Chapter 1 – The Night the Sky Broke

The night was unnaturally quiet.So quiet that Zyra couldn't sleep.The wind had stopped. The trees stood frozen, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
Something isn't right…
She stepped toward the window.And then—
A thin violet crack flashed across the sky.Zyra's heart skipped.
In the next second, the sky tore open.A violent tremor rippled through the air. The ground shook beneath her feet.
From the rip in the sky, darkness poured out.Masked soldiers stepped through first. Their boots touched the earth without a sound.The last to emerge was a man.
He walked slowly. Calmly. As if nothing here could possibly threaten him.
His eyes were cold.
"Location confirmed," he said quietly."No witnesses."
And hell descended.
Zyra's home became a battlefield in moments.
Her father, mother, and brother fought together. They fought desperately.But they were human.
And what stood against them… was not.Steel clashed. Walls shattered. Flames swallowed wood and stone alike.
Through the smoke and falling debris, Zyra saw her father collapse.
Blood stained his lips.
Yet he kept moving.He dragged himself toward her.In his trembling hand was a small, glowing stone.
"Zyra…" His voice was breaking. "This is not just a stone… it is our identity."
Her hands shook as he pressed it into her palm.
"Protect it."
Tears slipped down his face.
"What sleeps inside it… will never let you break."
The moment the stone touched her skin—Fire surged through her veins.
The light flared once, then vanished into her body.
Zyra gasped.
Her heartbeat thundered violently against her ribs.
"What is this…?" she choked. "Why does it feel like I'm burning…?"
A presence loomed before her.The Master.
His gaze pierced through her, as if searching beyond flesh and bone.
A faint smile touched his lips."Interesting."
And then he was gone.
The portal sealed. The soldiers vanished.Silence followed.
Only the crackling of flames remained.Zyra fell to her knees.
Her home was gone.
Her family was gone.
For a moment, she let the tears fall."Father…"
A gust of wind passed through the ruins.Something glimmered beneath the burning debris.
Zyra lifted her head.
Through smoke and ash, she saw it—half-buried beneath a broken table.
A katana.
Covered in soot, yet its blade still reflected the firelight.
"Grandfather's…"
She reached for it.
The instant her fingers wrapped around the hilt—
The world turned white.Blood-soaked ground stretched endlessly.Monstrous bodies lay scattered across a shattered battlefield.
And in the center stood her grandfather.Alone.
His blade dripped crimson.But there was no fear in his eyes.Only resolve.
"As long as this blade remains in my hands," his voice echoed.
"the balance of this world will not break."The vision shattered.
Zyra stood once more among the flames.She tightened her grip on the katana.
This time, there were no tears in her eyes.Only something steady.
Something burning quietly within.
She looked at the ruins of her home one last time.
"I'll come back," she whispered.
Dark clouds gathered overhead. Distant lightning flickered across the sky.
Without looking back again, Zyra rested the katana on her shoulder and began to walk.Tonight, everything had ended.
And tonight, everything had begun.