In the world of Astrix, hundreds of races lived across the vast lands. Some thrived, while others were always on the brink of dying out. Natural disasters claimed a few, but most fell due to the endless conflicts between the races.
Before the 'Era of Forgotten', a massive war raged. The hierarchy of power was clear back then. Dragons sat near the top, matched only by Angels and other Celestial beings. Below them were the Fairies, Beasts, Monsters, Demons, Elves, and Dwarfs.
At the very bottom were Humans.
Humans were considered the weakest race. They lacked any special power. Elves had their Life Elements and the World Tree.
Dragons possessed Aether magic. Dwarfs mined the highest quality ores and forged the strongest weapons. Beasts relied on their raw, innate strength. Compared to all of them, humans looked incredibly frail. They were looked down upon by everyone.
But that was before the Outerkins arrived.
These invaders, known as 'Archons', descended upon Astrix from a foreign world. They brought complete chaos. Thousands of races went extinct almost overnight. No race escaped the damage. The Archons used dark Abyssal power to suck the life energy from their victims, growing stronger with every kill. They also used this energy to mutate humans and other races into Archons themselves, turning them into hideous, mindless creatures. It was an absolute disaster.
Then, a man was born among the humans. He did not just become the strongest human; he broke the very limits set on his entire race. His name was 'Artus De SilverVeil.'
Artus was the first person to ascend to the Celestial-Rank. He slaughtered the Archons and proved to the world that humans were not to be underestimated. He single-handedly turned the tide of the war.
But one person could not protect the entire world alone. Seeing his strength, the surviving races allied with the humans, forming the 'Alliance of Astrix'. After 500 years of brutal war, the rift to the Outer-realm finally closed.
This period of endless war became known as the 'Era of Forgotten'.
Peace returned to Astrix. The Alliance held firm, and different races began to live together in harmony. Only a few, like certain Demon and Monster factions who refused to join the Alliance, still harbored hatred and faced near extinction.
Just as the world started to enjoy the peace, new Dimensional Rifts began to tear open across the sky. The world turned gray once more. But this time, they were ready. The races fought together.
Artus entered the largest and most dangerous rift, a massive tear that flooded the world with Archons capable of destroying everything. After a long battle, the Archons stopped coming. The rift forcefully closed from the inside. The world waited for Artus to return, but he never did. The 'Hero' of Astrix was gone.
The remaining rifts, now called 'Dungeons', were handled by the Alliance. Even though Artus was gone, a new era began. More people broke their limits and ascended to the Celestial rank. New stars were born in the sky.
***
Two millenniums passed since the 'Era of Forgotten'.
In the southern region of the Human Continent sat a small village called 'Lunareth'. It was known as the most beautiful place in the south. The air was pure, and the streets were clean. The full moon climbed high into the dark sky, casting a soft glow over the quiet houses.
At the end of the town stood a large mansion, its windows bright with light.
Inside the mansion, the air was heavy with tension. On the upper floor, right outside a closed bedroom door, a young man in a black suit paced back and forth. This was Baron Marcus. He rubbed his hands together, staring at the wooden door.
'When will this end? How long do I have to wait?'
He bit his lip, taking another step.
'Should I just go in and check? Just for a moment. Only one glance.'
*Click!*
Just as he reached out to push the door open, the handle clicked. The door opened on its own.
Marcus stopped dead in his tracks. A nurse stood in the doorway, holding a small bundle of cloth.
"My Lord, it is a son," the nurse said with a warm smile.
"My lady has instructed us to hand him to you. Here, take him."
Marcus stepped back, his eyes wide. He looked completely panicked.
"Me?! No! How? What if he slips right out of my hands? There is no way I am going to take that risk."
The nurse sighed, pulling the bundle back slightly. From inside the room, a tired voice called out.
"Marc... Come here."
He quickly stepped past the nurse and into the bedroom. Narcia was lying on the large bed. Her face was pale, and her gray eyes looked exhausted. Her black hair stuck to her sweaty forehead, but she was smiling.
"Darling, why are you nervous now?" Narcia asked softly.
"You told me you would be the first one to hold him after me. Are you changing your mind?"
Marcus walked closer, his hands shaking slightly.
"No, Narci, it is not like that. It is just... I am nervous. What if I drop him? He looks so tiny and frail. I do not know how I should hold him. Damn it, please do not force me."
Narcia let out a long sigh. She always knew her husband could act like a dummy sometimes, but right now, he was officially the biggest dummy in the world. She reached out, took the baby from the nurse, and held him securely in her own arms.
The baby looked incredibly tiny. The moment he was settled against his mother, his tiny hand reached out and grabbed her finger.
