Smoke swallowed the sun.
A dark veil hung over the villages of the lower ranks, and the air reeked of mud and ash.
Yozaru lifted his sword onto his shoulder and left the training grounds after a long, exhausting day.
Today he had tried a new technique, channeling his magical energy into his blade.
Yet only one thought occupied his mind: the safety of his family.
As he approached his village with slow steps, he saw flames dancing in the distance.
At first, he thought it might just be a fire.
But the closer he got, the more horrifying the scene became… a sight that could freeze anyone's blood.
He gripped his sword tightly.
Bodies were strewn across the ground — some cut, some pierced, some motionless in pools of blood.
"Only my family… I hope my family…" he muttered under his breath.
Finally, he reached the heart of the village, and his eyes refused to believe what they saw.
His father and siblings lay dead among the charred ruins.
But his mother… she lay on the ground, riddled with sword and bullet wounds.
He froze.
The silence in his chest was louder than the screams around him.
This was no longer his world.
This was a kingdom of killing and suffering.
Yozaru sank to his knees.
A single tear slipped from his eye, but he quickly held it back.
He could not afford to give in to his emotions.
The ash-and-blood-stained ground beneath him bore silent witness to the vow he would one day fulfill.
"I will… make the system that condemned me answer for this."
And in that moment, a spark ignited within Yozaru.
A spark fueled not only by vengeance, but also by a desire for justice and freedom.
But how?
How could he grow strong enough?
Those of the upper ranks were born with natural talent; could someone from the lower ranks, armed with only ordinary magic and sword techniques, truly stand against them?
Yozaru's eyes glimmered in the darkness.
Every wound, every loss, only strengthened his resolve.
He lifted his sword onto his shoulder once more, holding it tightly.
"No one… will ever rule over me or my family."
And so, a boy from the lower ranks of Ash Valley set forth to enforce his own justice and to break the chain of the caste system.
The world would come to know his wrath.