The structure of the world had already warped beyond recognition. Poverty, famine, and death tolls were at an all-time high. Governments everywhere were powerless, clueless on how to confront the sudden rise of the abominations.
These creatures were humanity's worst nightmare. Wars had scarred the past, natural disasters had shattered ecosystems—but nothing compared to this new age of horror.
This age had a name: The Dark Era.And it was the source of every calamity that followed.
These so called abominations were formless, shapeless things, able to assume any appearance. They exuded a chilling, malignant aura that fed on life itself. Wherever they appeared, they brought darkness with them, the land rotted and withered. Crops failed, the soil turned barren, animals perished. Forests—once Earth's lungs—shriveled into wastelands. The chain reaction crippled the planet: global warming soared, ice caps melted, oceans rose, and habitable land shrank. And if that wasn't enough wherever these abominations sprouted, those lands became cursed and unlivable.
Humanity's population plummeted. Safe havens no longer existed.
In desperation, efforts were made to colonize other planets in the solar system. However every attempt failed. There was no escape, nowhere to run. The only option left was to stand and fight for the last living world in the known universe.
But even that seemed impossible. Normal weapons—rifles, bombs, even missiles—proved useless. They couldn't kill the abominations. Not truly.
Then came the rise of the Awakened.They were humanity's final hope. Alongside them emerged the Three Great Rulers, whose power eclipsed armies. Though co-dependent with the military, they were more than leaders—they were humanity's sword and shield, the only ones capable of truly damaging these monsters. Thanks to their efforts, humanity wasn't entirely extinguished… not yet.
Under their banner, the fractured world unified. Systems of survival were forged: guilds, military academies, and fortified cities designed to withstand the abominations. The academies, especially, became recruitment hubs, supplying soldiers and Awakened alike to the cause of the Three Rulers.
And still, even with all this, the monsters had only been… scratched.
****
After everything was over the group of hunters came back to the guild.
Later, Taya and Lucy headed to the medic room of the guild to get their wound and injuries patched up. Taya excused herself and slipped away, while leaving Lucy to head on her own. She entered the women's lavatory, and shut the door firmly behind her.
The moment she was alone, she tore the scarf from her head.
Her hair writhed to life—the serpents hissing sharply, agitated from being bound so long. Taya winced, the dull ache in her skull finally eased as the creatures stretched and coiled freely. She hated them, yet their release brought her undeniable relief.
Then something unexpected happened.
Their eyes glowed—brilliant emerald, casting a strange green tinge across the tiled room. Taya's breath caught as she watched the glow wash over her body. Her wounds began to close before her eyes, torn skin stitching itself back together, bruises fading in real time.
She stared in shock. Amazement, even hope, flickered in her chest—until the reality weighed down again.
If only she didn't have to keep them hidden. If only she wasn't cursed to live like this.
After tightly covering her serpentine hair again, the pain began to creep in—like a dull headache pressing against her skull. It reminded her of the days when she lived with her blind grandmother. Back then, she barely kept her cursed hair bound and hidden. The curse only awakened when someone looked at it, and for a blind person, that danger simply didn't exist. Safe in her grandmother's home, she rarely stepped outside. And on the rare occasions she did, her hair was always covered, always restrained.
Leaving the lavatory, Taya made her way to the medic's room where her new friend was being treated. Lucy sat there, a healer working on her wounds, when she noticed Taya enter. Her eyes widened.
"Wait—your wounds… they're gone? Already healed?" Lucy asked in surprise. "And you didn't even come here with me."
Taya pressed a finger gently to her lips, silently asking Lucy not to pry. Understanding the gesture, Lucy quickly changed the subject.
Later that night, the guild assigned them a single room. With what little money they had left, the girls paid for their stay, deciding not to sell the crystals they'd earned. Instead, they kept them—as a reminder of the day they truly stepped into the hunter's world.
As exhaustion dragged them down into the thin sheets of the bed, Lucy turned on her side, restless.
"So… why couldn't you use your powers back then? And how did you heal so fast?" she asked.
Taya sighed. "Like you already know, this is a new thing for me so I don't know how to control it."
Lucy frowned, unconvinced. "Then what about your wounds?"
"I think my ability kicked in, that's all.
"Wow, now that's really a handy ability to have". Lucy spoke in admiration, but if only she knew what Taya was going through.
"Lucy," Taya's voice dropped, serious now, "I need you to keep this a secret—between us."
"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, tilting her head.
"I mean exactly that," Taya replied firmly. "You can't tell anyone about these powers. Not a word. If you want to follow me, then this secret stays between us, no matter what."
Now could you stop asking and just sleep peacefully?" Taya said as her patience thinned at the barrage of questions, along with her dull headache keeping her on an edge.
Lucy chuckled softly. "Yeah, sorry… but one last question." She hesitated, then smiled. "Why do you always keep your hair covered? You've got a beautiful face. If you left it free, I'm sure you'd turn a few heads."
Taya froze. Her eyes narrowed.
"Lucy," she said firmly, her voice low.Taya's voice became even colder and darker as she whispered,
"If a day occurs, assuming that this piece of cloth ever comes off my head, whatever you do—don't look at me when my scarf comes off. Don't look, or even try to catch a glimpse of me when my hair comes undone. Because if you do… that will be the end of your life."
As she was speaking these words, the lights in the room shifted slightly, Her words hung heavy in the room. And then Lucy saw it—Taya's brilliant bluish-green eyes shifting into a deep, obsidian black. The sight pierced straight into her heart, pulling her into something vast and terrifying.
Suddenly, Lucy was surrounded by ember-like darkness, and all she could hear was groans of people yelling in a horrific tone in agony.
Then it shifted, she saw countless statues stretched out before her—so many that they looked as endless as grains of sand in the sea.
And then—
"Lucy!"
Taya's voice ripped through the void. "Lucy, what happened? Wake up! Lucy, please wake up!"