Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Rulers failed to notice the touch of Antares on the cup, causing it to shatter mid use, leading to Jin-woo being thrown back to the red gate incident.
All his shadows came because the Cup was tainted with death, he still has Iron and Greed.
Those who are Fragments (the nationals, Go Gun-hee and Sung Il-hwan) all remember.

Monarchs*
Antares - Monarch of Destruction, King of Dragons, America
Tarnak - Monarch of Iron Body, King of Monstrous Humanoids, Germany
Rakan - Monarch of Fangs, King of Beasts, China
Sillad - Monarch of Frost, King of Snow Folk, Russia
Querehsha - Monarch of Plagues, Queen of Insects, England/UK
Baran - Monarch of White Flames, King of Demons, India
Legia - Monarch of Beginning, King of Giants, Brazil
Yogumunt - Monarch of Transfiguration, King of Demonic Spectres, Canada
*These countries were selected due to INFLUENCE or POPULATION not due to any form of prejudice

Fragments (this bit is non canon)
Thomas Andres - Fragment of Ending/Exitus, American (S)
Go Gun-hee - Fragment of Safety/Salus, Korean (KHA)
Sung Il-hwan - Fragment of Love/Ardor, Korean (X,C)
Christopher Reed - Fragment of Success/Proventus, American (Fi,C)
Liu Zhigang - Fragment of Purity/Splendor, Chinese (G)
Siddharth Bachchan - Fragment of Joy/Laetitia, Indian (As)
Lamos Martinez - Fragment of Life/Vita, Brazilian (CL)

Mix/other but still godly
Ashborn - Monarch of Shadows, King of the Dead, Fragment of Loyalty
Sung Jin-woo - Monarch of Shadows, King of the Dead, King of Hunters, Fragment of Loyalty, the new absolute being, will not kill any more people (A)
The Absolute Being - God, ded :)
The Architect - Kandairu, ded pt.2 :)

Other important characters (relation to Jin-woo and any other important character)
Woo Jin-chul - Lover, sort of son to Go Gun-hee (KHA)
Yoo Jin-ho - Younger brother (A)
Sung Jin-ah - Younger sister (C)
Park Kyung-hye - Mother (C)
Choi Jong-in - Friend, lover to Baek Yoon-ho (H)
Baek Yoon-ho - Friend, lover to Choi Jong-in (WT)
Cha Hae-in - Friend (H)
Min Byung-gyu - Friend (WT,C)
Lim Tae-gyu - Friend, dislike of Lee Min-sung (F)
Ma Dong-wook - Friend (Fa)
Lee Ju-hee - Friend (C,A)
Song Chi-yul - Friend (C,A)
Han Song-i - Younger sister (A)
Yoo Soo-hyun - Friend (A)
Hwang Dong-soo - Idiot (S)
Lee Min-sung - Idiot pt.2 (F)
Kim Il-chul - Idiot pt.3, Friend (WT)

# (C) = Civilian
(A) = Ah-jin Guild
(H) = Hunters Guild
(WT) = White Tigers Guild
(S) = Scavenger Guild
(KHA) = Korean Hunters Association
(F) = Fiend Guild
(Fa) = Fame Guild
(As) = Asura Guild
(G) = Gang Guild**
(CL) = Caçadores de Luz Guild**
(Fi) = Fiducia Guild**
(X) = No Guild Hunter**
** may not be canon

Jin-woo was trying to avoid his feelings for Jin-chul but realised that he was slightly cruel for leading Hae-in on.

Ragnarok does not happen. Su-ho was never born. There are no new Monarchs. The Itarim and Apostles are not relevant, at least not yet.

The shadow realm is going to be a lot bigger, a full map will appear after he enters for the first time.

Chapter Text

I smiled.
I had ended the war of Monarchs and Rulers had ended our war, the one I had believed would never end. Too many were lost, too many to count, but I could fix that.
“Just once more.” I said, still not looking up. “Could I use the Cup of Reincarnation just once more?”
The Fragments stood silent before me.
“Did you just ask,” questioned Exitus, “whether you could use the Cup of Reincarnation to turn back time?”
I stared up at him from where I sat.
“That’s right.”
Vita, the first to recover, answered me.
“Even if you were to turn back time using God’s Gadget, the consciousness of higher beings will still remain. You’d still do it even though the deceased Monarchs would come back to life with their memories from this life intact?”
“That’s right. And once you turn back time, I want you to not send anyone to Earth. I will take care of the Monarchs and their armies in the Dimensional Gap by myself.”
They all stared at me, shocked.
“You’re willing to take on the entire war by yourself…” Salus stated in a hushed voice, something along the lines of awe creeping in. “What’s your reason for doing this? We’ve used the Cup of Reincarnation many times, but this is the best result we’ve gotten yet. It may not even have the power to pull you back a full ten year period.”
I stared at the ground. I had known this was a possibility but I had wished it was not true.
“I lost too many people in this battle.” I said, “Even if we are too late to stop gates from appearing, we won’t be too late to save at least some of those lost. I want to bring them back.”
The Rulers looked between themselves, a silent conversation looking for the answer. Then Exitus stepped forward.
The cup hovered over their hand, glowing in a soft golden light that occasionally flickered with red.
“We will adhere to your request. May your courage save the world.”
The light from the cup grew brighter and brighter, engulfing me and the Rulers, stretching around the world.
But something was wrong.
There was something that felt evil, like it would shatter the cup if pushed too far.
And that's exactly what it did.
A small burst of red appeared from the cup, shattering it.
I heard a Ruler, one that had not yet spoken, scream something.

