The world of Valora consists of three continents: the Human Land, the Anka Land, and the Ancestors' Island. The latter is a massive island situated directly between the two continents, serving as a vital link between them.
The island is covered with mountains, rivers, and forests. Despite being called an "island," it's the size of a continent. The Anka and the other races under their influence refer to it as the Ancestors' Island, believing that the spirits of their forebears reside within the Giant World Tree. This sacred tree also acts as the key to uncover the path leading to the hidden tombs of the founding kings.
On the other hand, humans call it the Black Wall Island due to the massive Black Wall Mountain at its borders. Given its enormity, the island holds an immense amount of natural resources, including herbs and minerals, as well as hidden ruins. This has made it an object of desire for humans, and when beliefs clash with interests, conflict becomes inevitable.
Conflicts breed wars, and wars breed animosities, perpetuating a cycle of battles for control over the island. Neither the anka faith wavers nor human ambitions cease. Amidst this chaos, a mystery remains unsolved in every war that has broken out. The Orias has always had the upper hand, yet those who seek truce always appear first, even if they offer significant concessions despite being the winning party. Of course, humans do not miss such opportunities; they feign peace but then betray.
For the first time in decades, the tables have turned, and humans managed to triumph and occupy the entire island. However, they did not exhibit the mercy that the Anka had shown them. They unleashed their beast, the Lord of Poisons known as the "Plague." He spread destruction and corruption, killing everything in its path. Even innocent children and elderly were not spared from its madness; it killed for the sake of pleasure.
In the end, magic turned against the magician, and the monster that humans created turned against its masters, poisoning them with the very venom they once glorified.
After a bloody war, the 'Plague' itself came to rule over the Ancestors' Island. Days passed, and neither humans forgot the treachery of the Plague after it wrested the island from their grasp, nor did the Anka forget their victims. Amidst this sea of enemies, the new king decided to form his own elite group of assassins. The best defense, after all, is a strong offense.
He gathered the strongest orphans around him, nurtured them, and personally honed their skills through his past experiments on humans. He succeeded in enhancing their abilities, forming a group of six young men who became his eyes for spying and his arms for striking down foes and anyone who dared to oppose him.
These young men, despite their remarkable skills, weren't the strongest in the world of Valora. However, they made a name for themselves with their focus on infiltrating enemy lands, sowing discord, and committing deceitful and treacherous killings, whether through poison or slitting throats while the victims slept. In short, they excelled in dirty deeds.
Among the six was a hybrid, half Anka and half human, born with an enviable body. He underwent numerous surgeries to enhance his physique and executed any mission assigned to him. He and his master, the 'Plague', became two sides of the same coin, and his name was 'The Sixth'.
At the western port of the island, a young man of a tanned complexion, in his twenties, stood with pointed ears. He wore black clothing and gazed at the passengers disembarking from a ship that had just arrived. As soon as he spotted someone he was looking for, he shouted:
"You there, the youngster!"
A red-skinned young man, with slightly red skin and black hair, responded by waving and disappeared, only to reappear right in front of the other with a smile on his face.
"The Second Brother, you've come to receive me yourself, Your Excellency."
The young man with pointed ears shot him a cold look. "The Sixth, cut out your nonsense and walk ahead of me. I'm here to make sure you've arrived at the headquarters on time. Also, don't utter the word 'brother' from your mouth."
The red-skinned young man pouted his lower lip like a child expressing sadness and reluctantly led the way, muttering under his breath.
"And here I was, thinking you missed me and came to greet me. Oh, you wicked people! Why do you refuse to be a family? Doesn't it bother you to address me by numbers?"
Before 'The Sixth' could finish his sentence, he felt a killing aura behind him. Before he could turn around, a sword had already pierced through his back. He heard a mocking laughter near his ear, "All these years, I've been wondering if you're stupid or just pretending. You call me your brother, bring me gifts, seek my advice, and no matter how much I deter you or insult you, you stick to me like glue, always clinging."
A thin red line escaped the young man's mouth as he weakly spoke, "It was the only way..."
Before 'The Second' could inquire about his words, his eyes widened as he saw his body transform into a black shadow before disappearing. "And they, but impossible, when did you fall under its influence?"
He felt something sharp pierce his back, and then he heard a whisper by his ear, "The gifts were the only way to keep you under my illusion. They all contained hidden magical circles. I mean, remember the moment when you absentmindedly stabbed me? Ironically, you stabbed me with my own gift. At least you could have chosen a different dagger."
'The Sixth' continued his sentence, pushing his knife to impale the other's back. Just as the blade was about to reach his spinal cord, the Second used a technique to harden his body, stopping the knife from penetrating further. He jumped back, away from the assailant's reach, while cursing and swearing, "You cursed one, you've been using your magic on me all this time. I know all your tricks, your legendary missions, and your killing of the Anka leaders. It's all nonsense. They are all alive. You betrayed us, and you betrayed our master."
"Betrayal, within our ranks, that word is meaningless. We are a group of assassins created to protect our insane leader, 'Plague'. Betrayal is a relative concept. Take, for example, when I informed 'The First' that his lover was killed by 'The Third'. He thanked me while 'The Third' called me a traitor."
As 'The Sixth' spoke, the young man with pointed ears smiled deviously and said, "I planned to kill 'The Third' too. My intuition never failed me. I never trusted you. But do you know what your killer's flaw is? You love to chat with your target. Thank you for giving me the time to recover and gather my strength." The Second released a maddening aura, enough to intimidate any opponent.
However, 'The Sixth's' expression remained unchanged. "Did you recover that quickly? I wanted to prolong the conversation further, but I won't be seeing you anymore. Regards to 'The Third'."
The body of 'The Second' had turned completely bronze, his face taking on a mocking expression. "Do you think you have a chance against me? Or will your poisoned dagger affect..."
Before he could finish his sentence, his vision became foggy. He felt weakness in his knees, and his eyes widened in disbelief at what was happening to his body. Could he have been poisoned? Impossible. Among us, the six, I am the most resistant to poisons.
"Impurities…" 'The Sixth' came explaining.
"It's the impurities accumulated in your body over the years. As you can see, the magical circles weren't the only thing present in the sword. The hilt of the sword also contained a poison that prevented your body from purging the impurities of the energy pills you've been consuming constantly."
In front of his eyes, he saw 'The Sixth' gesturing with the dagger he had stabbed him with earlier while continuing to explain, "This dagger doesn't contain poison; it's an antidote for the poison in your body. It will release all the impurities at once. Oh, the irony. The most resistant body to poisons will die from an antidote."
The eyes of 'The Second' stared hatefully at his killer, wondering how long he had been planning to kill him, how long he had been poisoning him. His killer, however, knew exactly what he was thinking.
"Don't look at me like that. The poison in the hilt of the sword wasn't meant to kill you or even hinder your training. I just took precautions. I knew very well that the leader wouldn't have sent you willingly. If anything, this is the result of your own actions."
The light dimmed from 'The Second's' eyes, and his breath started fading. He knew for certain that these were his last breaths, but he remained smiling. "It doesn't matter. I'll wait for you in hell, you cursed little devil. That's where we all end up in the end."
He responded, "Yes, you're right. I know you don't like being in the company of 'The Third.' Therefore, I won't prolong this any further by sending more of them."
At that moment, black shadows arrived, surrounding him.