Chapter 186: The World After the Great Collapse

Fifty years ago, the world as humanity knew it came to an end.

It began with the appearance of a mysterious celestial phenomenon that would later become known as the First Red Moon.

On that fateful night, the moon hanging above Earth turned completely crimson, bathing the entire planet in an ominous red light. No country, continent, or civilization was spared from its illumination, and billions of people watched in confusion as the familiar night sky transformed into something they had never witnessed before.

However, the appearance of the Red Moon was merely the beginning.

As its crimson light spread across the world, something extraordinary happened to a small portion of humanity.

The tattoos engraved upon their bodies began to awaken.

Some burned with brilliant golden light, while others emitted strange colors or released terrifying fluctuations of energy. Ordinary markings that had previously served as decorations, expressions of faith, or personal symbols suddenly transformed into something far beyond human understanding.

They became Divine Runes.

Those fortunate enough to experience this transformation discovered that their tattoos had granted them supernatural powers.

Some obtained extraordinary physical strength, allowing them to shatter stone with their bare hands. Others gained control over fire, lightning, ice, and other elements, while a fortunate few awakened powers so unusual that they defied conventional understanding.

These individuals became known as Awakeners.

Yet the phenomenon was far from universal.

Not everyone possessing a tattoo awakened a Divine Rune. In fact, the overwhelming majority of tattooed individuals experienced absolutely nothing.

At first, humanity struggled to understand why certain tattoos transformed while others remained ordinary markings.

Some believed that the size of a tattoo determined its chances of awakening. Others argued that expensive artwork, elaborate designs, or tattoos depicting powerful creatures possessed greater potential.

However, these assumptions were eventually proven incorrect.

A person whose entire back was covered in elaborate artwork could remain an ordinary human, while someone possessing a single, seemingly insignificant tattoo might awaken an extraordinary Divine Rune.

After sometimw of observation and countless documented cases, humanity gradually came to understand one of the most fundamental principles governing Divine Rune Awakening.

A tattoo required sufficient conceptual weight to awaken.

Conceptual weight had nothing to do with the physical size of a tattoo, the amount of ink used, or the artistic skill of the person who created it.

Instead, it concerned the meaning, symbolism, and significance embodied by the tattoo itself.

A tattoo depicting an ordinary sword, for example, did not automatically possess enough conceptual weight to become a Divine Rune.

However, a sword associated with a powerful legend, an ancient myth, or a profound concept might possess an entirely different significance.

The same principle applied to animals, mythical creatures, deities, celestial bodies, and countless other symbols.

A simple flame could represent nothing more than ordinary fire, while another flame might embody destruction, purification, rebirth, or an undying celestial phenomenon.

Although their appearances could be similar, the concepts represented by those tattoos were fundamentally different.

Naturally, possessing sufficient conceptual weight did not guarantee that a tattoo would awaken.

It merely meant that the tattoo possessed the potential to resonate with the mysterious power of the Red Moon.

Whether that potential would actually manifest remained uncertain.

Even after fifty years, humanity had never completely deciphered the mysteries surrounding Divine Runes.

What researchers and Awakeners eventually established was that Divine Runes possessed different ranks, reflecting the quality and potential of the powers they bestowed.

Furthermore, the strength of an Awakener depended not only on the rank of their Divine Rune but also on their personal development, experience, and mastery over its abilities.

An extraordinary Divine Rune in the hands of an inexperienced Awakener did not automatically make that individual invincible.

Nevertheless, the emergence of Awakeners fundamentally changed humanity’s destiny.

Unfortunately, the Red Moon had brought something far more terrifying than supernatural powers.

Dungeons.

Shortly after the First Red Moon appeared, mysterious entrances began manifesting throughout the world.

They appeared in cities, forests, mountains, deserts, and even locations that had previously been considered completely safe.

Beyond these entrances existed strange environments inhabited by creatures that humanity had never encountered.

