CH 0: RAGNAROK ZERO

In the continent of Aezeir, destruction and chaos have engulfed the land. Demons, angels, and demi-humans slaughter the humans without mercy. Children and women are slain, their bodies impaled on stakes as grim warnings for all to see.

All of this came to pass because of the whims of the gods.

Eons ago, the eighteen gods watched over Aezeir and its people, the humans. They saw humanity’s true nature: the destruction they caused, the despair they spread, and the endless wars waged in pursuit of power. They witnessed their greed, lust, envy, gluttony, sloth, and pride. Disgusted by these sins, most of the gods decreed that humanity must be purged from existence.

However, six of the eighteen gods opposed this judgment. They believed not all humans were corrupt, that there were still those who prayed for forgiveness, who strove to live righteous lives despite the darkness around them. To these six, such humans were like stars shining through the endless night.

Thus, a great conflict arose among the gods. The heavens trembled as divine beings turned against one another. In the end, the six gods who believed in humanity’s potential were slain. Of the opposing twelve, nine perished in the war, and the final three were left so weakened that descending to the mortal realm is now impossible as their divinity has fallen tremendously after the battle.

But hatred festers easily. The three surviving gods who despised humanity were consumed by their resentment. In their wrath, they sought aid from another being, a Demon God, whose very existence was born from the desire to annihilate mankind.

Together, they formed an unholy alliance. Through the Demon God’s power, the three gods regained part of their lost strength. Though not at their former glory, they once again commanded legions of angels and valkyries to wage war upon humanity, while the Demon God unleashed his demon lords and their infernal armies to assist them.

The gods also rallied the demi-humans, who had long hidden since ancient times.

Because of this alliance, human civilization collapsed. Entire cities and kingdoms fell as humans faced beings they had never seen before. Death followed death, war followed war, an endless cycle of despair that ravaged the lands.

However, hope was not lost. The spirits of the six benevolent gods chose a young girl named Cateleya Constant, and she became one of humanity’s greatest hopes. Through her influence, kingdoms were united to stand against the forces of the evil gods and preserve a fragile balance.

Blessed with the power to bestow divine strength, Cateleya raised and selected children with great potential during her early days. From her guidance, many saints were born. For this reason, she came to be known as the Grand Saintess, the Saint of Saints, and the leader of all who bore the title of Saint.

Then,

A thousand years passed. From the ashes of ruin rose one of the greatest magi in history was born, Ardisia, the Grand Magus. Through years of forbidden research and divine insight, he forged weapons that could rival both the Divine Armaments of the Gods and the Cursed Armaments of the Demon God.

Within his own kingdom, Ardisia created what came to be known as the Spirit Weapons—living armaments possessing will and consciousness. Each was forged using souls of extraordinary beings: humans with immense potential, demi-humans like elves, and even those blessed—or cursed—with traces of divine blood, even energies of the abyss were used. To the Council of Great Mages and Saints, Ardisia justified his actions as a necessary sacrifice for the greater good. Cateleya gave her consent because she saw the potential in the weapons, a way to have the upper hand against the evil gods.

But soon, problems arose. Those who attempted to wield the Spirit Weapons often perished, consumed by the resentment within the souls bound to them. Others were simply rejected, deemed unworthy, for Spirit Weapons chose their masters. Fear began to spread among the council. Believing that Ardisia might use these weapons against them, they branded him a criminal and sought to confiscate his creations despite Cateleya's words as she is against their wishes.

Yet Ardisia had foreseen this betrayal. As the council’s soldiers closed in, he activated a failsafe, a spell that triggers a dimensional teleportation that scattered the Spirit Weapons across the world.

Then, in an act of grim resolve, Ardisia plunged one of his own creations into his chest. The weapon’s power erupted, unleashing a deadly miasma that wiped out every living being within his kingdom. Even the council members who were present were not spared. When the miasma faded, the entire kingdom of Ardisia vanished as if it had never existed, swallowed by the void, erased from all maps and memory.

After the incident, Cateleya Constant, the revered Grand Saintess of Aethelgard, land of the saints. Gifted with the divine ability to commune with the spirits of gods and goddesses who perished defending humanity from their own kin, became a beacon of hope for mankind alone. Through her sacred connection, new saints began to appear again, humans of pure heart blessed with divine marks. These chosen individuals were now granted longer lifespans unlike the previous saints, and they were given stronger radiant powers of light, symbols of the gods’ lingering grace.

Yet even such blessings could not turn the tide. With the deaths of most council members, humanity’s defenses faltered. The fragile alliances between kingdoms crumbled. Despite Cateleya’s desperate pleas for unity, greed and fear prevailed. Each nation turned inward, choosing survival over cooperation. And so, the once-great continent of Aezeir fell deeper into ruin.

Cateleya fought tirelessly to protect the innocent, sending her holy knights, holy warriors, and saints across the lands to defend what remained of the cities and kingdoms. But even her efforts were not enough. The demonic legions along with the unholy army of the evil gods pressed on, their numbers unending, their malice absolute.

The World Tree of Aezeir, the heart of all life, was burned to ash. The strongest nations stood at the brink of annihilation. Despair spread like a plague. Even the spirits of the benevolent gods, once brimming with resolve grew silent as they witnessed the world decaying exactly as the evil gods had foreseen.

Humanity’s light flickered… fading into nothingness.

And then, when all hope was lost, when prayers turned to silence, the continent itself began to weep. Its tears soaked the ruined earth, as if the land itself begged for salvation.

And from those tears a miracle was born...

Three souls, destined to rise from the depths of despair…

Three who would bear the hope of the world.

Thus begins the Era of Dawn, when light shall once again challenge the darkness,

and the fate of Aezeir will be rewritten.