Prologue
Metallic sounds echoed in the darkness.
It was the clinking of chains, tightening and loosening, as if the room itself were breathing along with them.
No light pierced that blackness, save for a faint line seeping from somewhere high and distant.
If one forced their eyes upward, the silhouette of three suspended bodies could be seen.
Iron chains bound their torsos, arms, and legs, fastening them to hooks driven into the concrete structure.
Slowly, they began to awaken.
Their eyelids opened with effort, revealing eyes capable of seeing even what the darkness tried to conceal.
"This is… strange," said a hoarse male voice, breaking the silence with forced calm. "We died… and now we wake up hanging in chains."
"A joke that isn't funny," answered a female voice on his left, harsh, laden with restrained hostility.
"Whoever did this… I'm going to kill them," spat another female voice from his right, cold as a knife.
"Hana, Himari… it's time to free ourselves."
There was no reply, only the echo of chains dragging as the three began to struggle.
Suddenly, another sound joined in: a dry crack, like bones breaking. Fragments of metal began to fall to the floor, one after another, with a dull clatter.
Then the inevitable happened: the bones of their own arms snapped at the same time the chains gave way.
But it wasn't a scream of pain that filled the room—only an even heavier silence… as if that breaking was merely the first step of something greater.
"We have to find the exit," said the male voice.
They moved, leaving through the far side of the room after destroying the door that had confined them. They walked down the dark corridor, senses sharpened for any danger lurking nearby.
[•••]
Inside a small rural town. It was inhabited by mercenaries who had settled there as their main base after finding the city abandoned. Surely, it had been left behind because of the Grimm that preyed on the weak and defenseless humans living in this place, far from any help they could hope to receive from Huntsmen.
"Hey, Boss!" called out a man with a hoarse voice. He looked young, but the scars on his face made him seem older than he was.
In the center of the tavern, a taller and more muscular man raised his gaze. His torso was covered in scars, and he held a mug of beer in one hand. He drank calmly until that shout interrupted his amusement.
"What do you want now?" he asked in a heavy voice. His tone seemed calm, but his expression clearly showed irritation.
"Sorry, Boss… I just wanted to know what you plan to do with those three people we found."
The silence grew thick. The big man raised an eyebrow, took another swig, and slammed the mug on the table with a heavy thud.
"Haaah…" he exhaled, almost like a growl. "Is there a way to make use of them?"
He leaned forward, the scars on his body tightening as he spoke.
"I can barely think of what to do with the two women. Maybe they could 'entertain' the troops… but the man…" he paused, tilting his head. "I see no use for him."
The subordinate swallowed hard, unable to reply.
"Besides…" the Boss tapped the table with a finger, thoughtful. "Those three had no Aura. How the hell did they survive in a forest full of Grimm? It's… strange. Very strange."
"You should fear the unknown. When there's no information… it can bring tragedies that end in death."
The deep, cutting male voice sliced through the tavern air like a dagger. The mercenaries barely had time to react: hands rushed to weapons, bodies tensed like springs… but it was already too late.
A white flash cut across the gloom.
Then another.
And then, silence.
Blood splattered across the floor and walls, painting crimson stains on the old wood. Bodies collapsed like puppets with their strings cut, piling up into a grotesque scene. A perfect illustration of tragedy.
"Seriously, you didn't even let him finish talking…" said a resigned male voice as he sheathed his katana, its blade still spotless.
The girl holding her own blade —its edge still dripping with blood— gazed at the corpses with an empty expression. Her stare was as cold as the steel that had just claimed so many lives.
"They deserved it," replied Himari without hesitation. "Speaking of me and Hana as objects to defile… that crime deserves death ten times over."
"Himari is right," added Hana, with a slight curl of her lips, a mix of disdain and resolve. "I was going to kill them myself as soon as they finished talking."
Senji, the red-haired one, stayed silent for a few seconds. He couldn't refute their words: hearing such vile things had made his blood boil inside.
The urge to kill… at that moment, he couldn't blame them.
"I understand," he finally nodded. "I suppose we'll have to investigate this place ourselves."
The two sisters let out long sighs, slowly easing the tension that still burned in their chests.
"Senji-nii," said Himari, calmly wiping her sword, "for now, the most logical thing is to search their belongings. Maybe we'll find a map that leads us away from this abandoned city."
"You're right," he replied, crossing his arms. "Let's start there."
The three moved among the corpses without flinching, already used to the harshness of violence. Eventually, they reached a wooden chest resting in a corner, where a small arsenal was stored.
Senji raised an eyebrow as he pulled out one of the weapons.
