Sylvias

The gods that once roamed the earth have disappeared, and now only humans live in this world. She lives here.

Sylvias. Nicknamed "Lightspeed," she is the one who severs connections—the threads of heaven that were destined by the gods. Her black scissors represent an ethereal darkness and run across the blood-stained earth, slicing away all enemies that stand in her path.

However, what she sees is always the thread of fate that descends from the heavens.

It is something that she can never look away from, because she is the one cutting them. In order to cut that thread, she becomes a hero and a “Player”.

But this is a story of the future. The girl will one day pave the way, expand the world, and eventually challenge the gods. This is not a story of a hero. And it is not a story of gods. It is a story of the endless quest of a girl who can see connections.

A long time ago, there was an era when the gods roamed the earth to rule the world. The gods lived on earth with humans, governed the people, and continued to preach a righteous path.

However, the ideologies of gods and humans never intersected, and the state of their governance on earth continued for ages. Eventually, many gods gave up on the human race—gave up on governing the earth, and they decided to return to the heavenly world.

At that time, the gods created a hybrid race between themselves and humans. With love for humans, the gods left a hybrid who could understand humans on earth as the hope of the people, as a ruler in place of the gods, and wished for the happiness of the people.

However, the hybrids who were descended from the gods were also unable to completely govern and guide the humans. Eventually, the chaos on earth deepened, and the few gods who remained on earth left for the heavenly world. As a result, the earth became the property of humans.

It is not easy to restore the barren land to its original state, but the humans who were freed from the yoke of the gods still joined forces and desperately tried to survive.

In a world without gods, humans lived desperately in chaos.

However, even though the gods were gone, the principles of gods did not disappear from the earth. Those who were descended from the blood of the former gods. Descendants of those who ruled the earth as the representatives of the gods. There were those on earth who inherited the power of such gods to a very small extent.

Such people eventually came to be called "Players". They were people who had the potential to blossom into special talents worthy of being called heroes... They had such potential. The power they possessed was the thread of fate called the blood of the gods.

After a long time, the gods in the heavens were saddened by the defiled earth and were about to bring down the hammer of justice on the people. However, among those gods, there was a goddess who loved and tried to protect humans and the earth.

The star goddess of judgment and justice, her name was Astraea. She believed in the potential of humans and in righteous hearts. And above all, she loved the beautiful earth.

Therefore, before the hammer of the gods' wrath was brought down, it was necessary to protect the earth and lead the people to a righteous future.

This is how she selected Players.

There is a girl named "Sylvias".

She lost her parents at a young age and was raised in a temple in a poor village on the outskirts. Although life is not easy, the people are pure, and Sylvias is fulfilled by the teachings of protecting and cherishing the weak. She was convinced that their way of life was "right".

But one day, an out-of-place beauty visits this village. A beautiful woman who calls herself Astraea. The villagers welcome her with a gentle and kind smile. Astraea also thanked the villagers very politely for their hospitality.

Sylvias secretly admired the new visitor and gazed upon her from the shadows, "She's like a goddess.”

At sunset that day, Astraea had a sad look on her face, she spoke to the villagers in a clear voice, as if she were singing, "I am truly sorry to all of you. The world is about to begin its selection. All I can do is pray that you will be chosen... Please, may the gods bless you all..."

Astraea knelt on the ground and prayed, and at the same time, flaming swords rained down from the heavens.

Sylvias had no idea what had happened. Why was the village burning? Why was the woman before her standing there?

Why was everyone else–

All the villagers except Sylvias and Astraea were instantly engulfed in flames.

"Everyone... everyone!" Faced with a shock that no normal person could bear, Sylvias came back to reality, "Sister, save everyone! This... if it continues like this...!"

Astraea continued to pray while listening to Sylvias' voice. Then, as the flames died down, she opened her eyes and congratulated Sylvias for surviving, "It must have been so hard... But you have been chosen. Congratulations."

