Chapter 1: A long day
The world was a vastly different place after the Great Catastrophe the descent of the shackle spell. The once-blue skies were now a perpetual grey, and the air was thick with the hum of atmospheric processors.
Levi's eyes gazed blankly at the cold, metallic walls of his cell, his mind numb with the weight of his impending doom. His 16th name-day had passed just a fortnight ago, and now he was on the cusp of facing the dreaded Shackle. The very thought sent shivers down his spine.
A mysterious curse had befallen humanity, capturing the souls of young and old alike and shackling them to an otherworldly force. The phenomenon was known as the Shackle Spell, and its effects were as inexplicable as they were terrifying. Those afflicted by the curse would undergo a sudden and inexplicable change in their hair color, which would shift to a random hue – blue, white, green, or any other color imaginable.
As the curse took hold, the afflicted individual would begin to feel feverish and disoriented, their senses clouded by an unseen force. And then, on the fourth day, they would vanish. In their place, a monstrous creature would appear, a being of twisted flesh and dark power known as the Defiled.
Levi's own hair had begun to change three days ago, shifting from its natural brown to a stark, snowy white. He had felt the familiar symptoms of the curse – the fever, the dizziness, the creeping sense of dread. And now, as the fourth day dawned, Levi knew he was running out of time ,Hence Levi handed himself over to the government.
government.
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The sound of footsteps echoed outside his cell, growing louder with each passing moment. Levi's heart sank, and he knew that his time was almost up. The door to his cell slid open with a hiss, and a contingent of soldiers clad in sleek,black uniforms filed in.
Their leader,a tall, imposing figure with a grim expression, stepped forward. "Levi, it's time for you to face your first shackle.please follow me"
Levi didn't respond, his eyes fixed on the soldiers with a mixture of fear and defiance. He knew that resistance was pointless – the Shackle Spell was a death sentence, and he was merely delaying the inevitable.
The leader of the soldiers gazed at Levi with a mixture of pity and resignation as they walked through a narrow hallway. "Listen, kid. I'm going to give you some advice. Don't bother trying to survive in the Otherworld. You won't make it. You're a slum dweller, and you haven't received any training. The scions of the rich families in the cities have been trained from childhood to survive the Otherworld and the first shackle, but you... you're just a statistic."
Levi's eyes flashed with dispair, but the soldier's words cut true. He knew that he was just one of many, a mere pawn in a game of survival.He knew that for him and many like him this was going to be his last day.
Arriving in a medium sized room,the soldier's gaze swept the place, taking in the twelve other infected individuals who shared Levi's fate of facing the first shackle today. Everyone had their fist shackle four days after the symptoms appear and these young men and women coincidentally had their fourth day to be today. "All of you are infected, and all of you will be transported to Anotherworld to face your first shackle soon. Our job is to hold back the Defiled that will appear in your place until the Shackled warriors arrive to kill them."
Each day more and more people were being infected with the shackle spell and only a few willing hand themselves over to the government. A large number of newly infected also known as the fettered wouldn't give themselves to the government hence when they face the first shackle large numbers of the defiled roam the cities and slums as such it is the duty of the shackled warriors those who have survived their first shackle to protect lives and property as such they were thinly spread out. Hence why no shackled is here even though protocol demands there should be at least one here.
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The room fell silent, the only sound the soft hum of the atmospheric processors and the quiet sobbing of one of the infected girls. Levi felt a cold dread creeping up his spine as he realized that he was not alone in his fate. They were all doomed, and they all knew it.
As the soldiers closed in around them, Levi felt his strength begin to wane. His vision blurred, and his legs trembled beneath him. He knew he was on the cusp of losing consciousness, and he steeled himself for the end.
And then, in an instant, everything went black.
Levi's body crumpled to the floor, his white hair splayed out around him like a halo. The soldiers stood frozen, their guns still trained on the spot where Levi had fallen.
But they knew that Levi was gone, transported to another world or realm or whatever that place was by the Shackle Spell. And in his place, a monster would soon appear – a Defiled, twisted and corrupted by the dark energies of the Otherworld.
The soldiers steeled themselves for the battle to come, knowing that their mundane weapons and armor would be little match for the Defiled's twisted powers.they were afraid , their senses clouded by an unseen force. And they knew that the defiled to come was only the first of many.
The leader spoke in a grim and ominous tone"today is gonna a long day"