Prologue
“The Holy Mother showed a vast sea of fire beneath the earth. Demons in human form and the souls of the damned were submerged within it like burning, translucent coals, their bodies blackened or gleaming bronze. They drifted through the inferno, only to rise toward the heavens upon flames that burst forth from within them, spewing clouds of smoke. Weightless, they surrounded us, their agonized screams and desperate moans filling the air before they fell once more into the depths.
Then shall the Child of the Red Moon appear.
With a blazing gaze, the Child shall sear fear into the minds of men, sparing neither our sons nor our women, leaving their souls to perish in torment. Mercy shall be unknown to the Child—only destruction and blood, bringing with it the final fulfillment of our world’s suffering at the side of the Prince of Hell…”
(The Prophecies of Catara, excerpt)
It had always been known as the heart of Eurona.
A seemingly ordinary stretch of land encircled by mountains, with a vast plain at its center, divided by countless rivers. A small country steeped in superstition and ancient belief, carrying the weight of thousands of years of history.
This was Carpania.
During the Middle Ages, a dark prophecy cast its shadow over the lives of its people, sending them to their beds each night gripped by fear.
A prophecy that foretold the End.
The forces of darkness flooded the country with their creatures before spreading across the continent. The Church began its war against Satan’s offspring and their servants, but its strength was meager compared to that of the darkness.
The Creator heard the prayers of the innocent.
Heavenly Soldiers descended among mankind and chose strong men to bear their mark. They bestowed upon them power—an extraordinary strength that would endure through their bloodlines. Only with this gift were they capable of destroying the evil that had invaded their world.
After their victory, the chosen were worshipped as gods. They were showered with every earthly luxury imaginable, and before long, the Marked began to abuse their status, bending ordinary people to their will.
The Church did not look kindly upon this.
Sects arose and began hunting the Heavenly Chosen. Their homes were burned to the ground, their children taken from them. Those captured children, who had inherited extraordinary abilities through their fathers’ bloodlines, were secretly raised and trained by the very sects that had destroyed their families.
As the years passed, the world forgot that the Marked had ever existed.
Carpania developed just as its neighboring countries did. The prophecy faded into obscurity, while those born with extraordinary abilities either concealed what they were or learned to live ordinary lives among everyone else.
From the twentieth century onward, secret orders emerged with one purpose: to destroy the creatures of Satan. Beneath the cover of night, they protected a people who no longer even knew there was anything to fear.
In the end, Catara’s prophecies proved true.
For there was a woman who had been given the power of creation…
and a man who had been given the power of destruction.
One reckless act, committed upon a cursed and magical night, sealed not only their fate, but the fate of the entire world.
And from their love, a child was conceived.
The Child of the Red Moon.
Born into this world for one purpose:
to destroy the realm of mortals.
