I remember the noise first, shouting here, shouting there. A constant storm of voices filled my small ears and never seemed to stop. Even as a child, I knew something was terribly wrong.
My name is Xeno. I was born in the Waste Land, a barren place that was once called the Light Kingdom. It used to be a land of strength and honor, famous for its legendary martial art known as Light Fist. Those days, however, are long gone.
Now the world is ruled by five great kingdoms, the Dark Kingdom, the Mage Kingdom, the Knight Kingdom, the Monk Kingdom, and the Light Kingdom. Only four of them remain strong, while smaller groups struggle to survive in the shadows.
Five hundred years ago, the Knight Kingdom destroyed the Light Kingdom without mercy. They spared no one. Every member of the Light people was wiped out. The Light Kingdom once possessed the strongest military in the world, which was why no one dared to make them an enemy, until the Knight Kingdom did.
There exists an international law that forbids kingdoms from interfering in the wars of others. No kingdom has the right to choose a side. Yet even this law could not prevent the conflict that began when a mysterious dungeon appeared on the border between Chapter 1: The Fall of Light Kingdom
From the moment my eyes first opened, I knew something was wrong.
The world around me was not gentle. It was filled with shouting, voices raised in anger, pain, and despair. Those were the sounds my small ears learned to recognize before I could even speak or stand. In those early days, I thought such noise was normal, because it was all I had ever known.
I am Xeno.
I was born in a place called the Waste Land, a barren region that once bore the proud name Light Kingdom. But that kingdom no longer exists, it was erased, crushed under the iron rule of the Knight Kingdom five centuries ago.
Before its fall, the Light Kingdom was famed for its martial art known as Light Fist, a discipline of grace, power, and balance. The warriors of Light Fist could command mana with incredible precision, making them the strongest military force in the world.
The world feared the Light Kingdom. None wished to face its warriors in battle.
The world feared it, until it was destroyed.
The five great kingdoms ruled the world: Dark Kingdom, Mage Kingdom, Knight Kingdom, Monk Kingdom, and Light Kingdom. But after the fall of the Light Kingdom, only four remained, the Knight Kingdom growing ever stronger, and the others splintered into smaller factions.
It is forbidden by international law for any kingdom to interfere in the wars of others. They are to remain neutral, with no right to pick sides. But the Knight Kingdom broke that law when they declared war on the Light Kingdom.
A mysterious dungeon appeared on the border between the two kingdoms. This dungeon was different, half of it lay on the Knight side, half on the Light. Both kingdoms argued fiercely over who should claim its treasures.
After several days, they reached a fragile agreement to split the loot.
But peace was a lie.
When both kingdoms ventured inside the dungeon, the air grew heavy with mana, and the sense of danger pressed down on them like a weight. The dungeon was filled with terrible creatures, ghouls with hollow eyes and sharp claws, monstrous beasts that crawled from the shadows, and deadly traps designed to test the bravest of warriors.
Together, the two armies fought side by side, battling the relentless monsters. The Light Fist warriors moved with graceful precision, their fists glowing with brilliant light as they crushed their enemies. The Knight soldiers struck with brutal force, their blades cutting through flesh and bone.
But the uneasy alliance was shattered in an instant.
Without warning, the Knight Kingdom's soldiers turned on the Light Kingdom's forces. They betrayed their comrades, attacking with fierce determination. Mages cast powerful spells to trap and isolate the Light warriors.
The Light Kingdom's forces fought back with honor and discipline, but the betrayal was devastating. The dungeon seemed to respond to the bloodshed, and from the walls emerged even more terrifying monsters, twisted and hungry.
In the chaos, the massive dungeon door pulsed with mana, beginning to open slowly.
The Knight commander ordered a brutal retreat, leaving many behind. The Light Kingdom was slaughtered. No one survived to tell the truth.
Only lies remained, lies that painted the Light Kingdom as traitors who broke the pact and attacked first.
This is the world I was born into, a world that denies the truth and holds hatred for my people.
I am Xeno, and my story begins in the ashes of a forgotten kingdom.