In an ordinary world, people lived their lives day after day, repeating the routines of yesterday.
Some were born to be high and mighty, while others were born with nothing at all.
In this unfair world, there was a little girl, carrying the blessings of her entire village, who packed her bags and traveled the world, step by step, searching for an eternal paradise, an everlasting Elysian Realm—Elysia—a place where injustice could be eliminated, where everyone was equal, and where everyone could live happily.
The girl was an orphan who once lived in a small town called Vostok-51 Garden Colony. The people of the town adored this little girl. For the sake of these people who loved her, and whom she loved in return...
The girl, not wanting her special nature to bring them trouble, left the town at a young age, embarking on her journey to find Elysia.
Elysia was not only the name of the paradise the girl sought, but also the name the girl had chosen for herself.
On this morning, Elysia, as usual, woke up to the chirping of birds under the shade of a large tree.
Little Elysia stretched and yawned, then packed up her sleeping bag, slung a cute, small bow over her shoulder, and prepared to continue her journey.
However, the weather seemed uncooperative. Just as Elysia was about to set off, the sky suddenly darkened, and the wind began to blow.
"Oh my, it looks like it's going to rain!"
Elysia said softly in surprise. She then shouldered her pack and nimbly darted through the forest, looking for a tree hollow or a cave to take temporary shelter.
Elysia had no complaints about the change in weather. On the contrary, she felt incredibly lucky.
Because the weather had started to change only after she woke up, not while she was still sleeping.
If it had changed while she was sleeping, she would have surely become a drowned rat in her dreams, right?
*Rumble—*
Flashes of lightning began to streak across the sky, followed by deafening claps of thunder.
A heavy downpour was coming.
Elysia tightened the straps of her pack and began to run faster.
*Splash—*
A single drop of water fell, followed by a torrential downpour.
The animals of the forest, with their keen senses, had already retreated to their nests the moment the sky darkened.
In the face of a natural disaster, humans will put aside their differences and work together to resist it.
The same was true for animals. Several black bears, a few tigers, and some other animals huddled together in a small cave, seeking shelter from the heavy rain.
Thousands of years of biological instinct made them tired and gentle in the rain, so much so that they could all harmoniously occupy a small space in the cave to rest.
The rain came on fiercely, and it was unlikely to stop anytime soon. The animals lay on the ground, their eyes slightly closed.
But a tender, childish voice suddenly startled them all, drawing their gazes.
"Wow, how lucky!"
Elysia shouted happily, then, dragging her pack which was heavy with rainwater, she squeezed her way into the cave.
The tigers' eyes were wide and round, looking with confusion at the two-legged beast they had never seen before. They were full of curiosity about Elysia's appearance.
Then, the tigers, along with the other small animals in the cave, all turned to look at the few black bears.
A few seconds later, one of the black bears stood up, its massive shadow completely engulfing Elysia.
"Wow! What a big bear!"
Elysia curiously reached out and patted the black bear's leg. Although she really wanted to touch the big black bear's fluffy belly, the one-meter-tall Elysia was still too small compared to the two-and-a-half-meter-tall bear.
"Roar—"
In response to Elysia's action, the black bear roared a warning at her, as if declaring itself the lord of the cave.
"Ugh... so smelly..."
Elysia covered her nose, looking as if she was about to faint from the stench.
The black bear made no further movements. It simply lay back down, picked up Elysia's pack in its mouth, and helped her drag her things into the cave.
Then it quietly lay down to one side, waiting for the rain to stop.
"Hee hee, you're such a good bear!"
Elysia was so happy that she started to skip as she walked over to the black bear and sat down beside it, leaning back against its body.
The black bear glanced at Elysia but made no further indication.
Warning newcomers and helping them bring in their captured food was an unwritten rule. And the price for this peaceful rest was to contribute a portion of the captured food, which was also a rule.
As for this two-legged beast not being afraid and leaning against it, that didn't matter.
*Zzz~*
Carefree Elysia didn't know what the black bear was thinking, and she couldn't understand its language anyway. But she knew that the bear's embrace was warm and comfortable. Having long slept with the ground as her bed and the sky as her blanket, Elysia hadn't had such a comfortable place to sleep in a long time, and she quickly drifted off to sleep.
The sky was gloomy, and the rain pattered on—
Perfect weather for sleeping, urging both humans and animals to hasten to the land of dreams~
After an unknown amount of time, the rain finally began to subside.
But for some unknown reason, the creatures that were still awake all looked up at the sky in unison.
And then...
*Rumble, rumble, rumble—*
Before the disbelieving eyes of countless people, amidst the panicked roars of animals, and in the flashing interplay of lightning and rain...
The sky suddenly split open, revealing a massive crack.
The celestial-like gash began to rapidly twist and rotate, forming a bottomless, giant vortex.
Immediately after, the light of the sun and all the light in the world were captured by the vortex in an instant, and the world plunged into complete darkness.
The next second, the swallowed light was released all at once, turning the Earth into a giant light bulb, emitting an intense glow.
People all over the world were blinded by the light at the same time, falling into varying degrees of short-term blindness.
At the same time, a ball of light burning with milky-white flames fell from the vortex.
Like a meteor, it ignited in a blaze as it entered the atmosphere, plummeting from the sky.
The milky-white flames and the fire from atmospheric friction formed a shroud, preventing even satellites from getting a clear look at what was falling.
But the whole world knew that trouble was coming.
Thus, the nations of the world began to secretly unite and officially cooperate with a secret organization, granting them extremely high authority. The secret organization began to investigate all paranormal phenomena worldwide and formulate methods to combat them.
That phenomenon—the cracking of the sky, the world-enveloping darkness, and the dazzling light—was later named 「God's Advent」.
And after that rift appeared, the previously subtle 「Honkai」 began to gradually become more active around the world.
At the same time, many children who had been bathed in that light underwent various degrees of change in their bodies...