The world of Orbis Magna is a massive planet located somewhere within a certain galaxy of a certain universe. This place is inhabited mostly by human beings, and its societies have reached a considerable level of technological advancement.

Blessing City is part of a great nation known as the Blessed Country, and this nation possesses a system that socially classifies people by prestige ranks. These ranks are C, B, A, and S, with C being the lowest and S the highest. These ranks influence a person’s development in academic, athletic, and military fields. Blessing City is divided into nine districts, and each district is both residential and industrial in nature.

Today, this city has become far more famous because it allows growth and progress for young people, encouraging them through scholarships to populate the city and transform it into a predominantly youthful metropolis. It attracts individuals from all ranks, especially those with the greatest power they can offer, encouraging them to serve in the military or lend their abilities to the militia or local protection systems whenever required.

The excitement surrounding the idea of living in such a prestigious city is immense for the majority of hopeful young people who seek growth and a better future within the system of Blessing City.

That excitement is shared by almost everyone—except, apparently, for a certain young man who is currently sitting on a wooden bench in a commercial plaza within District Three of the city, sipping a canned beverage at midday.

The boy looks somewhat tired—fatigued, even—despite sitting comfortably under the sun. This plaza has few trees, and the ones that exist are not enough to provide real shade. Still, sudden gusts of wind frequently pass through the area, offering brief moments of freshness.

A cleaning robot moves through the plaza, absorbing trash as it goes. With a bit of practiced aim, the boy tosses the empty can, striking the robot’s body. The machine immediately detects the waste and absorbs it without issue.

The boy lets out a quiet sigh.

“Why me…?” the young man wonders, then continues speaking to himself. “The other day, when I went up to the rooftop of the apartment building, I ran into something strange. I’ve seen a lot of odd things in this city, but I had never seen someone sleeping on top of the plants I take care of every day… and his appearance was the strangest thing of all…” he says, recalling the incident.

Memory:

The same young man climbs the stairs leading to the rooftop of the apartment building, where he keeps several plants neatly arranged in their respective pots. When he arrives, he finds another young man sleeping on top of them, as if he had fallen from a great height.

Anyone might say that perhaps the boy had fallen from the sky, judging by the way he landed there—but how could one be sure?

That other boy is dressed in very strange black clothing: black robes with chains wrapped around his arms, a sort of necklace made of black chains around his neck, and a peculiar mask covering the left side of his face. The young man cannot understand what has happened, but he tries to wake him, shaking him gently. Still, the stranger remains deeply asleep.

“Damn it, I have to move him from here! He fell on plants that aren’t even mine. If my neighbors notice, they’ll make me pay for them—and I don’t have any money!” he mutters as he struggles to lift the other boy, carrying him as quickly as he can into his apartment.

He drags him inside with great effort, leaving him on the floor beside his bed. After a while, the boy begins to wake up when the aroma of food reaches his nose. He opens his eyes slowly, his vision blurry at first, until he finally manages to focus and realizes he is in a place he has never seen before.

“W-Where am I, damn it?! Ah! L-light?!” he exclaims in panic, leaping onto the other boy’s bed like a startled cat when he notices the sunlight streaming through one of the apartment windows. “What kind of kingdom is this?!” the masked youth demands, his voice filled with anxiety.

“Kingdom?! What kind of question is that?! Who the hell are you?!” the other young man snaps back.

They stare at each other for a few seconds and come to the realization that, no matter how many questions they ask, they are not going to understand one another.

“I don’t understand how I ended up here…” the masked boy says, scratching his head as he tries to remember what happened.

“It’s been fifteen days since that strange guy showed up out of nowhere, and my money isn’t enough anymore. I’ve had to help him with everything—setting up a profile in this city, giving him a name, buying him a phone and a line, lending him my clothes… and feeding him, of course…! I’m going to make him work!” the young man exclaims, standing up from the bench, determined to confront the strange youth who entered his life in such an abnormal way.

As the boy named Tsutaiku walks toward the apartment building where he lives, the other young man—the one who appeared so suddenly in Tsutaiku’s life—keeps thinking over and over about what he should do, staring up at the sky.

“Tenebrae… are you testing me? Do you want me to destroy this world?” he asks quietly as he gazes at the clear sky, sitting calmly while watching aircraft move back and forth through this crowded, highly technological city.

Who is he calling Tenebrae?

What does he mean by destroy?

And is this young man truly capable of such a thing?