[Year: 2022]
[Location: Tokyo, Japan]
5 years ago...
The Grand Spirit Evaluation Center in Tokyo was a metal titan, rising like a monument to humanity's desperate gamble at surviving this new world. Some called it the crucible. Others called it a graveyard for dreams. But one truth lingered in every heart that approached it: step inside, and your life could change forever.
Takami Ryusei stood at the base of that steel monolith, the city's buzz muted by the weight pressing down on his chest.
"This place is bigger than I imagined," Yuri Hikaru said beside him, eyes scanning the structure.
Takami exhaled slowly, lips curling into something between determination and sarcasm. "Yeah… but size doesn't matter. What's inside does."
Yuri smirked. "That's deep... For a dummy."
He gave her a side glance, playful irritation flickering in his eyes. But before he could clap back, a voice smooth and unimpressed, cut between them.
"You two are blocking the entrance."
They turned. A tall figure with sharp features and darker-than-night eyes stepped past them, hands in his jacket pockets like he owned the ground he walked on.
Takami blinked. "And you are…?"
"Park Jimin," he replied casually. "Here for the evaluation too?"
Yuri rolled her eyes. "What else would we be here for? A yard sale?"
Jimin chuckled. "Well don't blame me, thought you were security."
Yuri gasped dramatically. "Ha... So funny I forgot to laugh."
"My bad, my bad," he laughed.
"I'm Yuri, this is Takami."
Jimin's eyes shifted to Takami. "You look like you're gonna pass out."
Takami scoffed. "From excitement? Please."
"Let's hope we don't have to carry you out."
"Whatever." Takami scoffed,
As they went inside a robotic voice echoed.
"All evaluation candidates, please proceed inside."
Takami's heart thudded once. Twice. Then it became a steady beat of war drums.
The Evaluation Hall was a glowing white dome, sterile and intimidating. Dozens of circular platforms lined the floor like pressure plates, each one humming with energy.
The process was simple, step onto the pad, let it scan your Grant Level, then wait. The floor turned black during evaluation, then back to white once complete. Above, a holographic screen would flash your category. If you were lucky, a scout would immediately pounce.
Takami watched in tense silence as the first candidate stepped up. The floor darkened. Energy buzzed. Whispers filled the room.
The scan took longer than usual.
[Evaluation Complete.]
The floor turned white. The screen buzzed.
[Category: Spirit Keeper.]
Gasps. Shouts. An avalanche of murmurs.
"He's a Spirit Keeper?!"
Guild scouts nearly tripped over themselves trying to reach the man, but he walked past them as if they didn't exist. Calm. Composed. Dangerous.
Yuri whispered beside Takami, "That's the level people dream of."
Takami's throat was dry. He swallowed hard. Was this going to be his future too? Or…
The next few evaluations played out. Most were high grant level. A few low. Some sparked interest from smaller guilds, others walked off unnoticed.
Then, the voice returned.
"Next batch. Takami Ryusei. Yuri Hikaru. Park Jimin. Step forward."
His hands clenched.
They stepped onto the platforms.
[Evaluation commencing.]
The pressure was immense, like something cosmic was dissecting his very being. His ears rang. His legs felt numb.
[Evaluation Complete.]
He looked up.
[Category: Low Grant Level.]
Time froze.
Yuri: [High Grant Level]
Jimin: [High Grant Level]
Guild scouts immediately swarmed the two of them.
"You're a combat type right? We want you in our guild!"
"Miss Hikaru, your mage potential is great! We'll help you understand your powers!"
"Park Jimin, we'll give you double the pay, join us."
Takami? No one even looked at him.
One of the staff members confirmed what he feared.
"Takami Ryusei. Low grant level. Rank-3. No notable skills. I'm sorry but… Candidate dismissed."
It hit harder than a physical blow.
Takami stood there, invisible in a room that had already moved on.
[Current day...]
[Year: 2027]
[Location: Yuri's family cabin…]
The TV blared:
"Finally, after five years of silence, Shougo Matsuda. Japan's 13th Spirit Keeper, accepts a contract offer from one of Japan's five major guilds. Phantom Order it is."
Takami sat silently, a bandages on his wrists, a shadow cast across his features.
"Spirit Keepers are rare," the reporter said. "But Matsuda is on a whole other level."
Takami muttered, "I feel like getting a bucket of ice cream and finishing it while I think about my life."
Yuri raised a brow. "You've got to stop spiraling, dummy. It's not the end of the road. You just gotta find your path."
Jimin added from the doorway, arms crossed. "Yeah. You help us out more than you think."
"With what? Being deadweight?" Takami bit back. "I get hurt every mission and you guys keep dragging me out like a kid."
Jimin frowned. "If it weren't for your ability to sense spirits, we'd have been in a graveyard by now."