“He must have done it! A̸̡̡̡̛̛̻̖̺͔̠͚̠͔̻̲͔̻͕̮̥̪͙̜̯͇̫̥͍̤̠̩̩͓̭̻͙̣̣̠̣͎̿͐̇̀͗͒̔͒̍̈́͆͌̏̉̚͜͠͝Ṇ̴̨̧̨̨̧̛̲͖̭̣̮̬͓̹̻̝̹̣̗̣̦͇̯̬̰̣̮̱̮̼̩̯̜͈̤̙̥̫̖̥̮̗̖̰͍̠̣̦͚̐̒͒̈́̈́́̄̐̒̿̽͑̅̄̾̚̕͘͝͠ͅt̶̢̢͙̻͖̣͈̤̫̣͍̮̩̺̦̠̖̗̝͕̙̮̦̬̦̮͖͕̘̦͍̫̞͇̎̐̔́́͌̾͆̍̔́̇̆̀̆͂̚͜͝ͅͅá̴̡̡̧̛͉̤̞̳̮̪͇̦̺̜̬̥͙̻̱̠͍̩̝̪̼̼̥̼̹̀̽̚͠ͅͅͅr̷̡̡̢̦̻̖͓̙̠̦̹͖̲̮̮̯̻͎̦̩̦̟̳̮͓͍̤̥̭͖̘̻̥̤̭̲̺͓͙͙̓ę̷̢̡̢̫̞͇̞̱͕̳͕̣͕̗̙̙͕͈̤͙̝̦̪̦͕͈̞̬̭̠̲̞̭̞̠͛͌͒̒̽̇̽̎̿̆̕͜͜͝s̴̢̱̞̥̘͎̫̟͎̩̬̹̣͎͙͇̼̙̲̖̠̼̹͛͊̑̍͛̇̓͆͂̽͒̌͛̓͠ͅ”

And then I heard nothing, saw nothing, felt nothing.
Except glowing purple eyes and the words spoken by a familiar voice
“I will not allow this!”
Then the void of nothingness.

Chapter Text

Cold.
I was cold.
That was all I could think when I opened my eyes.
Then My eyes widened, I knew this place. The red gate.
Not good.
Something had gone wrong, I remembered yelling but not what was said.
Frustrating.
I continued wondering about the nature of my situation and what it would mean for the future until my senses spiked.
Danger.
But not to me.
I stepped forwards, reaching both hands out and catching the arrows aimed for Song-i and a C-rank hunter.
“The trees!” someone yelled.
There, nestled within the branches of a pine tree stood two ice elves.
Those that know ice elves call the hyakki.
I made eye contact with one. He made a cutting action across his neck, an obvious challenge but one I had to ignore for now. The safety of the rest of the group now rested with me.
Kim Il-chul stepped forward.
“Listen everyone.” he spoke clearly and deliberately. “We are now in a red gate. There will be no assistance from the outside now and as the only A-rank present I will be taking charge now.” He paused for a breath allowing me my chance.
“No.”
He blinked, shocked at my denial of his statement. He had left no room for argument after all.
“No?” he asked, somewhat angry now. “What do you mean-”
“Who is more experienced between the two of us?” I asked, cutting him off mid question. “Which of us present has survived situations that they never should have?” He glared.
“You are just a lowly E-rank! How dare you-”
“I did not say I was stronger.” He fell silent at that.
“All I ask is that you let me advise, so that decisions are cross checked before they are finalised.” I paused. “This is your first raid right? Think of me as an instructor.”
Silence reigned over the tigers. Then Park Hee-jin stepped forward.
“He noticed the arrows.” she said. “Even you did not, Hunter Kim. I think that we have the best chance of survival if we listen.” others were nodding along now, agreeing with her. “But first tell us, what is your true rank? You cannot be E-rank with reflexes like those.” The tigers turned to face me.
I sighed, ‘how to explain?’ I thought to myself.
“I don’t know.” they blinked at me. “I have reawakened, but have not yet been re-evaluated. I suspect that I am at least A-rank now, so we’ll go with that.”
A beat passed before Il-chul responded.
“Ok.”
I smiled slightly. This was good, well better than last time. Maybe I could save everyone?
“Then let's start off simple. What are the four current threats to us?” I watched as they shifted, obviously thinking.
“Experience?” asked a B-rank. I smiled at him.
“Not one I am thinking of, and one that cannot be changed by our actions.”
They were silent again.
“The ice elves.” a C-rank said, voice wavering slightly.
“Magical beasts and monsters is number four, the lowest ranked threat, but yes. Next?”
As the tigers looked around Song-i spoke up.
“The cold?” she said, though it sounded more like a question.
“Yes, the cold. Threat number one, the most current and prominent danger to us. After all, night will be colder. What else?”
Hee-jin spoke next.
“Resources.”
“Such as?”
“Food and water.”
“Number two. The last?”
No-one seemed to know this one.
“Look around.” I said. “Do you see any shelter? Any cover? Anywhere that could be somewhat safer than where we are now?”
A B-rank stepped forward, an idea on his tongue.
“The forest. There could be caves or at least more shelter there.”
“Good. The forest solves all of those problems.” they looked at me, obviously sceptical.
“How?” asked Il-chul.
I smiled.
“First, the forest is ice bear territory. Ice elves are stronger, so if the bears live there they must be the highest in the food chain.” several people’s eyes widened. “Second, for them to survive they must have access to both food and water. Both of which must then be available within.” I smiled as they nodded. “Third, wood can be burnt for heat and any shelter found will assist with it as well.”
Many smiled now, assuming safety.
“It will not be enough, will it? To combat the cold.” Hee-jin brought up my next point.
The others froze, going from confident to panicked in seconds. Before it could take hold I spoke up.
“No.” I opened the shop purchasing warm clothing for all. “But these will be.”
They stared at me, clearly shocked. I realised that most summoners couldn’t hold this many items.
“I already told you I have reawakened, yes? No questions, just put them on.”
After a moment's hesitation Song-i stepped forward and took a set, the others soon following her lead.
Once they were ready I turned towards the forest.
“Follow me closely now. Actually no, tanks out front.” I added the second part as an afterthought. Repositioning complete, we set off into the forest.

