Night settled gently over Hoshigawa.
The last lanterns dimmed. The warmth of laughter faded into quiet breathing.
Arata stood at the doorway, watching as the children disappeared down the hall.
"Alright," he said softly, smiling,
"bedtime. Don't sneak out."
A chorus of sleepy protests answered him, followed by doors closing one by one.
Silence returned.
Arata stepped outside.
The camera lingered on the sky—
a vast canvas of stars, the moon hanging low, clouds drifting like slow tides.
Peaceful.
When the view returned to the spot where Arata stood—
He was gone.
Far away from Arkion, Virelia, and Karveth—
On a continent long ignored by humanity—
Orpheus.
A land where maps blurred and history refused to settle.
Arata walked through a forest where trees towered like ancient titans, their roots thicker than city walls. Giant monsters prowled between the shadows—beasts that could flatten armies, creatures humanity's rankers had never catalogued.
None dared approach him.
They felt him.
Arata reached the edge of a cliff and stopped.
Below was nothing but darkness.
He peered down and spoke to himself.
"For this to be more fun… I'll need different types of monster blood."
He tilted his head, considering.
"I won't create anything from scratch. That would be too hard on Kaelen and the rankers."
A pause.
"So I'll cross-breed them instead."
His eyes glinted.
"Blood, time acceleration… controlled mutation."
The implications echoed through the future.
"That would mean entirely new species," he mused,
"with mixed abilities. Unpredictable growth paths."
A smile curved his lips.
"…That sounds perfect."
And without hesitation—
Arata stepped forward and jumped.
Long before circuits became common.
Before academies.
Before rankings.
Before dungeons.
Humanity had already ruled Kael'Ar.
The First Humans walked the soil when the world was young. Their civilization surpassed anything that existed now—cities aligned with ley structures, bodies harmonized perfectly with circuits.
Their power was not explosive.
It was efficient.
They did not activate circuits.
They lived in them.
Dragons and humans shared the skies and land under ancient pacts. War was rare. Understanding was not.
But time eroded everything.
Bloodlines diluted.
Knowledge fractured.
Power diminished.
The age of greatness faded into myth.
From that era came legends known as—
The First Circuit Beings.
Entities who existed in permanent circuit embodiment.
Beings like John.
Beings like Alzwalt.
From that age also came two circuits so rare they bordered on impossibility.
The Soul Circuit—
a fragment of the Creator's own circuit, capable of touching matter, position, and existence itself.
And the Koketsu—
the left-eye circuit of judgment and inevitability.
Even in the First Era, they were spoken of in whispers.
Across all history—
Only two individuals ever possessed both.
Evion Vok Magnolia.
And—
Arata Kurogane.
Arata landed.
The impact made no sound.
The bottom of the cliff was shrouded in thick, black miasma. Bones littered the ground—
dragons.
giants.
beasts with forms no longer recorded.
Humans who never saw sunlight again after the end of the First Circuit Era.
The air was heavy with forgotten divinity.
Arata looked around calmly.
"…So this is it."
He smiled.
"The land of dead gods."
The miasma churned.
Ancient remains stirred.
And Arata spoke softly, as if announcing the opening of a curtain.
"Once this is done—"
"The Era of Dungeons will truly begin."