From around six thousand years ago. A war broke out. The War of the Gods—a fight for conquest of no apparent reason. In Umi's era, it was common to have a hundred kings or more as nations were divided into small fragments of authority until there were only ten by this era.
Even Umi herself could not comprehend the purpose behind the war. Gods and mortals alike perished in unimaginable numbers, including many from her own kingdom who marched out to aid the battlefield. Yet despite the years of bloodshed, the conflict showed no signs of ending.
Long before she became a wandering ghost, Umi had simply been an ordinary young woman serving within the castle.
She walked quietly through the grand stone hallways while carrying a woven basket filled with food offerings and a vase of holy water meant for the gods. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, casting warm rays across the polished floor.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor.
"Don't run in the hall, Rusa," Umi said gently as she lowered herself to stop the small boy rushing toward her.
"Big sis!" Rusa beamed excitedly. "I got a new power! Water magic!"
Umi's eyes widened slightly before a soft smile appeared on her face.
"That's wonderful news, Rusa." She lightly tapped his forehead afterward. "But running in the halls still isn't."
Back then, the mysterious force known as the "Systems" still existed openly throughout the world. No one truly understood its origin, yet it continued granting strange powers to both mortals and gods alike.
"I wonder… if this magic can help me protect the kingdom someday."
Rusa looked down at his small hands with excitement and uncertainty mixed in his eyes. Tiny droplets of water floated around his fingers before splashing harmlessly onto the floor.
Umi smiled warmly at him.
"I'm sure it can. Magic exists for many reasons, so all you can do is try your best, okay?" She gently patted his head. "Keep training hard and maybe one day I'll call you my hero."
A bright grin immediately spread across Rusa's face.
"Thank you, big sis!"
Without another word, he dashed away once again, completely ignoring her earlier warning about running in the halls as he hurried off to meet his friends.
Umi could only wave goodbye with a helpless sigh and a faint laugh.
"Kids really never listen…"
She adjusted the basket in her arms before continuing down the quiet corridor toward the shrine chamber.
When she finally arrived, she noticed her father already standing there in silence, his eyes fixed upon an ancient carved wall covered in faded symbols and stories from long ago.
The atmosphere felt calm and sacred.
Umi carefully set the basket down before kneeling beside the statue, gently arranging the food offerings and holy water before it.
"Umi, do you see it?" her father asked quietly while facing the ancient wall.
"Yes, Father." Umi let out a small sigh as her eyes wandered across the countless strange carvings etched into the stone. "It's just unclear writing without any clue of what it truly means."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Why must our kingdom protect an unknown tablet so desperately?"
Her father remained silent for a moment before gently placing his hand against the ancient carvings.
The old stone looked worn by time itself, yet the symbols engraved upon it still carried an eerie sense of importance.
"One day," he finally spoke, his voice calm and solemn, "when the destined person is finally born… someone will understand these words."
Umi quietly listened.
"This is no mere rumor. Even the king himself believes it." His gaze softened slightly. "This tablet is the pride of our kingdom. No matter what happens, we must never allow it to disappear."
The flickering candlelight illuminated the wall while his fingers traced the faded symbols carefully, almost reverently.
"It is a promise passed down from long ago," he continued. "For the sake of everyone in this kingdom… we must protect it."
Umi lowered her eyes thoughtfully.
"…What promise?" she asked softly.
"The kingdom's promise."
Her father turned toward her with a serious expression she rarely saw from him.
"One day, your children… and the descendants after them… will inherit this duty as well. No matter the era, this tablet must survive."
The chamber suddenly felt heavier with silence.
"Promise me, Umi." His voice became gentler. "Tell them this story when the time comes."
Umi looked once more at the mysterious carvings before quietly nodding.
"…Yes, Father."
Though she still did not understand the meaning behind the ancient tablet…
She accepted his wish nonetheless.
"Come visit our home later," Umi's father said as he turned away from the shrine chamber. "I have something to give you."