—

There was a clear path through the forest. Clearly it had been made by continuous use of ice bears. Following it would lead us to the resources they had access to.
Suddenly my senses spiked.
“Stop!” I whisper-yelled. Everyone froze. “There is a cave ahead, however it is the den of the bears. We will have to fight them all at once if we continue. It is also getting late and we have yet to see any other caves or decent shelter.” I looked around, gauging their emotions on their faces.
“We will fight.” said Il-chul.
“Why?” I asked with a smile. He had made the right choice but I could see others were not so sure.
“Because we have to. We will secure a safer place to rest and food as we will be able to cook and eat the bear meat if we make a fire.”
“Good reasoning. Prepare to fight.”
They started bustling around, changing formation and checking equipment. When silence reigned again Il-chul stepped up.
“Will you fight with us?” he asked. I smiled and shook my head.
“Not unless it is necessary. You cannot gain experience otherwise.” he nodded slowly before turning on his heel and walking to the front of the group.
“Are we already?” he asked.
They nodded or muttered an affirmative response.
“Then let's go!”
They flew into battle. They were well trained, especially Il-chul and held their ground. Even the healer among them was a capable fighter, using a mace when a bear got a little too close for comfort. Song-i stood beside me, watching with wide eyes as this incredibly effective tag team worked.
Then she was knocked over by a flying hunter, a hunter with only one arm. The boss bear had arrived.
I leapt over the fighting hunters and slammed my foot down on its head, killing it instantly. That ended the fight.
Under Il-chul’s direction they began to cut and skin the bears.
Others wandered around the small clearing taking branches and cutting them for firewood.
With those tasks complete we lit a fire and started to cook the meat.
As we sat around the fire to eat I brought up the subject of the watch.
“We will set a watch now. Two people up at once, at least one must be B-rank. Neither Hunter Han nor myself will participate in the roster, but I will keep my senses up all night.”
I let them figure out a roster as I set up some bedrolls within the cave.
After a brief discussion with Il-chul, confirming that everything was sorted for the night, I turned in. But sleep brought me before someone I never thought I’d see again.

—

Outside the gate stood Baek Yoon-ho, guild master of the White Tigers guild and one of Korea’s eight current S-ranks.
“How long have they been in there?” he asked. Director Ahn Sang-min answered him.
“Just over an hour, sir.”
“So around a day their time?”
“Yes sir.”
He quitted. Someone was coming. Two someones actually. One was easily recognisable as Chief Woo Jin-chul but the other… They were definitely S-rank, but who?
A monitoring division car pulled up a few metres away. Out stepped Woo Jin-chul and Hwang Dong-soo. Why was he here?
“A red gate, huh?” the S-rank said. I noted how uncomfortable Chief Woo seemed to be. This S-rank was not here out of kindness.
“Shame, I guess I won’t get to kill him.” I froze. In that gate were members of my guild. My guild and two E-ranks.
“Who?” I asked. He looked at me as if just noticing me for the first time. Then he smirked.
“None of your little kitties, though I wouldn’t be adverse to it. No, I want Sung Jin-woo.” He paused for a second, tilting his head slightly. “Why is he in your gate anyway?” I paused, glancing at Director Ahn. That was a good question.
He followed my gaze and smirked.
“Well?” he asked Director Ahn. The man's voice shook as he responded.
“I owed him. This was his request.” Hunter Hwang turned, beginning to walk away. Then he moved, grabbing Director Ahn by his neck and picking him up off the floor.
“You expect me to believe that?” he yelled, shaking the man. I would not stand by and watch. I stepped forward, grabbing his arm tightly, transforming partially and releasing mana as a warning.
“Hwang Dong-soo! Release my employee!” I said clearly, letting my anger seep into my voice.
He dropped Director Ahn to the floor.
“Well. Kitty wants to play?” he asked with a condescending tone. With that my anger boiled over.
I threw a punch.
He threw a punch.
And Chief Woo stopped them both, channeling our mana through his body into the ground.
The ground shook but he stood strong.
Hwang Dong-soo smiled.
“I underestimated you, watch-dog. You ain’t so bad.” Chief Woo sighed.
“If one of you had not pulled back, I would have failed.” he stated dismissively. “I assessed Hunter Sung myself. He remains E-rank and could not have killed your brother.” Hwang Dong-soo laughed.
“I know!” He sounded a little too happy about this. “It's just an excuse to kill another human being!” I glared, disgusted, at his back as he walked away. “He won’t survive this so I might as well go. See ya later Hunter Baek.” And with that he left, Chief Woo following behind him.
Maybe they would survive, Sung Jin-woo was clearly lucky enough.

—

Jin-woo opened his eyes in his dreamscape, turning to the left slightly, he smiled.
“Hello Ashborn.”
“Sung Jin-woo, it is a pleasure to see you again.”
“I thought it could never happen?” I questioned.
“It could not.”
We stood in silence for nearly a minute before he spoke again.
“The Cup of Reincarnation was delicate. If one were to touch it with the Ruler’s Authority then its use would bend to their will. Antares managed somehow, however I am stronger and was able to reverse the effects just enough for it to work. The overload of power has shattered the cup and it can never be used again.”
I processed this information slowly. Then I looked up.
“Who remembers?” I asked.
“Only the vessels of rulers and the monarchs, though I suspect that the shadows may as well.” he responded.
Light began to creep around the edges of my vision.
“You are waking,” he noted.
He turned and walked into the fields around us.
“I will see you again eventually, though I hope not in the void. Goodbye Sung Jin-woo.”
With that light filled my vision and I woke up.

