Chapter 1: The tree of chains
A harsh brightness burned through Ren Kamizuki's eyelids. He blinked it away, squinting at the warm, familiar sight before him—his family laughing in the yard, his little sister giggling as their parents chased her through the grass.
But something wasn't right.
The sunlight dimmed unnaturally, as if someone had drawn a curtain over the sky. Then, a wave of emotion hit him—heavy, suffocating, and not his own. Grief. Rage. Emptiness.
Ren stumbled back inside, his stomach churning. He splashed cold water on his face, trying to steady himself.
But when he returned, the world had changed.
His family lay motionless in the yard. Headless.
The world collapsed around him. His legs locked. His lungs refused to pull in air. He could only stare, paralyzed in the echo of their laughter now turned to silence.
Then he saw her.
His sister—alive—hiding in the bushes, eyes wide with terror.
He ran toward her.
But before he could reach her, a searing pain ripped through his back. His knees gave out. Darkness bled into his vision. The last thing he heard before the void swallowed him was her voice—screaming.
And then, a whisper—cold, cruel, and ancient:
"You were never destined to live a happy life, Akira."
Ren awoke in a shallow pool of water. The surface rippled beneath him, cool against his skin.
All around stretched a vast, mirror-like lake—perfectly split in two. On the left, the water shimmered with a soft, golden light. On the right, it churned with shadow, as black as the void he'd just come from. He stood, breath ragged, body still aching.
From the light, a girl emerged.
She glided across the water, her silver hair flowing like moonlight, her figure wrapped in white. Her face was hidden, as if the world itself refused to reveal it. She stopped in front of him, her voice a gentle echo:
"So, Akira… You've finally returned."
Ren froze.
Akira?
That wasn't his name. Was it?
She smiled—though he couldn't see it—and continued:
"It's been a long time. I'm excited to see what you'll choose."
Before he could speak, she began to fade into mist. Her final words lingered like a haunting melody:
"Choose your side, Ren."
Two trees emerged before him—one from the golden water, one from the dark.
The tree of light pulsed with serenity. Visions flooded his mind: a peaceful life, healing, hope. His hand reached out on instinct—until a voice, deep and venomous, hissed inside him:
"So that's it? You're going to walk away? Forget your sister? Let your parents go unavenged? Coward. The only thing that can help you now… is the dark tree."
Ren turned.
The dark tree loomed, its bark gnarled like twisted bone, its branches clawing at the air. Without fully understanding why, he stepped into its shadow. His fingers touched the bark.
Silence.
Then—pain.
Agony like he'd never known surged through him. Sorrow. Fury. Loss. It crushed him. Choked him. Shattered him.
And still—he didn't pull away.
Because deep inside that storm, he felt something.
A spark.
A reason.
When the pain finally faded, he lay gasping on the cold, blackened earth. But inside him, something had changed. Something had awakened.
He had chosen.
The ground trembled beneath him. Cracks spiderwebbed through the stone as Ren stood, unsteady but resolute. The ruined cathedral around him seemed to shiver with awareness.
Then he saw them.
People—warriors, mages, even civilians—all standing frozen in shock. But it wasn't them that caught his eye.
It was what stood behind them.
Trees. Towering, spectral trees—each tethered to its owner like a second soul. Some glowed gold, branches full of life and warmth. Others sagged and wilted, grey and hollow. No one else seemed to notice them.
But Ren saw them all.
And behind him—his tree.
A monstrous thing of obsidian bark and violet flame. Its roots tore through reality like claws. Its leaves dripped with memory: blood, laughter, screams. And at its core…
A single, glowing fruit.
It pulsed like a heartbeat.
His sister.
A murmur rippled through the crowd. A robed elder fell to one knee, his voice shaking.
"T-The Tree of Chains… It can't be…"
Gasps. Whispers.
"That tree was sealed after the last Calamity."
"No one's seen it in over a thousand years."
Even the healer girl beside him recoiled, clutching her robes.
"Ren… What are you?"
He stared into the dark heart of his tree, feeling its power twist around him like a second skin.
He clenched his fists.
"I'm someone who died once…"
"…and came back with a reason."
The cathedral fell deathly silent.
Then—far away, beyond the veil of this world—a voice echoed.
Akira's voice.
Laughing.
"Now we begin."