Azuma still remembered that day, when the rains were overwhelming, when he truly became aware of the fragility of the world he lived in.
Things could easily fall apart.
He has just turned four and the rain was so heavy that it drowned him under its weight. But nothing was as suffocating as the sight of his mother's lifeless body being ravished by an abyssal monster.
The details of that evening were foggy, but he had never been able to forget the image of those dead eyes staring into his soul.
It was that day he realized how feeble life was, and how helplessness was the worst curse anyone could bear.
His father offered no sympathy nor any words of support when he found Azuma feverish and shivering in the rain.
"This is the reality." his word pierced Azuma's heart, "The weak are bound to fall as long as the Abyss remains."
The grief that surged through Azuma was something he couldn't put into words, his mind was numb and his heart was empty from all the tears he had cried.
He was too young to fully grasp the meaning of his father, but he has seen enough that day to understand the bitter truth among those words. The world has to change before it devours everything into the abyss.
He had to become stronger.
"The weak are bound to fall…"
Azuma never forgot those words, realizing their meaning even further when his father died the same way his mother did.
Oddly, his death didn't make Azuma sad or scared. His heart was calm and his eyes distant as he saw how right his father was.
The weak are bound to fall.
+ + +
[Ten Years Later: The Present]
The setting sun spread soft shadows over his silver hair, his grip was firm over the sword and his gaze hard over the wild charging beast.
Winds hissed around the abyssal hound and the assailant let out a battle cry before he lunged forward.
"Aaahrgh—!!" the hound head-butted his opponent before the sword could even touch him.
The assailant was sent slamming hard against a tree.
"...aah–"
Yukine weakly moaned as he rubbed his head. Tears clung to his eyes.
"You need to be watchful about your stance," Azuma managed to say as he burst out laughing, "The stance as well as the first move."
"I know!" Yukine complained, "But that hound came so freaking close!" he glared at the blade in his hand, "I have become primaeval."
Azuma sighed with a smile, he could understand the frustration.
No one used swords and similar weapons. Why would they, when the Earthly Nations have succeeded most in creating highly advanced automatic weapons?
But one can't kill the creatures of the abyss with the weapons humans used.
There was only one known metal that was able to give a fatal blow to these creatures; Etherium.
It has been recently discovered in the depths of the Abyss.
Due to its complex molecular structure, it turned out to be a challenge to make advanced weapons from Ethereum. But forging the metal into simpler weapons was comparatively easy.
"Just remember the basics," Azuma took out an Ethereum dagger, holding it from the obsidian blade.
He brought his one foot back and slightly leaned forward. As soon as the system detected the specific motion, a slight light spread through the blade.
The blade stuck over the hound's head and he collapsed dead.
The virtual beast flickered before his body dispersed in ashes.
"That's…" Yukine dumbly blinked.
Azuma tapped below his ear, "The system was updated to include combat skillsets. As long as you take a proper stance and follow the basic moves, it will detect them and take care of the rest."
There was barely anyone in the world who followed the ancient arts of sword and melee. Hence, Genesis modified the system, otherwise known as NAB or Neuralink Assistant Bots, to include certain skill sets.
This feature was only available to seekers, and Azuma wouldn't be having it if he wasn't involved in the team of beta testers.
Yukine murmured a low curse as he closed his eyes to get his emotions in control. He had been trying to train with the new update for the past hour until Azuma came and made things a little easier.
"Alright!" he called, "I will do it again!"
Hearing his command, the augmented reality spawned a new abyssal hound. This one was bigger than before, with a hungry look and sinister claws.
Azuma was a little concerned this time.
Even if the whole training arena and its creatures were virtual, the impact Yukine will receive would be the same as fighting a real beast.
The seekers were required to train as intensely as possible.
And Yukine had only become a seeker last week.
He took a stance and charged once again.
The sword ferociously cleaved the air, but it was all that it managed to touch. The hound let out a loud howl and jumped over Yukine, he fell on his back within a moment.
The large beast, who was the size of a baby elephant, was now going to crush Azuma.
