Arc 1: Origins of Ruin
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Chapter 1: The Night of Euro
Railsi Accent's Memory – Eight Years Ago
The night I gave birth to my daughter was the same night the world changed forever.
The world wasn't always like this—barren cities, burned skies, children born with power they can't control. It used to be simpler. I remember days when laughter filled the house and dreams weren't warnings.
But everything changed the moment the sky cracked open and the Destroyer spoke.
Two years before Vivant was born, it started.
I was folding clothes in the backyard when it happened. The birds stopped singing. The wind stopped moving. The sky lost its color.
And then… the voice came.
> "I am Astral."
It wasn't a voice, really. It was like it was inside my bones.
> "I am the first Destroyer. Not born of man, not born of God. But of despair."
My hands started shaking. I still remember the shirt I was folding—Tuiter's little blue one with the stitched eagle. It slipped from my fingers.
I was pregnant. Three months. Vivant kicked for the first time that day.
And the voice continued.
> "You call us monsters. But we are your truth. Every time you curse the world, every time your hope dies… we are born."
> "We do not kill. We feed. We are the echo of your collapse."
My husband, Teppei, burst into the yard. He was already wearing armor—he must've known it was coming.
And then Astral gave a name.
> "The Day of Euro. When the twin moons align. On that day, the Redeemer will be born. And through her, the world will be judged."
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Two years later, that day came.
Tonight.
The Day of Euro.
The moons were merging in the sky—silver and blood-red, perfectly aligned. That eerie glow bathed the city of Havell in magic. The air shimmered with Emul, like fireflies in slow motion.
Inside the house, I screamed.
Not from pain—I'd known pain.
This was different.
This felt like something ancient was pulling itself through me.
The doctor shouted. Heroes paced outside. Teppei stood by my side, holding my hand tightly, whispering that it would all be okay.
He was lying.
I could feel his hand shaking.
I pushed.
Light exploded from my stomach.
The room cracked at its edges. Runes appeared across the floor. The air thickened with Emul so dense the doctor started choking.
And then… silence.
No crying.
Just one soft sound.
A giggle.
A baby's giggle.
But it wasn't right.
It echoed in our chests, in our memories. Like it came from every version of the future.
I looked at her.
Vivant.
She was so small, wrapped in a blue shawl.
Her eyes… one was gold. The other… violet.
The doctor whispered, "That's not possible…"
Teppei pulled away from me slightly. His hand drifted toward his sword.
"Don't," I said, my voice hoarse. "That's our daughter."
He didn't answer.
I sat up, weak and cold, and held Vivant to my chest.
She was warm.
Human.
Smiling.
And yet… something inside me whispered: She is more than ours.
The room grew colder.
Then—BOOM.
The doors burst open.
Accent Kecktos—Teppei's brother, Head Commander of the Hero Association's Omega Division—stood there with five elite guards. All their weapons were drawn.
"She's here," Kecktos said. "Just like he promised."
Teppei stepped in front of me, blade unsheathed. "She's not his. She's mine."
"She belongs to the world now," Kecktos replied coldly.
Then the sky above split.
A second sun ignited in the night.
And descending from it… came Astral.
Not with fire.
Not with an army.
Just himself. Clad in robes made of platinum threads, his hair glowing like a star. No wings. No horns. Just a man.
He hovered above the house.
And then, he smiled.
"The Gate is open."
"The Redeemer… is born."