Legacy: Chapter 0

In the Realm of Grace, where time had no meaning and creation was in constant motion, the Entities—celestial beings of immeasurable power—existed in harmony. The source of their existence, their magic, and the fabric of the Cosmos itself was Essence, a primordial energy that flowed from It, the Creator of Entities and All That Is. The Essence was infinite, meant to sustain life, creation, and the balance of all things.

Among the Entities, there were three dominant factions, each with its own philosophy on the nature of Essence: Muchi, Kangae, and Goman. The Muchi were the most abstract, embodying the energy of potential and inertia. They reveled in the creation of raw materials and the maintenance of cosmic stasis, content with existence as it was. The Kangae believed in the delicate balance of creation and destruction, advocating for careful, deliberate actions that maintained the equilibrium of the Cosmos. They served as the guardians of the sacred balance, ensuring that no force tipped the scales too far in any direction.

Then there was the Goman. Proud, cunning, and ambitious, the Goman viewed themselves as the masters of creation. They believed that destruction was an integral part of progress—that true creation could only occur through dismantling the old to make way for the new. The Goman were known for their terrifying, powerful constructs, weapons, and beings that roamed across the universe, shaping existence with sheer force. Over time, their thirst for power grew, and they began to desire more Essence than what was granted by It.

As the Goman's hunger for power expanded, they grew increasingly impatient with the balance enforced by the Kangae and the passive indifference of the Muchi. To the Goman, the restrictions on their access to Essence were an affront to their superiority. They saw the Kangae as weak, too constrained by their rules, and the Muchi as idle and undeserving of the abundant Essence they hoarded.

After millennia of tension, the breaking point came with the Taboo—the act of divine betrayal that would send shockwaves across the Cosmos. Without warning, the Goman struck against the Muchi, feeding upon their pure, untouched Essence in an act of deistic cannibalism. This act of raw consumption gave the Goman unparalleled power, as they absorbed the lifeblood of their fellow Entities. The balance of the Cosmos was shattered, and in that moment, a war began that would last for ten millennia.

The Kangae, horrified by the Goman’s violation of the natural order, banished the Goman responsible for the Taboo to the Void—the Realm of Nothing, a desolate plane where Essence could not flow. However, this punishment only fueled the Goman’s rage. With their newly weaponized Essence, the Goman waged a brutal campaign against the Kangae, seeking to strip them of their Essence and reduce them to mere remnants of their former selves.

Thus began the 10 Millennia War—a catastrophic conflict that saw the death and banishment of countless Entities. The Cosmos itself trembled as the Goman unleashed their destructive might. Stars were extinguished, planets were torn asunder, and the very fabric of creation was strained. Over time, the Goman's relentless pursuit of domination proved successful, and after a bloody eon of battle, they emerged victorious. The Kangae, though still existent, were forced into servitude, bound by their own commitment to maintaining balance, even under their oppressors.

In the twilight of their defeat, hope flickered for the Kangae. From within their ranks emerged an Entity of great wisdom and resilience: Nadir, a being known for her mastery of creation and innovation. Nadir could not bear to see her people enslaved, their purpose twisted by the Goman's insatiable greed. With a heart full of defiance, she proposed a daring challenge—a Contest of Creation—to the most powerful of the Goman, the legendary Zenith.

Zenith was the mightiest of his kind, a being of unparalleled destructive power. He had forged countless tools of ruin, his very name synonymous with devastation. Yet Nadir, undeterred by his reputation, wagered that creation could outlast destruction. She offered him a choice: should she win the contest, the Kangae would be freed. Should she lose, the Kangae would be bound to the Goman’s will for eternity.

Intrigued by her audacity and confident in his superiority, Zenith accepted. What followed was a contest unlike any other—a century-long battle of wills and creation, where both competitors sought to outdo one another in the forging of worlds, life, and power. As the contest wore on, something unexpected began to unfold. Over the years, Nadir and Zenith’s rivalry turned to admiration, and from that admiration bloomed an impossible love.

They forged a son together, a being named Horizon, who was born from both creation and destruction. Horizon embodied the perfect union of Kangae and Goman, with the power to destroy as his father did but also to restore and innovate like his mother. His very existence became a symbol of the contest—proof that creation and destruction could coexist.

In the end, it was the idea of Horizon that secured Nadir’s victory. She had created something beyond destruction—something that could last beyond the contest’s limits. By the terms of their agreement, Nadir had won the freedom of her people. Zenith, though deeply in love with her, was devastated by his defeat. Pride wounded, he abandoned Nadir, leaving her to raise their child alone.

Years passed, and Horizon grew to embody the best of both his parents. He became a beloved figure among the Kangae, a living testament to their hard-fought victory. However, Zenith, who had kept a distant watch over his son, began to covet Horizon’s power. He saw in him the key to reclaiming his lost glory—if he could control Horizon, he could rise once again to supremacy among the Goman.

One fateful day, Zenith returned. He came to Nadir’s home, demanding that she hand over their son. Nadir, who had foreseen this moment, refused. She knew that Zenith’s ambitions would bring war once again, and she offered herself in exchange for her son’s freedom.

In a moment of tragic clarity, Zenith chose power over love. He embraced Nadir as though accepting her sacrifice, but in that embrace, he stabbed her with a dagger forged from the darkest Essence—a weapon designed to kill Entities. As Nadir collapsed, betrayed and wounded, Zenith cast a final, cruel spell. He banished her from the Realm of Grace, sending her plummeting to the Mortal Realm, a place of finite life, where Entities were subject to the laws of mortality.

