[Year: 1980][Location: An Undisclosed Monastery, Japan]

The winds howled through the desolate temple, carrying with them the whispers of something unnatural. The room was dimly lit, a circle of candles flickering violently as if resisting the power that threatened to engulf them.

In the center stood five figures, their faces hidden beneath tattered hoods, surrounding a massive stone tablet that pulsed with an eerie blue glow. Inscribed upon it were ancient markings, pulsating as though alive.

One of the figures stepped forward, his voice calm but heavy with authority.

"Tonight... we rewrite fate."

Another scoffed, his voice sharper, filled with impatience.

"Spare the theatrics, Master Renzou. We all know why we're here."

Renzou's gaze lingered on the tablet. "Do we?" he murmured. "Do you truly understand what it means to force open the gate?"

A third voice, softer yet filled with unshaken resolve, spoke from the shadows.

"The Life Scale keeps us separated... humans and spirits. But if we succeed tonight, we will ascend. We will become more than human."

A tense silence followed.

Then, the fourth figure—a woman—spoke, her voice laced with reverence.

"The spirit world holds power beyond imagination. The monks of old feared it, but we..." she stepped closer to the tablet, her hands trembling, "...we will wield it."

The fifth figure remained silent, his hands gripping a ritual dagger. He had no words—only conviction.

Renzou exhaled, closing his eyes. "Then let it begin."

He raised his hands, and as he did, the markings on the tablet flared to life, their glow intensifying.

The others followed suit, chanting in unison—

A language long forgotten, forbidden.

Then—

Crack.

A single fracture split across the surface of the tablet.

The candles snuffed out instantly.

The air turned heavy, as if the entire temple had sunk into an ocean of pressure. The silence that followed was suffocating.

Then—

A scream.

Not human. Not of this world.

The room erupted in an explosion of dark energy, sending the five figures flying across the temple. The stone tablet shattered, and from its broken remains, a black mist began to seep out, twisting, growing—alive.

Eyes.Dozens of them.Opening within the mist.

The first spirits had emerged.

Renzou, coughing blood, tried to push himself up. His voice was weak, filled with horror.

"What... have we done?"

But there was no answer.

Only the sound of laughter—low, inhuman, endless.

And thus, the first crack in the Life Scale was made.

The wo

rld would never be the same again.