—

When I woke I could sense the boss approaching. I, of course, immediately sent out a wake up call with this information included.
We gathered near the mouth of the cave, gear on and ready to leave.
“Not bad for the first time.” I said with a smile. “We have to move. We cannot become trapped when the boss arrives. Let's find a clearing where they cannot hide easily.”
And with that we set off. When we had found a clearing tha suited our needs I relayed the rest of my plan.
“I will fight the boss alone. You will collectively, with assistance from my summons, take care of the over eleves.” a sound plan that would be effective in this situation. We prepared to fight.
It was barely ten minutes later that the elves walked through the trees.
“Hello little humans.” the boss spoke. “I am Baruka, I will be your end.”
“Like hell you will.” I replied, stepping forward. I looked at me, momentarily stunned.
“You speak our language?” he smiled. “Interesting. Make sure to use it when you die in agony.”
At an unseen signal the elves drew their bows.
“Arise.”
The ground around me shook as my commanders stepped out.
The fight began, my shadows defending the tigers as they battled the elves.
I looked back to Baruka and charged.
It lasted only seconds.
Almost instantly my blade was buried in his chest. He swiped at me in a futile attempt to bring me with him into death. I just smiled.
The other fights finished up quite quickly after that.
I turned to the others.
“Take only one or two bodies each, we must go now.” Igris spoke in his commanding voice. The others stared at him momentarily.
I took the opportunity presented.
“Arise.” All elves save Baruka rose. I frowned. That was not what I wanted.
“I am allowing you a chance to serve a monarch who cares.” I said. “Arise.”
Baruka’s shadow came forth on the second attempt.
I smiled and then dismissed all my shadows.
I grabbed the wrist of Baruka’s corpse and the leg of his horse then turned to face the others once again.
“Let’s go.”
Il-chul went first quickly followed by the C-ranks and then the B-ranks. Song-i stepped through last before me.
We were greeted on the other side by Baek Yoon-ho and Director Ahn.
I sighed. I just wanted to sleep, why did they have to be here?
“Hunter Sung.” Director Ahn said.
“Director.” I responded with a nod in his direction. He smiled and stepped away to speak with Il-chul.
“Hunter Sung.” It was Baek Yoon-ho this time.
“Guild Master Baek.” my voice sounded colder this time. “If you have questions please ask your Tigers. I am quite tired and need to get this one home.” I gestured to Song-i.
I stared at me a moment before stepping aside.
“Thank you.” was the last thing he said.
I smiled as I walked past him, Song-i a step behind.
“No need.” I said. “I was simply the instructor.”
With that I got into the driver’s seat and drove away.

Chapter Text

Thomas Andres woke up in cold sweat.
That dream had felt too real.
The flames showed not have burned as they did, blades hurt and should not have cut as they did, names should have been forgotten.
Sung Jin-woo.
Yoo Jin-ho.
Woo Jin-chul.
Sung Il-hwan.
Go Gun-hee.
Among them were names he felt he shouldn’t know.
Exitus.
Ashborn.
Kandairu.
Absolute.
All swirling together around words that held little meaning in the modern world.
Ruler.
Monarch.
Fragment.
All spiraling with memories that could not yet were his and an incredibly bright light.
A brilliant light.
Head aching from the rather troubling dream he heard something.
His phone was ringing.
Who would call this phone during the work day?
It could not be the bureau, as it was not his work phone that had rung, so who?
Flipping it over he checked the screen.
Chris Reed…
Oh.
That was a problem.
How could he act normal towards his best friend after an experience like that?
He could not call it a dream anymore, he knew.
One of four he cherished as more than property, as equals.
Despite everything he picked up.
“Chris? Why are you-”
He was then hit with a wall of words so hard it was as if all of the others were there together. After a three minute rant Chris finally stopped to take a breath. From what he had gathered Chris had had much the same dream as him, simply from his own perspective and ending when he had died. Taking his chance Thomas asked a question.
“You dreamt it too?”
They were both silent for a beat.
“Could it have really been real?” Chris asked. “It felt as if it was but still…”
“How did you die?”
“Fighting.” he paused. “There were three of them, two men and a woman. The woman felt sick but clearly wasn’t. The first man, the only one that spoke to me, spoke in monster-speak and was very difficult to hurt, like he was made of iron. The last guy was ragged and felt like a beast monster despite being visibly human. I fought them in full form but I wasn’t enough. They knew all of the points of my final form to target. I lost too quickly to make the call.”
Thomas sighed.
“I mean, what injuries killed you.”
“Two blasts to the chest and an overuse of mana. The mana overuse reduced my resistance to my own flames.”
He took a shaky breath.
“I want you to call a meeting.”
Thomas paused, raising an eyebrow despite knowing the other couldn't see it.
“You know you can as well right?”
“I know. I just don’t want to stay here longer than I have to. Besides, they always respond to you faster.”
This, Thomas knew was true and so he relented.
“Fine. Nine am tomorrow, my building in meeting room 1. Lola will direct you.”
“I’ll be there in ten.”
“Tomorrow. Not today.” Thomas paused. “Also, I’m out. No one’s there right now.”
“And?”
“You can’t get in.”
“Says who?”
“I swear Chris, if you break into my guild.”
“I have a key card.”
“How?”
“Stole it.”
“From who?”
“Lemme check. Joseph Collins.”
Thomas paused, processing the new information.
“Wait for me, I'll be there in fifteen to twenty.”
“Yes sir.” Chris responded in a sing-song tone.
Thomas rolled his eyes.
“Bye.”
Then he hung up.

—

Liu Zhigang had had a fairly boring day.
He had gone on an A-rank raid with his strike squad that was uneventful and below average. Even the yield was bad. He could have cleared the entire thing on his own, but resorted to doing pretty much nothing so that the newer members of the squad could fight a little. The only interesting thing had been the food that one of the members had brought to share. Red Bean buns and Soybean milk, neither of which he had had for a very long time, despite them being some of his favourites.
That had been almost his entire day.
His night however was beyond normal hunter levels of strange.
In his dream he stood in an apocalyptic version of Shanghai. Around him lay many dead hunters, some he knew personally and even more he could not name. And he was hurting. The pain seemed to linger in his arms and legs, as if they were sore from exhaustion. His back stung, as if he had landed a little too hard on it. The world seemed to spin with every step he took before an intensely bright light appeared on the horizon. He closed his eyes, accepting his death, before he shot up in bed.
The pain still lingered faintly in his back and limbs.
And he remembered.
People, places, events, words.
Many things he should not have known, that should not exist, but felt so real.
A buzzing sound snapped him out of his thoughts.
He looked at his alarm clock.
Two fourteen am.
Not that.
He looked at his phone.
Thomas was calling him.
Realising that he was not going back to sleep, and that he could berate Thomas for calling him in the middle of the night, he picked up.
“What do you want at two. In. The. Morning.” he made sure to let his annoyance known with his tone.
“Well hello to you to-”
“Hey Liu!” Chris cut Thomas off. Ah, he was there too.
“Hi Chris. Now, answer me Andres.”
“Ooh, last names! You're in trouble!” Chris said with a giggle. This was succeeded by a loud crash and a yelp.
“I’ll make it quick. Meeting at nine am tomorrow, our time.”
That was a bit of a shock. I had not seen any news about fights or injuries between the five of us.
“What happened?”
“Not now.” Was all Chris said in response. He was serious this time.
“Fine. See you then.”
“Ok. Bye.”
Then the call ended.
I stood up and walked to my kitchen.
I need a drink.

