Approximately 20 years ago...
The darkness lived in Kathaya's heart, within the hexagonal structure named after Alba Dien Vor—a place of rituals, blasphemies, and curses.
Here, fire was forbidden, as the air was scarce, and a whisper could travel from one room to the next five. It made everyone who lived there instinctively tread softly, even though the only dangers in that place were the brothers and sisters who worked The Forge.
They called it such even though it wasn't used to make weapons.
Instead, it was a place to continuously test a mortal's limits, forcibly pushing them over the edge while keeping them alive. The mental, physical and spiritual pain was so severe that its victims felt as if they were being melted into a weapon.
This was the very place where Haruki's memories first began.