Some resembled monstrous versions of familiar animals, while others possessed appearances so grotesque that they seemed to have emerged directly from humanity’s darkest nightmares.

These creatures became collectively known as monsters.

At first, many governments attempted to contain the newly discovered Dungeons using conventional military forces.

However, their efforts quickly proved insufficient.

Monsters began emerging from Dungeon entrances, attacking settlements and slaughtering civilians. Entire neighborhoods were destroyed overnight, while previously secure transportation routes became dangerous territories.

Worse still, the number of Dungeons continued increasing.

What began as isolated disasters rapidly escalated into a worldwide catastrophe.

Humanity’s existing military forces struggled against creatures possessing extraordinary strength, unnatural resilience, and terrifying supernatural powers.

Even heavily fortified cities could fall when sufficiently powerful monsters appeared.

Within a relatively short period, the political and economic systems that had governed Earth for centuries began collapsing.

International trade networks disintegrated. Communications between distant territories became unreliable, and millions of people were forced to abandon their homes.

Entire cities disappeared beneath waves of destruction.

Countries that had once commanded enormous political and military influence found themselves struggling merely to protect their remaining populations.

This catastrophic period became known throughout history as the Great Collapse.

It was an era that permanently divided human history into two distinct periods.

The world before the First Red Moon.

And the world that emerged afterward.

Yet humanity did not disappear.

As conventional military forces struggled to contain the disaster, Awakeners gradually became humanity’s most important defenders.

Their Divine Runes allowed them to confront monsters that ordinary soldiers could scarcely injure.

Some Awakeners possessed overwhelming destructive capabilities, while others specialized in healing, protection, reconnaissance, or abilities that proved invaluable during the countless battles for survival.

Initially, most Awakeners fought independently or alongside the remnants of their respective national military forces.

However, as the catastrophe continued, cooperation became increasingly necessary.

Surviving governments, military organizations, and powerful Awakeners began forming alliances, pooling their remaining resources to protect humanity’s last strongholds.

The struggle lasted for years.

Countless lives were lost, and entire generations grew up knowing nothing except fortified settlements, monster attacks, and the constant threat of annihilation.

Nevertheless, humanity slowly began reclaiming its territories.

With the help of increasingly experienced Awakeners, surviving populations established secure settlements, reopened transportation routes, and gradually reconstructed the foundations of civilization.

However, the world that emerged from the devastation was fundamentally different from the one that had existed before.

The old international borders had lost much of their meaning.

During the Great Collapse, millions of refugees had crossed national boundaries in search of safety, while surviving populations from different countries were forced to settle together.

Many former national governments had disappeared entirely, and others lacked the resources necessary to govern their remaining territories independently.

Eventually, humanity reached a conclusion that would have seemed almost unimaginable before the catastrophe.

If civilization was to survive, the remaining populations could no longer afford to remain divided by the political rivalries of the old world.

Thus, after years of negotiations, military cooperation, and political restructuring, the surviving powers established a unified global government.

The Earth Union.

Under this new political system, the former independent countries ceased to exist as sovereign nations.

Instead, Earth was reorganized into a unified administrative structure, with the Earth Union serving as the highest governing authority.

Beneath the central government were Continental Administrations, which oversaw the major continental territories.

Each continental territory was subsequently divided into Regions, followed by smaller Territories and Cities.

This restructuring allowed the Earth Union to coordinate military defenses, distribute resources, regulate transportation, and oversee the reconstruction of settlements across the planet.

Although the former countries had disappeared politically, their cultures, languages, traditions, and historical identities continued to survive among their descendants.

Fifty years was hardly enough time to erase thousands of years of human civilization.

Instead, the Great Collapse had created a world where people of different ancestral backgrounds increasingly lived together beneath the same political authority.

By the year 2075, the Earth Union recognized twenty major administrative Regions distributed across five principal continental territories.

