Hi, just making this here for those interested in the basic background of this world. From its History, the power dynamic, and other things. Fair warning: some info may spoil the story, hopefully not by much. So just skip this and go to the next chapter.
But if you are curious, then go ahead and read on. Also, do not be afraid to ask me questions if you are confused.
+ The Descent +
The Descent is an event that caused the collapse of the old Earth. It caused many continents to sink into the ocean and sea levels to rise. These changes didn't happen slowly over time, but in real time.
But with this danger came the introduction of an energy source called Arcana.
+ The City +
The City is a human-made continent-sized structure that is the final bastion of humanity. It was created many years after the Descent and its main function was to protect humanity from the aftermath of the Descent. It did this by simply floating above the Earth's surface for many years using a new ore found in the world called Arcanium. Which can only be found on the surface. This Arcanium is gathered from the surface and is taken to one of the seven cores in the city, with each floor having only one core.
That way, no one power has true control.
To house what was left of humanity, the city was separated into Seven Floors. Each floor can house millions of lives, and each is divided into distinct, ever-changing sectors. Its purpose was to temporarily house humanity until Earth became stable, but over time, this changed, and the city's culture slowly shifted with it. The poor are funneled to the lower floors, while the rich stay on the top floors.
Because of this, there are organizations that take charge of a Floor to ensure that it doesn't fully fall into crime. As an example, there is an organization known as the Signias that operates as law enforcement and is even funded by all the floors to keep the peace in the City. To do this, they send people called Watchers to patrol the various sectors on each floor and handle crime. Though some would say that their ways are a bit forceful. Since there is a sort of punishment for certain criminals, called joining the Reavers.
It is not known how one gets this punishment, but those who do are usually the worst of the worst. In fact, this punishment is worse than death, and most who get this punishment tend to just end their own lives before they are even captured. That is because they are injected with a drug called Serum A and are sent to the surface of Earth. With Serum A having a temporary ability to become Wielders, though they have a 80% chance of dying from the injection. Usually by exploding.
Worse, they have a reputation for corruption and for taking bribes from gangs at the right price. But even with such rumors, they still get the job done and are still paid by the Floors to continue their job. Even if the job is a bit evil.
Each floor goes as follows (you can skip this part since it is just basic information you will learn later).
# Floor 7, also known as the Waste Pit, is where all the trash gets sent to. It houses the poorest of the poor, people who have nowhere else to go and can barely feed themselves, funneled down here. Crime is at an all-time high, and joining a gang is even smiled upon. It is controlled by an organization called Roaring Tide, which operates as a normal business, but is just a major syndicate that preys on the weak.
# Floor 6, also known as the Step Above Hell, is where the majority of everything made in the City is located. The people here are still poor, but not so poor that they have to scrounge around for food. This is mainly because the entire floor is a giant factory that employs just about everyone on the floor as part of its labor force. Though they are given decent food and shelter, their pay is barely enough to get by. They are run by an organization called Eternal Anvil, which controls every single factory on its floor and what each produces. They are quite infamous for their use of flames since there have been many fire-related accidents in their factories.
# Floor 5, is known as the Commoners Rest, it is where the line between poor and decent is drawn. Those who live on this floor have enough money to buy themselves a "home" and can have a bit left over to buy other things if they budget right. This entire floor is the primary producer of the City's crops and medicine. Just like Floor 6, they also employ everyone on their floor to work in the fields and will even pay you to go into the medical field. They are controlled by an organization called the Sickle, which, like Floor 6, controls the majority of the crops and even some of the schools. They never run out of fertilizer.
# Floor 4, also known as the Forges of Blades, for every single Watcher employed originates from this floor. Zero crime exists on this floor, and if there is a single trace of evil on this floor, the Watchers are sure to march to purge it from their floor. Though the line between good and evil is very twisted. The floor is controlled by an organization called the Association, whose main purpose is to monitor the movements of every single Wielder that comes into and leaves the City and assigns them levels, but mainly just to keep an eye on Wielders. But it is worth noting that every person in its ranks is a Wielder.
# Floor 3, also known as High Blood Roost, is the floor where the rich start appearing in mass. Everyone on this floor is rich or super rich, there is no in between. The Signia moves in mass on this floor to ensure that no "crime" exists. This floor is controlled by an organization called the Grand Gavel, an organization that founded the Signias and funds them. They control every action and every reaction that the Signia makes. They are in true escene, the judge, jury, and executor.
The remaining two floors have not been recorded as of now due to secrecy.
