The Prologue

[Somewhere in a distant future]

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Monsters. In my vision, every human being possesses a monster inside them. Some may embrace it and become what they truly are. Some hide among people and, in disguise, try to act normal. Some deny their existence completely and lock them deep inside their hearts, never to show them to anyone.

But I know. Even if you are the purest. You can never be perfect. Perfect never exists in the human realm. Even saints can commit unimaginable sins.

Unfortunately, we already live in this world made by monsters.

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[The Prologue]

While this story resumes. I want you to know that this is not my story, but a story of someone I knew. Someone I followed for a long time. Someone you will be hearing about in the next phase.

It was the year 2033 when everything changed. All eyes felt the same terrifying flash– smiles vanished from their faces.

28th of November was when the great Black Out– chaos, took place. The sky flashed with lightning bolts so bright that eyes went blind. And when it faded… Dark Blue clouds covered the sky and left us with a darkness that felt eternal.

The sky went pitch black, no sunlight no moonlight. Stars hide themselves behind the darkness. Soon, without the sun, the temperature began to drop a few degrees every day. Solar-powered systems failed, cutting off power to many facilities.

Mass panic and fear spread, with people rushing to buy supplies and the government trying to figure out what's happening.

Agriculture collapsed. Without photosynthesis, crops, forests, and wildlife would die. Food became one of the biggest crises.

As if this wasn't enough… something new, something that humanity had never faced before, took its place.

A virus.

Not just a virus, the one that turned humans into their worst nightmares. Monsters that were never meant to be unleashed now roamed the surface of the Earth.

And thus, destruction started. Humanity's extinction slowly began to unfold.

It all started with Velmir.

Bustling Velmir became the center point of this monstrosity. A city known for its hope and light was now covered with darkness as it echoed with screams of the helpless innocents. Sirens buzzed all over the capital. Blood drenched the roads and homes. Buildings collapsed like they were holding up for too long and now needed rest. Smoke covered the atmosphere like mist.

All we could feel were the disturbing growls of monsters lurking within the shadows ready to feast on any being who dared to pass through them.

Human civilization was collapsing along with the Government. Most of the officials became monsters even 'physically'. But maybe fate had other plans… according to my information. Back when this virus was affecting everyone. Some people awakened supernatural powers within them with the help of this same virus. At that time, we didn't have much information about this, so we just had to take shelter beneath these newfound powers.

Soon within this chaos, humanity started to retreat to geothermal zones– volcanic areas, etc. Where underground heat can sustain life, away from monsters. Safe.

Without care, several nuclear power plants exploded, causing massive explosions all around the globe. The ones that remained were later used for powering underground safe bunkers.

Massive insulated domes were constructed, using stored energy and artificial ecosystems. Mushrooms, algae, and other non-light-dependent organisms become the base of the food chain. People wear heated suits and live in the dark.

A few decades of surviving on nuclear energy, while exploring caves, one of the explorers discovered a new substance called "Luxcore". This was the trump card of humanity to survive. This element, which contains only about 25g, contains hundreds of years' worth of energy. Which humans desperately needed. Luxcore itself is a very poisonous, purplish, crystal-like ore. You have to be very careful to even touch this.

A new civilization was established around this "Luxcore".

The sun became a myth. Religious culture revolved around the talks of the sun. Some new generations stopped believing that the sun might not even exist. People who believed in the sun's existence gathered together and formed several cults.

With the help of this new Luxcore technology. Humans were able to form a new continent located deep under Velmir City, close to the old inactive volcano. Along with 5 new subcontinents, forming a pathway like a star pattern. And thus they called themselves the 'Stardust Society'.

This Stardust Society brought a new era for humans. After the establishment, many new scientific advancements were conducted and humans kept growing even under the surface. This society alone held the last remaining 10% of the world population. The rest were either killed or turned into monsters. Stardust society became the only place on planet Earth that was safe from outer threats.

What happened to the monsters? Well… The monsters were still on the surface. Countless research and experiments were performed. Several books were written about the Virus.

This Virus was later called 'Human Monsterfication 33' in short 'HM-33' and the monsters were identified as 'Null'.

According to those books, there are 2 categories of this monsterfication.

1) Where a person completely loses their mind and mutates themselves, becoming a 100% monster who only desires to kill anything that is in their way.

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2) Where a person remains intact and conscious and prevents themselves from turning into brain-dead monsters.

The interesting thing is how their ability works. Its main power source is life energy and the sheer will power of a person inside it. The more they have, the more powerful they will become. Like a battery, you can say.

This virus first attacks their nervous system, almost putting them in a death-like state. While being in this state their immune system gives feedback which ultimately changes their body for better adaptation.

This virus then reaches the part of the brain that is responsible for thinking and keeping initial data of the body, and it even messes with the DNA, altering the overall body structure.

Everything here is dependent on willpower. If you have what it takes to live. Only then could you succeed in this manifestation.

No one could figure out why only a few people were able to control the virus.

Other than this little information, nothing new was found whatsoever.

Now. You need to leap into the past inside the Stardust Society where a boy is waiting for his journey to begin.

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[End of Prologue]