They say the world ended twenty years ago.
Not with fire or flood—but with magic.
I wasn't alive when the Demon Gates first opened, but I've seen the aftermath. Cities swallowed whole by flame or shadow. Skies torn apart by things we still can't name. Highways that end in black craters, with nothing beyond but silence and dust.
They call this continent Vir now. It's all that's left.
We live in five cities, locked behind hundred-mile walls and connected in a diamond formation. Farm towns grow in the spaces between—easy prey when the demons slip through. But the guilds try to protect them.
Magic came with the demons. Or maybe it came first, and the demons followed the scent of it. No one really knows.
When you turn fifteen, the world watches. A green, transparent screen appears in front of you.
No one else can see it—only you.
It tells you what you are: Your Class, your Element, your Rank.
Sixty-five percent awaken.
The rest… ordinary.
I was part of that thirty-five percent for seven long years. Watching others get stronger. Watching the guilds march through the streets in full gear. Watching people I knew disappear into gates and return with scars, trophies—or not at all.
Then, on my twenty-second birthday—when I was sure I'd missed my chance—the screen came.
Name: Draven Fox
Class: Swordsman
Subclass: Hunter
Element: Fire
Rank:
A weak flicker of flame in my palm. Barely strong enough to light a candle.
But it meant I was awakened. It meant I could fight!
It's been five years since the O-Raelyn Gate Collapse.
A Storm-class gate opened inside the city. It shouldn't have happened—not inside the walls. But it did. The defenses were late. The guilds were too far out.
My parents were crushed when the south tower fell. My baby sister never made it out of her crib. And my younger brother, Kade…
He's still alive. But barely.
He's been in a hospital bed ever since, breathing through tubes, skin pale as ash. I visit him every week. I tell him stories. I lie and say I'm getting stronger. I say it'll all be okay. Then I go home and fight for contracts that barely cover the cost of keeping him alive.
I work as a freelance fighter.
Freelancers don't belong to a guild. We're the backup plan. The expendables. We take on the lower gates the guilds don't want to waste resources on. We fill in when a five-man team's short a body. We bleed so they don't have to.
I've cleared six gates since awakening. All Flicker or Pulse types—low threat. The demons are weak, usually malformed. Fast, but not smart. Dangerous in packs.
Still… it's a risk every time.
Every gate is a pocket dimension. Once you go in, the world shifts. Time bends. The terrain changes. Sometimes it's desert. Sometimes ice. Sometimes it looks just like your home—but darker.
And always… something is watching.
The sun was setting over O-Raelyn when my phone buzzed in my jacket.
I had just passed through the market sector. Children ran between vendor carts, chasing sparks from a wind mage showing off tricks for a few credits. The air smelled like oil, spice, and old stone.
I stopped under a flickering streetlight and checked the message.
[NEW GATE - CLASS D - LOCATION: SECTOR 9 - INDUSTRIAL BLOCK]
PARTY SLOT OPEN – 1 FIGHTER NEEDED
REWARD: GREEN CORE - STANDARD PAYOUT
I stared at it, thumb hovering. The last gate barely paid for Kade's meds.
But maybe this one…
I accepted the contract.
[CONFIRMED – REPORT TO DROP SITE IN 30 MINUTES]
PARTY LEADER: RENNA KAI (MAGE - HEALER - C-RANK)
Current Team Composition:
Tank: Swordsman (C-Rank)
Tank: Spiritfist – Ironcore (D-Rank)
Damage: Arcanist (C-Rank)
Damage: Summoner (D-Rank)
Healer: [You've been added]
Wait. Healer?
I frowned. They must've misfiled it. I wasn't a healer—I was listed as a damage-class Hunter. I messaged the party lead. No reply.
Typical.
Still, I couldn't risk losing the job. I'd make it work. Maybe they'd let me swap roles once I showed up.
As I turned toward Sector 9, my reflection caught in a broken window. Leather jacket scorched at the sleeves. Sword case on my back. Eyes too tired for twenty-two.
I kept walking. Past the lights. Past the noise. Into the quiet, where the gates liked to open.
Because I had nothing left to give.
But I wasn't done yet.
And when fighting is all you have left—
YOU FIGHT!