Dusken sought power but never expected it to be what led to him being a target for elimination. Transported to a hell-scape where survival was absolute, he overcame danger after peril, eventually becoming one of the ascendants - a group of people wielding the ultimate symbol of magic: god's legacy. In a cruel world facing an alien invasion, Dusken found himself on the receiving end of the deadly blows from other ascendants, and aliens in a tumultuous battle for the survival of his world. On top of that, the celestial power he wielded had an extremely formidable soul brand. With his home burning to the ground, fueled by determination, Dusken vowed to survive in the dangerous world where power ruled all, to become the strongest there ever was, no matter the cost! *** DISCLAIMER: This novel is pure fiction; its contents don't insult any beliefs nor defame any places in real life. So do not blame the author for your misunderstanding.
Chapter 0: Auxiliary Chapter
[This chapter serves as a helpful guide to many concepts about the world in the novel. While many things will be explained later in the story, I recommend you read this auxiliary chapter. It will help you as a reference for things later in the story.]
-General Information
*The Ethereal Land:
The Ethereal Land is a magical realm that is suspended beyond the material world, existing between reality and illusion.
Only humans chosen by the Calamity Codex can enter into the Ethereal Land in the form of souls at the age of 10.
*Calamity Codex:
It is a magical entity that allows humans to be able to grow stronger. It selects some children of ten years, then makes them feel sleepy, and when they succumb to sleep, it transports their souls to the Ethereal Land, where they would have to brave dangers to arrive at the god's palace and choose a statue.
*God's palace:
A palace where statues of gods stay. An individual chosen by the Calamity Codex would have to arrive here, pick a statue of a god to bind with and pass the statue's trial to get its legacy.
*Trials:
These are tests given by the statue of the god a child picks, they would have to pass the trial of the god statue to prove that they are worthy of the god's legacy.
If they pass, they would get the legacy of a god and their power would increase exponentially.
*Ascendants:
They are an elite group of individuals who had successfully gotten the legacy of a god, awakened their talent and returned to the real world.
*Cursed Creatures:
The Ethereal Land is not an empty place. It is filled with multiple dangers and evil lifeforms, and one of them is cursed creatures; they are the result of strange mutations that make animals capable of wielding attributes like fire, water, earth, etc.
They are called creatures when they are at level one, but those beyond that are referred to as cursed creatures because they are capable of wielding attributes.
*Space tear:
Occasionally, the ethereal land and the real world collide in the translucent realm, and when that happens, space distorts and cracks fall into the real world.
They appear in the form of portals to the real world, and if they are not cleared within seven days, it will allow cursed creatures from the ethereal land into the real world.
*Veil Warden:
It is the strongest cursed creature in a space tear.
*Soul Script:
A screen that informs an individual of their power level. It can also inform its owner of the strength of its opponent.
-Other Concepts
*Call to power:
A term that humans use to refer to the state of sleep that children chosen by the Calamity Codex experience.
*Strongholds:
Strongholds are the safe zones within the Ethereal land. They are cities built by humans to give themselves a chance for survival against the dangers of the ethereal land.
-More Information about the world.
*Talent:
This is what a person's ability would be based on.
*Side abilities:
These are abilities that are linked to a person's affinity, they are like attributes of a person, but in a more manifested form.
*Soul brand
These are unique curses branded on the souls of people with abilities and the legacy of a god.
*Soul Consciousness:
It is an illusionary manifestation of a person's spirit, and also the place a runic core stays.
*Runic Core
It is a mystical core that increases the strength of an individual. It is capable of storing magical energy.
*Spell cards:
These are special cards containing spells, tied to a person's talent, granted to an individual by the Calamity Codex. An individual only receives a spell card whenever his/her rank increases.
*Scrolls:
These are special magical equipment containing inscriptions, given by the Calamity Codex when they slay lifeforms. It isn't consistent and is only by luck.
*Material Cards:
These are cards received by luck whenever a person slays lifeforms. They are also granted by the Calamity Codex, and material cards are mostly weapons, but they can also be something different.
-Power Ranking and levels
*Awakened Rank (Level 1 to Level 9)
*Preeminent Rank (Level 10 to 99)
*Reverend Rank (Level 100 to level 299)
*Mythical Rank (???)
*Sacred Rank (???)
*Ultimate Rank (???)
*Celestial Rank (???)
If a person or a species is at level 1 in the awakened rank, they would be referred to as level one awakened; that's the way they are referred to in the novel.
Note: These are the ranks that all races use in the novel.
P.S: Those ranks with this '?' sign are ranks that the MC doesn't know their level so they are not listed out here so as not to give spoilers.
- World Background:
In this world, the Calamity Codex chooses some children of ten years of age and then makes them experience an intense desire to sleep (call to power).
When they fell asleep, the Calamity Codex would transport their soul to the Ethereal Land, where they would have to aim to reach the god's palace so that they would get a god's legacy.
As they are sent to the Ethereal Land, their talent is locked and they only have access to their side abilities.
When they appear in the Ethereal Land, a soul script would be created for them by the Calamity Codex.
They would be at level zero, and as a rank seeker, then they would travel to the god's palace, where statues of the gods are available.
They would need to pick a statue and they would be subjected to a trial by the statue to prove if they are worthy of the god's legacy.
In the trial, their talent would be unlocked so that they could grow stronger, pass the trial, and get the god's legacy of the statue they chose, and then they would return to the real world.
This is the basic information that everyone in the world is aware of.
Thanks, everyone, for reading this auxiliary chapter. Have a nice day, and I hope that you all stay safe, away from space tears. Trust me, they are deadly, hehe.
So everyone, with this knowledge, you can now be considered a citizen of the world in the book. For this is what everyone in the book knows.