*Yawn...*
The baby yawned softly. He looked incredibly adorable. His hair was pitch black, inherited directly from Narcia. Slowly, he opened his eyes. They were bright amber, exactly like his father's. He was the perfect combination of the two of them. The living proof of their love.
"Look, he is so cute," Marcus said, leaning in closer.
"He looks completely like you, Narcia."
"Humph! Of course he looks like me," Narcia teased.
"If he looked like you, he would look like a literal scheming fox! Hehehe..."
Marcus stood up straight.
"Hey, wait! I am not a scheming fox."
"Oh, is that so?" Narcia laughed.
"I thought the person who turned a dry wasteland into the most beautiful village in the southern region by manipulating merchants, tricking nobles, and taking over the trade markets would be nothing less than a cunning fox!"
"Hahaha..." Her laughter filled the room.
Marcus pouted, crossing his arms. But seeing his wife laughing so happily, a wide smile spread across his face. It was a perfect, peaceful moment.
Suddenly, a deafening roar shattered the silence.
*BOOOOMMM!*
The entire mansion shook violently. Dust fell from the ceiling. It was not just an ordinary attack; the pressure in the air felt suffocating and wrong.
The bedroom door swung open violently. Three heavily armed knights rushed inside and bowed quickly.
"My Lord, a Dungeon has opened!"
Marcus ran to the window and looked down at the courtyard. A massive, jagged black rift hovered right inside the gates of his mansion. Vile, gray-skinned Archons were already pouring out of the tear. They were low-tier Archons, but there were dozens of them, and the numbers were increasing every second.
'I have to go down there myself,' Marcus thought, gritting his teeth.
'If I do not handle the rift right now, the Archons will flood the mansion. They will reach my son.'
He turned away from the window and rushed over to Narcia. He reached behind his neck and unclasped a silver locket. He carefully placed it around his newborn son's neck, tucking it into the blankets.
He leaned down and kissed his son's forehead, then kissed Narcia deeply.
"Protect the lady," Marcus ordered the knights. "I will be back!"
He drew his sword and started walking toward the door, his eyes locked on the hallway outside.
"Yes, my lord!" the knights replied in unison.
Just as Marcus walked past the leading knight, a cold blade pierced right through his back and out his chest.
Marcus froze. Blood poured from his mouth and the gaping wound in his chest. He slowly turned his head. The three knights had surrounded him, their weapons drawn and dripping with his blood.
They had betrayed him.
*Cough!* *Couch!*
Marcus roared, coughing up blood. He ripped himself off the knight's blade and spun around, kicking the traitor hard in the chest. The knight flew backward, crashing into the wall. Marcus did not waste a single second. He stumbled toward the bed, grabbed Narcia by the arm, and shielded her with his body.
"We have to run!" he gasped.
Narcia clutched the baby to her chest, her eyes wide with terror. Marcus led her out of the room, turning down the dark hallway toward the back stairs. The sounds of screaming and tearing metal echoed from downstairs. The Archons had entered the mansion. The mindless creatures were killing everyone they saw.
More traitorous knights rushed up the stairs toward them. Marcus did not know who planned this attack, and he did not have time to think about it. He pushed Narcia behind him and clashed swords with the first knight. Sparks flew. Blood leaked heavily from the hole in Marcus's chest, draining his strength.
He swung his blade, cutting down one knight, then another. But he was dying. He could not run anymore.
Suddenly, a sharp whistle cut through the air. An arrow flew past Marcus's shoulder and buried itself deep into Narcia's back.
Narcia gasped, her eyes going wide. Blood poured from her back as she fell to her knees. She curled her body forward, clutching her child tightly to protect him from the fall. The arrow had hit her squarely in the heart. She knew she was not going to survive this.
She turned her head to look at her husband. Marcus collapsed to the floor beside her. His amber eyes looked at her one last time before turning dull and lifeless.
Tears streamed down Narcia's face. The knights were walking closer, raising their swords to finish the job. The Archons were howling on the floor below.
She had only one option left.
Narcia channeled every last drop of mana in her body into her palm. She was completely exhausted from childbirth, and the arrow in her heart was stealing her life away by the second. The pain was unbearable, but she forced the magic out.
The knights realized what she was doing and sprinted toward her.
"Stop her!" one of them yelled.
But it was too late. Just as the knight's blade swung down toward her neck, the space around the baby warped and twisted. A flash of silver light swallowed the small bundle of cloth, teleporting the child to a random, unknown location far away from the carnage.
"Please be alright, my baby..." Narcia whispered.
Her body fell lifelessly to the wooden floor. In the burning ruins of the beautiful mansion, the Baron and Baroness lay dead.