SPOILER WARNING: IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED THE GAME YET, PLEASE DO!

OTHERWISE THIS WILL MAKE NO SENSE OR RUIN PARTS OF THE GAME YOU HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO YET.

SO PLEASE, GO PLAY IT, SERIOUSLY!

...

WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?

YOU BETTER HAVE PLAYED THE GAME BY NOW.

I WANT NO RESPONSIBILITY OVER SPOILING THINGS FOR OTHERS.

Long ago, two races ruled over the Earth: HUMANS and MONSTERS.

Their lives were complicated, but they made things work out.

However, the differences between the two species didn't just limit itself to the physical, but also the psychological.

A monster's soul composes their entire body, therefore, the soul is weak, and the monsters have a much harder time dealing with enemies that they do not wish to fight, or against enemies that have a significant amount of hate in them.

Since the soul is what makes the monster's body, the moment the monster breathes his last breath and falls down, their soul disappears, and the body turns into dust.

The only monsters who have a soul that persists after death are called 'Boss Monsters', and, even then, the monster's soul does not linger for very long.

A human's soul on the other hand, is the essence of their beings housed into a physical body, as such, humans can have powerful physical attacks no matter what their moods may be, making them stronger than a monster.

The resolve to change fate and the will to live is what gives a human the ever fabled 'Determination', and with this power, a human's soul can persist long after its host body has passed away.

It was discovered at some point that monsters can absorb human souls and gain strength from them, if one monster gets just one soul, they will become ten times stronger than they were before, so a monster with a handful of absorbed human souls could be nearly unstoppable.

Humans can also absorb the soul of monsters, but since the vast majority of monster souls disappear immediately, humans were at a disadvantage, since the only monster souls that last long enough are Boss Monsters and there weren't many of those type of monsters.

Fearing that the monsters would one day turn on humanity and slaughter their people, absorb their souls and gain dominance over them, the humans decided to launch a preemptive strike.

One day, war broke out between the two races.

The humans attacked abruptly and mercilessly, out of fear of their only weakness: having their SOUL absorbed by a monster.

A monster with a human SOUL...A horrible beast with unfathomable power, the humans, afraid of this power, declared war on the monsters.

Monsters were too weak to put up a fight; the soul of nearly every monster combined is only just as strong as the power of one human SOUL.

Not a single SOUL was taken, not a single human casualty, and countless monsters were massacred with their bodies turned to dust.

After a long grueling battle, the monsters were forced to surrender and the humans were victorious.

The only merciful act to come of this war, the humans gathered seven of their greatest magicians and sealed the monsters under Mount Ebott with a magic spell with the goal of monsters never being able to return...this barrier however is not completely perfect.

Anything can fall through the barrier on Mount Ebott, however, only a being with the soul of a human and a monster can successfully escape out to the Surface.

The barrier can be broken, but seven human souls are required to do so, as they would equal the same power as the original spell itself.

Many years after the war, this is what was passed down for generations to understand.

From fact, to legend, and lastly to myth...And now all that is left is an old warning, that those who climb the mountain never return.

Now in the year 201X, I know all this, I've always been curious about lore and fables, I find them incredibly fascinating.

This was one of the main reasons why I go to the mountain every two weeks, that and it's where one can find very rare crystals...very beautiful.

Why do I do this?

Well it's sort of my job, I sell most of the gems I find while keeping a few for my own personal collection, it would be such a waste to sell them all...but you know, it's a living.

Speaking of living, I've set up a good life on the farthest edge of town, everything I need is at my call, I grow most of my own food and cook my meals when I don't want something in town, having loads of 'Do It Your Self' books help when I'm unsure of what I need to do in or out doors, and other than that it's a fairly normal life for a human to have.

But I will admit this, there's a reason I moved far away from other people, I'm not hateful but I despise my own kind, humans are cowardly and disgraceful beings, never at peace for long and always attacking that which they don't even bother to understand.

Humans are the creatures destroying the planet, taking resources irresponsibly without giving the world time to heal, countless animal species reduced to mere memory due to human progress...knowing that I, myself, am human makes me sick.

Yet there's nothing I can do about this, a single girl can't change the world, I can't stop the power of nearly 8 billion others, so I choose to be alone, to be away from it all...to a point, a girl still needs to buy the necessities every now and then.

Other than all my weirdness, my life is normal, nothing really new or interesting ever happens to me, heck I don't even get mail unless it's a bill or coupon adds.

Which is why today feels like any other ordinary day.

I woke up, ate some leftover food, washed up, did some random nerd stuff, same old boring routine.

By the afternoon, I head out to the mountain with only what I have in my backpack, just some snacks and water along with my MP3 player and some digging tools.

Like normal, I first explore the mountain's sides for some loosen gems, it doesn't always pay out but it doesn't hurt to look just in case.

When I'm sure my outside search is done I head inside one of the many caves, but today this is different, I haven't been in this one before.

The entrance is a bit hidden, trees try to block its mouth but it's still noticeable, the cave itself is massive and deep, the possibilities for treasure feel good here.

Not even 20 feet inside and I find small crystals, by the looks of it, more appear further in...to say my curiosity is peeked would be an understatement.

Gathering some of these small ones, I follow the faintly glittering trail that is soon accompanied by tiny flowered vines, it's like I'm going further down the rabbit hole and will soon end up in Wonderland...now that would be funny.

But my silly thinking seems to be made real, for in the heart of this cave, I discover an enormous hole, the vines are creeping out of it and as if to tease me large gems are right on the edge.

I know this can end bad, one wrong move and it's game over world, but I can't pass this opportunity, these things are huge and I must have them!

I grab several vines and make a usable rope, my first idea is to see if I can lasso them out but this quickly proves useless, so now the more dangerous option is the only one left...other than just leaving without them of course, but that would be boring.

Now the vine rope is my tether, the words 'don't break' repeat it my head like a silent wish, thankfully this seems to work and my reward is a jewel that I can't even fully grasp in my hand...magnificent!

Feeding off this achievement I decide to tempt fate again, one, now two, and then three, all these shinies now belong to me!

There's a final gem teasing me now, it's the biggest and most alluring thing I've ever seen, it's definitely going to be the prize of my collection...all I have to do is get it.

I stretch the vine rope and my own body as far as I can make it, I just barely reach it, I have to tap the sides carefully with my chisel so it can even loosen it up...it does.

The rock crumbles, it falls forwards, time seems to slow in my eyes as in a desperate move I use the chisel to hit it up in the air like a racket and ball.

It flies over my head, I lean further and reach for it, it slips, now I'm juggling this thing one handed and freaking out because I know this is too much stress for the vines.

Suddenly the moment is right, I caught it, it's in my clutches, my heart is pounding and the biggest smile of relief spreads over my face...thank you sweet merciful...

[SNAP]

The vines break, gravity takes hold of my body, my vision blurs at the rate I'm plummeting, the last thing I remember is staring into the dark abyss as it swallowed me completely...then there was nothing.

Now, the story begins.