Ark Undead

"the same as you."

...

This is a journey without an end.

Most of the people who traveled with the Fire Maiden collapsed along the way.

Before they lost consciousness, they were pierced through the body by their comrades' weapons, ending their lives.

After the flames disappeared, many beings that were originally immortal also lost their immortal power.

For them, eternal sleep was an ending worth celebrating.

They traveled to many places and met many people who shared the same goal: to reach the legendary new world.

The world of Ashes is a refuge that can sustain people through the apocalypse, and it is also the last gift that the king left to this generation.

Of course, some chose to forgo the path to eternal peace and instead pursue that fleeting moment of firelight, joining the ranks of the Fire Maidens.

They left behind many marks that could resist the abyss, hoping that someone would rise from this land after the darkness.

This is not an obsession, but an ideal born from a token from the future.

They firmly believed it, just as the woman had said.

After endless darkness, a flame will quietly rise; it is the beginning of all things, and the embers passed down by kings.

And so, the abyss engulfed everything.

In the endless darkness, everyone lost their sense of time.

The Deep Saint of the Age of Fire foresaw its arrival.

The Deep Sea Era.

An era without fire or light.

The abyss walks on the earth, where there is no longer any light.

Reason will no longer prevail; embracing darkness will inevitably lead to the loss of the right to know the past.

Time has lost its ability to measure distance.

But there will always be some people who open their eyes in such darkness.

They were born in an era when the abyss eroded everything, rising from the deep mire.

Perhaps it touched the remnants of past generations, or perhaps it heard whispered prayers coming from the cracks of time and space.

These people, born from darkness, emerged from the deep mire and began to search for the hope that still remained in the world.

More and more people emerged from the darkness; they began to think and to gather.

Time is once again tinged with the colors of civilization, and the years have once again gained meaning.

They unearthed the graves of past generations and found the stories that had been recorded therein.

The world itself has also undergone earth-shattering changes, resulting in factors that are different from those of the past.

This time, the awakened people drew power from different places in an attempt to fight against the darkness that was engulfing the world.

They were tired of a world without light and fire.

And so, the first spark was ignited.

Relying on the remnants of the Age of Fire, and through countless years of fleeting time, the people of the Deep Sea Age gradually mastered powers different from those of the Age of Fire.

They melted down steel to make tools, not weapons.

They use lightning from the sky and the light of burning fire as their energy source, rather than magic or miracles.

The new civilization and its new look became tools for them to explore the world, rather than shackles to maintain their rule.

More and more people share the same dream: to find their own meaning in this new world, a world without daylight.

But destruction will eventually come, and the gods born in the deep sea era always watch over these humans who, in their eyes, are ignorant of their own limitations.

When human desires reach their peak, they ultimately anger the gods lurking in the darkness.

The tower that tried to reach the sky was destroyed, and under the claws of the abyss, the once-reviving civilization suffered another catastrophe.

When the abyss engulfed them, all their cries turned into the whispers of insects.

The deep sea submerged them once again.

But, as the ancient prophecy foretold, a small flame will always appear in the darkness.

The remaining humans seized that one and only opportunity.

They found a way to survive using the remnants of the old generation.

It awakened the will of the ancient prophet, who guided him to make the final choice.

Turn all that has been accumulated to date into chaos, and reignite the world.

In that future, the sky will return to its original color.

The world has thick barriers to protect it from the fury of the abyss.

The deep-seated erosion is no longer an insurmountable problem; human wisdom should overcome the dark side of humanity born from their hearts.

So, the war began.

This time, they gave their all, just to open the door to their ideal future.

It's hard to say they won, but they didn't lose everything either.

At least, they retained a glimmer of hope, a glimmer of hope to overcome the abyss, or even conquer the darkness.

Just before the start of that war, just before the arrival of the nameless hero.

The prophet from the old era made one last prophecy as he departed.

she says.

"Before the ages, there was only darkness."

"The nameless heroes hold the torch high, igniting the flame of hope for the people of this land."

"He will fight alongside the warriors of the northern ice plains, driving away the deep darkness for them."

"He will make a vow with the oppressed in the mountains of the East, witness their rise, and put the merciless gods in shackles."

"When he speaks, flames ignite; when he waves his hand, lightning flashes."

"He will shake the mountains and burn away fear. He will have mercy on the weak and entrust them with hope."

"He is the end of man-made disasters, and he is the enemy of natural disasters."

"He will leave after he has burned out, and return in despair."

"The flame of the world's legacy will eventually be rekindled, and in that deep, dark place, he will reclaim the power that originally belonged to him."

That war was protracted.

In the war between heroes and evil gods, there is no room for negotiation.

The nameless hero, however, fell to the claws of the evil god.

They devoured the nameless hero, using his flesh and blood to wash away the humiliation of their trembling and begging for mercy.

The flames were shrouded in darkness, no longer radiating light. Power was swallowed by the abyss, its deep depths greedily craving strength that did not belong to it.

The malice that had been banished from the world has once again turned its gaze back to this land.

However, it wasn't just heroes; people born from darkness also raised their weapons.

Relying on the gifts of the gods of the past, a barrier was built before the heroes completely disappeared, and the words of the gods were used as anchors to permanently embed that barrier at the boundary of the world.

This time, they finally got a chance to catch their breath and lift their heads from that long war.

The passing of so many great figures is like a heavy hammer blow. Even if you never had contact with them, it will leave a lasting crack in your heart.

Just as the hero has passed away, the sun has set.

The accumulated civilization crumbled in this war, and people lost their original common ground in communication.

The barrier known as the anchor point is hidden away in the ocean.

The oppressed people of the Eastern Mountains chose to take on the heavy responsibility of sealing off the gods.

A boundary has once again emerged between people.

But that's not the end, it's the beginning.

As the prophecy concluded.

"But if an unknown hero casts down his sword and shield, it is like a golden sun rising from the flames."

"That is not the flame itself, but the broken past buried and eroded by the wind and sand of the journey."

"Fire and lightning are raised high to wash away the filth that defiles the noble with blood."

"He will fight again and again, and he will win again and again."

In the foreseeable future, there will always be people who firmly believe in the existence of fire.

Therefore, the last children of darkness made a promise before the legacy of the Age of Fire.

They should remember everything that has happened so far and put a final note on that war that ended in a draw.

Now, just as the evil god stole the power of the hero, they have also found a way to plunder the power of the gods.

But the road ahead is still too long, and someone has to stay behind to walk on this new land and seek new hope.

She wandered on the dust of the past, time eroding her will and causing her to lose her way.

Today, the power of the gods has become the fuel for the evolution of civilization.

And malice from outside the world is stirring once again.

It is the darkness itself, the manifestation of all malice.

It penetrated the barriers of the world, secretly lurking in the shadows beneath the flickering firelight.

The power of the hero is not enough to satisfy it; it seeks to plunder everything that can be plundered, leading the world into perpetual chaos.

Even the resistance of the heroic spirits was not enough to stop it. However, it did indeed block its path of progress.