The Asian Continental Administration consisted of five Regions: the Huaxia Region, Haedong Region, Rus Region, Bharat Region, and Aryana Region.

The African Continental Administration consisted of six Regions: the Maghreb Region, Nile Region, Sahel Region, Guinea Region, Kongo Region, and Zanj Region.

The European Continental Administration consisted of four Regions: the Albion Region, Frankish Region, Baltic Region, and Danubian Region.

The North American Continental Administration consisted of three Regions: the Columbia Region, Laurentian Region, and Anahuac Region.

Finally, the South American Continental Administration consisted of two Regions: the Andean Region and Plata Region.

These twenty Regions formed the principal administrative foundation of the modern Earth Union.

However, not every part of the planet had been successfully reclaimed.

Certain territories remained far too dangerous for ordinary human habitation.

The Australian landmass, for example, had become widely known as the Wild Continent, a vast and extremely dangerous territory where powerful monsters dominated enormous stretches of land.

Other locations, including the frozen expanses of Antarctica and the terrifying wilderness of the Amazon, remained among Earth’s most notorious danger zones.

Even the oceans had become considerably more dangerous than they had been before the Great Collapse.

Consequently, humanity’s reconstructed civilization remained concentrated around territories that could be defended and maintained.

The Earth Union also recognized that the existence of Awakeners required a specialized regulatory authority.

Individuals capable of destroying buildings, devastating entire battlefields, or confronting monstrous creatures could not be governed through ordinary civilian institutions alone.

Thus, O.R.D.O. gradually emerged as the principal international organization responsible for overseeing Awakener affairs.

Operating under the authority of the Earth Union, O.R.D.O. regulated numerous matters involving Awakeners, including their registration, activities, and the enforcement of laws governing their conduct.

It also played an important role in maintaining order among the countless Guilds, Raid Teams, and independent Awakeners operating throughout human territories.

Over the following decades, Guilds became an indispensable part of modern civilization.

They organized Dungeon expeditions, employed professional Raiders, and helped secure resources that had become essential to humanity’s continued development.

A new economy gradually emerged around Dungeons, monsters, and the extraordinary materials obtained from them.

Cities expanded, technology advanced, and the ruins of the old world slowly gave way to a new civilization.

Yet despite everything humanity had accomplished, the danger had never truly disappeared.

Dungeons continued appearing.

Monsters continued threatening human settlements.

And the balance between civilization and destruction remained dependent upon the strength of those capable of confronting them.

Within the North American Continental Administration, the Laurentian Region had become one of the territories rebuilt during the decades following the Great Collapse.

Zenith City, where Jet Saint-Clair and his companions had lived until recently, was one of its many cities.

And now, three days after leaving their familiar home behind, the four travelers were approaching another Chapter of their lives.

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Somewhere along a relatively deserted highway, a dusty off-road vehicle continued moving beneath the afternoon sky.

Its once-clean exterior was now covered with layers of dirt accumulated throughout the long journey. Dried mud clung to its tires, while faint streaks of dust decorated the windows and rear compartment.

The highway stretched ahead between long rows of trees, illuminated by the fading sunlight.

Occasionally, another vehicle passed in the opposite direction, but otherwise the road remained remarkably quiet.

Inside the vehicle, four travelers continued toward their destination.

The journey had been exhausting, filled with countless hours of driving, occasional stops, and more than a few disagreements over the most trivial matters.

Nevertheless, they were finally drawing closer.

As the vehicle rounded a gentle bend, a large roadside sign gradually appeared in the distance.

Its enormous metallic frame stood beside the highway, with several neon lights flickering intermittently across its surface.

Despite the wear left by years of exposure to the elements, the words displayed upon it remained unmistakable.

WELCOME TO TORONTO

120 KM AHEAD

The dusty off-road vehicle passed beneath the flickering sign and continued along the highway, carrying its four occupants toward the enormous metropolis awaiting them.