"Who dares to awaken the Sacred Source?"
The thunderous voice boomed again, vibrating through the cosmic void. Kuro tried to speak, to call out, but he no longer had a voice or form. He was just a silent, bodiless observer amongst the stars.
A presence weighed down on him, dense and heavy like a collapsing neutron star. The vastness seemed to fold in on itself until a shape began to coalesce before him, formed from the dust of galaxies and glow of nebulae. It shifted and solidified, the outline of a hooded figure appearing floating in the void. Its face was lost in shadows, but burning eyes peered out at Kuro.
"You do not belong here, mortal," the entity intoned. "Who has brought you to this sacred place?"
Somehow, Kuro found himself able to speak again, though his voice sounded small and frail against the cosmic expanse. "I don't know how I got here," he said. "There was a flash of light in the forest, and then I was...here."
The hooded figure regarded him silently for a long moment. Then the crushing pressure lifted as quickly as it had come. "Come," the voice boomed, already beginning to fade. "There is much you must know."
The stars swirled around Kuro in a dizzying cyclone until he found himself again standing within the silver dome. Only now its interior was no longer seamless metal. He stood in a vast chamber with soaring arched ceilings held aloft by carved pillars. Every inch was engraved with swirling alien designs and glyphs that hurt Kuro's eyes to look upon.
At the room's center floated a massive crystal easily the size of a bus, gleaming blood red and rippling with inner light. The hooded figure stood before it, facing away from Kuro.
"Behold, mortal. You stand in the heart of the Sacred Source."
Kuro cautiously approached the towering crystal. Its light seemed to pulse hypnotically in time with his own heartbeat. "What is this thing? And who are you?"
The figure turned, finally lowering his hood. Beneath was the weathered face of an old man with a long white beard, yet his eyes simmered with ancient power. "I am the Guardian. And the Sacred Source is older than your mortal realm itself. It is the seed from which the great Tree of Worlds grows."
Kuro's legs felt unsteady. "Tree of Worlds? I don't understand. How did I get here? Why me?"
"The Sacred Source calls out to those it deems worthy," rumbled the Guardian. "Every millennium, when the Alignment draws near, it selects a champion to bear its light against the coming darkness."
Kuro stared at the pulsing crystal. The power radiating from it pressed against his mind, whispering secrets just beyond his comprehension. "What alignment? What's so special about me?"
The Guardian waved his hand, and the crystal's surface shimmered to reveal images within. Kuro saw armies clashing, rending the earth itself asunder. He saw a great shadow falling over the land, blotting out the sun. He saw hordes of hideous demons spilling from a black rift, bringing carnage in their wake.
"The Alignment draws the mortal realm and the Chaos Realm dangerously close," said the Guardian. "The Sacred Source calls a worthy mortal to act as Champion, to stand against the demons when the Alignment peaks. Only the power of the Source can close the rifts and banish the Chaos."
The images shifted to show a lone warrior wreathed in light, driving back the shadowy hordes. Kuro realized with a start that the warrior's face was his own.
"Me?" he whispered. "But...I'm nobody. Just a regular high school student."
"Your soul shines bright," rumbled the Guardian. "The Source has called you to your destiny. Will you accept the mantle of Champion and defend your realm?"
Kuro's mind reeled. Just this morning his biggest concern had been passing geometry class. But his gut churned at the thought of hordes of demons overrunning the mortal world, slaughtering countless innocents while he did nothing.
He took a deep breath and lifted his chin. "I'll do it."
The crystal flared brighter in response. The Guardian nodded solemnly. "Then it is time for your training to begin."
Kuro had no idea what lay ahead. But with the blessing of the Sacred Source, he would find the power to stand against even the Chaos Realm. The Alignment was coming, and he had to be ready