He stepped aside and a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.
The beast wasn't programmed to see Azuma as a target and so it snarled at Yukine.
Azuma called the dagger back in his palm, "You don't need to constantly strike. Just do the basic stance and when you feel a warmth gushing through your veins, it would be the system's energy seeping into your weapon. Then, the system will take control."
"Eh?"
Yukine warily sighed as he got up once again.
This time he forced himself to be calmer.
Once the urgency to strike was eased, his mind focused on the basics and when he finally built some faith over the system, his sword hummed with silver light.
This time his moves were drastically different, confident and precise as he lightly kicked the ground and lunged at the hound. The obsidian blade severed the beast's head in a single strike.
"Woah!" Yukine exclaimed in amazement.
"Congratulations but just so you know," Azuma chuckled, "The hounds are the weakest creature of Abyss."
The sky and the sun faded as the virtual world was closed. What remained was a vast empty room with dreary grey walls.
Yukine widened his eyes, "No way."
"It's all cool as long as the seekers don't wildly swing their swords like a chopper."
Azuma laughed and after a solemn sigh, Yukine joined in as well.
But both of their joy was somewhat forced. Yukine was a young seeker with little experience and a lot to learn.
Azuma knew how Yukine felt.
It has to be hard.
But still, Azuma was ready to give up anything if it meant being in the young seeker's place.
They both were around the same age, but while Yukine was selected to be a seeker, Azuma was not even allowed to hold a gun.
Those who were like him were bound by restrictions.
Azuma sighed, it was futile to think about that. Those thoughts always brought unpleasant memories.
He had already lost his chance to become a seeker when he was taken out from militia training three years ago.
The life for him carried few choices after that.
And so, Azuma ended up being a part of the research assistant team.
This restricted his dream to be a seeker but couldn't stop the 'training'.
Azuma became a beta tester for many technologies and upgrades under the largest, and only, multi research organisation called Genesis.
He was one of the first few to have their ass kicked by the AR abyssal beasts, to break into constant laughs then hiccupping because of a system glitch, and to fall asleep for a week.
He was also a part of the beta testers who used the beta versions of combat skillsets.
When he thought back about that, Azuma was not sure whether to laugh or cry.
Someone has mistakenly installed the wrong skill set in his system one time. So when the 'flying serpent' came after him, Azuma was ready with his dagger.
But the system registered that stance for a different skillset.
He had no idea why that set was there, but it made him break into Zumba—stretching his arms and moving his bum— as the hissing creature slammed onto him.
Azuma dislocated his shoulder as a result.
However, in best-case scenarios, Azuma acquired quite some useful skills. He was proud of his combat. If someone were to taste his cooking, Azuma was sure nine out of ten would praise it.
Juggling, moonwalk, cheesy pick-up lines… the list of random things he excelled in was long.
The only downside was that he had almost broken every bone of his body as a result.
Oh, but there was good money in being a beta tester at Genosis…If one is able to secure enough beta tests.
But that was a hard thing to do.
In recent years, too many people have been unable to go deeper inside the abyss and a lot of them sought work in the field of beta testing.
As a result, Azuma was now part of one of the highest paying jobs but despite the painful ordeal he went through, Azuma was pretty much broke.
Yukine watched as the crease in Azuma's smile faded, crossed by worry. But before he was about to ask what happened, traces of smile returned. Then Azuma frowned and finally a silly smile curled his lips.
'But I can still eat ramen every day so I am not really broke!' Azuma assured himself.
'This dude is surely living in his own mind,' Yukine thought.
They entered a long corridor.
Monochromatic grey walls stretched on the left side, but on the right, there were large glass windows that revealed the darkening skies.
Both Yukine and Azume were brought out of their thoughts when they saw the dense clouds hovering in the distance. They sparked with silent lightning and surged with thunder.
The dreadful darkness softly swirled above the vast mouth of Abyss, tinged with an eerie purple glow and rumbling from the screeches of the monsters that dwelled within.
Azuma averted his gaze, a heaviness settling inside.
It was the day when everything ended and began.