In the dark sky, something was glowing. And it illuminated every corner of the world with its dim, eerie white radiance.
Under that moonlight, a massive old village appeared in the Gigantic Forest.
However, the ancient houses weren't blanketed in moss at all.
Clearly, this was a place where people still lived.
At that moment, an unfamiliar voice disrupted the stillness.
"Tsk. What a bore!"
The tone carried a trace of contempt, belonging to a man clearly disinterested in this place.
Perched atop one of the tallest buildings in the enormous old village was a lone figure.
He was clad in dark garments resembling an assassin's attire, though there was something distinct about him.
Beyond his ominous, deathly aura, his weapon of choice was unusual—metal claws.
Held in his hand, they radiated an air of menace. These claws extended half a meter long, their sheer size puzzling anyone who might wonder how he wielded them so effortlessly.
His eyes brimmed with endless darkness. Even more unsettling were the sharp, menacing horns protruding from his forehead.
Perhaps he was a demon.
Or perhaps not.
"Master O!" a voice called from the shadows. "We've confirmed the location. It's just as that person said."
The man with abyssal eyes closed them briefly, then reopened them and took a slow breath.
"Hah… Just a clan that was once the most powerful," he murmured.
"And now, reduced to hiding from the world."
"Pathetic."
"This is the end of the Lyder Clan."
There wasn't a flicker of emotion on his face. He simply shook his head.
"Do it."
"Surround the area."
The shadowy figure nodded silently before vanishing into the darkness.
***
"Ughhh!!"
"Hmph!... I need to take a piss!"
A young man stretched his shoulders wearily. Then, scratching the back of his head, he let out a long yawn.
He tried to stand, though the blood hadn't yet reached his brain, and his full bladder urged him to hurry.
Tap!
Tap!
Tap!
…
A few minutes later.
"That felt great!"
He looked around with half-lidded eyes and smiled in relief.
But suddenly, something odd unsettled him. His eyes narrowed.
"What the hell is that?"
Strange, orb-like shadows were moving throughout the area—something his waking senses now detected.
The young man began to truly see them once his head had cleared.
They were everywhere.
His face twisted in confusion and alarm. He cursed aloud at the bizarre scene.
"I need to alert the others."
Immediately, a chill swept beneath his throat.
Ssshhh—
A warm liquid gushed from his neck.
Before he could register what was happening, everything plunged into chaos.
"B-blood!… M-My… bloo…"
His trembling hand clutched at his throat.
He was trying to stop the bleeding from a severed artery.
But it was… far too late.
The artery had been one of the main vessels supplying his brain. No action could save him now. His mind would soon lose consciousness.
Crack.
The young man's body crumpled onto the wooden floor in spasms. The agony on his face said it all.
He was completely dead.
Beside the lifeless body, a shadow shifted, taking on human form.
This man looked fragile… but that was deceiving.
He wore a wide, cruel grin.
"Weakness."
Then, he slipped back into the shadows, like all the others hiding in this doomed village.
By now, the truth was clear. The village was sinking into a silent, bloody nightmare.
Silence.
But now and then, distant screams pierced the night.
In contrast, there stood a large house at the village's center. Unlike the others, this one seemed to invite approach—like a carnivorous flower, beautiful but deadly.
Inside, a middle-aged man sat calmly on the old wooden floor.
Oddly enough, he was composed. His face betrayed no emotion, as if indifferent to the carnage outside.
He knew exactly what was happening in his territory.
Creakkkkk!
The door creaked open, but no one entered. Perhaps it had swung on its own, or perhaps something unseen had passed through.
"Why?" came a voice from nowhere within the room.
Now, the middle-aged man opened his blood-red eyes and spoke.
"You broke the assassin's code."
His voice echoed.
Another voice answered.
"Hahahaha! You're insane!"
Suddenly, the middle-aged man's shadow shifted, molding itself into a form behind him, then stepping forward.
"You did it again," the man said, eyes on the intruder.
"You're right. Absolutely," O replied, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"But you were too weak for me not to."
"And… you need to understand why I did this."
The middle-aged man sighed.
"I understand."
The Assassin had rules of its own. They were people who lived in darkness and never abandoned their goal of survival.
And most importantly, they never left any prey who had seen them alive.
Now, this Assassin acted contrary to other typical Assassins.
