"In a world where power writes the law, the powerless perish in silence."
Mirage planet.
A world far removed from Earth — breathtakingly beautiful, yet bound by a cruel truth. Its people wielded no magic, but powers far beyond imagination coursed through their veins. In this world, might wasn't just right — it was law. The strongest ruled, and the weak were left to obey or perish.
Though the skies of Mirage were almost always draped in serene shades of blue, today was different.
Today, the heavens were swallowed by a thick shroud of darkness, and the land below was drenched in blood. Corpses lay scattered across the earth, lifeless eyes staring into the void, as rivers of blood painted the soil red. Beside them loomed shadows — monstrous, terrifying, and inhuman.
These creatures, cloaked in darkness, bore eyes that glowed a sinister blood-red. Their bodies emanated raw, destructive power, shaking the very core of the realm. These weren't beings of Mirage. They had crossed through a dimensional rift from another world just months ago, and in mere days, plunged the entire planet into chaos and ruin.
The people of Mirage fought. They resisted with every ounce of strength they had. But it wasn't enough. The monsters tore through them like paper — relentless, brutal, merciless. And now, what remained of this once-glorious realm quaked beneath the shadow of their dominion.
Yet, in the heart of the northern highlands, atop a blood-soaked hill that overlooked the carnage below, a faint light flickered in the gloom.
And there, surrounded by the fallen — standing tall, his eyes filled with fury and fire — was a lone warrior.
Arjun.
Arjun — once considered the weakest man on the planet Mirage.
He had no powers, no energy surging through his veins like the others. Twenty years ago, he had set out on the path to become a master warrior. But fate, cruel and unrelenting, had other plans. In his desperate attempt to awaken his source core and ascend to the rank of a Zero, he made a single, fatal error. That one mistake had permanently severed his connection to the flow of power, leaving him a mere mortal in a world of gods.
Still, Arjun did not yield.
He tried again to awaken his dormant core, pushing his body to its limits. But the effort nearly killed him. His limbs were shattered, his nerves fried. The price of that reckless attempt was devastating — he could never train again. He was branded a cripple, a failure. And yet... he never surrendered.
Today, that same powerless man stood as a soldier of Mirage's greatest military force — the Rakshak Army. He had no supernatural abilities. No divine gifts. But what burned within him was fiercer than magic: an unbreakable will and unmatched mastery of the blade.
It was that courage, that skill, that had kept him alive… when even the mightiest warriors had fallen to the monstrous invaders.
All around him, the battlefield was drowned in blood. Burned corpses littered the scorched earth. The air reeked of iron, ash, and death. Mirage itself had become a graveyard — a witness to the massacre between mortals and demons.
And in the midst of it all, stood Arjun — bloodied, gasping, a lone figure clutching a sword in his remaining hand. His other arm had been severed and lay several feet away, lifeless and pale. But his eyes still burned — with fury, with vengeance, with the fire of a soul that refused to die.
Before him towered a monstrous beast.
A demon of terrible form — nearly ten feet tall. Its head was like a mutated beast, its chest broad as a fortress wall. It had two human-like arms, but four additional limbs ended in lion-like claws. Its skin, black as the void, pulsed with thick clouds of dark smoke — as if the shadows themselves clung to it like a shroud.
Arjun's breath came in ragged bursts, but his grip on his sword was iron.
Then — his eyes caught a shape on the ground. A body. A girl.
His heart clenched.
"Nitisha…"
The name tore from his throat in a gasp of pain.
She lay motionless, her body broken, soaked in blood. Her chest barely rose. Her eyes, once full of light, now flickered dimly… slowly, inevitably, closing.
Seeing the girl in such a broken state, a surge of rage exploded within Arjun. His veins pulsed with fury, his eyes turned blood-red, and as the fire of vengeance and hatred engulfed him, he let out a thunderous roar and lunged at the demon.
Sensing Arjun charging toward him, the monstrous creature released a deafening growl, a sound so terrifying it made the very skies tremble. The demon thrust his massive claws forward, but Arjun, fueled by rage and unmatched speed, leapt high, narrowly dodging the attack. In one swift motion, he slashed at the demon's neck with his gleaming blade.
"Die!" Arjun's voice echoed across the battlefield like the voice of death itself.