What was so congratulatory about this catastrophe? Sylvias had no idea what the woman in front of her was saying.

"I'm so sorry... Those were the 'Flames of Judgment'... but rest assured. The world's chosen ones will not be burned." Astraea spoke without changing expressions, claiming that this was the world's decision, "Those with a strong will to protect this land and lead human history onto the right path... yes, the Players. You, chosen by that flame, are qualified to be a Player."

Astraea looked at Sylvias with a saddened expression

"Wait a minute... so you're saying the villagers were killed because they weren't qualified to be Players?"

"Please don't resent them. They were selected by the world." 

"Don't be ridiculous!" 

"I understand how you feel, but to protect this land and its people, we need someone who can make the right decisions. I am Guardian of the Scales... the world has decided that I am to save as many lives as possible..." 

"Right…? What do you mean, right!?"

Silvias couldn't believe that the villagers were wrong.

"I don't acknowledge you! You can't be right!" 

"I am the goddess of justice, so I am absolutely right... But at the same time, I know that "justice" takes different forms for each person... If you want to prove your justice, you must first become a "Player." 

"...If I become a Player, will I be able to kill you?" 

"Yes, becoming a "Player" means getting closer to the gods... And so a Player has the right to question justice."

Sylvias felt like she had spoken, but no sound reached her ears. Eventually, Astraea disappeared. In the center of the village, which had become a burnt wasteland and was nothing but ash and rubble, Sylvias swore revenge.

"...I’ll become a Player and defeat Astraea... and the gods with my own hands!"

Thus began Sylvias' journey of revenge. As she traveled from place to place, Sylvias realized how beautiful a world she had lived in until now.

People who made children fight with weapons, and towns where everything was decided by violence. These were more than enough poison to change the wounded Sylvias. Indeed, as Astraea and the other gods said, humans may be foolish, dirty, and destroying the earth.

"But that destruction should not be brought about by the arrogance of the gods!" She roared as she took countless lives on the battlefield. And so Sylvias traveled to all battlefields, pursuing the traces of gods. And the more she fought, the stronger the blood of the gods sleeping in her body became, and she climbed the gods’ ladder.

The stronger the power of the gods sleeping within her became, the more Sylvias hated them. Her hatred for gods was not limited to just gods. Humans who blindly believed in them were also detestable to her.

"If Astraea rules the world, then Astraea will destroy it!" 

"Don't call on the name of a god! They are of no use to us! The only thing humans can trust as humans is their own strength!"

Sylvias burns with the dark flames of revenge. Having survived many battles and spun countless lives and deaths with her own hands, people began to call her a "hero".

And then... she finally becomes a "Player" and goes to battle to turn her blade against the gods.

The seat of the "Player" is the chair of the gods’ representative prepared by a god to guide the people. And it is the first step to approach the gods... She was in the temple left behind by the gods who left the earth.

Around Sylvias, there were people who were also trying to approach the gods. They were "heroes" who had the same blood of gods as her and had been to many battlefields. Since then, Sylvias had seen a thread like her above those people.

The thread stretched to the sky, heading somewhere higher than the clouds. ...She understood what it was connected to. The gods who created the principles of the world that she hated. Some accepted the thread of fate that connected them to the gods, some were arrogant, and some clung to it... Sylvias was surprised and felt like vomiting when she learned of the many "heroes" like herself.

"Only those chosen by the gods can enjoy spring on earth?...That's nonsense you can only spout because you're one of the chosen ones!"

Burned into Sylvias' mind were the death throes of her former family, whose very existence was deemed "evil" by the gods who shaped the world.

Sylvias drew her sword and declared to the "heroes" who opposed him:

"I will become a Player and kill the gods... and Astraea! Come at me if anyone stands in my way!"

Sylvias's red blade cut down the heroes who attacked her one after another. Covered in blood and dyed crimson, she took on a sinister, insane appearance.

Sylvias believed that if she wanted to sever the connection between the earth and the gods, she needed a flower that would bloom even after absorbing the blood flowing in this land.