Simply, there was only one reason.
He was belittling the man. It was clearly true. The Assassin could kill him anytime he wanted.
"You still haven't answered my question," O said while looking at the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man paused for a few seconds before speaking.
"Your question?"
The Assassin didn't say anything upon hearing the response.
A few seconds later, the Assassin only smirked faintly and began pacing slowly around the room.
"No one can escape from the village. All of them are certainly going to die, so..."
He turned back toward the middle-aged man with a cruel expression.
"Stop trying to buy time. You can't do anything else."
Silence.
A few more seconds passed.
The Assassin nearly reached the middle-aged man.
"Why are you silent? I just want to know why the Clan that once stood at the zenith of the world..."
"...has now become weak, pitiful, and hidden in a place like this?"
"Right, huh?"
The Assassin looked again at the middle-aged man, but this time, something was different. The metal claw in his hand began to move slowly. He was ready to end the middle-aged man's life at any moment.
Face to face with death, the middle-aged man remained calm. Not even death could make him afraid.
Yet, there was one thing. And this thing slowly made him shift slightly.
"You're dejected!" The Assassin was surprised by the expression on the middle-aged man's face.
"Interesting! That's beyond my expectations."
The middle-aged man sighed and lifted his head, looking up at the Assassin.
"This is our fate!"
The Assassin's eyebrows narrowed, but then he sighed.
"I've thought it over."
"I'm going to kill you as an Assassin."
As soon as his words were finished, he began to vanish into the darkness.
However, he instantly reappeared in front of the middle-aged man, and his metal claw extended. It crashed into the wooden floor. Then, to the middle-aged man's surprise, the metal claw in the Assassin's hand disappeared into thin air.
Silence.
Step.
Step.
Step.
"I always hate fucking scholars! They always talk about things I never understand."
The Assassin turned his head back toward the torn corpse behind him, then spat with endless distaste.
"What's the result?" the Assassin asked loudly into the room.
Immediately, a voice responded from the corner darkness.
"Everything is all right!"
"We are handling the remaining ones. Everything will be over by dawn..."
"Too slow!" O snapped. "I'll give you one more hour! Now!"
The shadow in the room's corner trembled slightly and replied,
"Yes, Master O."
A few minutes later, the room became empty, except for the middle-aged man's torn corpse.
Looking at his sorrowful face, no one could know what he had been thinking before his death.
Only God knew that.
***
"Hector! Go!"
"Mom!"
"You have to go!"
After a moment of hesitation, the young man finally began to move his trembling legs.
He opened the door behind the small house and left. He left his mother alone inside.
"All of them are going to die!" a voice suddenly echoed throughout the place.
A lot of ball-shaped shadows seeped into the house, from the floor, ceiling, everywhere.
The young man's mother looked around with a sorrowful expression. Tears slowly fell down her cheeks.
"F-Fate?" Her voice trembled softly.
A few seconds later, the house held only a corpse in a pool of blood.
"Aahhhhhh!" Hector cried out in vain. He was running, chased by the Assassins.
"Why? Why won't you work?!" he sobbed, gripping the coin hanging from his neck.
"Why do my parents always speak about fate?"
"I don't want to die."
He leaned forward, staring at his coin through teary eyes.
"P-Please. Work!"
"What more does my Clan have to do for you?"
Silence.
The coin didn't move or respond.
Before long, the young man's breath started to slow. He had run too much. His movements became clumsy, and his vision grew dim.
Eventually, he collapsed on the ground. At first, the surface wasn't wet.
But a few seconds later, he felt a thick liquid under his cheek, slowly spreading across his body.
He tried to speak, even though his throat was torn.
In the end, he could only say one word in his mind:
"Dammit."
He was completely dead.
Just like that, the ball-shaped shadows ran wild throughout the village.
However, something was different now.
Hector's coin glowed faintly—its light hidden beneath his body.
A few seconds later, a screen appeared in front of Hector's face.
Yet, it was visible only to him.
[Condition: Destruction is the origin of the beginning]
[Completed!]
[Congratulations!]
[System Activated!]
[The invite to join the Challenge of Equilibria World is now valid!]
[Accept]
[Reject]
[Delay]
[If you don't choose, I will [Accept] for you.]
[30 seconds]
[29 seconds]
...
[1 second].