A Prologue

Water, in small droplets, fell onto the bleak, gray world.

𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘱.

𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘱.

𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘱.

From the large clearing above, raindrops splattered onto the ground. The forest, whose bright and vibrant treetops once blocked the rain from dropping onto the ground, was long gone. Only a large opening was left.

An earthy scent wafted off from the ground as raindrops continued splattering. A scent that is a pleasing smell. A smell that can naturally calm a person.

Alas, it wasn't calming enough.

A girl sat on the muddy wet ground, staring at the ground. The ground where someone once was at. A butterfly, a blue light within the colorless, dull forest, fluttered around her.

She blankly stared at the ground amidst the soft sprinkling of rain that fell onto her.

As she remained on the ground, slumped over, footsteps trodding on mud and puddles became louder and louder. A gray-haired woman, holding a strange staff weapon, appeared behind her. Standing over her, her shadow casting itself over the mourning girl, she looked down at her,

Moments passed, and as the rain continued to fall, the woman abruptly moved. With a wave of her staff, the rain started to tap against a transparent, invisible ceiling, akin to an invisible umbrella, above the two,

𝘛𝘢𝘱.

𝘛𝘢𝘱.

𝘛𝘢𝘱.

Seconds passed as the girl stared despondently on the ground. The gray haired woman didn't move either, only looking at her.

At that moment, a tiny voice came from the hunched girl.

"𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺...why did Abi have to die?" the girl asked, but she kept looking at the ground.

The gray haired woman was unmoved and silent. However, seconds afterwards, she responded.

"As I said, she must die," she said simply. "She was suffering, and so I have relieved her from her pain. She also tried to kill you, did she not? The girl named Abi was not the little girl you knew."

At that, the sad girl exuded even more sadness, and trembled. She barely heard the woman's next words.

"However…there was another reason I killed her, but unfortunately it was too late. To think that I would make such a blunder..."

"A...a mistake?" Anna asked listlessly. At that moment, something burned inside her.

It was flames stoking the oven. A fire that, although small, was hot. Anna felt she had the right to be angry at her for killing Abi.

Therefore, mustering up her courage, she turned to look up at the woman's face. The moment Anna saw her inexpressive face, the girl couldn't muster up any anger.

How could she?

Aside from the fact that there would be consequences...the girl knew Abi was suffering, even if it was only a gut feeling.

She only wanted the now disappeared girl to be happy. To be free.

And yet…

Couldn't she be selfish, just this once?

Unfortunately, all those emotions were meaningless when the gray-haired woman responded to the girl's question.

"Why? Hmm…I presume I do need to give you an answer. Yes, that's right. Now...its because of the descent of the 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀."

The girl felt cold.

So, so very cold.

Even in the rain, when she was mourning, she didn't feel anything. Now, as if the coldest gust of wind blew next to her, she shivered.

'The descent of…what?' the girl thought, but the gray-haired woman continued ruminating.

"Although I have tried to predict and delay their eventual descent, I was unable to even slow it by a small margin."

Saying that, the cold woman seemed to…snort?

"How bothersome and troublesome. For I to go to such lengths to even attempt to delay the inevitable…to think I am this arrogant," the gray-haired woman said, closing her eyes.

"Huh?"

The girl's brain paused, and she looked up at her. Her mind was riddled with nothing else but confusion. What were they talking about again?

"...what?"

"Moving on, as for your behavior in questioning me…hmm, I shall excuse you for your behavior this time because you're grieving. It's a part of human nature after all. However, any more than this, and you will face punishment," the woman said, and an incredibly cold aura erupted from her.

"Oh…yes...yes 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺..." the girl meekly responded. Then, after a thought, she quickly stood up and bowed, stumbling along the way.

As the girl bowed, she had a thought.

'...I hope that this really is a dream.'

Her friend died in her arms, and now these things called the 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 are coming?

To this world, or to her world?

Why, why is this happening?

"Ah…ah…!"

The girl covered her head, trembling. Her head started to hurt, and her legs felt so, so weak.

Even after six days, she thought she would be fine, albeit barely. In just less than a single day this whole mess happened. Everything was passing by so quickly, so fast…so fast…it's…it's…it's too much-!

'Calm down…breathe in...hold...breathe out…!'

Breathing in and out, the girl's hurried breathing did not stop. She can't. Her heart continued to beat even faster, and her lungs quicker.

"Please-someone help me-!"

Then a blue light flashed, and she gradually calmed down. The girl looked up at the butterfly.

