"I swear this job will kill me!"
Kain kicked a rock and lowered the massive log to the ground. He had to earn money by any means necessary, ever since his parents died twelve years ago.
"Phew, almost done," Max said, looking at the bright sun with a smile.
"Yeah, those were the last ones." Daniel nodded, "By the way, did you hear it? Today, a Keeper is coming to our village!"
Suddenly, Kain's fatigue was replaced by anger as he grabbed Daniel by the collar, gritting his teeth. "Don't you dare talk about them with that stupid smile on your face! The Keepers... They... They're not heroes, you're wrong!"
With a menacing look, Kain entered the sawmill, to collect their money for their hard work. Max and Daniel exchanged a glance, bearing awkward faces. They were well aware of the tragedy that had befallen Kain.
Daniel scratched the back of his head. "Agh... We were lucky not to be born during the First Wave, but... the world got a lot worse. Kain's right."
In the distance, floating runes shimmered.
...
The Arcane Scripture - a cataclysm that struck decades ago and changed the world forever. The rifts of the Astral Dimension emerged, growing rapidly, bringing with them devastating natural hazards and monsters against which all modern weapons were useless.
The people near the rifts became the first to suffer from an incurable disease - the Rune Brand.
In the first days, this fate awaited millions, plunging cities and borders into chaos. No one could escape, poor or rich, it was all down to luck.
The disease progressed differently, some died after only three days, and some were lucky to stay alive for a week, but no more. The longer the infection went on, the more serious the consequences, but in any case it was death. The affected person could shatter into light particles, become a monster, or turn into a rift.
Sure, that wasn't the only problem brought by the Arcane Scripture, but Kain was lucky not to be born at the most dangerous time. The First Wave didn't strike him.
As it later turned out, the only way to get rid of the Rune Brand was to enter the Astral Dimension. The craziest and bravest went to do so, most died, but a minority managed to find the Ascension Rune.
Thus came the Keepers, who acquired the unique power - the Codex. They fought against monsters and protected humanity.
The destroyed world was replaced by a new semblance of order - the Rune Society. It was impossible to establish peace in less than a hundred years, only recently had humans managed to find a shaky balance and control the spread of the Astral Dimension, but the work continued to that day.
Soon, more and more people began to see the Rune Brand as an opportunity to change their lives rather than a curse. The Rune Brand progressed most strongly as a person grew, from the ages of 15 to 25, the chances of the disease appearing were much higher.
This prompted the Rune Society to introduce mandatory physical training across the world, a good start for the average child, but not so much for the newly formed Keeper Clans. Their offspring prepared from childhood to be infected by the Rune Brand and enter the Astral Dimension geared with the Artifacts and the Soul Stones - something that was not possible for common people.
But for Kain, all of this was meaningless, he had to work to feed himself, all alone, and he blamed not the Arcane Scripture or the monsters, but the heroes of humanity - the Keepers.
...
Kain stood in front of the counter, stomping his foot irritably.
The obese man nodded his head.
"Good, you moved all the logs, for this one I can give you 10 Crystal Coins," Vorg affirmed.
"What, just ten coins? The three of us have been working for an hour! That's barely enough to buy food!"
Vorg crossed his arms over his chest. "Hey, Kain, I understand your plight, but I can't work at a loss, or else there won't be anyone else to give you assignments!"
"Tsk. Fine, give me your dirty money!"
Vorg opened his fist as ten gray coins fell into Kain's palm.
After the creation of the Rune Society, the old currencies no longer had value. The new government needed a way to rebuild the economy.
There was also another reason for the introduction of Crystal Coins - they were real, unlike the green papers and even more so the digital bank accounts that were destroyed. Each crystal coin contained a bit of powder from the crushed Crystals. This made crystal coins valuable not only to commoners but also to the Keepers.
Well, with ten coins, Kain couldn't afford much.
"Hey, before you go," Vorg called out to Kain, "I've got more work for you. An old factory up north, since the First Wave, no one's ever decided to fix this place."
Kain glanced at Vorg over his shoulder. "What do you want us to do?"
"Hehehe, nothing difficult," Vorg chuckled. "Clean up the main hall, you can carry the scrap metal to me, and I'll pay you well. You know, I'm all for fair trade."
"Pffft, an honest merchant? There's no such thing. Fine, we take the job."
Not that he had any other choice.
"Agh..." Vorg sighed heavily. "This guy, he's more unlucky than the rest of us. Being left without parents at the age of five? And... He still blames the Keepers for that."
Each received three coins. Kain and his friends used the rest to buy juice and a simple hot bun. At the same time, a squad from the Rune Society arrived in their village.
"Look, they're coming!" Daniel exclaimed, his eyes shining like stars.
The residents greeted the group of twelve people walking down the main street.
