There was a time when humans were not alone.
A time when darkness did not belong solely to the night.
From the dawn of existence, the world was divided into two realms:the Celestia, the Upper Realm where humanity dwelled,and the Néxus Abyss, the Lower Realm—an unknown abyss filled with creatures of pure terror.
No one had ever seen the Abyss with their own eyes. No one had ever returned from it.Yet its presence... could not be denied.
Legends tell that centuries ago, twisted beasts tore open Rifts in the sky and earth—gateways that only they could pass through.Each time it happened, the human world trembled. Cities burned. Families fell.And yet, humanity did not give in.
In those ancient days, humans discovered a power that lay dormant within them: the Soul.
Through their inner essence, they could wield weapons forged from their very spirit, and unleash elemental techniques.A fearless heart birthed blazing flames.A fragile mind conjured flowing water.An unstable soul summoned the winds.A wrathful spirit commanded the earth itself.
Thus were born the first Soulbearers—legendary warriors who fought for centuries, driving back the monsters into the darkness from whence they came.
And then... silence.
Centuries passed. The blades were forgotten. The techniques became bedtime fairy tales.Humanity thrived in ignorance, having forgotten what had once saved them.
Until today.
Tokyo — Year 2025
The subway was late. As always.
Kaito Arakawa, just an ordinary high school student, sat on a bench with earbuds in, lost in his thoughts.A normal life in a normal city. Exams to pass, friends to ignore, a future to chase.
But that day... the sky was not normal.
A strange crackle echoed through the air. The light dimmed into darkness.Time itself seemed to stop.
And then—
A Rift tore open.
In the sky, like a wound in the fabric of reality, a gash both radiant and shadowy split wide.From it, something emerged.Something that did not belong in this world.
A towering, twisted figure, with eyes red as blood and claws that tore through the very air.
Panic erupted. People screamed and fled as the creature descended upon the city like a living calamity.
Kaito didn't understand what was happening. His instincts screamed. He ran, pushing through the chaos and screams. He leapt over bodies, dodged falling beams, and sprinted through the shadows.
I'm going to die...
The thought pierced him more sharply than the pounding of his heart.But it wasn't only his life he feared for.
For a brief moment, he saw his mother's face—her tired but warm smile, her calloused hands.And then... the tiny cries of his baby brother, barely weeks old. A fragile life, pure and innocent.
"I don't want to die"
But fate was cruel.
The beast raised a foot as massive as a truck, aiming to crush him.
Time slowed.Death was mere inches away.His life flashed before his eyes like a shattered reel of film.
But then—he wasn't crushed.
Two figures had stepped between him and the monster.
A young man with black hair and a determined glare, clad in a white tunic with a burnt-orange obi.A girl with icy blue hair and matching eyes, in the same attire but with a deep blue obi.
"Go! Call the Ordo Animae, now!"The young man shouted, slashing at the creature's foot with a katana that burst into flames.It didn't stop the beast—but it did hold it back.
The girl nodded, visibly shaken, and turned to run. But she tripped.Her katana clattered across the ground… and slid to a stop right in front of Kaito.
Trembling, Kaito stared at it.He didn't know why. But he reached out.
The moment his fingers wrapped around the hilt, a flood of emotions overwhelmed him.Heat. Cold. Pain. Peace.As if another consciousness had connected with his.
The fire-wielding boy turned, wide-eyed.The girl, glancing back, gasped.
"what!"
But in that moment of distraction, the beast struck again.
Another thunderous stomp.The earth shook.The boy and Kaito were seconds from being obliterated—
Yet no sound came.
A bubble of water enveloped them—clear, shimmering.It had shielded them.The blow was softened. The monster staggered and fell, crushing half the subway station.
The girl with the blue obi turned in shock.
"W-what!? But he… he only uses fire!"
Inside the bubble, the boy coughed violently.Kaito knelt, still gripping the katana.
But the water was inside too.They were drowning.
And in that chaos—she appeared.
A small girl, barely more than a child, dressed in a black robe marked with glowing white runes.In her hand, an enormous open book.
She appeared before the girl scrambling to recover her katana.
The girl slammed the book shut.
A surge of wind exploded from it—And in an instant... they vanished.
Sanctum of the Ordo Animae – Hall of Sacred Waters
A vast temple, lined with ancient columns and glass-like pools.
The bodies appeared, scattered across the wet floor.The water bubble still remained.
The little girl stepped forward.With one hand, she touched the sphere.With the other, she reopened her book.
A pulse of light radiated from its pages.The bubble shattered into thousands of droplets.
The boy with the orange obi coughed violently, water streaming from his mouth. His hands clenched the ground beneath him.After a few strained breaths, he managed to open his eyes.
But Kaito lay beside him—unmoving.
His fingers still gripped the sword.
Blackness.A faint beep.Sterile air.
When Kaito opened his eyes…The first thing he saw was not the temple.
It was the cold white ceiling of a hospital room.