Takami whispered, "Well, I have been to the hospital more than both of you combined."
He stood. "I'm heading home. I need some air."
Yuri sighed. Jimin just watched him leave with a tinge of concern.
"Bro needs to shake that mentality," Jimin muttered.
That night at home, the quiet was louder than ever.
His mother had cooked. She sat with his younger siblings, chatting softly. She smiled when he walked in, though her eyes carried a fatigue he knew all too well. He joined them.
Time passed, Yosuke and Tomoe had already gone to bed.
"Takami," His mom said gently. "You don't have to carry the weight of everything. Just live your life. We'll be okay."
He sat down, hands shaking slightly.
"No, Mom. You shouldn't have to handle everything. You've already done too much. I want to help. I need to help."
She looked at him with concern in her eyes, but she nodded.
"Just don't force yourself okay,"
That night, Takami stared at the ceiling.
Maybe he wasn't meant to shine like the others.
Maybe he was born to stay in the shadows.
But if that was his fate…
He'd claw his way to the light anyway.
Whatever it took.
Time had passed since that fateful evening.
Each mission that followed dragged Takami closer to death. He bled more, suffered more, learned more. Every scar etched into his skin was a page in the book of survival, written in pain, stitched in resolve. With Yuri and Jimin beside him, he grew. But in truth, he was always trailing behind.
His only natural gift was a rare one: the ability to sense spirits he couldn't see, he could feel them move, sense their posture, size, even hear their whispers. A radar for the unseen. And yet… that didn't make him strong.
Still, he refused to quit.
"Takami, we told you to stay home," Yuri's voice was stern, stripped of her usual sass. "You're not ready. This isn't a damn training exercise."
Jimin stood beside her, arms folded, unreadable as always. "You've been close to death three times in two weeks. Let us handle this one. We'll bring you the credit."
But Takami shook his head. "Three times, thirty times, doesn't matter. I'm done waiting to be useful. I have to come."
"You're not a burden, Takami." Yuri sighed. "You're our friend. But this? This might be the mission that's gonna have a bad turn."
"Then I'll be buried fighting," he answered. "Not watching."
Yuri and Jimin exchanged glances. No more words. They just nodded.
The town on the outskirts of Tokyo was a graveyard of silence. Deserted. Broken. Dust settled over cracked concrete, cars rusted, and the only sound was the distant howl of wind through empty alleyways. The target: a high-class spirit that had turned the place into a feeding ground.
"Something about this place just doesn't feel right," Jimin muttered, gripping his spear.
Takami's body tensed. "Something's hiding. Watching."
"We better avoid being reckless," Yuri exhaled before doing an enchantment spell on herself as well as on them, their bodies glowed, boosting their endurance and defense.
A lot of spirits attacked but they both handled it with ease while Takami watched and even got injured when one attacked him. But Yuri was there to help.
Everywhere had quieted down.
Then it appeared, eyes glowing, a silhouette that flickered like smoke and hate.
The battle began.
Jimin struck first, his spear slicing the spirit's shoulder. It howled, rearing back, and Yuri followed up, launching a wind-laced kick that cracked against its chest. The spirit staggered, injured as Jimin aimed and shot his spear with force that it pierced the spirits head. Its growl deepened before it disintegrated.
Jimin went on to pick his spear. "The air still feels heavy…this was never the real thr—" A new pressure slammed into the air like gravity had doubled, interrupting what he was saying.
Then the nightmare stepped in.
THUD.
A monstrous figure landed, the ground splitting beneath it. It was grotesque, gray, cracked skin like stone, long tongue swinging, muscles bulging with unholy force. Takami could feel it from the distance he kept. A high-class 2 spirit. But not just any, it was a really strong one for even Yuri and Jimin to handle, twisted, layered with something more ancient, more intelligent.
Fear crawled up Takami's spine. He screamed, "RUN!"
But it vanished.
CRACK. The spirit's fist came down toward Yuri. Jimin shoved her aside. BOOM, and took the full hit, his body slammed into rubble.
Yuri retaliated with sharp wind blasts that cut through trees and stone, but the spirit just stood there, smiling devilishly.
It grabbed her by the leg and slammed her once, twice, again and again into the pavement. Blood splattered.
Jimin rose, barely breathing, spear trembling in his grip. "HEEEEYYY BASTARD…"
He charged with his spear, thrusting with all his strength. The tip struck the spirit's eye, and the beast flinched. Blood dripped. A blow had landed.
But the spirit removed it from it's eye, grinning wide, then crushed the spear, lifting Jimin like a doll and squeezing until something inside popped.
"TAKAMI! RUN!!"
Then Jimin was thrown. It followed and stomped his head into the wall four times. Jimin remained there Unmoving.