"Thank you Amor."

The butterfly only continued to flutter around above her head. After that, she took a deep breath-no, a couple of deep breathes, and began to think.

If this so-called Calamity is scary, and there's more than one...she can't imagine the scale of catastrophe that would happen.

She can't comprehend what'll really happen.

With that being said, there was something the girl thought. She looked up at the gray-haired woman. The woman was still standing tall over her, watching silently.

"𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺...what...what are the Calamities?" the girl asked hesitantly

"Do you not know? Ask the blue screen, and it'll answer you," the gray-haired woman stated.

'𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺 knows about it?' she thought,

"When I asked about it earlier, it didn't answer."

"I should answer now," the woman said monotonously.

The girl lips pressed together, but she followed what the woman said, hoping the blue screen would answer.

'What...what are the Calamities?'

There was a pause…

She waited…and waited…and waited…

Just when the girl thought it wouldn't appear like last time, the blue screen abruptly appeared, and letters began forming on its transparent form.

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The Calamities are said to be entities that hold almost infinite power. Enough power that can change the world.

To know what the Calamities truly are, one must look at its history, where their first descent came to be one thousand years ago.

If you truly want to know more details about it...it is impossible, for it is forbidden.

Alas, only the stories remain, and even then if the stories are exaggerated, one might find a grain of truth that lies within each story.

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'One...one thousand years? Why is this not in the history textbooks then?' the girl thought astonishingly.

During school years, she naturally had to learn history as it is a core class, but there was no such thing as these so-called 'Calamities.'

'Are they really real?' she couldn't help but think.'

Just as she was in thought, she jolted when a large page that looked considerably old appeared out of thin air. Watching it float, she tried to grab the floating page, but to no avail. Her hand simply phased through it.

After making sure it wasn't physical, the girl finally began reading its contents.

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There were once Seven Calamities, with each one descending time after time, over and over. They seemed endless, even with the combined efforts of all of the strongest warriors, mages, and other classes.

With their coming, kingdoms and empires fell, and many new ones rose up.

Only for them to fall, just like the others.

These times were known as the 'Age of Calamities.'

No one truly knows what happened before the Calamities descended, only that the era was called the 'Age of Magic.' The old stories can't really be trusted, and the knowledge once hidden in scrolls and books have mostly decayed by the passing time.

If there is a book, then it must either be hidden or kept secret from the rest of the world.

Either way, it is said that long before the Calamities had descended, long before the Age of Magic, existed an era called the 'Age of Gods.' Beings in the 'Age of Gods' had so much power, even our imagination is unable to understand them.

To comprehend.

It was akin to ants looking up at giant humans.

It was also said that many different species during that age, such as dragons and the fae, were once abundant.

These seemingly powerful gods, however, mysteriously disappeared. We thought them to be dead, but dead by what...or who?

No one truly knows.

However, with the gods and other species mostly dead, humanity rose to power. They gathered many resources, learned many things, researching spells and the like, they created new inventions.

New weapon.

Truly, it was the golden age, an era that is known as the Age of Magic.

An era where humans can freely manipulate mana.

An era where they truly reigned freely. To them, it was as if the world was there's to explore, to manipulate freely.

With no one else to block their growth, humanity had a chance to grow freely.

However, humans grew arrogant with their knowledge, and they thought they truly were the most powerful.

Until the Calamities descended upon our world.

Going back to what was said previously, the saying that all gods are dead was a lie, because there is said to be only one god who survived during the Age of Magic...and it was said that after the Age of Calamity, she has fallen.

With her fall, which coincides with mana levels dropping significantly, humans have degenerated, losing the ability to have or bless another with a power that is called 'the status screen.'

That is the age we live in now.

It could be said to be a blessing, as humans have started relying on themselves now without the status screen or the gods, even if the beginning is extraordinarily difficult.

Perhaps this was the purpose of the Calamities?

Just as in the Age of Magic, humans now have another chance to grow. This time, they would go on another path.

This would be known as the Age of Humanity.

What would stop them, now that these threats have gone?

...

Alas, the question remains.

What reasons do the Calamities have for descending upon our world? To come to destroy humanity? Why? For their sins? Their sins for straying away from the gods?

Based on their actions, it seems as if the Calamities have a goal. If I, the author, had to make an educated guess, then I would assume the Calamities' goal is detrimental to humanity's survival.

Whatever the rumor is, it is no lie that the Calamities, blowing their trumpets, shall descend upon the world to destroy all life on Palimicia.

