Tatsuya stood in the center of a dimly lit room, the only light coming from a flickering candle on an old wooden table. Everything around him felt cold and desolate, as though the darkness itself was slowly consuming the space. The wind howled through the cracked window, causing the tattered curtains to sway, their movement creating eerie whispers that seemed to echo in the silence.
Day after day, Tatsuya carried out the same meaningless tasks. He was nothing more than a laborer, a mere monster corpse cleaner. His ability to haul the heavy bodies of fallen beasts with ease came from his A-ranked power, "Comprehensive Development." Every year, his strength grew without the need for training, yet he never discovered any other purpose for it. His life had become a series of endless, monotonous days, each blending into the next without meaning or direction. "Comprehensive Development"—the name sounded grand, but it was nothing more than a joke to others. Every year he grew stronger, yet this strength could not save him from the growing void in his heart.
Tatsuya stared into the dim flame, watching as it struggled to maintain its light. Its faint glow barely held back the shadows that filled his small, shabby room, let alone the darkness that lurked within his soul. A sense of suffocation pressed down on him, an invisible weight that made it hard to breathe. He had once dreamed of being like the three legendary heroes of history. Eclipse, with his Eternal Shadow (S-Rank), who could manipulate darkness itself, forging it into shields, weapons, or deadly blades from afar. He thrived in the night, for daylight weakened his powers. Then there was Hayato, who wielded the Divine Blade Art (A-Rank), a power that allowed him to turn anything into a sword, capable of slicing through anything. Though this ability drained him greatly, a mysterious figure had once taught him how to overcome this weakness, allowing Hayato to become one of the legendary three. Lastly, there was Bloodreaver, with his Blood Blade (S-Rank), capable of controlling others through their blood, absorbing it to grow stronger, though he often teetered on the edge of madness. Each hero fought alone for their own reasons, and then one fateful night, they vanished without a trace. Their disappearance left a power vacuum that many sought to fill, and now, a new shadowy cabal had emerged.
Tatsuya knew little about this mysterious group, but rumors spread like wildfire. The nameless order was known only as the "Faceless Shades." These figures appeared from the void, leaving destruction in their wake. Some claimed they possessed powers far beyond mortal comprehension, and those who dared to oppose them disappeared without a trace. Whispers even said that the Faceless Shades were the reason the three legendary heroes vanished that night.
Tatsuya didn't want to believe the rumors, yet an invisible dread began to form in his heart. He couldn't help but wonder if he, too, was destined to fall into their grasp. Night after night, he lay awake, thoughts spiraling through his mind, questioning why he remained here, why he continued to live in this meaningless world. The memories of the three great heroes grew fainter with each passing day, as if they were nothing more than distant shadows from a long-forgotten dream.
Tatsuya glanced down at his hands. These hands, strong and capable, had lifted and carried the lifeless bodies of monsters thousands of times, yet they had never touched anything more than cold, empty flesh. In the depths of his heart, a question began to take root: Was there more to his power than this endless cycle of corpse cleanup? Could there be a true purpose to his life?
Each time his thoughts wandered down this path, Tatsuya would gaze at the faint light of the candle in his room. It symbolized the small hope that still flickered within him, a fragile flame he desperately wanted to protect. But with the rise of the Faceless Shades, he feared even that tiny spark might soon be swallowed by the overwhelming darkness.
Tatsuya didn't know what to do. He wasn't one of the legendary heroes, and he lacked the strength to confront a shadowy organization like the Faceless Shades. Yet, a part of him—an indomitable, unyielding part—refused to surrender. He decided to learn more about these Faceless Shades, even if doing so might draw him into the spiral of danger that had claimed so many before him.
He stood up and walked to the window, gazing out into the pitch-black night. He knew the road ahead would be fraught with peril, but he also knew he couldn't continue living in this endless void. The fire within his soul, though small, still burned. Perhaps the only way to find the answers he had been searching for was to face the darkness and reclaim the light that had long been lost to him.
Tatsuya understood that if he didn't learn to control the darkness growing inside him, he could become something far worse than the monsters he feared and despised. But in a world filled with treachery and danger, trust was a rare commodity. Even his closest friends had begun to distance themselves, frightened by the changes they saw in his eyes, by the shadows that seemed to cling to him.
With each step forward, Tatsuya ventured deeper into the abyss. He realized that the world wasn't just manipulated by external forces, but by the demons lurking within the hearts of men. And to defeat them, he would have to become part of the darkness himself, without allowing it to consume him.
He sighed deeply, feeling the chill of the night wind slipping through the cracks of the window. Tatsuya knew he stood at a crossroads, a point of no return. The Faceless Shades were not just an external threat; they were a reflection of the despair that haunted him, a manifestation of his deepest fears and doubts. To overcome them, he would have to confront not just the darkness outside but the darkness within.
Tatsuya turned away from the window and took one last look at his meager room. The shadows still lingered, but something had shifted within him. "If this world is one filled with shadows," Tatsuya whispered to himself, "then I will become the fire to light the way."
With newfound resolve, Tatsuya stepped out of his room and into the silent streets. He didn't know what awaited him, but he knew there was no turning back. No longer just a corpse cleaner, Tatsuya had become a seeker of purpose, a lone flame in a sea of darkness. And in that darkness, he would find the light he had lost so long ago.
The path ahead would be long and treacherous, but Tatsuya was ready. He was not just fighting to survive—he was fighting to uncover the truth in a world that seemed to have forgotten hope. And perhaps, only by facing the deepest shadows, could he ignite the true flame that burned within him—a flame powerful enough to illuminate this darkened world.