💎 SOULBREAKER: THE LAST CRYSTAL WAR
Volume 1 – "Chains of the Heart"
Part I – The Origin Arc
Chapter 1 – The Boy Who Breaks Chains
"Those who are born in cages forget what the sky feels like."
The world is made of iron. The sky is a ceiling. And humans — they crawl beneath it, bound by chains that glint beneath the light of a crimson sun.
Among them, a boy no older than four sits quietly, eyes wide, watching his parents whisper about escape. Beyond the bars, the Guardians march — towering, armored creatures whose hearts pulse with the glow of their Crystal Balls. Their chains hum faintly, alive with power.
"Tonight," his father whispers. "We go."
Thunder rumbles above the cages. His mother clutches her stomach — the pain of birth and fear blending together. Somewhere in the darkness, a baby's cry pierces through the storm.
"He will not live like us," the father says. "He will live free."
They dig beneath the iron cage, carving a tunnel with bleeding hands. But light flares. Torches rise. The Guardians have found them.
The mother falls first — an arrow through her chest.
The father runs, carrying the child into the night.
He doesn't make it far. He collapses beneath a dying tree, his body broken and his voice fading.
A kind couple — two elderly creatures from a nearby farm — find him.
"Please…" the father gasps. "Raise him as your own. Let him live as human."
The creature couple exchange a look. One nods.
The father smiles weakly before his breath fades.
"That night, a boy was saved by those he should have feared. And the chain of fate began to tighten."
Chapter 2 – The Shadow Awakens
"Even the smallest light can cast the darkest shadow."
Years pass beneath the quiet care of the creature couple. The boy — Echiroo — grows in their home, learning to read stolen human books and swing wooden swords when no one is watching. For twelve years, he lives behind walls, never stepping beyond them.
"Someday," the old woman says, smiling, "you'll see the real sky, my boy."
He dreams of it every night. He imagines clouds that aren't covered by bars, wind that doesn't taste like rust.
But one day, a thief discovers him. The secret spreads. And soon, the King of Creatures himself arrives.
The kind couple are dragged out and executed before Echiroo's eyes.
"Stop!" he screams.
"Slaves don't deserve tears," the King laughs.
The boy's rage burns — but he's too small, too weak. The Guardians seize him, chaining his wrists.
"I'll kill you one day," he spits through his tears.
The King smiles coldly.
"Try, little brat. You are nothing."
He is thrown into the Cages of Humans — the same hell his parents tried to save him from.
Years pass. At sixteen, he works among the enslaved, pushing stones, breaking bones, surviving. But inside him, a voice whispers still: Break the chains.
When he's taken to the King's Castle, chained among other slaves, his heart pounds. The walls are lined with runes that glow with the energy of Crystal Balls.
"If I'm a slave," he mutters, "then I'll die fighting."
He lunges at a Guardian, steals his sword, and cuts him down — only to be kicked from a spiral staircase, crashing through the glowing floor below. Light swallows him whole.
He wakes in a vast underground chamber, beneath a banyan tree whose roots cradle a glowing sphere — a Crystal Ball.
An old man sits beneath it, smiling gently.
"At last," the man says, "after a hundred years… you're here."
He takes the Crystal Ball and presses it into Echiroo's chest. Chains of light pierce the boy's heart.
"Carry our hope," the old man whispers. "Break their world."
Then — silence.
When Echiroo opens his eyes again, he lies beside a river outside the castle, drenched and gasping. The reflection in the water shimmers — two eyes stare back at him, his own, but darker.
A creature lunges from behind. Echiroo dodges clumsily, throws a rock — useless. The beast laughs and raises its claw.
"Human filth," it snarls. "Die here."
"I don't want to die…" Echiroo whispers. And then — a flash.
The creature's arm falls to the ground, severed clean.
"Open your eyes," a voice says from the darkness. "And be brave."
Chapter 3 – The Price of Freedom
"Freedom demands the lives of those who dream of it."
Echiroo and two human slaves hide inside the home of a slain creature. Outside, chaos brews — other creatures have discovered the body. They made one fatal mistake: they didn't hide it.
Torches flare in the night. Guards storm through the streets, shouting, "Find the humans! They're nearby!"
The trio slip through the back door, sprinting into the forest. The chase begins. Branches whip against their faces. Behind them, footsteps thunder — creatures closing in.
One human is tackled to the ground, screaming. The other turns back, crying.
"Go!" the dying man shouts. "Run! Don't waste it!"
Echiroo hesitates — then runs, dragging the second human.
But the survivor stops. He looks back toward the sound of his fallen friend's voice.
"I can't," he says softly. "He believed I could live. I'll make it true."
"Don't!" Echiroo shouts.
"This world has no place for peace," the man answers, smiling weakly. "But maybe you'll make one."
He pushes Echiroo away and turns back toward the creatures. Moments later, another scream echoes through the forest.
Echiroo collapses in a valley of sugarcane, gasping. Tears burn his eyes.
"It's my fault," he whispers. "If I hadn't killed that creature… they'd still be alive."
He slams his fist into the ground, sobbing. A straw-hat doll lies half-buried nearby — a child's toy. He picks it up and stares at the chain tied around its neck.
Slowly, Echiroo wraps the chain around his own throat.
"If being free means others die… maybe I'll live like a slave."
The night is quiet. Somewhere in the east, the Guardians begin their march.
(Next: Chapter 4 – "The Slave's Promise")
Part II – The Survival Arc
Chapter 4 – The Slave's Promise
"When hope dies, promises become the only thing worth living for."
