No one knows where the Calamity came from.
Some claim it fell from the stars—an entity without form, beyond comprehension, older than Gaia's breath itself. Others whisper it emerged from beneath Aurealis, birthed in the deepest chasm of the ocean where light has never touched. And some believe it was summoned—an ancient mistake sealed beneath Xianzhou Continent, now unbound through ignorance or fate.
But regardless of where it came from, one truth was absolute:
The world was not prepared.
🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋✦ AetherBorne: The Archivus Legacy ✦🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋
✦ Gaia Before the Fall ✦
The world of Gaia had forgotten its roots.
Once, humanity walked alongside the unseen. Spirits answered. Magic flowed like a song. Aether thrived in every tree, every breath, every heartbeat.
But that age is gone.
In the western continent of Gaia, the Avalon Continent stood at the vanguard—pioneering boundless innovation, but accelerating toward a future it could no longer restrain.
In the east, the Xianzhou Continent bore the legacy of Gaia's longest-standing empire—the Huaxing Dynasty—enforcing harmony beneath banners of equality, where unity was not asked for, but expected.
From self-regulating megacities to invisible civic networks powered by electricity, Xianzhou thrived in systems so advanced they no longer questioned their origin—only celebrated their perfection. Declared the safest civilization on Gaia, the continent was cradled by the Pacific Ocean to the southeast, and shielded to the north by the ancient Great Veil Wall, a border carved in myth and stone.
Beyond that Wall lay the Europa Kingdoms, heirs to fractured crowns and colonial ambition. Their lands—what once mirrored the old western world of Gaia—were forged in steel, tempered by centuries of conquest, and driven by a belief that tradition and hierarchy were the truest legacy of mankind. There, borders were sacred, history was weaponized, and progress was measured not by unity—but by dominance.
In the southern lands beneath the Avalon Continent lies the vast, wind-carved realm of the Andes—where the breath of the old spirits grows ever fainter.Once a cradle of wisdom whispered through stone, fire, and sky, its sacred rites now echo dimly beneath the hum of trade routes and the march of migration. The free tribes, once guided by dreams and ancestral pulse, now wander without direction—still roaming the sacred paths, yet forgetting why they were ever walked.Names fade. Songs fall silent. And with each generation, the truth of who they were slips further into shadow.
Across the burning deserts south of the Europa Continent lies the Crescent Continent—home to the spired cities of the Crescent Empire, where it is said Gaia's first breath of humanity was drawn.Here, ancient tomes crumble behind glass, sacred relics gather dust beneath auction hammers, and market bells now ring louder than prayer. If the land could be sold stone by stone, they would carve it gladly.What was once a sand empire of sand and song is now a colossus of opulence—grandeur cloaked in glass and gold, where prophets became kings and queens, their visions auctioned to the highest bidder.The milk that once nourished the soul has turned to blood, flowing beneath a price tag. The southern sands still blow, restless and unburied, but what they were meant to remember is being buried with every rising tower and passing age.
Far across the sea, scattered beneath starlit waves and tempest-carved skies, lies the Pacific Continent—an expanse of island nations once guided by tide, moon, and ancestral song.In Aurealis, the ocean's pearl, tide-singers once called upon the waves, communing with the deep in voices only the sea could understand.
In Nippon, the spirits of mountain and forge walked among craftsmen, their hands shaping both blade and blessing and in Goryeon, where sky met sea in mirrored serenity, harmony was once a living principle—carried in every breath, every bowed head, every inked scroll.
But now, those echoes are fading.
Tourism replaces temple bells. Steel eclipses serenity. And the gods, once honored daily, are remembered only during holidays—photographed, filtered, and forgotten.
The ocean still whispers. The peaks still watch. But the silence that grows between them deepens with each passing age.
There was no more Aether.
Not in the eyes of the world.
Magic had been forgotten.
Beneath this global facade, the cracks had already begun to form.
Shifts in the atmosphere.
Animals migrating in spirals.
Seafloor vibrations without seismic cause.
Light splitting in sacred places.
But the world was too distracted.
Border disputes across the Europa Kingdoms.
Territorial skirmishes in Andes and Pacific trade zones.
Corporate espionage between Avalon States and Xianzhou.
Famine, inflation, civil unrest, cyber-terrorism.
Every continent had problems, but no one believed it would escalate beyond politics.
By the time the anomalies reached critical mass… it was too late.
Only four individuals saw past the illusion—each awakened not by prophecy, but by truth.
They knew that what approached wasn't a war.
It was a reset.
A force unlike anything humanity had ever faced.
It couldn't be stopped.
It could only be prepared for.
✧ Joseph A. Adams – The Engineer of War
From the Avalon States, Joseph was a pioneer in orbital weaponry, autonomous defense systems, and energy harmonics. His company, TechLogia, shaped the military backbone of Gaia. But through his astronomical research, Joseph saw something approaching in the void—a pattern that didn't belong to physics.