With that, he quietly left, leaving Umi alone with the offerings and the silent gaze of the ancient statue.
Curiosity lingered in her mind, but she continued the ritual as usual. She carefully poured the holy water, arranged the food offerings, and whispered prayers for the gods to bless and protect their kingdom from the endless war raging beyond their borders.
An hour later, after finishing everything, Umi finally returned home.
The kingdom remained peaceful on the surface. Merchants still sold goods, children still laughed in the streets, and smoke still rose calmly from household chimneys. Yet beneath that fragile tranquility lingered fear.
No one dared travel beyond the kingdom walls anymore.
The war outside had already consumed countless nations.
Umi gently opened the wooden door of her home and stepped inside. Her father was already waiting for her near the table.
Without saying much, he reached into a small box and handed her a strange orange stone.
The gem shimmered beautifully beneath the sunlight pouring through the window, glowing with an almost unnatural warmth.
"What is this?" Umi asked softly while examining it.
"Our family heirloom," her father answered simply.
Nothing more.
Even so, the seriousness in his expression made the gift feel far more important than he let on.
Umi carefully accepted the stone before storing it inside her System inventory. The glowing gem disappeared into particles of light.
Then suddenly—
"We're under attack!"
A terrified woman's scream echoed from outside.
More screams followed immediately after. Panic spread throughout the streets in an instant.
Umi and her father rushed toward the door.
Outside, chaos had already begun.
A wounded man rode desperately through the village while clutching his head in agony. An arrow had pierced straight through his chest, blood pouring endlessly down his body.
Moments later, he collapsed from the horse and hit the ground lifelessly.
The terrified horse neighed loudly before fleeing down the street on its own.
And in the distance…
The sound of war was approaching.
"Fire!" Then arrows with a torch on their tips, with an uncountable number of them, rained on their kingdom.
Umi was protected by her father as he tackled Umi and used himself as a shield from the fiery arrows.
"Run!" said her father, groaning in pain as the fire burned him internally.
All Umi could ever do was run and head straight to the castle. The knights of the kingdom guarded her as she went through the fire. The knights who were water mages used their water magic to clear her path. Thankfully, Umi was saved and was able to get in.
Battling against the intruder after she got in, they were ultimately defeated easily. She frantically ran for her life and went to the king's castle. Once she was there, the knights brandished their weapons, guarding the door with a quickened heart beat. However, they were killed instantly after the intruders bashed the door explosively.
Umi tripped from the shock wave and crawled backwards as she saw her people's lives were mercilessly taken away. "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" Unleashing her water magic to retaliate, was unfortunately had no effect on their shield.
The brave boy, Rusa, who wanted to save her used his water magic to prevent them from hurting Umi.
"NO, RUSA, GET OUT OF HERE!" Umi shouted at Rusa. "RUSAAAAAAA!"
Rusa tried to fend off the army by himself but it led to his demise as they teared his limbs apart with their blades and ended with his head.
Witnessed horror, Umi ran as fast as she could with her eyes swelled up in tears. However, she was halted by one of them who fired an arrow at her leg.
Before they could lay their swords on her throat, a man with a single command stopped them all from getting further to kill her. He came out with a horse strapped in heavy armor and fiery hair. He donned an obsidian purple armor with a large claymore behind his back.
He dismounted his horse and approached her. "Ah, such a shame. You're beautiful but your uses are different." He pulled her hair as his eyes were close to her glares. "Take her away." He commanded his knights.
The knights carried her away and as they went outside, she was splashed with the blood of her family, friends, and sisters... "Aagggggggghhhhh" her screams displayed pain, they were brutal and immoral, none of them were guilty but faced with unfairness. None of them survived their brutality, severed heads, crushed bodies, burnt fleshes. None.
The man only kept 29 hostages and brought them to the cave where the carved wall was there. "The ancient writing... This damned remnants left me curious, spreading across the twelve lands, and yet none know its true origins..." The man brushed the wall softly.