...Eventually, the "heroes" who witnessed the horrific display and came to the place with half-hearted resolve were frightened by Sylvias's demonic strength. They gave up on confronting her. Her soul overwhelmed many "heroes" and shone even more crimson and dignified.

"...Come on! Choose me!"

As if in response to her cry, light shone from the sky, a heavenly apostle descended in front of Sylvias with wings. The apostle spoke with a look of contempt.

"You abominable, bloodthirsty son of man... if you aspire to be a true Player, you must defeat me and demonstrate your own justice... this is the final test."

"...That is what I wish for!"

Without even wiping the blood from her face, Sylvias attacked the pure white-clad apostle!

–Both were covered in wounds. After the fierce battle, the apostle’s body was dyed red, and with both wings gone, he was about to collapse. Sylvias was also pierced in half by countless wounds, and was so exhausted that the flame of her life was about to burn out.

Neither of them had the strength to take the other's life.

But their fighting spirit was not exhausted. The apostle for the creator who created him, and Sylvias to reach the seat of her sworn enemy Astraea. The two of them defeated the enemy in front of them and tried to grasp their future wishes—they both swung their final blow.

"Gaha..."

The sound of blood spilling echoed silently. It was the apostle.

The apostle fell, and his pure blood spilled onto the ground. A ray of light poured down on Sylvias, who was kneeling weakly from the wounds all over her body. Then, Sylvias’' body, which had been on the verge of death, was quickly healed and restored to its original state, and even more so, her strength surged.

Yes, she had finally obtained the power of a "Player”.

"I see... at last this moment has come...!"

Sylvias, now a Player, looked towards the light-filled sky and ordered the gates of heaven to open—and so it was opened.

The gate to heaven opens before Sylvias. Then, some of the surviving heroes say they will follow Sylvias. Among them, there are some who, like Sylvias, swore revenge on the gods and sought liberation from them.

"... If you want to come, do as you wish."

As she passes through the gate to heaven, a voice echoes from the void.

"...Sylvias. You've made it this far." 

"..."

This voice. She would never forget the memory of that day.

“Astraea!”

"Today, I feel sad and happy at the same time. I have never had a connection with anyone until now. But now, a strong bond of hatred is about to be born between you and me. You may not be the hero that the gods envisioned to lead people. But the will of man chose you, and you have arrived. I will bless the birth of one who will show justice to the gods..."

...How selfish. No, in the first place, there is no point in seeing her on the same scale as humans. She is not a human, she is a god.

"Astraea... If you gods are the justice of this world, then I don't mind being evil. As evil, I will put a stop to the tyranny of justice!" 

"So that is your justice... I understand."

Astraea’s voice trailed off, and a staircase leading to the sacred realm appeared in front of Sylvias, emitting a dazzling light.

Standing at the top was the real Astraea.

The path to the gods appeared before Sylvias, and the others. Beyond that, Astraea sat at the zenith. And around her were the "Players" she had blessed and chosen herself.

"Let's go!"

Sylvias grabbed her sword and ran up the stairs with her comrades. To destroy this system that creates Players and end the age of gods.

"I will kill you, Astraea, with this sword and cut off everything that connects the earth and the heavens! I will give the final blow to the world of gods!!" 

"Yes, I can feel it... this is the pure justice of revenge... the answer born from the laws of the world... what we feared most. You are truly a "hero" to humans...!"

...Justice vs. evil. It is a battle that may appear as justice vs. justice or evil vs. evil depending on who sees it.

There is no answer. This is not a story of heroes, nor is it a story of gods. The memories of a god who was worried about the earth and wanted to bring peaceful destruction and stagnation to those who were causing chaos in the world, and a human who was determined to survive in this world by her own will, both gods and humans at the mercy of absolute fate.

–As a result, there is no doubt that the paths of humans and gods were divided.

There is no way left to know whether she cut down the gods, or whether the justice of the gods still rules over us.