+ The Arcana +
During their stay in the City, humanity did not remain idle, as they began researching the unknown energy known as Arcana. During their research, they discovered that Arcana can do wondrous things. The first thing it could do was power the City using an ore called Arcanium.
# Arcanium can only be found in places where Arcana have resided for long periods of time. These times can be from a year to even decades, but they will grow faster the stronger beings are in the area.
The second thing it was able to do was grant people with a deep connection to it abilities and a superhuman body. These people are called Wielders.
How this is possible can only be speculated, but it has been narrowed down to two causes. The first is that the person must have suffered from a situation that put them in an extreme emotional state. This can be from simply being too happy about something to being so close to death. Though this isn't guaranteed a chance to awaken Arcana in them and become a Wielder. All it means is that there is a high chance that they might become a Wielder.
The second is a guaranteed way and that is by simply having Arcana slowly pushed into a person and allowing them to build up familiarity with this energy source. With gradual exposure, the person increases the chance of becoming a Wielder.
Once they have awakened the Arcana in them, they will enter a state called Zero Zone. In this state, they will no longer hear, smell, or even feel their surroundings. In fact, their body becomes completely immobile or at least on the outside it appears as such. But deep in their mind, they are being asked by a voice a single question, and that is "What are you?"
Now, the ability they awaken depends on how they answer this question, and it is speculated that the longer the response and the more heartfelt it is, the stronger the ability. Others think that if you answer truthfully and simply, that your ability will be strong. Then there are those who believe that whatever you say or how you say it doesn't truly matter, all that matters is the keywords you use from "King" or even "Peasant." Depending on what words you use in these, the ultimate outcome of what ability you will get.
Of course, that is just speculation and nothing else. Even Wielders speculate on how they gained their powers. But once they answer the question and wake up, they will receive something called a Mark tattooed on their body. How it forms is unknown, as it only ever appears when the person wakes up, and only on a random body part. But what is known about it is that it hints at their ability. They can appear as simple swords to a giant city wall, and from there the ability can only be interpreted.
Now, once awakened and turned into Wielders, they are typically placed into four classes that fit their ability. These four classes are Walkers, Seers, Speakers, and Mergers.
# The first class is called Walkers, they are beings whose abilities allow them to harm the physical state of objects and people, excluding simple actions like touching them. In simple terms, their powers will allow them just to harm the physical body. Examples: a being that produces flames that can burn even stone to ash. Ice that can freeze people into statues. An ability that boosts their physical body. This just means they can interact with the physical realm.
# The second class is called Speakers, they are beings whose abilities allow them to harm the mental state of things. This means they can confuse, disorient, or even shatter a person's mind. Examples: a being that can produce a noise that causes those who hear it to enter a state of panic. The ability to create illusions to trick their targets, even to the point where they can feel physical harm, even if they aren't hurt. The ability to flood a person's mind with emotions or information, either through a psychic link or simply by looking at them or by being looked at. This just means they can interact with the mental realm.
# The third class is called Seers, they are beings whose abilities allow them to harm the spiritual state of things. This means they can interact with the soul of an object or person, as all things have a soul. Examples: The ability to phase their body and attack the soul of a person. The ability to generate a roar that harms the soul of a person. The ability to shatter a person's soul by simply being looked at. This just means they can interact with the spiritual realm.
# The final class is called Mergers, they are beings whose abilities allow them to combine two or all three paths. Examples: the ability to transform their body into that of a ghost, allowing them to phase through physical objects and harm the soul. The ability to harm a person's soul based on how afraid they are. The ability to hurt someone using invisible slashes that cut both the body and soul.
Now with the classes settled, Arcana has other uses in play.
The first and obvious use is fuel, since Arcana is able to form ores known as Arcanium when it is gathered in one spot for long periods of time either naturally or by a strong being with an enormous reserve of Arcana. Of course, it can only ever form on the surface.
Another use it has is when Wielders use it. Wielders have a natural attunement to Arcana and can use it in one of two ways. The first way is known as Enforcing, and the second as Carving.
#Enforcing is a skill where Wielders can use the Arcana to enforce their body past the superhuman limit or increase the strength of their tools. Those who use it like this are called Enforcers.
# Carving is a skill where Wielders can use the Arcana to interact with the physical world simply by concentrating it either on a part of their body or on the tip of an item. Once done, they can simply draw or carve it onto any surface, whether physical or not. Then they must draw out the meaning they wish into symbols before releasing it. The way they drew it and the amount of effort it took affects the impact of the carving. Those who use it like this are called Carvers.
