Chapter 1 - 0. The World We Live In
[When Celestial War occurred, the universe was engulfed in a storm of miasma; the leftover of God's clashing power. The storm of miasma created a phenomenon where interdimensional tunnels emerged in the worlds, including the Earth where we lived. The tunnels appeared in the form of portals connected to interdimensional planes we called dungeons. On the other side of these planes, various creatures made of accumulations of miasma will come pouring out once the portal is breached. Not only that, but being from another dimension can also use the dungeons and portals to invade Earth.
During the first appearance of dungeons, humanity was not equipped with a means to counter these miasmic creatures, and a phenomenon called dungeon breaks was occurring throughout the world. Humanity lost about eighty per cent of its population and territory to the miasmic beasts...
(excerpt from the World History - Age of Apocalypse)]
"Gods wage war and humanity suffered," a low voice flowed from the rooftop of a three-stories residential building. It sounded muffled, for it came behind a thick black filtering mask covering the mouth of a man.
The blue eyes, clear despite the murky air of the red-zone, continued tracing the paper in his hand. It was a leaflet from a museum, printed on a glossy, thick paper—obviously not something available in this god-forsaken land.
[Seeing the suffering of the world, the Celestial Being bestowed power upon humanity, sending down Towers and Temples that granted abilities to the chosen ones. With the birth of Espers, and the support of Guides, humanity was able to gain the lost land and established the New Age, where we could live peacefully in—]
*crunch*
The man crushed the leaflet in his hand into a ball, frowning in apparent distastes. "Peaceful my ass!" he grumbled lowly. Whoever wrote this piece of garbage definitely never set foot inside the red-zone.
Simply by looking around, he could see the spread of dilapidated house that was too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter, the only two seasons one could expect in the area. The ground was dark and cracked dry, and the air was so toxic people had to wear filtering mask. Unless they were Espers, of course.
But not even sane Espers would willingly live in the red-zone. Not unless they were insane or up to no good. Or both. Usually both.
"And what with 'bestow' as if they are doing some kind of charity? They are the ones who messed up the world in the first place!" he raised his hand to throw the balled-up papers, only to pause and put his hand down again.