticing opportunity was hidden. In the Mato dimension grows an extraordinary fruit the peach that can grant superpowers to whoever eats it. It sounded like a gateway toward a new golden age for humanity. Unfortunately, the fruit only reacts to women. In an instant, the world known to humanity turned in another direction.
When male resources were no longer relevant in the face of that new power, feminist groups cheered as they saw the opportunity to take control of the world order. With the privilege of the peach fruit in their hands, victory was achieved without many obstacles. From there, rules that favored women were born—ranging from policies that seemed trivial to regulations that clearly discriminated.
Of course resistance still existed. After all, throughout history, men were the side that most often shook the world and shaped civilization until it reached the modern point it stands at now. But all of that meant nothing in the face of the superiority of the peach fruit and the threat of invasion from the Mato dimension. Men were forced to relinquish their absolute position as leaders of civilization to the women they once protected.
As if Eve was now protecting Adam from the punishment of eating the forbidden fruit.
Years passed. Human society slowly began to regard female superiority as something normal. The position of men was pushed to the edge of the social cliff. In some aspects, the condition even felt worse compared to the era when men led civilization. Norms changed quickly, following the direction of power. In this inverted world, any breakthrough achieved by men was often seen as trivial, as if it were only natural that women replaced their position so easily.
That injustice gave birth to secret meetings. Men gathered, trying to formulate ways to overturn the norms they considered absurd. From discussions filled with frustration and ambition, a crazy idea emerged.
"What if we simply create our own version of the peach fruit that also affects men?"
The idea was actually not new. Exactly three years after the Mato gate manifested on Earth, a similar research project had once been conducted. However, the project was halted because the feminist movement at that time was extremely aggressive. What remained were only research files that had been secured by the families of the remaining members of Project Khuldi a name taken from a legendary story within the three major religions of the world.
To create a rival fruit, the researchers gathered samples of peach fruits circulating in the black market. Japan, as the only country where the Mato gate manifested, monopolized that resource. The peach fruit became a strategic commodity comparable to uranium and was exported in limited quantities to allied nations as part of diplomatic agreements, so the world would not completely turn against them.
Even though it had transformed into the number one superpower country, surpassing China and even exceeding the shadow of America's past power, Japan did not want to repeat its dark history. They shared the harvest, but in small portions only one thousand fruits per year for the entire world. Amid the global madness over power, a shadow war continued for decades in order to secure resources from Mato.
Because only Japan possessed the gate, international jealousy was unavoidable. From there, a black market emerged that specifically traded anything related to Mato.
To obtain a large supply, the group of men formed a shadow organization named Eden a symbol of their ambition to cultivate new power from hidden roots. Male geniuses from various parts of the world united under that banner, supported by large capital from businessmen with vast networks.
Research began through Project Eve. Experiments were conducted on the bodies of girls gathered from various corners of the world orphans, victims of war, those who had no one to defend them. After a long path full of sacrifices, the researchers finally created Eve.
Eve was a woman with a unique ability, the key to the success of the next stage. She was then transformed into a tree, using her power to gather mysterious energy from the air. After a long wait, the tree finally bore fruit a peach fruit of their own version.
However, its form resembled an apple tree. Because of the golden shine covering its skin, the fruit was named Golden Apple.
At first glance, the project appeared successful. But the arrogance of the researchers was soon tested. The most severe problem emerged: the fruit was unstable and believed to be impossible for humans to consume.
When Eve bore fruit, one researcher recklessly ate it to ensure the safety of the result of their work.
And it turned out… safe.
At first.
The man showed changes that filled the entire laboratory with euphoria. He obtained the power of telekinesis—enough to move small objects around him without touching them. A glass cup lifted a few centimeters, a pen spun in the air, and sheets of paper floated as if dancing according to his will. Cheers of victory erupted. They thought they had succeeded.
But the joy lasted only a moment. The instability of the Golden Apple began to reveal its consequences. The man's body trembled violently, his blood vessels bulging like roots forced to grow too quickly. His flesh slowly swelled, enlarging unnaturally, his bones bending and cracking in an uncontrolled transformation.
His form changed.
His skin turned dark and glossy, his arms split into long tentacles moving wildly. His figure no longer resembled a human, but rather a horrifying creature similar to a giant octopus with telekinetic abilities that were now far more brutal and destructive. He became something both too familiar and too terrifying: a kind of Shuuki, the ironic result of their own ambition.
With heavy hearts and swift action, the creature was destroyed. The research room was left in ruins, filled with the remains of experiments that ended tragically. The long wait, the great sacrifices, and their conviction collapsed in a single night. The project that had been proclaimed as a turning point in history instead affirmed a bitter reality they had not yet fully understood the power they were trying to create.
However, the failure did not become the end. After cleaning the chaos and erasing the traces of the incident, the researchers gathered once again. Instead of surrendering, they created a new project that was even more ambitious: Adam.
The objective was clear to find a man who was truly compatible with the Golden Apple they had created.
And after countless experiments took place…
Out of thousands of trials on men, only seven were considered successful. Even then, it was not a success that could be fully celebrated. They did not transform into shuuki, true, but their sanity eroded until nothing remained. Their minds fragmented, their emotions became unstable, and their consciousness slowly drowned in delusions that could not be restored.
Although the results were disappointing, the investors instead saw an opportunity. For them, those seven subjects were still a new resource—assets that could still be directed, controlled, and utilized. As long as the power could be used, sanity was merely a variable that could be ignored.
A year later, a ray of hope emerged from the hands of a researcher named Omar. He succeeded in creating a substance with effects that resembled the peach fruit in its entirety. The discovery was named Mato Essence. The substance was extracted from the purest peach juice, through a complex process that consumed so many fruits that the distribution quota for that year vanished completely. A massive gamble that risked the balance of global supply.
However, even though its effects were sometimes extraordinary, the inefficiency of Mato Essence production triggered a new problem. The men who poured large funds into the organization began to reveal their true faces. Greed surfaced. They competed with one another to obtain doses for themselves, no longer caring about Eden's original vision. Collective ambition turned into personal rivalry.
Cracks became inevitable. The organization that had been built with secrecy and iron determination nearly collapsed due to internal war. Amid that chaos, Omar chose to flee, bringing with him the knowledge and formula that everyone was hunting. Since then, the situation turned into an endless chase—a cat pursuing a mouse too clever to be easily caught.
Omar's last trace was confirmed heading toward Japan. He departed from Russia, disguising himself as an ordinary passenger on a commercial economy-class flight. His appearance was simple, his steps calm, as if he were merely an old man returning home. Yet his disguise was not perfect enough. His identity was still exposed.
Feeling surrounded before even taking off, Omar was forced to hide in the airport restroom. In that narrow space, his breathing was heavy and his thoughts raced. He knew the chance of escape was nearly impossible. In desperation, a final idea crossed his mind: to use Mato Essence on himself.
However, his old age made him hesitate. The effects of the substance had never truly been predictable, even for young men. Using it now would be nothing more than a slow suicide.
At that moment, a Japanese young man entered the restroom. He stood at the sink, washing his face without realizing that his life was standing on the edge of an unseen fate. Seeing that scene, Omar made a quick decision. He struck the young man until he lost consciousness, dragged him into a stall, and injected Mato Essence into his body without hesitation. After that, he arranged the young man's body to appear as if he were defecating, closed the stall door, then walked out to lure his pursuers away.
In that way, the only man who received the blessing of the peach was born—without realizing it.
His name was Kazuma Satou.