Chapter 1 - New Beginnings

The city burned.

Cairo fell to his knees in the middle of the chaos, tears streaming down his face as the home around him died.

Buildings collapsed beneath rivers of molten rock. Lightning tore across the sky like jagged cracks in reality itself. Above the city, impossibly large hands reached down from a portal suspended in the heavens.

One hand rained magma.

Another spewed dark gas.

Another gathered the souls of the dead.

Screams filled the air.

Cairo could only watch.

Then everything went dark.

A voice echoed through the void.

“We have a greater goal we need to achieve.”

The voice was calm.

Ancient.

“Cairo… are you ready?”

Young Cairo lowered his head.

“…Yes.”

One month later.

The Dunes of Sheff stretched endlessly beneath a merciless sun.

An abandoned desert town sat buried within the sands.

Empty homes.

Broken windows.

Dust-covered streets.

The only sounds were the wind and the occasional groan of old wood.

Then the ground shook.

Once.

Twice.

A blond-haired boy sprinted over a dune.

“SHIT!”

Axel Reed leapt sideways as a massive dark green serpent erupted from the sand where he had been standing moments earlier.

Two more burst from the ground behind it.

Their scales glimmered beneath the sunlight.

Their jaws snapped shut inches from his legs.

Axel cursed and pushed himself harder.

“Come on…come on…”

Another serpent lunged.

He barely rolled away.

The creatures were gaining.

Then he spotted an abandoned cabin.

“There!”

Axel threw himself through the doorway and slammed it shut behind him.

Sand serpents smashed directly into the door.

The entire building creaked.

Dust drifted from the ceiling.

Axel stared upward.

“…These bastards better not hit too hard.”

The cabin groaned.

“…or this whole place is coming down.”

Elsewhere in town.

Cairo was running for his life.

“Oh no…oh no…”

Three armed thugs chased after him through the abandoned streets.

“Get back here!”

“Hand over everything you’ve got!”

“And maybe we’ll leave you alive!”

The men burst into laughter.

Cairo’s lungs burned.

His legs felt heavy.

Then he saw movement.

Sand serpents.

Several of them.

Slithering around and on top of an abandoned home.

Without thinking, Cairo sprinted toward the nearest cabin.

He burst through the door and slammed it shut behind him.

Outside.

The thugs skidded to a stop.

One of them pointed.

“SNAKES!”

The others immediately raised their weapons.

Gunfire erupted.

Bullets tore through the air.

Several rounds punched through the cabin walls.

Inside, Cairo hit the floor as bullets whizzed overhead.

Outside, the serpents hissed and retreated beneath the sand.

The gunfire stopped.

Click.

Empty magazines.

“Damn it!”

The leader spat into the sand.

“Forget the snakes.”

He drew his sword.

“Let’s finish the kid.”

The others laughed.

A pair of blue eyes watched from a nearby window.

Axel observed the scene silently.

For a moment he considered walking away.

Then he glanced toward the retreating serpents.

The same serpents that had nearly killed him.

He sighed.

“Well…”

He pushed himself off the wall.

“Whoever you are…”

Axel stepped outside.

“You saved my ass.”

He slowly approached the thugs.

The men noticed him immediately.

“Gentlemen.”

The thugs turned.

Axel rested a hand on one of the swords kept at his waist.

“Don’t you think this party’s over?”

The biggest thug sneered.

“Our party’s just getting started.”

He pointed his blade toward Axel.

“So why don’t you get lost before we carve you up too?”

Another thug’s eyes drifted toward the massive sword resting on Axel’s back.

“Actually…”

A grin spread across his face.

“That sword’s prolly worth a fortune.”

Another man’s eyes widened.

“Magnatanium?”

He let out a low whistle.

“You sure bet.”

“That thing could feed my family for a year.”

The others laughed.

Axel’s Magnatanium Blade was impossible to ignore.

The weapon was enormous.

Far too large for an ordinary person to wield.

Magnatanium itself was one of the rarest metals in the world.

Valuable.

Heavy.

Yet Axel had traveled, fought, and lived with the massive blade strapped across his back as though it weighed nothing at all.

A distinct vertical split ran through the center of the blade.

The divide continued all the way down through the grip itself.

An impossible design.

One that looked more decorative than practical.

Yet somehow made the weapon appear even more intimidating.

Axel scoffed.

Slowly, he closed his eyes.

Then he drew both swords from his waist.

Leaving the massive blade resting across his back.

Steel sang through the air.

The laughter died instantly.

“You want the sword so badly…”

His eyes snapped back open.

Sharp.

Blue as ice.

“COME TAKE IT.”

The thugs charged.

Axel did the same.

They came at him with wild swings and reckless confidence.

Axel was the opposite.

Silent.

Disciplined.

The first thug swung wildly.

Axel parried with ease.

Before the man could react, a blade drove straight through his chest.

The tip burst from his back.

The thug’s eyes widened.

Then Axel ripped the sword free.

The body collapsed.

The second thug roared and brought his weapon down in an overhead strike.

Axel sidestepped.

Effortlessly.

His elbow shot upward.

CRACK.

The thug’s arms bent the wrong way.

The thug dropped to his knees.

“Please—”

The silver arc flashed.

His body hit the ground before the sentence finished.

Blood sprayed across the street.

The final thug froze.

Suddenly very aware that he was alone.

His companions lay dead behind him.

“What…”

His voice trembled.

“…what are you?”

Axel slowly lowered his blade.

“Maybe next time you’ll think twice before trying to hurt someone for your own gain.”

The thug dropped his sword.

