"The Gods have abandoned us..."

Miracles stopped happening. Wishes were no longer answered. Prayers garnered no responses. 

It was the end of the era of human faith in higher powers and the beginning of the era of human ingenuity and self reliance. The Great Uprising ended in what was now known as year 0, marking the end of a period of turmoil and bloodshed that spread wars across all five realms of the world chain. The exact reason for the outbreak of fighting remained unknown, with some stating it was dissentful humans that challenged the Gods authority while others believed it was excessive hubris that brought down righteous wrath. 

Regardless of how the wars started or who was the cause, humanity as a whole became an enemy to these divine entities, leading to heroic individuals rising to the challenge to defend their kind. These individuals all shared a common trait: they wielded the Heavenly Keys, all-powerful weapons made of pure aether that could only be forged by Gods and gave their wielders near godlike strength. In fact, these Keys consumed such vast amounts of energy from their creators that each God could only sustain one Key's existence in reality at any given time. With the same authorities that allowed the Gods' existence in hand, these heroes fought valiantly with heavensent sorceries until their final moments. 

Despite the combined efforts of humanity, the weaker, lower realms inevitably gave way, leading to a decisive victory for the Gods. It seemed to not only be an end of an era, but the end of humanity itself. Even so, in the face of adversity, the strongest swordsmage, Hayato, armed with the Key of Creation, built his own realm in which the remnants of humanity could continue to survive: World Zero, before seeming to vanish from existence itself. 

[World Zero, Hanakawa Village, 768 Years since The Great Uprising]

Isolated beyond an extremely dense forest that seemed to stretch beyond the horizon, Hanakawa Village rested between a mountain range and a massive lake, both of which acted as the village's boundaries. Within Hanakawa, the story of humanity's hero of legend had been told to the point that all villagers essentially knew the story by heart, serving as a sort of role model to which growing mages aspired to become. Admiration for the legend was well leveraged within the village, as the small population of nearly only 200 required strong warriors within the village sentry to defend from Corruption Events.

About 72 years following the creation of World Zero, the Calamity Event began to plague Hanakawa every 100 years, marked by a massive, red spell-circle over the lake, from which a calamity-class corrupted beast would emerge. More recently, lesser versions of Corruption Events known as Wave Events began appearing around Hanakawa, forcing greater diligence to defend the village. 

In the year 768, a 13 year old Kaito began his initiation into the village sentry.

***

[Hanakawa, South-Western Gate]

"We've detected the Wave Event about 400 paces directly West of this gate. Eliminate the threat, and you'll pass"

Kaito dashed out from the gate with a smug grin on his face. Since his older brother, Kouki, had passed the initiation 2 years ago, Kaito had been eagerly awaiting his chance to prove himself in the sentry.

Back at the gate, Kouki and the boys' parents, Harumi and Isshiki, watched over Kaito's progress. Harumi knelt and pressed her hands to the ground.

"Three targets. He's about 100 paces from the clearing"

Isshiki smiled. As the sentry captain of Hanakawa, he naturally had high expectations for his sons.

"That boy's gotten faster. Now, let's see how his mana control has improved against the real deal"