As for the Calamities, each has been recorded with their titles, though their names are either unknown or lost to time.

The First, the Descent of Hell.

The Second, the Forsaken.

The Third, the Plague Weaver.

The Fourth, the Bringer of Dusk.

The Fifth, the Demon of the Depths.

The Sixth, the Four Horsemen.

The Seventh, who is to this day not named nor known.

It was said in the old stories that after the Fourth Calamity had ended, the true calamity shall begin. With the coming of the Fourth, eternal darkness shall plague the world, with the light of the sun being blocked for all eternity…

At least until the last calamity fell.

If the sinners reject the two woes, the final one shall descend, bringing about eternal peace for all.

The kingdom of the #### ### ########

This peace shall descend upon the world, and a kingdom of happiness will be born

-Excerpt from Book Two: The Seven Trumpets.

-Written by ???

*--*--*

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"..."

Reading this, the girl's first thought was-

'Is this a fictional novel?'

Then, her second thought was-

'Why..why are history books so different from this one?'

If that was the case, how could such vital pieces of information be forgotten or lossed?

Still, she now had a greater understanding of what's happening...and she wished she had the chance to remain ignorant.

But If she doesn't, she'll be filled with regret for being ignorant.

So, the girl absolutely did not like the contents of the book, however fascinating it was. She looked up at the gray-haired woman, who was silently watching her.

"𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺, these...these Calamities...they're coming to our world?" she asked, and she hoped it wasn't true.

She begged for it to not be true. That this was all a dream, that-

"Yes," the woman said simply.

The girl's mind broke, and she slowly walked backwards. Each step she took, and her legs shook.

'Then...Mom...Dad…'

"This is the beginning," the gray-haired woman said, cutting into the girl's thoughts. "Although everyone won't die, a large majority of humans will indeed perish if they aren't prepared. Based off of some...𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴…they are indeed not prepared."

"...no..."

The girl dropped to the ground. The headache began pounding into her head, pulsing each time with more and more pain. Her heart that had just calmed down began beating quickly, and her breath once again became quicker.

"S-so…r-right now-"

"The doors are beginning to open. The gate between the world of reality and magic has been undone, and now the first has begun its descent."

The girl felt the world around her became even darker. She felt she was falling into nothingness. The light on her path seemed so dim. Her head hurt so much.

She ran her hands through her hair, and a soundless scream erupted from her. The girl started heaving, but she vomited nothing but air. A blue flash appeared, but it barely relieved her of the pain.

'It's too much. Too much. It's so dark. It's 𝘵𝘰𝘰 much. T𝗼𝗼 mu-'

A voice cut through the darkness, and Anna looked up.

"Do not despair so soon," a woman's voice echoed, and it pulled her from the murky, misty darkness. "Only one Calamity can truly descend at a time, so otherwise...the world as you know it would've already disappeared long ago."

The girl felt something warm bloom in her chest as she looked up. The gray clouds in the sky seemed to have started dissipating, and rays of sunshine shone through them. The gray-haired woman seemed to have glowed brighter as she stood tall over her.

"...then there's hope," the girl whispered.

"It wouldn't make any difference, and if humanity were the same as they were many years ago...with their weakness and internal conflicts...they stand no chance," the woman said, dashing all her hopes.

"...oh."

At least she didn't climb too high up the ladder.

"When you return back to your reality, the beginning of the descent of the first should've already begun."

The girl's eyes looked up at the emotionless woman. She didn't know what to do anymore. Is there hope, or is there no hope?

"Then…then I have to-"

"You are only a little girl, and compared to those monsters, you are just a nuisance," the woman said, cutting her off. "No, not a nuisance...rather a small bug...or...maybe a cockroach…"

The gray-haired woman seemed to take a moment to think, and the girl only watched her. Moments passed, and as the girl's unconscious thoughts made her more depressed, the woman finally spoke up.

"Hmm…aside from that, this is another reason why I am teaching you magic. With that being said, this is also the end to your training here, albeit short. Your real training shall begin in the real world. Your world."

The girl perked her head up, bewildered.

"What do you mean, 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺?"

"I'll give you my 'inheritance,'" the woman said simply, and she held up her staff. After looking at it for a while, she simply handed it to the girl.

Surprised by the sudden movement, Anna immediately grabbed it.

That was a mistake; the staff, just like its appearance, was quite heavy. So when the girl grabbed it, she immediately fell along with it onto the dirt. The gray-haired woman continued talking without paying attention to the girl writhing on the ground.

