They say the world might end one day.
Because of fire. Or water. Or maybe war.
But no one ever said it would end with a gate.
A strange door in the sky. Silent. Glowing. Not normal at all.
It just… appeared. Like the sky had opened up.
And I was there.
Right under it.
My name is Ryo Kisaragi. I'm 23.
I'm not a hero.
I'm not strong.
I don't have any powers.
I'm just a normal guy—maybe even a loser. I dropped out of school. I deliver food for a living. Nobody really notices me.
That day, I was carrying fried chicken to a hospital. Just doing my job.
But then, everything changed.
The air felt heavy.
Like something big was about to happen.
I looked up… and saw it.
A door… floating in the sky.
It wasn't made of wood or metal. It was made of light.
Red and black, like fire and shadows mixed together.
It didn't make a loud sound. It didn't crash or shake the earth.
It just hung there, quiet and strange.
And yet, when I looked at it…
I felt it looking back.
What is that thing?
Why does it feel like it's calling me?
Why can't I move?
Then, it pulled me in.
No warning. No time to scream.
Just… darkness.
---
I woke up on cold stone.
The sky was gone.
I was in some kind of cave. Huge. Empty. Old.
It didn't feel like Earth anymore.
The walls had glowing marks on them—symbols I couldn't read.
The air was thick and still.
Where am I?
How did I get here?
Am I dead?
There was no sound.
No people.
Just me. And the cave.
Then, a voice spoke inside my head:
[Welcome to the Trial of Eternity.]
[Only one may survive.]
I jumped up.
That voice… it wasn't from a speaker. It was inside my head.
Like a thought—but not mine.
The cave stayed silent.
But in the corner, a small blue light appeared. Floating in the air.
A message.
[Trial Level: 1 – Survive 24 hours.]
[Warning: No exit until trial is cleared.]
I didn't understand.
Trial? What trial?
Why me?
How do I survive in a place like this?
I tried to walk, but the floor was rough and uneven. My legs shook.
I was still in my work clothes. No weapons. No tools. Just my phone—which was dead.
No signal. No light. Just useless.
The cave was cold. The air smelled old, like dust and stone.
And then… I heard something.
A sound.
Soft.
Wet.
Like something crawling.
I turned slowly. My heart thudded in my chest.
Something was moving in the dark.
A shape. Low to the ground. Sharp legs. Glowing eyes.
It wasn't human.
It looked like a giant insect. Like a spider—but with too many legs and bone armor.
And it was watching me.
What is that thing?
Why is it coming closer?
Is this part of the trial?
I wanted to run.
But there was nowhere to go.
Just more darkness.
I picked up a rock. My hands were shaking. I didn't know how to fight.
I never even got into a real fight before.
"Stay back!" I yelled. My voice echoed through the cave.
The thing hissed.
It moved faster.
That's when I realized something.
This wasn't a dream.
This wasn't a joke.
If I don't fight…
I'm going to die here.
That was the first monster.
I don't remember how I killed it.
I think I just screamed and hit it with the rock until it stopped moving.
My hands were covered in blood. Not mine.
And then… another one came.
And another.
And another.
Days passed. Maybe weeks. I lost count.
There was no sun. No time. No sleep. Only pain.
Food appeared sometimes after a fight. Strange glowing meat.
I ate it. I had no choice.
It tasted like fire and metal, but it kept me alive.
Sometimes the voice came back.
[Trial Complete.]
[Next Level Unlocked.]
The monsters got stronger.
So I had to get stronger too.
At first, I was scared. I cried. I screamed for help.
But no one came.
No one ever came.
---
1 year passed.
I learned how to move without making a sound.
I sharpened bones into knives.
I stopped thinking like a human.
5 years passed.
My body changed.
My eyes could see in the dark.
My muscles grew. My wounds healed faster.
I no longer feared the beasts.
I hunted them.
10 years passed.
I stopped counting.
The cave became my world.
The monsters became my teachers.
Every fight was death.
Every victory was pain.
But I endured.
12,000 years passed.
(Time moved differently inside. Outside, only days had passed.)
I should have gone mad. But something inside me kept going.
A fire that never stopped burning.
A voice that whispered: "Survive."
"Grow."
"Become more."
---
And then… it happened.
The last gate inside the cave opened.
Light poured in.
Real light.
For the first time in thousands of years, I saw the sky again.
I stepped out.
My skin touched wind. Rain. Life.
But I wasn't the same.
I was no longer Ryo Kisaragi, the delivery guy.
I was something else.
A survivor. A monster. A warrior.
The voice inside me spoke one last time:
[Trial Complete.]
[You have earned the title: Monarch of the Limitless.]
The first breath I took felt sharp.
The air was real. Heavy. Cold.
I stepped out of the collapsing gate and dropped to my knees.
The sky was different.
The world had moved on.
[System Synchronization Complete.]
[Earth Time Passed: 35 Years.]
I froze. Thirty-five years…
While I lived through twenty thousand inside that cave.
---
All around the world, I could feel them.
Rifts—Gates—pulsing like open wounds.
Monsters crawling out.
Humans evolving.
The System's voice returned:
[Gates began appearing 30 years ago.]
[They connect Earth to other dimensions filled with beasts and power.]
[Those who survived their first encounters awakened as: Hunters.]
---
[Hunter Rankings Established: E, D, C, B, A, S.]
[S-Rank: Can destroy entire cities alone.]
But then something changed in the tone.
[Above S-Rank exist the Crown-Class Hunters.]
[Only 14 in the world.]
[Power so great, they are considered global weapons.]
"Global weapons…" I muttered.
---
Then I felt it.
Far across the sea.
Magic that wasn't from Gates.
I looked toward the horizon.
And I saw it: a Tower.
No… Hundreds of Towers. Each in a different direction.
Massive structures floating just off the ground.
Silent. Unmoving.
[Towers appeared 25 years ago.]
[Each one in a different major region.]
[No one has ever entered one.]
[All attempts failed. They remain sealed.]
People call them forbidden.
They say they're not ready.
Some believe they are tombs for gods.
Others call them waiting tests.
But I know one thing.
They're alive.
I stood up.
The world has spent only 35 years trying to understand these mysteries.
I've spent 20,000 years surviving them.
Fighting creatures that make the Towers seem like toys.
And now… I'm back.
[You do not belong in the ranking system.]
[You are not a Hunter.]
[New Title Granted: Monarch of the Limitless.]
---
A weak gate opened nearby. A bird-type beast stepped through.
Sharp claws. Hungry eyes.
It looked straight at me—and bowed.
It didn't fight.
It knew.
I'm not part of this world's system.
I'm something else.
The world thought the Towers were closed.
They are.
But not to me.