"Sword-guns…? These weren't forged on any anvil I know."
Curious, Hana picked up what looked like a bow. When she drew it, the structure shifted, transforming into a sword.
"This is… a bow-sword."
Himari frowned, rubbing her temple as if her head ached.
"What the hell is this place? These weapons… make no sense."
The three exchanged looks, realizing that with every detail they uncovered, this world grew further and further from anything familiar.
As they rummaged through the chest, Himari came across a metallic cylinder that caught her attention.
"What the hell is this…?" grumbled Senji, holding it cautiously. It was compact, with handles on each side and a small yellow diamond-shaped emblem in the center.
Hana, ever reckless with her curiosity, pressed it without a second thought.
"And what does this button do…?"
Immediately, the handles unfolded and it transformed into a floating holographic screen: menus, icons, and data danced in the air before them.
"This must be what they call technology…" murmured Himari, stretching her fingers toward the projection, which let her hand pass through without resistance. "The technology of this place is far more advanced than ours."
Senji clicked his tongue. "This is going to take time…" he muttered, with a mix of irritation and curiosity.
Hana was already testing the floating icons, tapping them with childlike enthusiasm. The screen reacted with electronic sounds and flashes of color, making her chuckle softly.
"Look, Senji-nii… it looks like a map!"
Senji leaned over the hologram, squinting as if forcing his eyes to make sense of the strange symbols.
"Map or not… I can't understand a thing from these markings. But if we learn how to use it, maybe we can find our way out of here."
The three stayed there for a good while, fiddling with the incomprehensible object. They toyed with the interface like children with a forbidden toy, but slowly they began to grasp the basics: marked routes, glowing icons, symbols shifting at the touch of a finger.
Suddenly, the luminous surface changed.
Senji frowned and leaned closer.
"What… is this?"
It wasn't symbols or maps anymore. It was his own face, blurry at first, but becoming clearer and clearer.
Hana jumped back with a gasp.
"I-it's… a mirror! It's showing our reflection!"
Himari narrowed her eyes, watching her own image on the floating blue light.
"It's not a glass mirror," she muttered. "It moves with us, copies us instantly… like an illusion spell."
Senji remained silent, staring at his own moonlit eyes reflected on the screen. A chill ran down his spine: those eyes seemed even sharper, piercing through the light as if the artifact itself couldn't contain them.
"An object capable of capturing a person's image without brush or ink…" he said gravely. "This world definitely isn't ours."
Hana, braver after the initial shock, began making faces in front of the light, laughing softly as her reflection copied every movement. Himari, on the other hand, stayed serious, studying it as though it were a talisman—something unknown that could be either weapon or trap.
"Whatever it is, we need to learn how to use it," concluded Senji. "Even if we don't understand it now, it could be the key to surviving here."
The luminous surface flickered again, shifting menus and displaying strange symbols. To them, it remained an incomprehensible mystery, a living object holding secrets beyond any art they knew.
They spent a while longer experimenting with the device, until a new change in the projection froze them.
This time, the artifact displayed something else: a glowing blue hologram floating in the air. It didn't show real trees or mountains, but lines and shapes forming the silhouette of terrain. A schematic map, like a drawing suspended in emptiness.
At the center of this network of shapes, a tiny dot glowed.
Hana leaned over the light in fascination.
"Look, look! That little dot is right in the middle of the empty space!"
Himari watched silently, tracing the outlines that seemed to represent the forest around them.
"Then… that dot must be marking us," she concluded gravely.
Senji frowned and tested it. He stepped forward. The dot moved in the same direction. He turned around, and the dot shifted back.
For a few seconds, silence weighed heavy, broken only by the hologram's hum.
"So this artifact doesn't just show the place," Senji said in a low voice. "It shows exactly where we are in it."
Hana smiled playfully, following the blinking dot with her finger.
"It's like we're inside the drawing!"
Himari, however, stayed cautious.
"If it marks us so precisely… it might also make us visible to others."
Senji stayed quiet, watching the glowing blue lines and strange shapes. It was a map, yes, but crafted in a way no cartographer from their world could ever achieve.
"Whatever it is," he finally said, "this map will be our guide."
In another location.
The three began walking, following the route marked by the strange scroll, but not before each of them slung a leather bag over their shoulders. They had filled them with the food and supplies that had belonged to the bandits they had just eliminated.
"Well… at least those bandits ended up being useful to us," murmured Senji, adjusting the strap on his shoulder.
Himari glanced at him coldly from the side.
"A waste that they were allowed to breathe for so long."
