Prolouge
Magic.
A thing of myths. Something no one really believes in anymore. At least, not openly. But scattered across the world are a few—quiet, devoted believers in the arcane. And among them, some follow something far darker.
They call it Black Magic.
This story begins with them.
---
Early 2019
A remote, unnamed region in China.
Snow blankets the land in every direction. A white void of ice and silence. In this unforgiving cold, the mountain trails are abandoned. No one dares venture this far, especially during winter.
And yet—hidden deep within the snow-covered forest—is a cave.
A small one. Likely a refuge for animals trying to escape the cold.
But tonight, something else takes shelter here.
Inside the cave stand twenty figures. Dressed head to toe in black coats and pants, their appearance almost clinical—like doctors, but dressed for a funeral. On their faces, identical black masks, each marked with a question mark. They say nothing. They move in silence.
A strange circle has been drawn across the cave floor in white. Not a perfect one, but geometric enough to suggest ritual. Ten people sit cross-legged within the circle, whispering incantations too low to hear. The other ten stand over them, motionless. Waiting.
Then, all at once—
The ten standing figures slit the throats of the ten seated ones.
Blood floods the circle.
The smell is instant. Overpowering. The kind of scent that would make an ordinary person pass out. Or worse.
But these aren't ordinary people.
And what they're summoning isn't ordinary either.
The blood pool begins to ripple.
Something is coming.
Not a beast. Not a god.
Something in between.
From the center of the blood, a creature rises—half-human, half-fish. A mermaid, perhaps, but not one from any fairytale. Her eyes glow red. Horns curl from each side of her head. The air around her pulses with raw, suffocating power.
She stands on her tail, smiling.
The remaining ten can't move. Can't breathe.
Her presence is too heavy, too alien.
They don't scream.
They just drop dead—crushed by her aura alone.
She frowns.
> "Shame," she mutters. "I didn't even finish introducing myself."
The creature tilts her head slightly, as if thinking. Then she speaks again, in perfect English—a language she shouldn't know, but now does.
The memories of the sacrificed ten flow within her.
> "Thank you for summoning me.
I am Zero, Royal Maid of Prince Belphegor."
She looks around the cave, eyes narrowing.
> "This land… yes. It's perfect. Isolated. Quiet. No opposing energy.
A fine place to begin construction of the Tower."
Her voice softens.
> "Our King died in the last Great War. The Seven Princes lost their physical forms.
To restore our Kingdom, sacrifice is required.
I hope… my master will bring me back to life—so I can serve him again."
Tears roll down her cheeks.
Then the blood of the dead coats her body entirely.
Her skin turns crimson. Her form freezes into a red statue.
From the blood around her, thousands of tiny black particles rise like dust. They shimmer, then drift out of the cave—scattering across the world like seeds in the wind.
The harvest has begun.
---
Six Months Later
The world falls silent.
A virus has emerged—its origin traced back to China.
They call it Covid-19.
It spreads fast. Too fast.
Millions infected. Hundreds of thousands dead.
No cure. No end in sight.
Fear spreads faster than the disease.
People lock themselves inside. Life halts.
Then, just as the world begins to adapt—
Something else happens.
---
Late 2021
From the heart of a snowy Chinese mountain, a tower appears.
Not built—appears.
Overnight. Colossal. Towering high enough to touch the clouds.
Visible from every corner of the Earth.
No one understands it. Scientists study it. Nations panic.
But no answers come.
The tower is made of an unknown material.
Even nuclear weapons cannot scratch its surface.
Within weeks, the site is surrounded by millions—civilians, reporters, researchers.
The world watches.
Top military forces guard a two-mile perimeter.
No one is allowed near.
Then—
A black light pulses from the tower.
It flashes across the globe in a single sweep.
And then people start disappearing.
Everywhere.
Students. Workers. Officers. Soldiers.
Gone.
Vanished into thin air.
Ten million people disappear in a single day.
And they all end up in the same place:
Inside the tower.
No one knows what's in there.
No one knows how to stop it.
People feel relief—because they aren't among the missing.
But that relief…
Wouldn't last long.
Not once they discover what's truly inside.