"Hold onto the staff, and keep it by your side for your entire life. The memories, teachings, and the 'inheritance' itself are inside that staff. After this, I will start the process of attuning your soul to the staff, allowing it to be bonded with you. With that, you will never truly lose the staff, nor will another use it."

The girl paused wriggling on the drying mud floor.

'Attune my soul...with the staff? How does it even work?'

"You do not need to know how it works," the woman said as if she read the girl's mind. "However, the process requires you to be in a deep slumber. By the time you wake up, I won't be there, so you will be all on your own...in the world that will become your reality."

The girl finally managed to stand up...leaving the staff on the floor.

Even now, she had even more questions, with the majority being unanswered, but she might as well get those answers from this 'inheritance' if it really was a thing.

Silence permeated throughout the surroundings.

Once again, the girl felt a sense of deja vu, and with it came the feeling of pain.

'...Abi…'

As the girl felt saddened she started shifting on her feet, a voice spoke from above her.

"Are you ready, little girl with the butterfly?"

Said girl tensed up, and spat out the first thing that came to her mind unconsciously.

"Before I sleep and never see you again, may I ask what your name is 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺?"

The gray-haired woman looked down on the girl, and when the girl thought she made a mistake, she saw the woman 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥.

A smile!

A smile, from her of all people…it made the girl begin to sweat. Whenever the gray-haired woman smiles, she finds amusement in something, and that mostly means it's a bad thing...

"No."

Before the girl became even more depressed than she was earlier, the woman spoke again.

"My true name is hidden in the staff, so make sure to grow well, and journey with friends like I once did...little girl with the butterfly."

Before the girl could even respond, she instantly felt fatigue. A sense of vertigo was placed onto her as she fell flat onto the floor. As her head 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥 against the floor, the pain being muted, her eyes unconsciously closed, and her thoughts all gradually disappeared.

Then, the world in her eyes begins to fade…

…

The sound of a 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥 echoed from the ground as a girl slumped onto the dirt.

Looking at the poor girl falling unconscious onto the ground, the gray-haired witch simply shook her head. As she did so, she turned to look at a butterfly fluttering near her.

"It seems things are going your way after all. Are you happy now?"

The butterfly continued fluttering, not responding to the woman. The gray-haired woman was patient. For a long time, she has waited for an answer; she could wait a few minutes longer.

As if something clicked-all of a sudden, a cluster of butterflies flew towards the sole butterfly near the girl. They mysteriously came from the ground, the trees, the leaves-everywhere.

Looking around, all the woman could see was only blue butterflies.

She only turned her attention to the destination where the blue butterflies were heading towards-the butterfly whom the girl had called Amor.

And the sole purpose in why she is here.

Amor was clearly the most noticeable and notable, for it is the brightest one. Like a lone star amidst the dark, night sky, the butterfly shined within the group of butterflies.

Finally, when what seems to be every blue butterfly gathered in one spot, the blue butterflies then became a mixture of black and gray. Their blue glow faded, and they 'merged,' forming...a humanoid body.

Seconds later, it finally completely formed what seems to be a tall man, with armor that seems to have rusted for years. With his ripped dark maroon cape billowing behind him, the armored man stood still…until his helmet slowly moved.

Looking up, the armored man's face was hidden behind a face plate filled with around twelve small holes that littered across the front.

"I thank you for your assistance, oh fae who hails from the land of paradise," a voice said, coming from the helmet.

Gray eyes blinked as the woman looked at him.

"To think someone like you would thank me...it seems like things are changing after all. What a wonderful parting gift."

The woman looked down at the sleeping girl. Observing the girl's unconscious figure for a while longer, she closed her eyes.

"With the Calamities descending...this girl is indeed blessed to have you as her guardian...or cursed," her eyes slightly opened into slits.

The armored humanoid remained silent, and kept looking at the fae.

The gray-haired woman smiled-another smile!

"I see...very well, I will do as you asked of me. It is a unique opportunity after all, and there isn't as if I have anything else to do…or truly lose from it. My kingdom-no, the kingdom of the fae, now lies in the hands of one who I deemed respectable."

The woman's staff, shining a dim blue, faded, and the barrier in the sky faded away. Closing her eyes, a raindrop splashed onto her face. It slowly traveled down her cheek, until finally reaching her chin.

A moment later, it fell from it, and it dropped onto a floor with a tiny slash.

"I would also want to experience life again as a young girl...even if it's only for a short moment."