—

Lamos Martinez did not have to be called.
He called from the airport, simply saying he would be there in about twelve hours.
Lamos said he was glad of the meeting for it gave him an excuse for his actions.
Thomas and Chris both knew they would be there when he landed, out of courtesy and security to the public, out of fear and happiness in private.
And so at three am there stood three of the national hunters.
They did not speak. They just left.
If Chris and Lamos both cried in the car after revealing their stories, Thomas said nothing.

—

Siddharth Bachchan was tired.
As one of the largest countries in the world, some days were a lot.
He had entered nothing short of three dungeons today. An A-rank in Noida, which had been incredibly deep. An A-rank in Bawana that had made them a lot of money but it had been full of inconveniences. And finally an A-rank in Janakpuri that had turned red.
Quite the heavy work load for one day.
And then when he had finally fallen asleep, he was plagued by new nightmares.
Usually if he had one it was Kamish all over again but this was worse.
Streets full of rubble, dead people and monsters alike lying everywhere, gates opening randomly and hundreds of monsters pouring out. There were dragons larger than the great calamity coming out one after the other. All had to be lost. They would not win. Even with Sung Jin-woo. Then the light. It moved swiftly, filling his vision.
He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, mulling over the vision he had just seen.
Siddharth nearly had a heart attack when his phone rang.
It was, of course, Thomas.
No one else called him at this time of night.
He picked up, knowing the other man would continue to call until he did.
“Hello?”
“Hi. Meeting at nine am tomorrow, my time. My guild.”
“Why?”
“Just be there.”
Siddharth sighed.
“I will.”
“Good. Have a good night.”
And then the call was over.
“A good night.” he laughed to himself. “I best get some sleep then.”
He got up for some water, eventually coming back and going to sleep after messaging his manager.
“Guess I’ll have to wait and see what comes of this.”
There was too much information in his dream to ignore. And to have remembered all of it? That was nothing short of a miracle.
He looked at the wall clock he kept. It was nearing midnight now. He sighed and returned to his room, eventually falling into a restless sleep.

—

Go Gun-hee woke up with an aching chest.
The memories, for he knew that was what they must be, swirled around his head. They eventually lead him to an answer.
Sung Jin-woo.
Everything had revolved around him for quite some time.
This had to be his doing.
As he lay in bed, trying to relax, he decided that he would call Hunter Sung and maybe Hunter Andres.
In the morning that is.
Right now he was going back to sleep.
Gun-hee sighed, he was getting too old for this now.

—

Sung Il-hwan woke up crying.
From the Rulers, he understood what had happened.
He had to find his son.
He sat for an hour, thinking over escapes that would not mean hurting people.
Then there was a knock on his door and a young woman with four guards walked in.
“There is to be a national meeting tomorrow.” she said, voice quiet and tentative. “You will be attending at the request of Hunter Andres and Hunter Reed.”
“In chains?” he asked, though he knew the answer.
“Until your species has been confirmed, you will go nowhere without them.” with that she left the room.
Il-hwan sat silently. Should he stay?
Yes, he decided. For these people were also fragments. They would understand. They would help.
Decision made, he returned to his thoughts.

—

On an island, in a separate dimension the Rulers sat around a strange, seemingly glowing pool.
Through the eyes of their hosts, they knew the situation.
“What shall we do?” Ardor asked.
“We should speak to Kandairu.” Splendor responded.
“Why?” asked Proventus, while Laetitia nodded in agreement. “Should we not reach for the Shadow Monarch? Ask him his plan?”
“No.” Splendor said, a smile adorning his face. “We must speak to Kandairu about some… amendments to the system.”
Exitus tilted his head.
“Which would be?”
“The ability to take t̴͚̝̤͊̚͜h̵̜̝̬̚e̶̡͈̼̋͐̓ ̷̦͙͗̃̽̀c̶͈͕͑͜ǫ̷̡̱̩̈́̒͝r̸̠̞̦̅͌ę̸̖̗̺̒̇̾s̴̟̟̲͋ ̵̡̙͕̲͆͌͌̚ȯ̴͖͌f̷̡̧̊ ̴̛̳͕͇͔̅͆m̶̩͋͆͋̄ö̶̢̬̘́n̶̠͎̐̓à̵̭̗̝̅r̸̩͎̖̋̉̿c̸̭͘ĥ̶̥̺̦͊s̵̭͇̎̔̆ would suite him nicely, don’t you think?” The other Rulers stared at him, as if he had grown another head. “A gift in light of our failure to fulfill his final wish.”
Exitus nodded slowly.
“That is a good idea. It would bring more beings to this place and give us a better chance against t̶̢̍h̵̨̯̮̩̓̂̍ę̴̼̗̟͌ ̸̨͇̰̎͛Ǐ̵͕͕͉͊͌t̴̪̺̑̐͠ą̶̳͓̼͒̎͒r̴͇͖̦̭̄̀i̸̖͑m̸̢̭̫͖̍̓̆̊. We shall do this now. Let us go.”
They rose from where they sat around the strange pool before stepping into it one by one, disappearing into the depths.

Chapter Text

National Meeting Called!

National Hunters are in America!

National Meeting, Reason Unknown!

At eight thirty am the seagulls, sorry, reporters were already there.

Thomas sat at the head of the table, waiting for the others to arrive.

The doors would close at nine so that they could use monster-speak, as that would mean no translator was required. It had just turned eight thirty-four when he got a call from an unknown number. It was Korean, based on the initial code so he decided to pick it up.

“Hello, Thomas Andres speaking. Who is this?”

“Hello Hunter Andres.” Thomas’s eyes widened. This being was using monster-speak! “My name is Go Gun-hee, president of the Korean Hunter’s Association. I am calling regarding the memory situation.”

“How do I know you are speaking the truth? That you are not an enemy?”

“Light dances between the seven fragments. The eighth lies now in shadow.” the man on the other side said calmly. “Vita, Salus, Laetitia, Splendor, Ardor, Exitus, Ashborn. It is good to speak with you again, Exitus.”

