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Chapter 1: The Last Hope
Ashes fell from the sky like snow.
The world was dying.
Cracked roads stretched beneath shattered towers. The air hung heavy, thick with the stench of smoke, blood, and forgotten dreams. Every breath was a struggle, every step a reminder of what was lost.
Kai Vason knelt in the dust, his knees bleeding, hands trembling.
He gripped the frail hand of the only person who had ever meant everything to him.
She was still.
Cold as ice.
Her silver-blonde hair lay matted and soaked in blood.
Lyra Solari—age twenty-five.
A warrior born into one of the seven noble families, fierce and proud. Her family name echoed in legends, but here, in this ruined world, her legend had ended.
Kai's fingers pressed desperately against her chest, pushing his power—Lumen Grace—bright light flowing from within him, desperately trying to heal what time and death had already claimed.
But it was no use.
Her chest was still.
No breath.
No pulse.
Just silence.
His voice cracked.
"Don't leave me… please."
Lyra's bright eyes, once so full of life and defiance, now stared blankly at the empty sky, flickering with faint remnants of the stars they used to see.
Kai swallowed thickly.
She had saved him once.
Taken him from the cold metal cages of the lab.
Named him.
Loved him.
Now, she was gone.
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The battlefield around them was a graveyard.
Broken swords and shattered shields littered the ground.
Corpses of humans, monsters, and horrors too twisted to name sprawled across the cracked earth.
The Rift overhead pulsed ominously.
From it descended five towering figures, monstrous and ancient.
Their skin cracked like obsidian, eyes burning with malice.
One sneered.
"Light-Dark child… ready to die?"
Kai's hand shook on his sword hilt.
"I swear," he whispered, voice raw, "if I could go back… I'd kill you all."
But the world gave no second chances.
A deafening roar tore the air apart.
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> [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
"You are the last survivor of this world."
Quest: Save the World from its End.
Status: Activated.
Time Reversal Sequence: Initialized...
Countdown: 3… 2… 1…
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Kai's vision blurred.
The screams faded.
The rift closed.
And everything went dark.
---
Centuries ago, life was simple.
Humans lived quietly.
No magic.
No monsters.
Only families, hopes, and ordinary days.
Until the Rift opened.
It was a wound in the sky.
Darkness pouring through.
Creatures from nightmares spilled into the world.
Cities fell.
Nations crumbled.
Billions died.
---
Humanity fought back.
Some awakened—Luminaries—beings wielding Light and Dark powers.
They became the last shield against extinction.
To train these warriors, the Bastion of Mankind Academy was built.
But power corrupts.
Royal families grew arrogant, turning their backs on the common people.
They struck forbidden bargains.
The darkest magic twisted them into Demonic Humans—monsters in human skin.
Kai was born different.
Inside him burned both Light and Dark.
A miracle and a curse.
Feared and hunted.
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In the lab, they tried to steal his powers.
Broken his body.
Tortured his mind.
But she came.
Lyra Solari.
No powers.
No armor.
Just grit and love.
She burned the lab.
Freed him.
Gave him a name.
And a reason to live.
---
But the war was lost.
The Rift tore open again.
Kai's hands clenched.
His breath was ragged.
He was alone.
The last hope.
And the world was ending once more.
---
This is where his journey truly begins