Chapter Zero: The Age of Restoration
From the forgotten preface of the Book of Truths, penned by the Fifth Hero.
History did not begin with our creation, but with our breaking!
'They' came without warning. They were not a single species, but a legion of shifting forms who brought chaos and slaughter merely to satisfy their curiosity. They did unexplainable things to man, woman, and child. How could mere humans resist Them? There was no way. We could only cry and beg for our lives as the world turned red.
Then, as suddenly as they came, they left. Not because of our cries but because they were bored.
But they left 'Him' behind...
To us, the broken, 'He' took pity. He saw our weakness and taught us of 'Contracts' A precise and dangerous emotional alchemy. He showed us that power could be forged not by simply discarding our feelings, but by weaving them into unique compositions, terrible recipes that grant unnatural strength.
Under 'His' guidance, five of us were granted this knowledge. We became the Five Heroes who helped mend the world's broken heart. This era was called as "The Age of Restoration."
But good times do not last long. Where there are people, there is conflict.
Our union shattered...
One chose the fragile heart, the mortal's heavy price,To keep his soul apart from cold and empty ice.
Three traded grief for gain, and love for silent thrones,Embracing stoic pain, on paths of polished stones.
And one was left to hold a secret, sharp as stone,To walk a path of thorns, forgotten and alone.
From then on, we were divided. One Hero led the Mortals in the open. Three became the first Hollows, their ambition plain to see. And I alone chose a different path, not of open war, but of shadow and whispered truths.
To guide those who came after, we wrote three books.
The Tome of Artifice - A shield of steel and gear.This book details the laws of science and engineering, a way for Mortals to build a world that could defend itself without sacrificing its soul.
The Ledger of Absence - A guide for what is gained.This book is the Hollows' grimoire, a catalog of forbidden recipes. It details the precise compositions of emotion required to forge a power—what must be surrendered, and what can be won, measure for measure.
The Codex of Echoes - A key of whispered name.This book is my final testament. It contains the fragmented truth of our world, the price of our survival, and the echo of a freedom we may have sacrificed for peace.
It is for this last truth that the world must bleed again.