“It is a pleasure to hear from you President Go.” Thomas relaxed slightly. “I can speak to you after the meeting, as the national ranks have not yet discussed this issue. You could join us through a call? It would be nice to see you, even through a screen, Salus.”

“Not now. I have an important call to make and a meeting of my own.” the man answered. “If I have not made an appearance, please call me after your meeting.”

Thomas smiled. “Ashborn?”

Despite not being able to see the man Thomas could tell President Go was smiling. “Perhaps.”

“Feel free to join us, President. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye Hunter.”

Thomas pocketed his phone, smiling slightly at the as the others began to walk through the doors. He would need to inform the others in advance.
They filed in, keeping their media smiles up. After they were all seated they began to talk amongst themselves, waiting for nine am.

The doors opened and Sung Il-hwan walked in, his guards stopping just outside the door.

As the doors closed behind him an alarm went off.

Thomas dropped his smile and slipped easily into monster-speak.

“Let’s get started.”

—

I was having a normal day.

A normal day for me, at least. So quite far from ordinary, at least by Jin-ah’s standards. It went like this:

When I woke up, slightly later than usual but it was to be expected after yesterday, I sent an Ant’s shadow to several of those I cared for. I would have to ask the Rulers why I still had them, for everyone was there, Beru, Iron, Greed, Bellion. None of which should be with me at this point but I was not complaining.

In the morning I went through a dungeon with Jin-ho. The poor boy was shocked by the sight of my shadows, bemoaning his lack of importance to the dungeon effort.

“Please sir, at least let me carry some crystals!” I just had to give in to his puppy eyes. This kid is my best friend and my little brother.

“My lord.” Igris whispered, nearly making me jump. “Perhaps you should tell him your plan before we finish today.”

I closed my eyes. Igris is right. I have to do this now.

“Jin-ho, come here.” Jin-ho’s eyes widened. “I need to tell you a couple of things.”

He stumbled over and I honestly felt bad about how scared he looked.

“What is it Boss?” He asked tentatively. I sighed. He was too nervous.

“Sit.” He sat beside me looking even more worried than before. “I want to start my own guild.” He frowned when I said that. “And.” I said before he could cut me off. “I want you to be my Vice Guild Master.” His eyes widened.

“What? Why? Really Boss!” A stream of words started to pour out of Jin-ho. I let him ramble for a minute or so before cutting him off again.

“I know it messes up your plans with your father.” He went silent, listening again. “There is no pressure. But if you do decide to join me, call me big brother instead of Boss please.” I smiled at his shocked expression.

“Can I think about it for a bit?” He asked after hesitating.

“Of course.” I said. After a moment I added the last thing I needed to tell him. “I am also going to get reassessed this afternoon.”

He relaxed slightly and smiled.

“Good for you sir.”

We didn’t talk much after that.

After we got out of the dungeon I went about my day as normal.

After dinner I went straight to the Association to get reassessed. I was really hoping that by doing this early I would avoid the other S-ranks being weird.

I walked through the door, organised my appointment and got in line to be reassessed.

A man started talking, trying to reduce the nerves of the others present. I blocked him out, already knowing my rank-to-be, and tried to decide on my next steps in saving everything I cared about.

Then he walked past me.

Despite myself I looked up, meeting the eyes of Woo Jin-chul. He stared for a moment, before nodding and continuing on his way. It broke me a little, being so distant, but that would build up again. That or I would make him remember.

I snapped out of my thoughts after hearing my name called and stood to enter the assessment room. I did not fail to notice the presence of the President Go Gun-hee moving quickly towards me.

I entered the room, answering her question as before.

“Hello sir, may I please have your name?”

“Sung Jin-woo.”

“Perfect. You are here for a reassessment I see. Just the same as last time if you please.”

I rested my hand against the mana-metre and gained the expected result.

“Huh, an error? I’m sorry sir, please try again.”

I did as requested, yielding the same result. A man entered the room, inquiring as to why we were taking so long. She explained the situation, clearly believing she had made a mistake when the man paled.

“S-rank, huh?” He said, barely above a whisper. But that was enough.

“Well.” A new voice came from the doorway. “Perhaps we can take a walk, mister Sung.” Said President Go Gun-hee, Woo Jin-chul on his right.

—

I sat in front of President Go.

The man sat alone, having sent Chief Woo out of the room for a reason unknown to me.

“We have a lot to talk about Ashborn.” He said.

I was stunned.

I was aware of his position as a host prior to his death and who he had hosted after meeting the Rulers but had assumed that this connection had died with him. This could be a good thing. The chairman remembered, meaning that it was possible that other fragments did too. However, it could also mean that random people remembered which was definitely a worse outcome. Before my thoughts could spiral, the chairman spoke.

“I have spoken to Salus and the reason for my remembering is definitely my connection to the Rulers.” That was good. “The national hunters are currently holding a meeting to figure the memory situation out, leading me to believe that they may all have remembered as well.” That was very good. “I would also like to ask a favor.” I raised my eyebrow.

“What favor would that be?” He smiled.

“Restore the memories of Woo Jin-chul and your Vice Guild Master, as well as any S-ranks you see fit.” I was not as surprised, though I was shocked. I thought it through and realised that this could be very helpful. My Vice Guild Master would be in place and ready to go. And I would get him back.

“Okay.” I said after I had made my decision. “I’m having lunch with Jin-ho tomorrow. As for Chairman, sorry, Chief Woo…” The President smiled.

“Now please.”

“He is your employee.”

The chairman laughed and got up. He walked to the meeting room door and let Jin-chul inside. The two men walked over, the chairman gesturing for Jin-chul to sit.

“I have asked Hunter Sung a favor.” The chairman spoke. “If you are comfortable please give him your hand so he can perform the task.”

Chief Woo looked searchingly at the older man before turning to me. He stared at me for a second before reaching out his left hand. I took it in both of my own.

In truth I did not know what to do. I chose to search for Ashborn. Then I felt something.

I had not reached Ashborn but something within Jin-chul. A blockade.

I forced my mana to flood his system, overfilling and overcoming the dam.

