It wasn't like we humans were doomed to remain in our cages, never to see the outside world again. No, the Protector Gods taught us about the laws of the world, and how to harness their power. They said that it was not possible before because of a certain seal on our planet, which has been lifted with the appearance of these beasts. This seal prevented the use of what we call mana, the energy of the world. Suddenly, the world changed so much that the only shadow that remained of the old world, was in our memories.

The Gods took in disciples, which became powerful enough to fight with Terror Beasts on their own, becoming the first generation of Human Sages. They wield godly power and their lifespans are incredibly long. In turn, they themselves taught disciples and so on until many people were also able to take care of themselves outside of the Guardian Cities.

However, it was not only humans that were growing in power. The animals of the old started mutating rapidly because of the new movements of mana. Terror Beasts were also becoming stronger. It was this stalemate between human and beast which lasted thousands of years.

Present day. Year 11754. Terror Era

In the slums located in the far east side of the Heavenly Eye Guardian City, which is located on the territory of the former New York, a 7 year old kid was desperately running down the narrow streets.

He had disheveled hair and his clothes were full of dirt. However, his eyes were overflowing with hope. Today was the day which would change his life forever. If it is for the good or for the bad, that remains to be seen.

Seven is a very important number in this era. Only children at the age of seven can go through a sacred ceremony which is designed to assess their potential. There were many cases where entire families in the slums suddenly became kings and queens overnight because a child in their family was found to have unbelievable potential.

In this era of constant war against the Terror Beasts, humanity is pursuing one goal, to reclaim the territories lost to beasts thousands of years ago. The change that happened almost twelve thousands years ago did not only affect the humans, enabling them to harness the power of mana. It also created many other wonderful things. The energy that was constantly moving in the air created many plants and minerals so beautiful and precious. Precious because they had amazing properties, such as increasing the strength of the people or they had incredible healing qualities. The war for survival took another form, a war for resources.

Conquering a territory meant getting access to all the resources on that territory. That is why every child with potential was like another treasure bestowed upon humanity, as in the future they might be crucial in one of the fights for such territories.

As the slums kid kept running, at last he reached a small building in the middle of the slums. The building gave a very out of this place feeling. It was made of what seemed to be marble and had all kinds of paintings on it.

At this moment though, a huge queue full of children could be seen in front of it. Some of them were accompanied by their parents, some were alone. The new kid quickly took his place in the queue and waited patiently.

His name is Andrew, a common name, but it was given to him by his now dead mother so he treasures it with all his heart. His life has been a cruel one so far. He used to live with his mother in a room she built with incredible difficulty so that they could have something above their head. Then, when he was 4, his mother found a small baby thrown in a garbage bin. It was a common sight in the slums, but his mother had an angelic heart. Even though they were barely keeping themselves alive she took the baby in immediately to take care of her.

From that day, she had to work even more to be able to make enough to sustain all three of them. It was through this work that she had an accident and fell from a high point. A neighbour took pity on her and brought her home. But the injuries were too severe.

Andrew was almost 6 at this point and Aisha was only 2. Andrew had to watch his mother die in front of him. Her last words were spoken through tears of shame.

"Andrew, I'm sorry mommy couldn't take care of you and now has to leave her burden to you. It's all my fault. Please, my boy, take care of your small sister and live a good life..." Those were the last words she left to him before succumbing to her injuries. A year has passed since then and Andrew is doing all he can to take care of his small sister, doing all kind of weird jobs, begging, sometimes even stealing.

An old man with a kind heart, a rarity these days, would also be bringing them food or some money from time to time. His name was Coral and didn't have any family, probably that's why he wanted to take care of the two kids. However Andrew was always a bit skeptical in regards to this man, but in the end, he would not refuse free food.

Andrew thought that's how their lives will always be if he doesn't change anything. That's why he came here, in the hope that something in his life will change for the better.

With these thoughts, 4 hours of waiting in line passed and he was the next one to enter.

As he stepped into the building, the sight of an old woman sitting in a comfortable chair greeted him. The woman had a bored expression on her face and looked towards Andrew.

"Step into the circle." she said emotionlessly.

Andrew then realized she was referring to the only spot on the floor which did not contain complicated and unreadable patterns. He obediently stepped into it and looked towards the old woman which did not seem even a bit interested in what was happening. She waved her hand and the patterns covering every wall in the room lit up.

They radiated a blinding light and seemed to come alive as the symbols started detaching themselves and flew through the room towards Andrew. One by one, they started circling him as if all of them were posing a question to him.

Andrew instantly felt a strange connection in the back of his head. He focused on it for a bit and then the symbols around him became a bit brighter.

"Grade 5 mana affinity, decent." said the woman on the chair. When Andrew heard the number 5, his heart started racing. [Yes! With this I can definitely enter the military!]