"Anyone... Has any idea what this meant. Keep your audacity to fool me, I've been lied before but it ended quite... Unsightly." Sweats dropped, all of them were laid silent. Even if he told them to translate the ancient writing, none of them answered. No one knew behind the meaning, only their ancestors know.
He kicked them, tortured them, and tormented them until their mental was destroyed but still left with no answer. He wanted to know what it meant and to clear his curiosity, the writings held the "truth" and an answer from what he heard, according to the man.
"You, girl! Answer me! What is the meaning of this wall!" Angered by all their disobedience to tell him, he next pointed Umi. Grabbing her hair with his eyes flared after his curiosity unsatisfied.
"Like hell, I'm telling you!"
"Fine, these people or your mouth?" The man soon made a trade of which their life would be taken or she would speak. However, his threat was just a small price for their only purpose was to protect the wall, but never understood the meaning.
"Screw you!" That was all she answered. even though she didn't know what it meant. All of the people said knew that it would just be useless to tell him for they didn't even know the true origins, however, the man didn't believe them.
"Insolent! All of you!"
With his heavy claymore, he swung so fast that the wind decapitated their heads instantly. She grunted madly as she tried to kick him, even with his armor plate.
"Useless... I will punish you all for wasting my time! For eternity you shall know pain!" Underneath the man's foot, shrouded with ominous purple circle warping the whole ground.
[SOUL MAGIC: SOUL PRISON]
The magic beneath his feet would devour all of the kingdom and snatch the souls of the dead from going anywhere. Until all of them were trapped inside a gourd with a paper seal attached.
"Your defiance will be your regret!" He slit her throat, and she died painfully.
After her death, the man mounted back his horse together with his army to travel to another kingdom. Her kingdom was painted red and human remnants, became his most unspeakable actions.
Two days later, after she died, she was awakened and became a ghost while also being stuck in an unknown barrier. Her soul, unlike the rest of her people, she was trapped in an endless sorrow of screams while her soul remained in a cage. She couldn't escape. If she wanted to escape, she would get electrocuted by unknown red electricity.
Hearing those voices of agony from her people and family. She closed her ears each time they screamed but was for naught as it just kept getting louder and louder. Her lips trembled as she wrapped her knees in her arms. Years after years, the scream wouldn't stop, she also noticed that the cave slowly became a dungeon since there was a red crystal, summoning monsters, and gradually formed a temple. She couldn't even destroy the crystal...
Many years later, her kingdom was drowned by an immense tsunami that made the whole kingdom go underwater. That was the time when the cave became a sea dungeon. She walked and walked while hearing their screams, ignoring them was impossible. She gazed at them full of tears as she couldn't stand it anymore, they kept screaming endlessly.
No one could hear her voice, and she almost lost hope. She kept singing and singing until someone arrived. She sang for thousands of years without anyone hearing her. Years after years that drove her insane without giving up on her singing, still continuously hoping for someone's arrival. No matter what, she always believed that she could help all of her people.
"La♪ La♪ La♪ Oh Savior... Can you hear us now? Our voice beneath the sea? For us, have been trapped, in the endless loop, beneath the sea. Heed my call, oh savior. Please, save our souls, oh Savior." Her voice echoed around the cave, trying to call for help. Her song was simple but it had deep emotions and tones.
She kept singing and singing, but no one came to her, and that was until she met Akira. She sobbed and cried as hard as she could.
"Thank you... Thank you..." All those years of pain was finally answered, she couldn't even stop those long awaited moment so her tears would burst. She thanked him again and again as she wrapped her arms around herself, trembling as her head hung low.
Akira looked down, saddened by her story. "Hey... it's alright now... You're safe so is your people..." Akira tried to calm her down and tried to make her forget about the past and move on, after which they were finally free.
She tried to wipe her tears but she couldn't. Even after 6 minutes later, she stopped and calmed down with her tears still in her eyes.
Before fading away, she asked Akira to do one last favor for her. And this favor was also part of her revenge. Her body fading away slowly as her toes were gone. It was her last message...