His sword unleashed a blinding golden light — a savage force of divine power. The blade tore through the demon's arms, severing them from his grotesque body. Howling in agony, the creature stumbled back, but Arjun did not relent. Seizing the moment, he closed the distance, channeling every ounce of his strength into his blade.
"Ultimate Sword Art... Devastating Blade Strike!" he shouted, his voice shaking the ground.
With those words, two luminous shadows emerged from his sword, splitting into three blinding blades, all racing toward the demon at the speed of light.
For the first time, fear flickered in the demon's crimson eyes. He tried to retreat, to summon his powers, to escape. But before he could even move an inch, Arjun's bone-chilling voice cut through the air.
"You must die... merciless beast!"
The three blades soared. The demon raised his claws in a desperate attempt to defend himself — but it was already too late. The first blade sliced through his claws, the second ripped his chest apart, and the third severed his head from his shoulders.
The demon's massive head spun in the air for a moment before crashing to the blood-soaked ground. A thick cloud of black smoke erupted from his corpse, and in a blinding explosion, his entire body disintegrated into nothingness.
As the beast was vanquished, Arjun collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. His chest heaved with exhaustion, yet a quiet satisfaction filled his face — the monster that had terrorized Mirage was no more.
Through weary eyes, he looked toward Nitisha, who still lay motionless on the ground, her breaths faint and fragile. Dragging himself across the battlefield, his heart thudding in his chest, Arjun reached her side.
"Nitisha..." he whispered, his voice trembling with pain and desperation.
At the sound of his voice, Nitisha opened her eyes with great effort. A faint, weary smile touched her lips as she looked at him. In a voice barely audible, she murmured,
"Arjun... you did it. Now... our world... will survive."
Her voice was faint, yet there was a strange peace in it.
Seeing her like this, Arjun froze. Words refused to escape his lips. His eyes brimmed with tears as he struggled to breathe through the heaviness pressing on his chest. With trembling hands, he gently cradled Nitisha's head in his lap and whispered,
"Nitisha… it's going to be alright. I'll save you."
He tried to lift her, desperation gripping his every move, but she stopped him, placing a weak hand on his arm. Through her faltering breaths, she said,
"No, Arjun... it's too late now. I know I won't make it."
"Don't say that!" Arjun interrupted her, voice shaking. "Nothing's going to happen to you. Just hold on a little longer. I'll—"
Before he could finish, Nitisha gently cut him off.
"No, Arjun... there's nothing more that can be done. But I'm happy."
Tears spilled down her cheeks as she continued, "You did what I could never do."
Arjun's vision blurred. Her words pierced him deeper than any wound. Nitisha looked at him, her tear-filled eyes shining faintly with a smile.
"Thank you, Arjun… for coming into my life. For showing me what love truly means. I have no regrets left now. Even if death comes... I won't fear it anymore."
"No!" Arjun cried, broken and trembling. "I won't let anything happen to you! I'll save you, Nitisha... I swear I will!"
But even he knew—deep down—that saving her now was impossible. And that truth was killing him. The only way she could survive was by transferring power into her—by shielding her soul from the demonic forces—but that was the one thing he was incapable of doing.
And in that moment, Arjun began to hate himself.
Nitisha had been the only one who never mocked his weakness. On the contrary, she had always given him courage. It was her strength that had carried him to the peak of swordsmanship—a place he never imagined reaching.
Now, her eyes were slowly beginning to close.
Panic surged through him.
"Nitisha, open your eyes! Please! You can't leave me like this!" he cried, clutching her tighter.
And then... the sky roared.
Darkness once again enveloped the heavens, and from its depths echoed the chilling laughter of hundreds of demons. The sound sliced through the silence like a blade, making both their faces turn pale with terror.
Nitisha, summoning the last of her fading strength, glanced up at the cursed sky. Then, with trembling fingers, she pulled Arjun closer and whispered in his ear,
"Arjun... it's all in your hands now. You must save this world."
Arjun stared at Nitisha, stunned by her words. Before he could react, her entire body began to glow with radiant light. Her eyes held a calm, knowing smile as she looked at him and said softly, "Now, I entrust this to you, Arjun. The time has come for this world to receive its next protector."
