Thousands of years ago, the world suffered a great calamity. This world lost its source of life—the light of the sun.
With the sun gone, all that remained was despair.
The world fell into eternal darkness. Curses and corruption emerged as a consequence of the missing sun. Countless horrific monsters were born from the world's anguish and spread terror everywhere.
That great calamity was caused by an evil god known as: the Nadir Sovereign.
Nadir sealed this world with his power so that they lost the sun. The curses and corruption appeared as a result.
Humans were weak and fragile, yet at the same time the strongest and most resilient. Even in the deepest despair, they found a method to survive.
Until this day, that method continues to be used, allowing humanity to endure. And with it, humans persist in searching for a way out of the calamity brought by the Nadir Sovereign.
"Even now, that seal still remains, and we—humanity—struggle with the faint hope of finding the sun again." Lunaria smiled bitterly as she explained.
Kaelan was stunned. It felt like he was hearing a dark fairy tale filled with despair. And it was hard to believe that he lived inside that tale.
"Because of one person, all of humanity suffers," Kaelan muttered in disbelief. "Why would that god do something like sealing the world?"
"There are many speculations, but I don't even know which one is true. Some say he hated humans. Others say this was a way to repent for some sin."
In short, there was no right or wrong answer, since there was no proof regarding the Nadir Sovereign's true purpose.
"But there's one thing you can believe—he brought calamity upon all of us. Whatever his motive is, he's definitely the cruelest villain." Lunaria bit her lip, as if swallowing a deep bitterness.
Kaelan could sense that Lunaria had gone through a lot of suffering.
It was hard to accept the fact that this world was cursed and unfit for life. And yet, they lived within that harsh reality.
It wasn't difficult for Kaelan to imagine the kind of tragedies everyone had experienced.
"Thank you for telling me."
Lunaria gave a wry smile. "It's common knowledge for everyone."
Kaelan was about to ask something else, but he heard footsteps approaching from outside.
"I'm coming in, captain." Reynold entered with a wooden box in his hands.
He quickly knelt in front of Kaelan and took out ointment and bandages.
"I'll treat your wound. It'll hurt for a moment, but it's better than leaving it alone." Reynold smiled kindly. "Just ignore me and continue your conversation."
Kaelan smiled back. "Thank you."
Reynold nodded in return and began unwrapping the cloth around Kaelan's injured leg.
"You all thought I was an Outcast. What exactly is that?"
Lunaria took a moment to think. "There are four major groups that exist in this world. Each with its own purpose. One of them is the Outcast."
The Outcast were formed by people cast out from society. They usually wandered outside the cities, in the dangerous lands with the densest curses.
They were rebels who rejected the norms of normal society. Because of that, they were shunned and unable to enter any city.
"They're a neutral faction—not good or evil. But for various reasons, they're quite disliked."
Kaelan felt the explanation was too simple. But considering the situation, Lunaria was probably holding back as much information as she could.
"...what the—" Reynold froze when he finished removing the cloth on Kaelan's leg.
Kaelan glanced at Reynold before looking at his own leg. Just like Reynold, he was shocked.
The open wound on his leg was slowly closing. As if thin threads were pulling together, stitching his flesh rapidly. Within seconds, his leg had completely healed.
Reynold looked at him. "You're a Devourer?"
Kaelan was about to ask what Devourer meant, but Lunaria spoke first.
"Sangu Carna, huh? Judging by the way he's healing, he's at least on the verge of Adaptation."
Kaelan couldn't keep up with the situation that was changing so quickly. Too many new terms appeared before he could understand any of them.
"I don't know anything!" Kaelan explained frantically. "I don't know why the wound healed so fast!"
His panic made his actions clumsier. Reynold backed away cautiously, while Lunaria remained relaxed.
"Don't lie!" Reynold shouted. "That ability is clearly only possessed by Devourers!"
"Devourer?" Kaelan asked. "What is that?"
Reynold gritted his teeth, ready to respond, but Lunaria raised her hand calmly.
All eyes turned to her. She seemed serene, completely unbothered.
"As I was saying… humanity eventually found a way to survive in this cursed world."
It was a method obtained from studying the environment and ancient knowledge left behind by long-lost civilizations.
"Ironically… to fight curses, we must devour curses, and fight them with curses."
In this cursed world, they could only survive by becoming cursed themselves. Their struggle wasn't like countering fire with water—they fought curses with curses.
"And to use curses, we discovered an art to devour them—Devour Art. Those who use it are called Devourers."
Devour Art… a technique to consume the essence of cursed energy so that humans could wield its power.
Strangely, Kaelan felt familiar with it. He felt like he knew Devour Art, but there was something deeply wrong about it too.
Like dripping water, Kaelan felt his memories returning very slowly.
"I'm sorry, Kaelan," Lunaria said emotionlessly. "I need to take you to the headquarters."
At that moment, Rebecca and the others burst in, surrounding Kaelan. They formed a circle around him, leaving him no way to escape.
Rebecca clenched her teeth. "I knew it. You really are an Outcast!"
"No—"
Before Kaelan could deny it, Rebecca swung her sword horizontally, aiming for his head. Kaelan raised his arm to protect himself. His left arm was sliced open brutally.
"Argh!" A sharp pain struck him. Blood poured out violently.
His arm was horribly cut. But what stunned him was what happened next. His flesh writhed and his blood clumped together, thin threads slowly pulling the wound closed and healing it.
He stared at his arm in disbelief. The gruesome wound healed in seconds without leaving a trace.
Rebecca and the others were startled for a brief moment. They then heightened their alertness.
Kaelan raised both hands to show he wasn't going to fight.
"Wait! I don't remember anything myself. Please listen to me first!" Kaelan pleaded desperately.
"Of course," Lunaria replied calmly. "We will listen to your explanation carefully."
Kaelan turned back, almost relieved—until he saw Lunaria and froze in terror.
The beautiful woman was strange as well. Part of her body writhed as if worms moved beneath her skin. It slowly bulged, and Lunaria casually tore her own left arm with a knife.
The writhing flesh burst forward. Dark flesh and deep red blood surged toward Kaelan. In an instant, it grew twice Kaelan's size.
"For now, please stay calm and comply."
Before Kaelan could react, the mass of flesh formed a giant mouth and swallowed him whole.
Kaelan couldn't feel anything after that.