LIGHTNOVELONLINE Prologue: Survival Age
Of course, humanity had already expected something like this to happen since they left the black portal above the Bottomless Pit that they couldn't touch.
The 'black portal' suddenly turned into a 'golden portal' emitting a dazzling light similar to a sun. Its light reached down to the very bottom of the pit as it combined itself with that Bottomless Pit.
After a few moments, its dazzling light slowly faded as the trace of a dim golden light could be seen on the mouth of the pit.
For a long time, there was a silence. No movements from the pit as humanity attentively watched the occurrence.
It was as if a calm before the storm!
After a long while, the ground started to shake, and thunderous roars of countless beasts echoed from the pit making their skin tingle. Afterward, innumerable Otherworldly Monster Beasts and demons thirsting for blood came out from it to wreak havoc on Encantadia once again.
Big, small, creepy, or strong, countless different beasts came out!
Fortunately, humanity on that day, the 'First Awakeners' were strong enough and very well prepared for 'that day' and they were able to contend the countless beasts.
10 years later, after day and night battle, humanity felt that they were gradually losing because of the great numbers and strength of the beasts that endlessly came out from the pit. So they decided to seal the pit and the countless ferocious beasts in exchange for their lives.
Tens of millions of lives were sacrificed for them to seal the Bottomless Pit and its 'king'. Just after they sealed the bottomless pit, beasts had ceased to come out from it and the golden light glimmering on its mouth had completely vanished, leaving only the giant hole on the land with an endless depth.
However, although the pit had already been sealed, there were still countless incredibly strong beasts that were swarming Encantadia, lingering all around or lurking in the shadows.
So the hunters who were left were led by the 'Four Greatest Hunters', the strongest among humans, to create a prison to the four sides of Encantadia to seal the countless beasts all over the world together with them.
That was to say, 900 years ago was the end of the Second Great War and also the end of the New Age.
Only less than ten million humans were left in the whole world and only about a hundred thousand were included from the First Awakeners and the rest were just the second to third generation awakeners.
900 years ago, the Second Great War of humans against beasts finally ended.
Humanity thought that the world would remain peaceful as they say.
However, 400 years after they sacrificed themselves to acquire peace, the Bottomless Pit that they sealed, had once again bared its fang, free from its seal and its mouth had then again started to glimmer with a faint golden light.
Subsequently, countless portals reappeared everywhere on Encantadia. Beasts came out again from the pit and from the portals all over the world to wreak havoc on Encantadia once more.
Then a big organization was formed to destroy all those portals and hunt down all those beasts. The organization was composed of awakeners with extraordinary power led by the remnants of the New Age.
They called that organization the "World Hunters!"
Then they created Hunter's ranks starting from E-rank to SSS-rank by determining their capabilities. It was to make it more convenient and less risky for the Hunters to enter and clear the portals.
Meanwhile, the bottomless pit turned out to be much weaker than before, maybe because it forcibly broke out from its seal. Compared to the last time it released monster beasts, the beasts that were coming out from it were now much fewer.
Several years later, the World Hunter cleared out all the portals on Encantadia except the Bottomless Pit.
Since they thought that it became so much weaker and the 'king' in it became weaker as well, they decided to form an execution team that would enter that pit for them to completely seal it by killing its 'king' or at the very least, seal the king itself, so that they could finally end the war.
Almost all the hundred thousand Hunters from the First Awakeners and a couple of million other Hunters took part in the operation.
After thirteen years, the Hunters from the organization came back from the bottomless pit and successfully sealed it. Then the glimmering golden light on its mouth had completely vanished, signifying that it was once again had been successfully sealed.
However,
They paid a huge price.
Only '21 Hunters' came back alive and they were all from the First Awakeners. The rest were all undoubtedly dead.
Even so, when they came back, they acquired great strengths greater than any other First Awakeners who had ever lived. They were even almost comparable at some point to the Four Greatest Hunters who led the Hunters to create the prison for the demons and Otherworldly Monster Beasts.
But even though the bottomless pit had already been sealed, other portals all over the world still keep appearing endlessly for who knew why.
Fortunately, it didn't give any dreadful threat to humanity anymore. Only a few hundreds of beasts or less were able to come out from each portal as if the power of the portals to transport beasts had greatly weakened when the bottomless pit was completely sealed.
The World Hunters organization continued to exist and the 21 Hunters who came back from the pit led the organization for humanity to rise from their downfall.
As the 21 Hunters led the organization, it became the strongest force across Encantadia. Not even the strongest Kingdoms, Organizations, Families, Clans, Tribes, or Guilds could be compared to its strength.
At last, it governed the land to gather powers from all over the world and nurture young talents.
That was to say, 450 years ago, the Third Great War of humans against beasts finally ended.
Hundreds of years had passed in the blink of an eye, humanities were able to rise again from their downfall. Humanity rapidly increased its numbers from tens of millions to several hundreds of millions.
However, portals still kept appearing all over the world and beasts continued to come out from it. Until now, innumerable beasts constantly appeared running amok everywhere on Encantadia.
But even though the Hunters nowadays became so much weaker compared to the First Awakeners, the numbers of beasts that constantly attacked Encantadia also greatly diminished and they were able to contend it.
As for now, Hunters kept fighting and killing Otherworldly Monster Beast or even demons. The Hunters were hunting the Predator, and the Predators were preying for the Hunters.
The current age, Survival Age, proved that the war would never last anymore. People were forced to survive and fight for their life.
Would war still end? Would sorrows and pain still cease? Humanity's hopes were wavering and most of them had already given up. Something like someone would come to save the world was only a myth for them.
Saviour? The few faithful ones were only waiting for these saviors to come as what was promised by the Four Greatest Hunters,
"Someday, saviors will come, four of them. And they will save the world!
"No more painful tears will be seen in everyone's eyes. Only a bright smile will appear. No one will be hungry anymore, no one needs to hide from the demons and beasts, no more strife among humanity, none shall perish ever again."
Many years had already past and the promised saviors were still yet to come. The faith of most was wavering and most had already wavered. Who would remain faithful until the very end? Who would still hold a grasp from the promise of the Four Greatest Hunters?
This is a battle of faith! To believe what is unseen!