Nadir fell from the heavens, crashing onto a distant planet known as Prana. Her celestial body struck the earth with the force of an ancient star, and where she landed, a great crater formed. Her Essence, once infinite and powerful, began to bleed into the land, transforming it into a place of immense fertility and magic. Weeping from the pain of her wound and Zenith’s betrayal, Nadir’s tears formed a vast lake in the center of the crater, surrounded by lush, growing life.

After a hundred years of solitude and sorrow, Nadir made the decision to abandon her celestial form. To survive in this new realm, she shed her divine essence, taking on a mortal shape, one more aligned with the life that thrived on Prana. Her celestial body became an island, rich in soil and abundant in resources, while Nadir herself remained in isolation, hidden among the creations of her fallen Essence.

In the cosmos, few moments held as much weight as the fall of Nadir. A celestial being from the Realm of Grace, she had been banished to the mortal world of Prana by her lover and betrayer, Zenith. The sky bore witness to this event—a blazing sphere of light streaking across the heavens, brighter than any star, as if a piece of the moon had torn free and plummeted to earth. This dramatic descent sent shockwaves through the lands, shaking the mountains and rousing great fear among the planet's Lifeforms. For days, they cowered, expecting doom to follow.

But as the tremors subsided, fear gave way to curiosity. From all corners of Prana, Lifeforms set off toward the crater, now radiating an ethereal glow—Essence bleeding into the earth. What had fallen from the heavens, they wondered? Adventurers, wanderers, and explorers embarked on perilous journeys, their fascination greater than their fear. Yet, few reached the destination. It would take two full generations for the Sentaku Clan to arrive, their original band of explorers now legends among their descendants.

By the time they reached the crash site, the celestial glow had long faded. In its place was a vast lake, encircling an island teeming with life beyond anything seen before. The island, with its fertile soil and lush vegetation, was a hidden paradise. However, the waters that surrounded it—later named the Lake of Tears—teemed with eldritch creatures. Only a handful of settlers from the Sentaku Clan made it across, fashioning rafts to traverse the lake. Many perished to the monstrous beings below, but those who survived carved out a small village on the eastern shores of the island.

The Sentaku Clan thrived for years, cut off from the rest of Prana, adapting to their new, isolated life. Yet, whispers of something extraordinary circulated among the clan. Hunters spoke of sightings deep in the forest—a woman, pale as moonlight, with flowing silver-white hair and nine shimmering tails of different colors. She moved like a ghost through the trees, too swift to be caught and too elusive to track.

Enman Sentaku, the clan’s chief, could no longer ignore these rumors. Gathering his best hunters, including Konu—a skilled archer and mother of the curious child, En—he led an expedition to uncover the truth. Unbeknownst to them, young En had followed in secret, eager to witness the mysterious "beast woman" for himself. He had heard the stories too and felt drawn to this spectral figure in a way he couldn’t explain.

For three days, Enman’s party trekked deeper into the island, through forests thick with ancient trees and new dangers. Along the way, Konu discovered her son’s disobedience but found herself unable to send him back alone. She kept him hidden, guarding his presence from the others. But En was determined. One night, while the camp slept, he climbed a tall tree to gaze at the stars. As he peered through the branches, he saw her—the woman bathing in a river below, her form illuminated by the moonlight.

En’s curiosity outweighed his fear, and he crept closer. Before he could reach the riverbank, however, she vanished as if she had sensed his approach. The boy was enchanted. The following days were spent seeking the woman again, with En returning to his mother each night with tales of his discoveries. Eventually, Konu relayed the boy's stories to Enman, who led the hunters through a narrow mountain pass. After a treacherous journey, they found themselves standing before a mighty waterfall that concealed an entrance to a hidden valley. Beyond it, atop a tall hill, they discovered the ancient shrine of Nadir, crowned by a magnificent tree whose leaves shimmered in every color of the rainbow.

There, at the foot of the tree, sat Nadir—the exiled celestial who had once bled Essence into the earth. Her long exile had made her wary but patient. She watched the hunters approach, bows drawn, swords unsheathed. Her gaze was calm but powerful, and with a flicker of her will, she unleashed a wave of energy, halting the hunters in their tracks. Fear took root in their hearts, paralyzing them.

But not En.

The boy moved toward Nadir, his steps deliberate, his curiosity undeterred. His small frame stood out among the frozen adults, his eyes wide with wonder, not fear. Konu, filled with terror for her son’s life, raised her bow and let loose an arrow toward Nadir. In a blink, Nadir redirected the arrow, sending it towards the boy. En, at that exact moment, pulled from his shirt a fruit—a large, gleaming orb he had picked from the tree he had climbed the night he first saw her.

He held the fruit aloft, offering it to Nadir with a simple, innocent gesture of friendship.

For the first time in centuries, Nadir felt warmth—a warmth that had long since faded since her fall. In the boy's eyes, she saw the spark of life, untainted by the cynicism or fear that had plagued her existence. The arrow slowed as Nadir reached out and caught it in mid-flight, protecting the boy. As she held him in her arms, the memories of her own lost child, Horizon, flooded back, overwhelming her with a forgotten love and sorrow. This child—this mortal boy—had touched something deep within her.

The connection between them sparked an unexpected reaction. Nadir’s Essence, long dormant within her, surged forth, merging with En’s own life force. A radiant blue aura enveloped him, and in that moment, the boy became something more. The first Mage of Prana was born, his body glowing with divine energy, his future forever altered by the power of the celestial who had once fallen from grace.

En had awakened to a power beyond comprehension, and with it, the destiny of Prana was forever changed.