“P-Please…”

His hand suddenly darted toward a hidden knife.

Axel moved first.

One clean strike.

The man’s body collapsed.

Silence returned to the abandoned town.

Axel wiped the blood from his blades.

“Save it for hell.”

Behind him.

A cabin door opened.

Cairo stepped outside.

For a moment he simply stared.

The blond teenager who had effortlessly saved his life stood with his back to him.

Cleaning his swords.

Like nothing had happened.

Cairo approached cautiously.

“Excuse me.”

Axel didn’t turn.

“I appreciate you helping me.”

Still cleaning.

“But may I ask why?”

Axel shrugged.

“You solved my problem.”

He sheathed one freshly cleaned sword.

“So I solved yours.”

Cairo blinked.

“What problem did I solve?”

Axel finally turned.

“The sand snakes.”

The realization hit instantly.

The thugs had scared them away.

Which had apparently saved Axel.

Cairo couldn’t help but smile.

“Huh.”

They had saved each other’s lives without even realizing it.

“Well.”

Cairo extended a hand.

“I’m Cairo.”

Axel stared at it briefly.

Then, Axel shook it.

“Axel.”

The handshake lasted barely a second.

Cairo turned to leave, already looking toward the endless desert horizon.

His destination unknown.

Yet something deep inside him told him he needed to keep moving.

“Wait!”

The sudden shout caused Cairo to stop.

He turned around to see Axel jogging toward him.

“How come you’re taking off so suddenly?” Axel asked. “You got somewhere to be or something?”

Cairo looked up at the sky.

The clouds drifted lazily overhead.

“No,” he admitted. “Not exactly.”

“My path may be unclear at the moment… but I must keep going.”

Axel stared at him.

Then laughed.

“So you don’t know where you’re going is what you’re saying.”

Cairo frowned.

That wasn’t exactly what he meant.

“Lead the way.”

“…What?”

Axel shrugged.

“You heard me.”

For a moment Cairo simply stared.

“You want to come along?”

“Sure.”

“…Why?”

It has to be fate.

The thought crossed Cairo’s mind immediately.

What were the odds?

Both lost.

Both were wandering the desert.

Both saved each other’s lives within minutes of meeting.

Axel rubbed the back of his neck.

“Something you and I seem to have in common is that neither of us knows where we’re supposed to be going.”

His expression softened slightly.

“But you seem to have a slightly better idea than I do.”

Then he smirked.

“Maybe I’ll learn something about myself along the way.”

Without warning, steel flashed.

Cairo froze.

One of Axel’s swords suddenly stopped inches from his throat.

The smile was gone.

Completely gone.

Cold blue eyes stared directly into him.

“And I swear on my life…”

The air itself seemed to grow heavier.

“If you double-cross me, I’ll fucking end you.”

Axel never moved.

Never blinked.

He simply watched.

Testing.

Seeing how Cairo would react.

A desert crow cawed somewhere in the distance.

Cairo blinked.

Then looked down at the sword hovering near his neck.

…

Did he just threaten to murder me?

The thought was so absurd he almost laughed.

Instead, he chuckled nervously.

“Worry not, my friend. I have no reason to harm you.”

The sword remained exactly where it was.

“Good.”

“It seems we are allies now.”

The sword disappeared back into its scabbard.

Just as suddenly as it had appeared.

Cairo let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

Then pain exploded through his body.

His knees buckled.

“Ghh—!”

His chest tightened.

Every muscle screamed.

His vision blurred.

“Cairo?”

The world tilted.

“Cairo?!”

Something was pulling him.

Taking control of him.

Axel stepped backward as Cairo’s body slowly lifted from the ground.

His eyes widened.

“What the hell—”

White wings erupted from Cairo’s back.

Brilliant feathers unfurled toward the sky.

His brown hair turned pure white.

His emerald eyes became divine white.

Two strange weapons materialized at his sides.

Twin jitte.

Floating beside him.

The Cairo standing before Axel no longer looked uncertain.

He looked divine.

The figure slowly raised a hand and pointed east.

“We need to make our way to Korokona Forest.”

His voice echoed unnaturally.

Absolute.

“There… we will begin restoring balance to this world.”

Axel’s hand instinctively found his sword.

“What have you done to Cairo?!”

The winged figure looked down at him.

Unbothered.

“I am Keruga’s Chosen Disciple.”

The name hit Axel like a punch.

“…Keruga?”

The God of Wisdom and Knowledge.

The God blamed for the war.

The God everyone cursed.

“And it is my duty,” the disciple continued, “to cleanse this world of darkness.”

The desert fell silent.

Then the light vanished.

Cairo’s body dropped from the air.

The wings disappeared.

His hair returned to normal.

His eyes regained their color.

But the jitte remained.

Axel stood frozen.

“…Keruga…”

His grip tightened around his sword.

Impossible.

A memory surfaced.

A much younger version of himself.

His mother’s voice.

“You will be the one who cleanses the darkness from this world, my child.”

“My Axel.”

The memory faded.

Only the wind remained.

Axel slowly sheathed one of his swords.

Then reached into his pocket.

Carefully.

Almost reverently.

He pulled out a worn photograph.

His mother’s face stared back at him.

Meanwhile, a groan came from the sand.

Cairo stirred.

“…Wh…”

His eyes opened.

Confusion immediately appeared on his face.

“What happened?”

He sat up.

Looking around frantically.

“Did someone attack us?”

Axel lowered the photograph.

Their eyes met.

Neither spoke.

One was confused.

The other wasn’t sure whether he should be terrified.