Before Arjun could make sense of her words, Nitisha suddenly pulled him close and pressed her lips against his. The shock of her touch froze him, but then — he felt it. A strange surge of energy, a torrent of power flowing from her into him.
His eyes widened.
As her strength coursed through him, Nitisha's body began to falter. The brilliance of her light dimmed. Arjun realized what she was doing — she wasn't just transferring her power, she was giving up her life force.
"No..." he whispered.
He pushed her away, his heart pounding with disbelief, just as a searing wave of light enveloped him. He was about to resist when he heard her voice — soft, pained, but unwavering.
"Arjun, once... you asked me what I would do for you. Now, it's time you received your answer."
The hill trembled. The sky quaked.
Nitisha raised her hands to the heavens, her voice echoing with divine resolve as she called out to the stars:
"I pray to the Supreme! Use my body... my blood... my soul. I summon the ancient forces of heaven and earth to this realm! Come forth and reveal the path that destiny has prepared to save this world!"
Her voice thundered through the atmosphere, reverberating across Mirage. Ancient powers — celestial, arcane, forgotten — surged from the skies, the earth, and the corners of every direction, converging upon the blood-soaked hill.
They spiraled around Arjun, drawn to the circle of light that now encased him. Nitisha's own light joined theirs, swirling into the heart of the maelstrom.
Arjun's eyes filled with tears as he screamed, "No! Nitisha, don't do this!"
Her fading form turned to him one last time, a bittersweet smile on her lips and tears in her eyes.
"Goodbye, Arjun. And thank you… for showing me that love is the only force capable of anything. Thank you for the beautiful moments… for coming into my life. I no longer wish to bear the burden of saving this world. Now, it's your turn. I know you'll succeed where I failed. And if the heavens allow... we will meet again — and then, nothing will keep us apart."
With that, her light shimmered, and her form dissolved into the radiance, becoming one with the circle of power.
"Nitisha!" Arjun cried out, his voice breaking.
Agony erupted from within him. Power — raw and unstoppable — burst from his core, lighting the entire mountain in a brilliant, terrifying glow. His tears streamed down his cheeks, falling like shards of grief upon the trembling ground.
Even nature seemed to mourn with him — the wind howled, the skies wept, and the earth groaned in sorrow.
Then… the laughter returned.
That same monstrous, guttural laughter — filled with cruelty and madness — echoed once more in his ears.
"Hahaha! Humans, your end is here!"
Arjun's body shook with fury.
From his soul, a dark and divine energy exploded. His eyes blazed with hatred as he looked to the heavens and roared, "You stole Nitisha from me! Now all of you… must die!"
With a blinding flash, his power surged outward. He drove his sword deep into the ground, anchoring his fury into the earth itself — and then leapt into the sky like a bolt of vengeance.
"Annihilation Sword Technique.
Ultimate Destruction Blade Technique.
Wrath of the Blades of Ruin!"
The sky itself seemed to split open as Arjun, now the beacon of ancient wrath and love-fueled rage, rose to bring judgment upon the monsters who had taken everything from him.
At his thunderous roar, the sword in Arjun's hands shattered into hundreds of gleaming fragments — each transforming into a spectral blade. They soared skyward like a swarm of divine wrath, targeting the winged demons circling the blackened skies. In a flash, dozens of them fell, their grotesque forms crashing to the ground.
In that moment, Arjun was no longer just a warrior — he was a god of war, poised to annihilate an entire army with his sheer will.
But then, agony struck like lightning.
A searing pain tore through his chest.
Arjun looked down in disbelief — a monstrous claw had pierced straight through his torso, its razor-sharp talons emerging from his back, drenched in his blood.
Darkness began to flood his vision, shadows creeping in from the corners of his eyes.
With a trembling voice, he whispered,
"Nitisha... forgive me. I've failed to save this land. Perhaps... this is the end of our world."
His body, limp and broken, began to fall — downward, toward the blood-soaked earth below. The light around him dimmed, swallowed by the consuming black.
His eyes fluttered, heavy and fading, and as he descended into the void, the final echo of Nitisha's voice rang in his ears:
"Goodbye, Arjun. If fate allows... we will meet again."
And with those words, Arjun slipped into the darkness — lost, but not forgotten.