Eleven of them wore blue military uniforms, strict with high boots. Each carried a sword on their belts, firearms were useless at their work. In front walked a tall girl with black hair wearing a long white coat. From her look and stride, it was clear that she was a Keeper.
The head of the village stepped forward, greeting the important guest in a low bow. Max and Daniel could not take their gazes away.
Kain tossed the can into the trash. "Tsk, let's get to work. Money won't make itself, and a Keeper certainly won't help us with that."
Max and Daniel wanted to take a longer look at a Keeper, but they realized that Kain was right. The Keeper came not to talk with the three boys.
Through the past, Kain knew why the Keepers might come, yet he hoped it wouldn't happen.
'Either it's a simple inspection, or it has something to do with the Astral Dimension. Shit, I hope the Rift doesn't open, not again,' Kain gritted his teeth in muffled pain.
Thus, they reached the old factory.
Max and Daniel looked around.
"Damn, this place is huge."
"Yeah... I can hear my echo!"
Kain walked over to the massive mountain of scrap metal in the middle.
"Well, let's start here. We'll take the solid pieces of metal to Vorg and put the junk away," he muttered, turning to his friends.
"Ughum!"
"Let's get to work!"
A slight smile formed on Kain's face.
Then, barely noticeable runes flashed before his eyes, something a mere human could only see in the forbidden areas.
The rift has been opened, unleashing the horrors of the Astral Dimension upon the small village.
...
Ferocious flames and ghastly silhouettes running among the iron girders of the ruined factory were the first thing Kain saw.
His hands were in blood, the factory was destroyed, and Max and Daniel were buried under the debris.
Without a second thought, Kain rushed forward, trying to lift the iron beams.
"Come on! Move!" Kain gritted his teeth, painfully staring at the pool of blood beneath his friends.
Another explosion shattered the pillars, and the roof collapsed, straight to Kain.
With eyes wet from coming tears, Kain clenched his fists tightly and ran forward into the light.
'No... It's happening again! Once the Keeper came in, and I lost everything!' Kain inwardly shouted as he ran out of the factory grounds at the last moment.
His hometown was engulfed in a blaze, shadows as big as buildings, smashing everything in the distance, only screams could be heard.
By the destroyed statue, lay a Keeper, she was breathing heavily.
"You..." Kain hissed, his eyes full of anger. "What have you done?! What's going on here?! The moment you appeared the world crushed!''
Barely discerning Kain's silhouette through the blurry veil before her eyes, she smiled bitterly.
''Boy...? Someone managed to survive? That's... That's good," she croaked, blood never stopping flowing from her mouth.
Kain grabbed her by the collar. "Answer Me! First, I lost my family, and now... My friends are dead! In an instant, I didn't even have a chance to help them! All because of you!"
"I'm sorry it happened... I'm sorry... I failed to protect your home. I failed as a Keeper..."
She looked away. "Something happened that I wasn't prepared for... The rift... someone... Rha! I'm afraid it is all over for this village. Run, I don't have long to go."
"Damn it!" Kain roughly let her go, stomping on the ground. "You got the Rune Brand, the powers, and you can't save anyone!"
Kain punched himself in the chest. "Are you suggesting me to run? Again? To have another Keeper ruin my life in several years? I'd rather die here!"
"You don't want to run away? Then save yourself..." she coughed. "I can give you that..."
"W-What...?" Kain gulped in disbelief. "I'm a common man, I can't fight monsters!"
The girl stretched her right arm forward. "I was the same... Either grab my hand and get the Rune Brand, or run..."
White runes ran down the girl's arm in a flow, actively trembling. All of her power gathered at one point.
"Rune Brand? It can be transferred...?" Kain asked, but there was no time, the monsters in the distance were getting closer, "Fine! I'll do it!"
He clutched her hand tightly.
"We're at the edge of the forbidden zone...! Listen to the Arcane Scripture... Don't waste time... you will have a bit of it... Perhaps you will become a better Keeper than me."
A faint gloom filled her hollow eyes.
"At least I hope you will... I failed you this time, but next time, you'll decide your fate..."
"You..." Kain's eyes grew deeper. "I was wrong. You are a true Keeper, a hero admired by the common people."
"No..." she looked at Kain, tears flowing from her eyes. "I am a failure... I couldn't protect your village..."
"Name." Kain clutched her hand tighter, the runes traveling over to him, "What is your name, Keeper?"
The girl smiled bitterly.
"Reina... My name is Reina..."
Then, light covered her body as she split into myriad pieces, disappearing right in front of Kain.
Kain's heart clenched in sharp pain as the runes reflected in his eyes.
The world slowed as a strange, mechanical voice echoed in his mind:
[The Rune Brand has been activated... Tainted, you must enter the Astral Dimension and find the Ascension Rune or turn into nothing...]