Prologue 

On the day of The Fall, the Earth was transformed. Continents convened creating earthquakes of unimaginable magnitudes.

It was almost as if the world was returning to a more primeval state. The world of old was no more and a new era dawned.

The seven continents vanished overnight, instead replaced by one supercontinent which spanned a surprisingly small portion of the earth leaving a boundless ocean, only interrupted by the existence of strange landmasses which rose out of seeming nowhere for no apparent cause, to fill the rest. 

That day, every single world power was attacked by inexplicable forces. The USA, China, The Middle Eastern States, Russia, and Europe all suffered attacks. Nowhere was exempt.

Nowhere was safe.

First came the mutant beasts. Then the humans who, after being bitten by the mutants, became mindless killing machines. And not long after, the beasts evolved.

Kings among men arose from the dust to fight back the tides of monsters. 

Three years after the Fall, the old world order has been replaced by the law of the jungle. Governments were toppled and society is now controlled by the strong.

There are no longer any clear-cut borders or even nations, the only semblance of order left is enforced by the nearest army.

A majority of what was previously the USA is ruled by Raymond the Earth King and his brothers, while the remaining territories are all ruled by their own kings.

Take, for example, Texas and Florida (although most of Florida's eastern seaboard was destroyed during the first stages of The Fall).

In Eastern China, the Martial Lord, Yue Xing, created the Yue Dynasty and fights for supremacy against warlords in Shandong, Jiangnan, and Hebei.

To the West, Feng Jing, the Mad Tiger, controls what once used to be the Northern Chinese Plains and established the Wei Dynasty.

In what was formerly Russia, when Moscow was decimated by the Fall, a young recruit rose to the occasion and came to be known as the Bear King Boris Ivanov as well as the self-proclaimed Tsar of New Russia.

Still, all over Russia, there sprouted warlords, militant groups, and mercenaries. Some followed Boris, however, the rest were less than accommodating towards the new regime.

In the former Turkey area, Usman the Scimitar rules while contending with the still existing tribes.

The former German territories are controlled by a group of Neo-Nazis, who unexpectedly rose power, persecuting whomever they can.

Their leader goes by the title Fuhrer Bradheim, the One-Eyed King, and their only opposition is David the Iron Lord.

Former Japan has Houtarou Oreki the Swift Dragon and Hikigaya the Lazy Tiger. Both of those men have great armies, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, and are evenly matched resulting in some of the more stable spheres of influence.

Imagine the world where all these powers have gathered onto one continent—all these heroes and villains.

Government?

They all crumbled during The Fall. 

Human rights? 

If you have power, you're practically treated as a god.

Old weapons like bullets and bombs no longer affected the people who followed the World Orb System.

Nonetheless, some sense of stability had been found during those three years. However, as things were beginning to look up, the age of war began and the warlords started their conquests. 

After all, not all these kings are good-natured people. After all, in the new era The Fall ushered in, to survive, how terrible must the things they have seen been? What terrible deed must they have done to get to where they are now?

Had it not been for luck and some powerful skillbooks, would they be as powerful as they are today? Some kings, before The Fall, were office or blue-collar workers. Some even were criminals.

Before the Fall, they had nothing.

No prestige. No strength. No fame. They lived the same boring routine every day. Now they live like Kings.

All of them are many things now. Some are killers, some are rapists, some are ruthless, some are compassionate, but, without exception, they are all brave. If not, they couldn't have reached such heights.

But even all these kings fear one thing.

An army? 

They could fight armies. 

But him? 

They do not dare.

His power is mysterious and deadly. He is Lord Shadow.

He fears no kings. He fears no armies. He goes where he pleases. He does what he likes. He is like the wind—unpredictable.

If he wants to take something, no one could stop him. If he doesn't want to do something, nothing could force him.

Some people hate him, some people adore him, some people fear him, and some people respect him.

He has no armies, no cities, and no kingdoms yet no King dare offend him.

Who doesn't know the story of the 20 Kings who fought Lord Shadow at the Stone Gates? Lord Shadow decapitated people's heads like paddy stalks, drenching the gate a bloody red.

Or what about the battle at the Dragon Cliff where Lord Shadow appeared out of nowhere and stole the skillbook Dragon's Palm in front of the whole world, driving the Ice Queen Katarina to swear a blood oath to kill Lord Shadow should they ever meet.

Or how about Lord Shadow slaying the Seven Generals to save a friend?

He, to save his sworn brother from execution, killed countless heroes unparalleled under heavens.

And after he saved his brother, he even dared to return and loot all the belongings of the Generals.

Lord Shadow is one man, yet he dares face the whole world alone. Such power cannot help but be admired.

Some kings want to recruit him. Others have put bounties on him. Yet, if Lord Shadow appears no kings have the power to contend with him.

Of course, as with all stories, his begins with humble beginnings.

This is his story of how a man working in a dead-end job grew to become one of the most famous men in the world, feared and revered.

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Editor's Note: Hello everyone! I'm Cult Leader Sus, the new editor of Lord Shadow. Please take care of me. m(. _ .)m