I could no longer see through the glow of my eyes.

Then it stopped and Jin-chul slumped backward in his chair.

He sat up abruptly, looking at the chairman.

“Sir?” he said with a shaky voice before looking at me.

“Jin-woo? What happened?” He asked in a shaky voice. “Why are we back? I thought we won?”

“We won but with too much of a cost.” I looked at my feet. “I took the chance while I had it but something went wrong. What, I don’t know but it was big.”

We sat in silence for a minute before President Go spoke again.

“As great as it is for us to be in this situation I believe we have something else to attend to.”

I straightened my jacket.

“Right.”

—

“My lords. To what do I owe the pleasure?” The being asked.

“Hello Kandairu.” Said Laetitia. “We must speak to you about some amendments to the system.”

The architect smiled.

“And what would those be?”

Splendore stepped forward.

“As it is impossible for the shadow monarch to resurrect other monarchs, we wish for him to be able to take their cores in the same way he takes shadows.”

This development made the architect freeze.

“But-”

“T̶̢̍h̵̨̯̮̩̓̂̍ę̴̼̗̟͌ ̸̨͇̰̎͛Ǐ̵͕͕͉͊͌t̴̪̺̑̐͠ą̶̳͓̼͒̎͒r̴͇͖̦̭̄̀i̸̖͑m̸̢̭̫͖̍̓̆̊ have begun to take an interest.” Exitus said. “We will not survive without this.”

Kandairu sighed.

“I will see it done. I suppose then you wish for me to return the key to the Demon Castle?”

“If you would please.” Said Splendor.

Kandairu turned to face his workspace.

“It will be done.”

Chapter Text

The meeting had begun with silence. Noone knew what to say, where to start.

Thomas sighed, it was down to him.

“I believe we all experienced the same thing sometime over the last day or so.” He started. “The dream I had started with the discovery that one of my men was involved in an incident with Hunter Sung Senior.” Thomas gestured to the man. “Or as we will call you for this meeting, Ardor.”

The man nodded slightly, accepting this decision and ignoring the curious looks he got from the others. Thomas continued relaying his experience.

“My dream had some gaps.” Their attention was back on him. “I do not remember all of my experiences, just what I assume to be the important events. The next thing I remember is Chris’s death.” Chris looked away, wincing slightly. “Then Lamos’s.” Lamos stared straight ahead. “Then three big fights. The first, Sung Jin-woo, the shadow monarch. The second, Querehsha, Rakan and Sillad, the monarchs of plagues, fangs and frost respectively. And last Antares, monarch of destruction.” Everyone that had been alive flinched at the name. “I remember the last best of all, the flames, the blades and the names.”

Thomas stopped. Looking around, he could see the effect what he remembered was having on others. Those that had died before the last battle were listening intently, soaking up every detail. Those that were present were tense and sad. Thomas paused for a second before speaking again.

“What of the rest of you?”

Silence. Lamos broke it first.

“I remember that two or three hours after I came to you I would have died.” He said quietly. “There were two of them, a purple and a green. I never learnt their names. I was not ready for it, the fight lasted less than a minute.”

Surprisingly it was Ardor that responded.

“That is a strong attempt for you Vita. An even stronger one for an ill-equipped healer.” Lamos relaxed slightly at his words. Ardor continued. “I remember being in a dungeon for nearly nine years and fighting the three you mentioned to save my son. I do not remember the altercation with your guy.” He directed the last bit at Thomas. “And I remember the power becoming too much, fracturing me and forcing me to disintegrate.”

Silence reigned again. That must have hurt a lot. Ardor rubbed his left shoulder, perhaps it was phantom pain.

“I remember two events.” Chris was speaking now. “The first is when Miss Selner warned me of my imminent death, giving the number of the Korean Hunter Association. Then was my death. It was the monarchs of iron body, frost and plagues. I never got their names.” He shuddered to a stop, clearly not wanting to keep talking.

“I remember much the same as Thomas, just from my perspective.” Lui said, Siddharth nodding in agreement. “Except for the initial incident with Hwang Dong-soo of course.”

A beat of silence.

“Others remember.” Thomas said. “Go Gun-hee, the Korean Hunter’s Association President, Salus, presumably Sung Jin-woo and the other monarchs.” He quieted. “Possibly Woo Jin-chul or anyone who was particularly close to Sung Junior.”

“So we are not alone?” Lamos stated in a small voice. “Not yet at least.” He amended after a pause.

“It is due to our connection to the rulers and monarchs that we remember.” Lui said. “We, together with the others who remember, are the only ones that can save this planet. We have to reach out and rely on each other for this to work.”

Murmurs of agreement filled the room. Thomas could have sworn he saw a flicker in his shadow but it was gone too fast. It must have been the light.

“I spoke with Salus this morning.” Said Thomas. “I will speak to him after this, but it is not yet known if Hunter Sung remembers.”

They sat in silence after that revelation.

It was not a quiet silence though. It was full of dread, pain, fear and noise.

Then it got cold.

Really cold.

—

The Rulers sat once again in one room, watching the meeting of nationals.

“They are logical aren’t they.” Said Vita quietly, ever the worried one.

The others nodded in silence. Suddenly the doors to the room flew open and a hooded figure stepped in, muttering as they walked.

“Hello Kandairu.” Said Proventus calmly.

The architect nodded in their direction.

“Has he fought any monarchs yet?” Splendor asked the architect.

“No.” Kandairu replied. “But he will soon fight the monarch of white flames.”

“Has he been informed of the changes?” It was Laetitia this time.

“He will know soon.” Was the architect’s response.

“The question becomes,” Said Exitus. “How do we show him the changes of the shadow realm without connection?”

The architect smiled.

“With a task.” He said.

—

Jin-chul and I followed the chairman to the meeting table and sat together around one end.

“The nationals meeting.” Jin-chul guessed. “It was a surprise, completely uncalled for, yet it happened.”

“Correct.” The chairman said with a nod. “I spoke to Hunter Andres this morning and informed him that I remembered. I also hinted at speaking to you” he gestured to me, “at a later time.”

“It would be nice if we could be there.” I said thoughtfully. “Having a shadow attached to each of them would be useful.”

