It felt like the world was ending.
The sky burned in unnatural colors as buildings collapsed one after another. The ground trembled violently beneath our feet, cracks spreading across the streets like veins across dying flesh. Smoke filled the air, choking and bitter, while distant explosions echoed through the ruined city.
Everything was falling apart.
You're probably wondering how I ended up in a situation like this.
Well… it's a long story.
For countless millennia, three forces existed in a fragile balance: humans, angels, and demons. They watched each other from the shadows, holding back an inevitable war.
But peace like that never lasts forever.
The tension had been building for ages, quietly, patiently… like a ticking bomb waiting for the right moment.
And the trigger?
Us.
Me… and the demon beside me.
Nyx stood at my side, her dark blade resting on her shoulder as she stared at the enemies surrounding us. Her expression looked almost amused, like she was enjoying the chaos.
Lucky me.
Across the ruined street stood our enemies.
Angels hovered in the sky, their wings glowing with blinding light.
Demons crawled out of the darkness, their eyes burning with hatred.
And in between them were humans like me… hosts chosen for this cursed battle.
Dozens of them.
All staring at us.
Nyx sighed lazily beside me.
"Well," she said, tilting her head slightly, "this is awkward."
I tightened my grip on the sword she had become.
Because she was right.
We were completely surrounded.
Well… let me go back to the beginning.
Before the chaos.
Before the war.
Before everything started collapsing.
There was a boy standing in the middle of a quiet street, staring down at a woman lying on the ground.
She looked battered, her clothes torn and stained, her body covered in wounds that no normal person could have survived. Yet despite the damage, there was something strangely mesmerizing about her.
She was devilishly beautiful.
Her dark hair spilled across the pavement like ink, and her crimson eyes were half-open, staring up at the boy as if trying to focus on his face.
The boy didn't know who she was.
He didn't know why she was there.
But for some reason… he felt like he had to help her.
As he took a step closer—
A blinding light suddenly swallowed everything.
The world turned white.
The woman.
The street.
The sky.
Everything disappeared.
And in that moment…
The boy lost those memories.
Just like that.
Life continued normally after that day.
The boy grew up like any other kid. He went to school, made a few friends, fought with classmates, got scolded by teachers, and complained about homework like everyone else.
Nothing special.
Nothing strange.
If there was anything unusual about him, he never noticed it.
Years passed.
And eventually, the boy turned fifteen.
That was the day everything changed.
It started like an ordinary afternoon.
School had just ended, and the streets were crowded with students heading home. The sun was already beginning to sink behind the buildings, painting the sky in shades of orange.
The boy walked alone along a quiet street, hands in his pockets, thinking about nothing in particular.
Until someone approached him.
A man.
He walked calmly toward the boy from the other side of the road.
At first glance, there was nothing remarkable about him. He looked like an ordinary middle-aged man wearing a long coat, his expression unreadable.
But something about him felt… wrong.
The boy slowed his steps.
The man didn't stop.
Instead, he suddenly reached behind his coat.
Metal glinted in the fading sunlight.
Before the boy could even react—
The man swung a morningstar flail straight at his head.
"Fuck!"
I barely managed to dodge.
The spiked ball of the morningstar whistled past my face, tearing through the air with terrifying force. The chain scraped across my school uniform, ripping the fabric and grazing my skin.
A burning sting spread across my arm.
I stumbled backward, my heart hammering violently against my chest.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!"
My voice cracked as I shouted at him.
The man slowly lifted his head.
The brim of his hat tilted upward just enough for me to see his face.
Or more specifically…
His eyes.
Most of the white of his eyes was black.
Not bloodshot.
Not sickly.
Just pure, unnatural darkness swallowing everything except the tiny glowing pupils staring straight at me.
And he was smiling.
A wide, excited grin that made my stomach twist.
"Well now…" he said, his voice low and almost delighted.
He spun the flail lazily in his hand, the metal chain clinking softly.
"Welcome to the battlegrounds."
My brain froze.
Battlegrounds?
What the hell was he talking about?
The man tilted his head slightly, studying me like a hunter sizing up prey.
"This must be my lucky day," he continued, licking his lips. "A newbie has come knocking right on my turf."
My confusion slowly turned into dread.
"Newbie…?" I muttered.
He chuckled.
"Oh? Don't tell me you don't know."
The chain rattled again as he lifted the flail onto his shoulder.
"Everyone chosen eventually wakes up. Some sooner, some later."
His blackened eyes gleamed with excitement.
"But the moment someone tries to kill you?"
His grin widened.
"That's usually when it starts."
A cold chill ran down my spine.
"Starts… what?"
The man didn't answer.
Instead, he raised his weapon again.
The chain suddenly snapped forward with violent speed.
The morningstar came straight for my chest.
This time, I didn't move fast enough.
For a split second—
I thought I was dead.
But then—
A voice echoed inside my head.
A lazy, annoyed female voice.
"Ugh… seriously?"
Time seemed to slow.
"I disappear for fifteen years and the first thing you do is almost die?"
My eyes widened.
What…?
The voice sighed.
"Fine. I guess I have to do everything myself."
Something warm spread through my right hand.
Then suddenly—
Dark metal began forming in my grip.
A blade.
A massive black greatsword materialized out of thin air, its surface pulsing faintly with crimson light.
The incoming morningstar slammed into it with a deafening CLANG.
Shockwaves rippled through the street.
The man froze.
His grin slowly faded.
"…Oh?"
He leaned back slightly, staring at the weapon in my hands.
"Well, well."
His dark eyes gleamed again.
"So the newbie finally woke up."
Inside my head, the voice laughed softly.
"Nice to see you again, partner."
"Miss me?"