This world used to be normal. About a thousand years ago, people lived simple lives, no monsters, no portals, just the usual daily chaos.
If you looked back at old records, real old stuff, they said humans back then worried about things like rising gas prices, cracked phone screens, and whether or not their favorite show got canceled.
Imagine fearing a Wi-Fi outage more than a six-legged death beast. Simpler times.
Back then, some still believed in gods. Statues, temples, old texts. But most didn't.
By 2025, a lot of people considered religion more of a background detail. Life was loud, busy, and everyone thought they had time.
But that changed.
One day, gods and divine beings were said to have disappeared.
Most people didn't even notice. A few scholars mentioned it. Some cults panicked. But the majority didn't care. The world moved on.
Until it didn't.
Portals started appearing. In cities, in the middle of roads, in fields and oceans.
They cracked open the air like glass, spewing out creatures no one could understand, monsters with claws, fangs, and forms not even nightmares could design properly.
Humans weren't ready. The death toll was massive. Entire countries fell. Nearly 80% of the population was gone within a matter of months. Cities became graves.
The chaos only slowed when people began to change.
Abilities awakened in survivors. Powers that bent nature, light, shadow, even people.
People started calling it divine blood. Some believed they were descendants of gods, chosen to fight. Others said the gods were showing mercy.
And then there were those who refused to believe at all, claiming it was just mutation, evolution responding to extinction.
No one had the right answer.
But honestly, no one cared anymore. What mattered was that they could finally fight back.
From the ruins, a group rose.
A small organization that quickly grew in power, Sentinel Global Hunters.
Said to be founded by some of the first awakened, they started reclaiming land, destroying monsters, and building new cities around the ruins of old ones.
They didn't save the world entirely.
But they stopped it from dying.
Thus, the world slowly began to rebuild.
But unlike what some might expect, it never went back to how it once was. More cities didn't rise from the ground like miracles. Instead, the surviving ones were rebuilt with constant surveillance. Even now, a thousand years later, the ruins of the old world still remain.
Abandoned skyscrapers, flooded highways, and entire zones left to rot.
While the population grew again, and society found a way to keep moving, the damage was never fully undone.
Some say overseas, lands exist just like this, safe zones surrounded by danger. No one's sure how many. Communication between regions is limited, and most people never leave their continent.
One thing became clear over time: power ruled all.
In the chaos of the early years, when Hunters began to rise, so did imbalance.
Those without divine blood were left behind. Protection came with a price. Opportunities disappeared for the ordinary.
About nine hundred years ago, something dark happened, something everyone still remembers, even if no one talks about it in detail. It's just known.
Hunters had abused their strength, ruled without consequence, and the results were brutal.
But eventually, change came. Systems were built. Authority was shared, or at least, presented that way. Now, everyone is "equal." But the truth was money, bloodlines, and power still decide everything.
And at the center of this system stood one of the most important structures in the world: the colleges.
Specifically, divine blood academies.
They were built to train the next generation of Hunters, to teach those with awakened divine blood how to control their powers, how to fight, and how to survive. And among them, Eclipses Academy was at the top.
It was said that Eclipses Academy was structured more like a military school than a traditional one.
Discipline, combat training, survival drills, and harsh evaluations were all part of the daily routine. It wasn't just a place to study, it was a place to be shaped.
But of course it also taught other stuff.
Over the centuries, it had produced some of the most well-known divine blood carriers in the world.
Hunters who had changed the course of battles, founded cities, and led major campaigns against monster outbreaks. Their statues stood in fortified capital. Their names were written in history.
Naturally, it became the dream of anyone born with divine blood in this city. Getting accepted into Eclipses was seen as a mark of legitimacy, a promise of future strength, and, for some, a path to fame or influence.
But divine blood alone didn't make someone a warrior.
Abilities varied, some gained powers tied to combat, others didn't. One person might summon blades from thin air, while another could talk to plants or change the color of water. Not everyone was meant for the frontlines.
Some students trained to be support units, healers, strategists, or researchers. Still, there was pressure. If you had divine blood, people expected strength. Expected you to become a Hunter. To fight.
Not everyone could meet those expectations.
Most of the time, those who couldn't become Hunters ended up taking regular jobs.
Their abilities, while not suited for combat, often made everyday tasks easier, heating, cooling, lifting, building, even cleaning.
Employers sought them out more than ever. A divine blood carrier with a practical skill was seen as efficient, valuable, and worth the hire.
This shift caused tension. Normal people, those without any divine blood, began to feel pushed aside.
They accused carriers of taking jobs, dominating industries, and widening the gap even further.
Still, the world moved on. People adapted, complained, adjusted. Cities kept growing, portals kept opening, and Hunters kept fighting. Life didn't stop.
It just kept moving the way it always had, forward, whether people liked it or not.