The morning sun creeps through smoke and dust. Echiroo walks alone, disguised beneath rags and rusted chains — a slave once more. The sugarcane valley lies far behind him; so does the warmth of human voices.
He passes through a narrow road carved between creature-built stone walls. On both sides, humans labor under the weight of logs and stones. A creature overseer lashes one with a whip. No one dares to look up.
"Keep your head down," Echiroo mutters. "You're one of them now."
He grips his hidden sword tightly beneath his chains.
Further ahead, a frail old man coughs violently, collapsing beside a table of half-eaten food. A creature shouts angrily, kicks the body, and drags it out to the street.
"Useless slaves! Can't even live long enough to work!"
Echiroo's jaw tightens, but he forces himself to stay quiet. He knows — a single word will get him killed.
A shadow looms beside him. A tall creature, carrying a crate, glares down.
"Where are you going, slave?"
Echiroo bows low. "I'm returning to my master's home."
The creature sneers. "Go, then. Don't get in my way."
As Echiroo walks past, his knuckles bleed from the pressure of his grip.
"One day," he whispers, "I'll end this."
Night falls. Echiroo rests behind a broken house near the creature quarters.
But before he can close his eyes, he hears a soft cry.
He follows the sound — behind the storage shed, a girl sits in the shadows. Her wrists are bruised, her eyes red.
"Who are you?" she asks, startled.
Echiroo hesitates. "A slave. Like you."
She blinks, surprised by the calm in his voice. After a pause, she whispers, "In three days… they're selling me. To a place called Tradex. The master's cousin lives there."
Her hands tremble.
"I don't want to go," she says. "No one comes back from Tradex."
Echiroo kneels beside her.
"Then I'll come for you. One day, I'll break your chains myself."
She laughs weakly. "Everyone says that."
"Not everyone means it."
For a moment, silence. Then her eyes soften — maybe, just maybe, she believes him.
That night, she falls asleep with a faint smile.
When dawn comes, she wakes to find him gone. Echiroo's footprints lead west.
Cut to —
The King's Castle. Guardians kneel before the throne. A shadowed voice — deep, commanding. The Creature King.
"Report."
"My lord, one human escaped the castle long ago. We believe he's alive… and killing our kind."
The King rises, eyes blazing like molten gold. He picks up a parchment — a sketch of Echiroo's face.
"I've seen this brat before," he growls. "So, you're still alive… Echiroo."
Lightning cracks outside the throne room.
"Let the hunt begin."
Chapter 5 – The Forest of Iron Trees
"Hunger is crueler than fear. But hope… hope is crueler than both."
The western forest stretches endless — a labyrinth of dark trunks and metal roots. Echiroo stumbles through the undergrowth, starving.
He spots fruit glimmering high above.
"Finally…" he mutters, trying to climb. But the bark is slick, hard.
He falls again and again, his body aching.
He swings his sword at the trunk. Clang. No mark. Not even a scratch.
He grits his teeth. "Worthless thing…"
He swings again. This time, a faint line appears.
He grins weakly. "Heh… good enough."
With bleeding hands, he climbs, grabs a fruit, and eats it raw. The juice stings his throat, but it's the best thing he's ever tasted. For the first time in days, he feels alive.
He sits beneath the tree, staring up through the twisted canopy.
"Zaris," he murmurs. "You told me to survive. I'm trying."
Meanwhile —
Far to the east, the Guardians march through the forest. They find the corpse of the creature Echiroo killed. Its heart is missing. Its crystal shattered.
One Guardian kneels, running a hand through the dirt.
"Something's wrong," he says. "Humans can't kill us this way."
Another replies, voice grim.
"Unless he's the one they whispered about…"
Part IV – The Reunion Arc
Chapter 6 – The Cave of Shadows
"Fate doesn't guide the lost — it hides them until they're ready to see."
The forest grows darker with every step. Echiroo moves quietly, sword at his side, each breath visible in the cold air. Hunger gnaws at him again, but worse than hunger is loneliness — the silence of no one left to save.
Then — voices. He freezes behind a fallen tree.
Three creatures stand in the clearing ahead, their eyes glowing red. One smirks. "Look what we've got here — a stray human."
Another licks his fangs. "If he's the Hakaisei, we'll sell him for a kingdom."
Echiroo forces a weak smile.
"Run? Yeah… good idea."
He darts right, sprinting through the brush. The creatures laugh and chase after him, throwing rocks and chunks of wood.
"Catch him alive!"
"Everywhere I go…" Echiroo mutters between breaths. "This damned world won't stop hunting me."
He spots a dark opening in the cliff ahead — a cave. Without thinking, he dives inside.
Silence. He grips his sword tightly, eyes straining to see. A faint metallic hum fills the air.
Then — flash! A blade pierces through the darkness, flying past his shoulder and stabbing into the chest of the creature behind him. The creature gasps and disintegrates, its crystal falling to dust.
Echiroo spins around, gasping. "What—?!"
A silhouette steps forward from the shadows. A boy — tall, calm, his sword dripping faint light.
"Give me the blade," he says quietly.
Echiroo, half in shock, hands it over. The boy moves faster than sight — two slashes, two bursts of light. The remaining creatures vanish in seconds.
The last survivor collapses, trembling.
"You're not human…" it stammers before fleeing into the night.
Moonlight pours through the cave mouth, finally revealing the stranger's face. Echiroo's eyes widen.
"Zaris…?"
Zaris slides the sword onto his back, smiling faintly.