March 20th, 2046.

The day mana descended upon Earth.

Aren dashed up the seemingly endless stairs, his legs burning from exhaustion. 

“GET OVER HERE BOY! I’ll FUCKING KILL YOU!”

He was currently being chased after stealing food from a nearby camp. Luckily, the one chasing him was in slightly worse shape than Aren, so he was able to barely outrun him.

Finally, Aren burst through the roof’s door. He quickly placed the long piece of wood across the door, which held it closed. However, the man chasing him this time was much stronger than average.

BANG! BANG!

The wooden plank started to splinter and crack as the man rammed into the door, each hit bringing it closer to breaking.

“Shit!” 

CRRRACK!

The plank completely split in half, and the man charged inside. 

“I’ve got you now, boy. Why don’t you just sit still and accept death?”

Aren had wanted to avoid fighting, but at this point, he had no choice. He drew out a long knife that was hidden in his tattered pants.

The man rushed him, throwing a powerful punch at Aren’s face. However, he was untrained, so Aren easily dodged to the side. The man was carried forward by his momentum, his eyes opening wide in shock as he tried to regain balance, but it was too late.

“Urgh…”

Aren’s knife pierced straight through the man’s heart. Losing control of his body, he fell to the ground and soon ceased to move, the light leaving his eyes.

Aren gagged at the sight of the body dead by his hands but regained his composure quickly. He had already been forced to take a few other people’s lives, but just couldn’t get used to it.

Aren collapsed in exhaustion, staring up into the sky. Currently, he was laying on the roof of a long-abandoned and crumbling hotel on the outskirts of a small city. Many of the other buildings that could be seen were either destroyed or about to collapse.

This hotel was in relatively good condition, so Aren had been living on its upper floors for nearly 3 years. 

He was 15 years old now, having been on his own for the past 4 years after the death of his parents. They had died after being attacked by a larger group, sacrificing themselves to buy time for Aren to escape.

From then on, he managed to survive using the limited skills his parents taught him. However, he was never taught how to hunt, so he mostly relied on stealing for food and water, which sometimes led to situations like these.

Often, Aren wondered what it would be like to not have to do things like killing and stealing to survive. His parents had told him that the world used to be much different, and how it came to be like this.

20 years ago now, in the year 2026, the governing body of Earth called the World Government had fallen due to civil war. Without a government, there was no longer healthcare, law enforcement, or food production. This led to the world quickly falling into a state of anarchy. 

After that, the world never recovered. The population was now made up of small groups, wandering gangs, and people surviving alone like Aren himself.

After an hour of resting, Aren finally stood up. He was relatively tall, standing at a height of 6’1. He had long, straight black hair that reached just above the small of his back, and lightly tanned skin. The only thing he was wearing was a pair of thick and baggy brown pants that had tears all over. His upper body was completely exposed, revealing a slim but very well-muscled physique. He had a well-defined jawline and the beginnings of a beard starting to form.

Thanks to living in a post-apocalyptic world his entire life, Aren also looked a few years older than he really was. He would normally be considered very handsome, but at this point he had not washed in years, resulting in him being covered in dirt and grime and constantly emanating a foul smell.

Aren walked to his small stash of food and began to eat a small piece of smoked meat. As he finished, he looked up at the sky and saw an extremely strange sight.

The sky was now a light green instead of blue, and it started to glow, becoming insanely bright. Before Aren could think to do anything, it completely engulfed him and everything else. It felt as if he was being burned alive, and he could not even scream. His vision went dark and he fell unconscious, released from the pain. 

If one could look down on the Earth from space, they would see a green light envelop it, which then started growing. After the light faded out, they would see that the Earth was nearly 25 times its original size, with countless new continents!

Aren’s eyes slowly opened, his vision blurry and his whole body feeling prickly. A wave of nausea overcame him as his senses returned.

“Bleurgh!”

He threw up what little food was in his stomach before a monotone voice suddenly spoke inside of his head.

[Name: Aren

Race: Demon

Abilities:

Infernal Aura - Control temperature within a radius around your body. Grants resistance to high temperatures. Uses mana.

Gravity - Manipulate gravity in a range around yourself. Directly increase/decrease the weight of handheld inanimate objects and your body. Uses mana.

Demon Attributes: Pinnacle Strength, Medium Agility, High Defense.

Objective: All other races have been notified that demons are the most dangerous enemy. Survive.

No further instruction shall be given.]