Chapter 1
Dark clouds had covered the mountains. A cold wind howled through the ruins of the stone temple. Every storm meant the awakening of a new creature.
Rai wiped the snow off his sword. The old symbols along the blade were faded — as if even the metal had grown tired of fighting. Behind him, Lyra knelt, her hands on the ground. A blue light spreading from her palms cleansed the soil, making the surrounding dead silence shine.
"Cleansed," Lyra said. "But that echo… it was different from the others."
Rai lifted his head and looked at the distant silhouette of the mountains. "The seals that have lasted for years are weakening," he said. "And I… I am the last sword that guards those seals."
Lyra straightened up silently. "You are the last of your line, Rai. But you will not carry this burden alone."
Rai smiled. "Nothing feels heavy when you're by my side."
At that moment the ground shook. The earth cracked, clouds of gray dust mixed into the air. A rumble from the depths made even the sky tremble.
Lyra stepped back. "This… is not an ordinary creature."
The ground split — a massive, ash-covered creature emerged from it. Its eyes burned like living flames, its breath scorched even the wind.
Rai clenched his sword. "I may be the last sword of my line, but I will not be the last warrior."
Lyra summoned the seal symbols; they began to spin around them.
"Hold until it's sealed!" "Not hold — I want to finish it!"
Rai lunged forward. Light pouring from his blade split the storm in two. Lyra's seals rose to the sky and stamped into the creature's body.
For a moment the sky turned white. And that cry that echoed in the middle of the night became the first scream that would change the balance of the world.
When the sky turned white, time froze for an instant. Then snow fell, mixing with ash onto the ground. The creature's body froze like stone, then shattered into thousands of pieces.
Rai dropped to his knees, out of breath. A red glow still seeped from the tip of his sword. Lyra came to his side, her hands trembling.
"It's over… I think the seal held." "You think?" "Rai, that cry… it didn't seem like a creature's. It was as if… something was listening to us."
Rai swallowed.
"Then it's true — the seals really are starting to unravel."
Lyra looked around. The stone floor beneath the mountain had cracked; between the fissures an old symbol was visible. Both of them bent down. When they wiped away the dust, the shape of a sealed door was revealed.
"This… is the Temple Seal," Lyra said. "The first creature our ancestors sealed is here."
When Rai put his hand on the symbol, the seal suddenly flared. A voice echoed — neither human nor beast:
"Last master of the sword... you have finally returned."
Lyra recoiled. "Rai! Stay away from it!" But it was too late. The symbols on his sword began to burn one by one.
Thousands of voices echoed in Rai's mind. Whispers, screams, names forgotten… Then an image: A massive creature their ancestors had sealed centuries ago in the same place — "The First Scream."
"They sealed me… but the mark of their seal is in your blood. And that blood… has been called back."
Lyra tried to activate the seal symbols. But instead of light, the symbols began to cast shadows.
Rai gritted his teeth, gripping his sword.
"No matter what, I won't let you go free again."
The dark door creaked. Dust swirled into the air. Lyra shouted:
"Rai! If that seal fully opens, all the creatures will return!"
Rai closed his eyes. He drove his sword into the ground — and let his own blood drip onto the symbol. The inscriptions on the rock flared into flame, the temple trembled.
The sky lit up once more. But this time, the whisper from within the light was only a single sentence:
"Every seal asks for a heart."
Lyra recoiled in horror. A new seal had begun to burn on Rai's chest.
The seal on Rai's chest burned with red and black flames. With every beat, waves of both pain and power surged through his body. Lyra stepped back, her eyes shining with terror.
"Rai… that seal… it's no longer just a mark. The power inside it… it could get out of control!"
Rai gripped his sword tightly.
"Feel it… yes… I feel it. But we must stop this."
Outside, shadows spreading from the temple's cracks were releasing creatures born of darkness. Small shadows, half-formed silhouettes, slid down toward the mountain's foothills. And each of them fed on the energy that had spread from the first scream.
Lyra shouted:
"Rai! If we don't stop them, villages and cities will be destroyed one by one!"
Rai nodded, determination in his eyes.
"Then this task is ours now. But we are not alone. We must gather help."
Lyra pointed to the old paths near the temple.
"There is an old Hunters' Guild. There may still be a few survivors there."
Rai took a deep breath.
"Then… we will find them and stop this together."
Outside, the shadows multiplied rapidly. Each one, born of darkness, began to take on a creature's form. But as the seal on Rai's chest shone, the creatures approaching him paused for a moment, then attacked more fiercely.
Lyra raised the seal symbols.
"Rai… the seal no longer only protects you. This power needs your blood to re-seal the creatures."
Rai gritted his teeth and drove his sword into the ground.
"Then… I will seal every creature. And if necessary, I will sacrifice myself."
Lyra closed her eyes, her heartbeat quickening.
"Then… we will fight together. This is our fight, and we are no longer alone."
The sky darkened, shadows flowed like a river into the forest. And in that moment, Rai and Lyra's first step to stop the creatures began every seal, every scream, a new path, a new ally.