They called it the Dead House.
No one knew who named it, but the title stuck like blood on the splintered wood. Half the roof was caved in. Burn marks scarred the earth around it. A single hunter's badge—tarnished and rusted—was stabbed into the door, which bore the stains of battles long past.
"They say no one who enters… ever comes out."
Raiken stood at the edge of the property, his long coat stirring in the breeze. Fog coiled at his boots like a living thing. He stared at the rusted plaque nailed above the archway.
31 Bressel.
A low chuckle escaped him.
"This is the place everyone's been whispering about. Hunters in… none out."
He ran his fingers along the badge, then let them fall.
"Guess that's why they called in the one and only Light Magic user."
He stepped forward.
The wooden door groaned as it opened, breaking apart at the hinges. Inside, the house reeked of dust and death. Torn wallpaper peeled off like molting skin. Deep claw marks dragged along the walls like something had been hunting here. Something intelligent.
"Dangerous Terra, huh?" he said, voice echoing off the darkness. "Sounds about right for me."
He cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted into the void, "I know you're here, Terra! Come out and make it quick!"
Nothing answered. The silence was worse than a roar.
He sighed.
"Figures. The quiet ones are always the annoying ones."
He pushed through hallway after hallway, opening doors, finding nothing but shadows and broken dreams. Finally, his hand gripped the last doorknob.
"Well, this is the last room. You'd better be in here."
The door creaked open. It was… empty.
Then, without warning, the world shifted.
BOOM.
The door vanished behind him. The light outside blinked out. Darkness swallowed everything.
Raiken didn't flinch.
"Darkness... the nightmare of every light user," he said calmly, blinking against the void.
We rely on light in our surroundings to fight. Strip that away, and...
He smirked.
"No way it planned this... right?"
He cracked his knuckles. Power hummed under his skin.
"Tch. Like it would know I was coming in particular."
Light surged through him, radiant and hot. His body began to glow from within.
"Luminara Art: Lumaforge — Photo Skin."
The shadows retreated just enough to reveal the room again, though now it stretched far wider than it ever had. A glowing orb hovered above his finger.
"Starlight Burst."
The orb floated up, shedding dim light across ancient stone and silence.
"Great… what a waste of my reserves."
Then he saw it: a pile of corpses.
Dozens. All of them wore hunter gear, now torn and blood-soaked.
Raiken stared, jaw clenched.
"What the hell did they do to deserve this…"
Something shifted.
A presence—cold, heavy, like the sky falling into the room.
What is that? he thought. I've never felt anything like it...
Then it vanished.
Was it even real?
"A light magic user… that's new," a voice growled.
Raiken turned.
From the shadows stepped a grotesque figure—bald, skin marked with ancient lines, arms replaced by magical energy swirling from its shoulders.
A Terra.
It grinned.
"You look strong. Can't wait to break you."
Raiken stretched his neck with a yawn.
"If I'm so strong, why are you so sure you can kill me?"
The Terra flexed its aura-arms.
"Because I'm aware of my own strength."
"Bet seeing those corpses made you mad, huh?"
Raiken's voice was ice.
"Mad? No. They're dead. Not much I can do for them now, is there."
His eyes gleamed.
"My job is to kill Terras. Nothing more."
The Terra laughed darkly.
"Cold, that's a first. I like it."
"Let's hurry this up," Raiken muttered, cracking his knuckles. "I promised to go home early."
"Oh and don't hold back... or you die in a flash."
The Terra exploded forward, summoning glowing arms mid-strike. A brutal uppercut lifted Raiken into the air. Before he could recover, the Terra grabbed his neck and slammed him into the floor.
Punch after punch rained down.
"Dead yet?" the Terra mocked.
Raiken's lips parted.
"I'm not…"
BLAST.
A beam of light shot from Raiken's palm, striking the Terra square in the gut.
"…unconscious."
The Terra stumbled back, wheezing.
Raiken rose and dusted himself off, glowing faintly.
"Wow… you really went for it there. Well done."
"But I'm unscratched."
"Photo Skin. Light armor. Made from my own light. You can't hurt what I control."
The Terra roared and lunged again. Magic clashed. Blows traded. Light against darkness. Strength against fury.
Raiken's fist connected—boom—sending the Terra flying.
"I said… I wasn't done talking."
The Terra grinned from the ground.
"So I did get to you. I'll keep punching like that."
SLASH!
Suddenly, his magical arms fell apart.
"I control every particle of light I release," Raiken said, cold as winter.
"I can shape it… sharpen it."
"I'm cutting you before you can heal."
The Terra turned to flee, fear finally overtaking pride.
He really is strong…
Raiken appeared behind him, faster than thought.
"You were done the moment you met me."
SLICE.
Light carved through the Terra, ending him in a flash.
The room slowly began to return to normal. The strange size corrected itself. The darkness lifted.
Raiken walked out of the house as if leaving a bathhouse.
No second Terra detected, he thought.
Mission complete.
END OF CHAPTER ONE