Jin-cul raised an eyebrow at me questioningly.

“Correct me if i’m wrong,” He said with a little hesitation. “But you can create a gate, yes?” My eyes widened. “So you could just create a gate in the middle of the meeting and…” he waved his hand vaguely.

I looked at the chairman.

I looked away almost immediately.

He was smiling like a madman. He definitely had an idea, probably one that would lead to some chaos.

“Perhaps.” the chairman ssid, glee and a hint of madness shining in his eyes. “A gate for the army, and another method for us.”

Jin-chul smiled. Sometimes I forget that he was basically raised by the older man.

“There will be five or six people present at most right?” The chairman had his eyes locked on Jin-chul now. “Send your top six or seven. Bellion can just fall out of the ceiling, announce our arrival and do the cape thing Igris did while you were fighting the monarchs.”

“No.” I said. “You’re going to give Beru ideas.”

“It is not a bad idea my lord.” The ant king said.

Between the puppy eyes from Beru, the chairman and Jin-chul I ended up giving in.

“At least let me sense for a bit, see how many there are and get the numbers right.” They all cheered at my agreement. “If you two want, I could give you some shadow accessories for your outfits.If we were doing this, we were going all out. I paused for a second before starting again. “Actually you’ll need one,” I said, gesturing to Jin-chul “You don’t speak monster.”

Iron stepped out of my shadow, having visited the meeting through his past connection to Thomas’s shadow. He held up six fingers, indicating the number in the room.

“So.” I said, the others looking at me waiting for the plan. “I will send the shadows based on strength. Iron will go to the weakest, I assume the non-national or the healer. Greed will go to the next weakest, then Tusk, then Baruka, then Igris, then Beru.” I listed them on my fingers and they stepped out of my shadow when named. “And Bellion will do whatever he can.”

They all nodded until Jin-chul’s eyes widened.

“Can Bellion be riding the wyvern.” I blinked.

“Kaisel? Why?”

“Kamish.” He said with a slightly evil smirk.

My eyes narrowed. Then I thought of how Thomas and Lui had reacted the first time.

“Sure.” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose in exhaustion.

I pulled the shadow accessories out of my inventory and handed them over. As they started swapping them out a notification popped up in front of me.

YOU HAVE RECEIVED TWO (2) TASKS
OPEN TO VIEW

This was weird. This had not happened the first time. I checked the system wondering what it could be and my eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.

NEW TASK
CLEAR THE DEMON CASTLE DUNGEON WITHIN 48 HOURS
RANK: S
TIME REMAINING: 47:59.42

What was going on? That definitely hadn’t happened last time. I would have time to figure it out after this, I still had almost the full time left after all. I opened the second.

NEW TASK
MONARCH OF SHADOWS, F̷̧̜̰̺̽̍͝R̷͂ͅǍ̶̏̂͜G̵̯͙̗̒M̵͖̰̚E̴̢̬̗̰̿N̷̥̯̑͑̂͜ͅT̷͔̲͠ ̶̹͈͉͛̽̂͝ͅO̵̬̲̅́̀F̷̪̭̙̪̄̇ ̵̙͚͌̌L̶̨͈͈̓͐̽̃O̷̳̭̰̽͋̂ͅY̶̟̻̹͂̾̀A̷̯̓̀͠L̵̫̤̮͛͋̊̀Ț̸̠̩̽̋͠Y̶͇̟͆́, T̸̡̧̺̬̪͖͕̩̦̏̅̇̿̂͋ͅH̶̹̗̣̥̆͆͐̆͐̕͜͝E̸͙̻̼̺̒̒̎̍͆͘͠͝ ̴̖̩̤͈̘̋̈́̃̅͝ͅN̶̘̰̰̹͇̬̥̺̟̅͑̓̅̽̂͑͋̒͘E̶̢̨̧̺̙̰̪̳̫̒̈́̇̊̌́͗̉̐Ẁ̸̛̯̲̦̦̼̯̼͗̒̎̂ ̷̰̺̰̤̳̮͎̹͊͌̆̆̎̊̏̕͘͝A̶̹͍̐̍͜͝B̷̧̡̜̳̤̺̮͂̒̃̒̑͗̕͝S̶̛͚̣͈̞̺̞̲̯̈́̾̋́̋͗̀̕͝Ó̴̡̯͔̏ͅĻ̸̧̨͇͚͇̥̒͂̍U̸̧̗̪̲̱͉̝̗̳͍͐̓̆̆̏̓̑͘T̷̤̙̬͕̹̰̱̃͆̓̏Ë̴̡̠͎̺̯͕̩́̊ ̷̖͓̭̗͓̰̓͂̆͜͠ͅÔ̵̺͓̭̺̦̹̯̤̭̌̒͐N̴̪͕͉̜͊̂Ḙ̵̱̮͈͑̊͌̓̽͗͑̚ PART ONE (1)
RANK: ???
TIME REMAINING 71:59.13

This one was even weirder. I had not seen anything like this the first time at all. I would look into it later, afterall the first task had a shorter time limit.

I looked at the others, they were ready to go.

“Alright.” I said, waving my hand. My shadows set off, setting the plan in motion.

—

It had gotten very cold, very quickly in the meeting room.

It set everyone on edge.

Suddenly huge black shapes lept from their shadows, shocking everyone. The most alarming was of course the one that fell from the ceiling. Everyone was on their feet reaching for weapons, though some showed slight recognition. The being atop the dragon that had fallen out of nowhere spoke in a strong, steady voice.

“The king has arrived.”

All of the new arrivals knelt, including the dragon, and the tall being swept his cape to the side dramatically.

The inside of the cape was akin to a gate, simply purple.

Through it stepped three people. Those that had lived recognised all of them.

On the left stood Go Gun-hee, also known as Salus. He wore a fitted black suit with dark gold accessories including sunglasses.

It was identical to the set up worn by the man on the right. This man was Woo Jin-chul.

Between them and slightly in front stood me, Sung Jin-woo. I wore what I had been in during the conference.

I smiled to myself at their face, glad I had given Beru my phone. The pictures would be good black mail material.

“Heya.” I said in monster speak. “Heard you had some questions.”