✧ Peter Pietrus – The Keeper of Knowledge
A missionary from Revia, Peter walked the ruins of Andes and Crescent lands, deciphering texts deemed myth. Through the Holy Theologian Orthodox Sect, he amassed forbidden scrolls and pre-Imperial scriptures. His conclusion: Gaia had been warned before. And the Calamity always followed forgetting.
✧ QUEEN – The Phantom Mastermind
A name. A network. No known face. QUEEN ruled MaGia, a transport empire veiled in secrecy. Beneath its global logistics lay hidden vaults of mana research, recovered rituals, and forbidden blood arts. QUEEN didn't believe magic was lost. QUEEN knew it was sealed.
✧ Dr. Jin Excelsior – The Healer of Humanity
From the laboratories of Eidengard to the jungles of Crescent's outer rim, Jin merged biotechnology with ancient soulcraft. His foundation, ToNiQi, studied not only how to extend life—but how to reconnect the body, Aether, and will. Through genetics, Jin uncovered the truth: humanity had been forcibly disconnected from its potential.
For years, they worked alone.
But when QUEEN confirmed a breach beneath Gaia Celestial Vein, everything changed.
The evidence was undeniable:
The Calamity was returning.
Governments refused to act.
Leaders dismissed it.
Nations turned inward.
So the four united.
And in the shadows, they forged a pact.
They called it the Gaia Financial Corporation.
But it wasn't a company.
It was a last line of defense.
A coalition built upon technology, theology, aethercraft, and augmentation.
A force beyond politics.
Beyond borders.
Beyond greed.
For ten years, they prepared.
They forged weapons that sang with soul.
They rebuilt lost magical systems and repurposed them for modern warfare.
They seeded agents across Gaia.
And they waited.
It came without warning.
Not from the stars.
Not from a weapon.
Civilizations fell in days.
Time fractured in Europa.
Flamestorms ignited in Crescent.
Spirit echoes cried out in the Andes.
And the tides bled red in Pacific waters.
All across Gaia, reality shifted.
The world once ruled by logic had become a world ruled by consequence.
The event was recorded by survivors as:
"The Calamity."
And with it, the time for preparation ended.
Now... It was time to fight.
🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋✦ AetherBorne: The Archivus Legacy ✦🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋
"Hhhsssshhh…
Waves kissed the shore in rhythmic pulses.
The sea, eternal and uncaring, continued to breathe.
"Grandpa…"
A soft voice carried on the breeze.
"Grandpa…"
This time, more insistent—cutting through the ocean's sighs.
A seven-year-old boy sat in the sand, knees drawn to his chest.
White hair tousled by wind, eyes wide with wonder.
"Grandpa, why do Uncle Ramon and Uncle Baek call you 'General' if you're just one person? I read that a general needs an army..."
He paused.
"…Are your soldiers gone?"
The old man, Genzo Archivus, gave a faint smile, eyes heavy with memories. Before he could speak, a towering figure nearby—lean and broad-shouldered—stood and looked at the horizon where the sea met the setting sun. His voice was deep, almost amused.
"Your grandpa doesn't need an army," he said, his gaze softening as it fell on the boy. "Because he is an army."
Genzo chuckled, then turned to his grandson. "Ryuji... may I see your Codex Nexus?"
Eagerly, the boy raised his hands. A shimmering, book-like construct materialized between them, nearly as tall as his grandfather's hands. The air trembled with blue-tinted Aether, swirling around it like a living current.
Genzo's weathered hand pointed at the glowing tome. "This is our legacy," he said. "This Codex… it will grow with you. Adapt to your Aether. Maybe, if you master it—truly master it—you'll awaken the code etched into our blood. And perhaps... one day, you'll be called General too."
Ryuji's eyes lit up like fireflies. "Really?! Then... I want both you and Dad to be part of my army too!"
He paused, then looked down. "Maybe… maybe those soldiers can help me find Mom."
The air grew still.
The smiles on Genzo and the towering man faded—just a little.
The man sat beside Ryuji, his hand warm and steady on the boy's shoulder. "Don't worry, son," he said softly. "You just have to believe. Anything's possible... if you're willing to work for it."
"I will!" Ryuji said with conviction. "I'll get stronger every day. Hey Grandpa, what's your Codex Nexus?"
Genzo looked across the waves.
Then he simply said, "This island."
A ray of sunlight stung my eyes.
I woke with a tear sliding down my cheek. That dream... again.
"My Codex Nexus is this island," I murmured, remembering his voice, that moment.
I sat up and patched myself up, muscles aching, body crisscrossed with scars. In the mirror, a reflection stared back—white hair now longer than I used to keep it, and mismatched Colored eyes: one brown, one a pale silver-blue. A reminder.
I turned away.
On the table sat a crisp envelope, the red seal unmistakable.
I opened it carefully. Inside, a single page. A sequence. A code.
Time to change this rotten world.
I pulled on my coat, slid the paper into my shirt pocket, and headed for the door.
As it clicked shut behind me, I whispered—
"Codex Nexus."
ZAP.
I was gone.