Year 2028.
Ten years had passed since the day the sky rained light and tore open the fabric of the world.
In that decade, humanity had changed.
The labyrinths that once appeared as terrifying anomalies were now the center of civilization. Cities grew around them, guilds were born from them, and fortunes were made—or lost—within them. What had once been chaos had become order; what was once fear had become ambition.
Hunters, explorers, mercenaries—all kinds of people walked into those endless stone mazes, chasing glory or survival. Some sought artifacts, others longed to rise as Masters. And though countless lives were consumed, humanity no longer cowered. It adapted. It evolved.
To live in 2028 was to live in a world where danger was normal. Where monsters lurked at the edges of maps, where entire nations measured strength by the artifacts their chosen had brought back.
And standing before one such labyrinth, Chakra tightened his grip on the worn-out hilt of his sword.
The entrance gaped before him, black and endless, like the throat of some ancient beast. People gathered outside it, mercenaries preparing, guild members boasting, merchants waiting to buy whatever scraps came back. Among them, whispers followed Chakra like a shadow.
"He's really going in?"
"With that sword? Poor bastard."
"Another one throwing himself to the maze. He'll be bones before nightfall."
Chakra didn't look back. He'd grown used to those words. But they still cut.
Ten years after the incident, others had risen. Heroes, guild leaders, even Masters. But he? He was still nothing. A nobody from nowhere, chasing a dream no one believed he could reach.
He drew a deep breath. The air was heavy, as if the labyrinth itself was daring him to step inside.
And so he did.
The jeers and laughter faded behind him, swallowed by silence. Inside, the world was colder, darker, the walls alive with veins of faintly glowing stone. It was a different world—one built for trials, not mercy.
Ten years… and I'm still looked down on. If I don't seize something now, I'll be nothing forever.
His footsteps echoed as he ventured deeper, alone in the dark.
And somewhere, waiting in those depths, fate ticked quietly—ready to reveal itself.