The world is facing a century of chaos that began hundreds of years ago. Every day, the entire sky is always covered with red mist.

Mankind on the whole world were at war, they fought and killed as they saw fit to gain more power, happiness, and the freedom to live freely.

King Arata is the ruler of the whole world and no one dares to oppose him. King Arata was never seen what he looked like and his whereabouts were never known.

All orders given by King Arata were only heard in Derka's dreams.

Derka is a term for people who have a small piece of the king's power. The characteristics of the derka can be seen on their faces which have markings.

***

Two groups of five men were facing each other on the battleground, each brandished their Katana, eyes focused on their adversaries. They were the Derka Candidates who will undergo the Awakening Ceremony.

Everybody had the opportunity to be a Derka Candidate. However, not all of them could become a Derka. There were special conditions to be a true Derka.

A leader from one of the groups held the katana above his head, shouting a deafening warcry as he charged forward.

Thus, a bloody fight commenced, and the ten men charged fearlessly. The sound of clashing blades reverberated in the air, followed by the streams of blood that gushed out like a fountain.

When the fight was over, there was only one left from the two groups. He stood tall atop the adversaries he had slain. As the champion looked up at the sky, a bolt of red energy struck his face. Instantly, marks appeared on his face.

***

On a day shrouded in red mist.

There were two teenagers named Erga Nagara (19 years old) and their female friend, Gea Aryin (18 years old), who had been in the forest for three days.

They were not worried about surviving in this harsh environment because they had prepared themselves well by bringing survival equipment.

The two teenagers were in search of the place which was shown in the book left by Erga’s father; The Way of Equality.

"Erga, I’ve been meaning to ask this, are you sure about the book you brought?” Gea asked, taking a breath.

“Of course! I strongly believe this book will guide us to what we seek. Though I am a bit doubtful, I am curious about the result.”

"Why?"

“I'll explain. This will confuse you. This book belonged to my grandfather and was passed down to my father. Because my father died when I was still in the womb, my grandfather entrusted this book to my mother. But unfortunately, my mother also died. Finally, grandfather entrusted this book to me. Now that my grandfather is gone, I have to solve the mystery!”

Gea let out a long sigh, “Alright, alright… I believe in you. Let us find a place to take a break first, how’s that sound?”

“Well, that’s a good idea.”

Thus, Erga and Gea take a break under a lush banyan tree on the bank of a pristine river.

"Look! The water is crystal clear!" Gea exclaimed, she promptly took out the water bottles and filled them to the brim by the river bank.

“If only this place is not haunted, I want to establish my kingdom here.”

"Haha, you always look so funny with your silly dreams.” Gea chuckled gleefully upon hearing Erga’s delusional dreams.

“Anyway, Gea, I felt my life had lost its purpose when my parents were gone. What did you feel when the first time you lost your beloved?"

"..."

Gea was silent, she gazed softly at him and with a tender smile which made Erga feel awkward.

“W-why you give me that look?” His face reddened, embarrassed by his weird question.

"Erga, don't dwell too much on those who are no longer in this world, even if they are your parents. What we should do is pray that they find peace in the afterlife. I used to cry a lot when my parents passed away too. Eventually, I realized that death is a part of life. And someday, we will experience it too."

Erga smiled after hearing Gea's answer, which he found very sensible. He approached Gea and gently stroked her hair.

"Thank you for being a constant presence in my life. I consider you like my sibling. Don't ever leave me, you're the only person I cherish, Gea."

"Yeah, let's hope death won't separate us anytime soon."

Gea and Erga locked eyes and smiled. Sharing stories brought joy to their days. Seeing their family situations, both were equally bereft and only had each other’s company.

"All right, let's continue our journey," Erga said.

Erga and Gea hurried off, following the directions in their book.

Before long, they stopped walking. Both were silent, their feelings mixed with surprise, fear, sadness, and happiness.

"Gea... Can you see it? Do you believe it? Is this the tree?" Erga asked.

Gea laughed joyfully, feeling grateful that her trusted friend had uncovered the secret. "Whoa... this is the first time I've seen a tree like this. Should we approach it?"

"Not yet, what's important is that this is evidence. I knew it, my grandfather's book must be right about the truth of this world!"

Erga smiled as he reopened the book. While searching for clues again, he paused, feeling something odd about the instructions.

"Wait, this is a bit strange. In this book, the final clue is to find a large tree named Lelesa. But there are no specific characteristics mentioned about the tree," Erga said, flipping through the pages.

The large tree before them had a blue trunk pulsating as if breathing like a human, yet it made no sound.

"Meaning, there's no explanation on the last page?" Gea was also bemused.

"Not just that, this is only the middle page. The rest has no clues at all, just blank paper."

As Erga focused on finding other clues in the book, Gea was curious, she approached the large tree. When she stood before it, she felt that her heartbeat synchronized with the tree's pulsating energy.

In her mind, Gea wondered, "What's with this tree, is it following my heartbeat or vice versa? I have to try touching it even if something bad might happen to me."

Meanwhile, Erga, still searching for clues in the book, looked back at the beginning pages. The first sentence said, "For those who have the will to fight. Touching means to perish.”

Finally, Erga understood the significance of that sentence. It meant that anyone who touched the tree would cease to exist.

"Tch..."

Erga heard Gea's voice. When he looked towards the Lelesa tree, he was shocked to see Gea had already touched it.

"Gea, don't touch that tree!"

Gea had lost consciousness, her body enveloped by a blue magical energy. Suddenly, a strong wind blew, and Erga ran towards Gea, sensing something terrible was about to happen.

"Geaaa..."

One second when Erga ran.

Erga's head was separated from his body due to a slash from the blue energy emitted by the Lelesa tree.

After Erga was gone, Gea turned into a blue crystal, then broke into pieces. The blue aura produced from Gea's soul is now united with the Lelesa tree.

The Lelesa tree's energy beat violently and produced an extremely bright burst of light. the light enveloped the entire earth.

***

In the endless darkness where only the sound of sparks can be heard, there was seen a stone written; ᮠᮤᮓᮥᮕ᮪ ᮊᮨᮙ᮪ᮘᮃᮜᮤ, ᮎᮃᮛᮤ ᮏᮃᮒᮤ ᮓᮤᮛᮤ ᮓᮃᮔ᮪ ᮞᮨᮜᮃᮙᮃᮒ᮪ᮊᮃᮔ᮪ ᮘᮥᮙᮤ.

The stone in the endless darkness broke into six pieces and was followed by the sound of human screams coming from who knows where.