Now there are ranks for Wielders, of course, and these ranks are tested using a device called an Arcana Sweeper. A device that takes the form of a single glass ball with a beaker top that has a small pin that is able to rise and fall.
To test, the person must first place a drop of blood into the top of the beaker and then infuse their Arcana into the bottom of the ball. The pin will rise depending on how much Arcana is put into the device and how much control the person has. The higher the pin goes, the higher the person rank is.
As of now there are only Seven currently known ranks. To note that each rank doesn't fully say how strong a Wielder is, only how much Arcana and control over said Arcana they have. These ranks are Peasan, Knight, Steward, Lord, Warlord, King, and Emperor.
Those who fall under the Peasant rank have enough Arcana in their body that can last them up to five or so minutes, and have no control over the manipulation of their Arcana.
Those who fall under the Knight rank have enough Arcana in their body that they can last from half an hour to a full hour, and their manipulation of their Arcana is decent at best.
Those who fall under the Steward rank have enough Arcana in their body that can last them an hour to an entire day before they run out, and have decent control over their manipulation of their Arcana.
Those who fall under the Lord rank have enough Arcana in their body to last them days before they run out, and their Arcana control is considered significant.
Those who fall under the Warlord rank have enough Prana to last them a month before they finally run out, and their control over their Arcana is considered near perfect.
Those who fall under the King rank have enough Arcana to last them a year before they entirely run out, and their control over their Arcana is considered perfect.
Those who fall under the Emperor rank have enough Arcana to last them many years before they entirely run out, and their control over their Arcana is absolute.
+ The Bestials +
As humans have evolved to absorb Arcana and gain powers, so have animals. But unlike humans, they had nowhere to go during the Descent, trapped on Earth's chaotic surface. To survive, they absorbed Arcana into their body and evolved. Over time, their numbers swelled to such a mass that the Descent no longer became an extinction-level event for them, but just a regular day.
There were rumors that animals had survived the Descent from Retrieval teams sent down to obtain Arcanium, but they were all considered lies. It was only recently that these rumors were finally confirmed true, as when a Retrieval team went down to the Surface World, which is what the surface of Earth is called, to gather more Arcanium, they were attacked by wild animals with strength on par with Wielders.
After several more teams lost their life did, the City finally deployed several Wielders down to the Surface World. Once these animals were killed, their corpses were brought back to the City and studied, where it was discovered that animals did actually survive the Descent and had become just like humans.
Years would pass, and more of these animals would begin their attacks on multiple Retrieval teams. But with either the lack of manpower or the higher-ups, Wielders were rarely sent down. To counter this, the Reavers were sent down alongside the Retrieval team to counteract this offensive threat.
As of today, there have been only three confirmed ranks among the Bestials. They being Wretch, Hexed, and Sinners.
Wretch are Bestials who have awakened Arcana and have evolved into Bestials. Yet they act purely on instinct and are slightly stronger than your average human. Because of this, they are mainly preyed upon by other Bestials, making them scarce to find since they either have to rise in rank quickly or die.
Hexed are Wretches who have risen into a new rank and gained a stronger power. They are far stronger than your average Wielder and require far more effort to actually be taken care of.
Sinners are Bestials who can use abilities and possess intelligence, even if it is still limited. They will be able to detect things like traps and are able to solve problems with ease. Some have been shown to have intelligence comparable to that of a human.
+ The Twisted +
The Twisted are invisible beings that can interact with the physical world, but rarely do so. They usually wander or huddle in groups. They do not seem conscious of their actions or even their existence. Yet, they still move around and even touch things as though they were alive. Because of this, they are so hard to understand. It is basically a coin flip on what they do.
The only time they have ever been seen active is at night, and that is usually to attack. Their main prey seems to be humans, though they are usually seen attacking large groups of people or Wielders. With even a few of these beings actually being seen attacking groups of Bestials, even when there was a group of humans nearby. This has led to some theories that they seem to only attack beings with Arcana, and that due to the majority of humanity being in a confined space, such as the City, it has created a giant hotspot for the Twisted to appear.
As of now, no one knows where they came from or how they even got here. All that is known is that seeing an active Twisted is a death wish. Since a single Twisted has abilities comparable to those of highly trained Wielders and a body as strong as that of a Bestial. Whenever a Twisted is seen, citizens are told to contact the Association and seek shelter.
But as of now, the cases with the Twisted seem to be growing day by day.