Hana, dragging a bag almost as big as herself, let out a nervous little laugh.
"But thanks to them, we won't starve this week… even if that dried meat tastes awful."
The path they followed wasn't clear; just faint tracks lost among the trees, which the blue hologram tried to represent with simple lines and smudges. The contrast between the glowing technology of the scroll in Hana's hands and the rancid smell of stolen provisions was almost ironic.
Senji exhaled slowly.
"Doesn't matter how disgusting it is. Food is food. And if this 'map' can be trusted, soon we'll find more than just forests and human rats like those before."
Always on guard, Himari scanned the surroundings while her fingers brushed the hilt of the tanto hidden in her sleeve.
"Then let's keep moving. This world is still strange… and I don't plan to trust it so easily."
The sound of running water soon told them they had reached a wide, calm river. The sun's reflection danced across the surface, and the fresh air felt far cleaner than the suffocating stench of the forest.
"Fresh fish will be better than that stinking dried meat," said Senji, setting his leather bag down and rolling up his sleeves.
"Agreed," replied Himari, already preparing an improvised spear by sharpening the end of a branch with her tanto. "Eating something that doesn't smell like rot will be a relief."
Hana, however, didn't rush. She placed the scroll on her lap and activated it again. The hologram lit up with a faint hum, projecting the map for a few seconds before the girl pressed another option at random. Suddenly, a white flash gleamed and a "click" echoed.
"Ah!" she exclaimed in surprise. Then, on the screen appeared the image of Senji crouching by the water, frozen mid-gesture, looking serious and weary.
"Look at this! It's like… like capturing a memory and keeping it here!"
Senji looked up with a scowl.
"What the hell did you do, Hana?"
She grinned, showing him the screen.
"This thing can capture moments! This is awesome."
Himari barely glanced at the image, unimpressed, as she hurled the makeshift spear into the water and pulled out a wriggling fish.
"Strange toys… but if it entertains you, at least stop complaining about carrying the heaviest bag."
"I'm not complaining!" Hana puffed out her cheeks, then quickly smiled again, snapping another picture—this time of Himari holding the dripping fish. "See! Now we have proof of your stoic face."
Senji sighed while gathering dry branches.
"We're wasting too much time on nonsense. Let's make the fire."
Soon, the fire crackled within a ring of stones, and the smell of roasting fish began to push away the stench of the dried meat in their bags. Fresh food brought a brief respite, a moment of calm the three accepted without argument.
While Himari kept watch over the surroundings, Senji tended the flames, and Hana kept pressing buttons, fascinated by each new "click" that captured faces and gestures within that strange luminous machine.
"Maybe…" Senji said quietly, watching the fleeting images, "this object isn't so useless after all."
Hana laughed, holding the scroll like a treasure.
"I told you! Now we'll have frozen memories inside this weird thing."
In another location.
The walls of Mistral resounded with excitement. That afternoon, the academy had organized a special event —one of those that kept the students' spirits alive and reminded the city of the importance of its future Huntsmen.
It wasn't a formal tournament like those in Vale, nor a massive spectacle with giant screens. This event had a more rustic and dynamic feel: a controlled hunt of Grimm in a forest, closely supervised by instructors and professionals.
Teenagers waited eagerly in the staging grounds, laughing, adjusting their weapons, and betting on who would score the most kills. For them, this wasn't just a test of skill, but a game where they could prove their prowess, courage… and, of course, show off a bit of youthful arrogance.
Among them stood out a young woman with red hair tied in a ponytail, bright green eyes, and light armor that gleamed under the afternoon sun.
Pyrrha Nikos.
The undefeated champion of regional tournaments, known throughout Mistral as the Invincible Girl, stood there with a calmness different from the others. She didn't share the carefree laughter of her classmates nor the boasting of those already picturing themselves victorious.
For her, this was an opportunity to practice… and also a reminder of the responsibility resting on her shoulders.
An elderly instructor raised his voice, silencing the chatter:
"Remember, this is not a game. We will monitor the perimeter and keep the number of Grimm under control. All you have to do is prove what you know: stay calm, use your Aura… and survive."
The words fell like cold water on some students, but not on Pyrrha. She tightened her grip on her spear, her gaze fixed on the forest horizon that awaited them. There was something in that calm before the hunt that always made her heart beat faster.
Soon, the signal rang out. A bronze bell announced the start of the event, and the students rushed into the forest, shouting war cries, laughing, and sprinting ahead.
Pyrrha did not hurry. She advanced with steady steps, her slender figure moving as if she already knew victory belonged to her.