"JIMIIIIN!!" Yuri screamed trying to get up again, barely conscious, a chain of wind wrapping the spirit's leg. Trying to buy enough time for Takami to escape at least. It paused, then in an instant appeared in front of her, punching her into a wall.
Then it turned to Takami.
And smiled.
He ran.
But it was already behind him.
A hand burst through his stomach from behind, claws poking out of his abdomen. He vomited blood instantly, legs buckling.
"GAAAAHH!!"
The spirit grinned more.
Its claw slit his throat a little. Not to kill, to injure. To cripple.
Takami couldn't scream anymore.
It dragged him across the ground like garbage, slamming him into walls, glass, pipes, until his body was a painting of bruises and open flesh. Then it pinned him down.
A spike grew from its wrist, and it stabbed through his hand. Then again his arm. Then his knee. One by one.
It was if it enjoyed the torture more than the kill.
His memories flashed…his mother's laugh, Yosuke's smile, Tomoe's warmth…
His thoughts became louder in his head, "So this is what a bad ending is like…
No final stand. No heroic sacrifice. Just… silence, and blood. A pitiful whisper where a scream should've been.
Failed promises I made…
To protect, to grow stronger, to matter.
All lies, weren't they?
Is this really the end?
Not with a roar, but with a whimper. Alone, half-dead on cold concrete, not even worth finishing off right away. Just a body. A burden.
I don't even want to wake up anymore…
What would be the point? So I can fail again? So I can watch the people I love get hurt because I wasn't enough?
Pretty sure I'll still be useless in the afterlife too…
That's how deep it runs, right? This weakness. It's not just in my bones, it's in my soul. In my very existence.
This is the fate of the weak.
To suffer quietly. To watch the strong shape the world while we're stuck crawling behind them, begging to matter.
I'm still surprised how I made it this far…
Was it luck? Pity? Stubbornness?
I can't have a good life, nor am I able to die…
Just stuck. Stuck between being nothing and wishing I was.
Born to keep on enduring pain without getting stronger after it…
Like a sponge soaking up hurt with no purpose.
Do I always have to apologize for being useless…?
How long do I have to pretend I'm fine when I'm already drowning?
Just… die already.
But still… something in me keeps clinging.
But why? What's left? What do I even have?
Not strength. Not pride. Just memories…
…Mom's laugh. Yosuke's dumb smile. Tomoe's hugs.
Gone. All gone.
Because of me.
Well…You can take me now.
I'm done."
Takami clawed at the ground, whimpering. Not a warrior. Not a hero.
Just another name to be wiped off this world.
A broken one.
The wind grew thicker and more violent as Yuri tried to get up again, bloodied. "STOOOP!!" she shouted. Slices started appearing on the spirits body as the wind went round it
The spirit grinned then grabbed Takami's head raising his body, the slices affecting him too.
She froze, not wanting to hurt him. Then she passed out.
The spirit grinned.
It dropped him.
Then stomped on his back.
SNAP.
His scream never came, his throat was too torn.
He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. His own blood pooled under him, hot and heavy.
Then came the worst.
His eyes remained shut.
One last thought, "I hope you can all forgive me."
Silence.
Then a burst of energy split the sky.
A figure landed in a blaze of yellow light.
"Enough."
It wasn't a command. It was a verdict.
The spirit turned, confused, then its arm was sliced off in one clean motion. Before it could react
BOOM.
Its torso erupted, vaporized by a silent technique no one saw.
It tried to regenerate but didn't get the chance.
THUNK. Its head dropped at Takami's side like a gift before fading away
The figure stood over him. Cloaked. Unreadable.
"You don't have much time left, you should've died today," they said. "But he chose you."
They knelt, hand glowing, touching his chest. The pain spiked, not healing, rewriting. Rearranging what was broken.
An orb then appeared on their hand and they slid it into Takami's pocket. "That's a gift," they stood "This never happened. When you're fully ready we'll meet again." And with that they faded into the moonlight.
Then everything went black.
He woke up.
On his bed.
Whole.
No wounds. No blood.
But everything… felt wrong.
He touched his chest then his pocket. The orb was still there, faintly glowing.
The door creaked.
"Takami?"
Yosuke's voice.
He looked up.
"You're… awake?"
Tomoe stepped in behind him. "Big brother, are you okay…?"
Takami ruffled her hair then smiled, "I'm doing just fine,"
"You've been asleep for too long." Yosuke said
Takami was shocked, "M-maybe it's just stress."
"You still need some rest, let's go Tomoe." Yosuke slowly walked out of the room as Tomoe followed.
He just stared at his hands.
They weren't his anymore.
Something inside had been put in place. Something monstrous. Something waiting to wake up.
He then removed the orb from his pocket .
His breath hitched as A translucent screen appeared before him.
[Become a Player?]
[YES] | [NO]
Takami's hands trembled.
His lips parted as he whispered "…What?"