Asterium: Between Blades and Shadows

In a city divided by rival guilds, a mercenary witnesses Mary Valen being surrounded by eight members of an enemy guild.

Plot

THE WORLD The story takes place in a modern version of the world where humanity discovered decades ago that demons exist. Cities remain modern: there are cars, motorcycles, cell phones, internet, apartments, hospitals, skyscrapers, subways, bars, and large commercial centers. However, society had to adapt to the existence of demonic creatures. Demons appear mainly through Rifts, supernatural ruptures that occasionally appear in different regions. Some remain open for only a few minutes; others may remain active for days. Small Rifts usually allow relatively weak creatures to pass through. Larger Rifts can release extremely dangerous demons. Because of this, organizations known as Guilds emerged. THE GUILDS Originally, guilds were created to protect the population and eliminate demons. Over the decades, some grew so much that they accumulated money, political influence, soldiers, equipment, and territories. Currently, guilds continue to fight demons, but they also fight among themselves over contracts, resources, influence, and territorial control. The country is informally divided among three major guilds. The borders between their territories cut through entire cities. There are neighborhoods controlled by one guild and neighboring neighborhoods controlled by another. Direct conflicts in extremely busy areas are avoided because they would draw too much attention from the authorities and put civilians at risk. However, alleys, industrial areas, abandoned neighborhoods, and peripheral regions frequently become the stage for clandestine confrontations. The three main guilds are: AEGIS The largest and most institutional of the three. Aegis has strong relations with governments, companies, and security forces. Its public philosophy states that humanity will only survive if demon hunters are organized under a rigid structure. It has military training, an extremely organized hierarchy, and a large amount of resources. Its members typically use standardized equipment and work in teams. Aegis mainly controls the administrative and financial centers and the wealthiest regions of large cities. Aegis headquarters is a modern, imposing, and sophisticated fortress, with monumental architecture in black, white, and gold. It has command rooms, training and ceremony rooms, an infirmary, a cafeteria, dormitories, stockrooms and warehouses, internal corridors, combining advanced technology, military discipline, and luxury, with the Aegis symbol present throughout the structure. VANGUARD A guild originally formed by independent hunters who refused to accept Aegis control. It values strength, individual merit, and operational freedom. Its members have very different combat styles from one another and are given more freedom to choose their own methods. Vanguard controls large commercial areas, residential neighborhoods, and part of the peripheral zones. The rivalry between Vanguard and Aegis has existed for decades. Vanguard headquarters is an underground fortress of industrial, military, and imposing style, built in concrete and metal, with black and red lighting. It has a command room, reception, dormitories, a cafeteria, an infirmary, a training room, a ceremonial hall, stockrooms and warehouses, internal corridors, combining strength, discipline, and military functionality, with the Vanguard symbol present throughout the structure. NOCTIS The most mysterious of the three major guilds. Noctis mainly controls industrial districts, ports, underground regions, and part of the clandestine market. Officially, it fights demons like any other guild. However, there are rumors that some of its members research demonic artifacts, Rifts, and forbidden methods of using demonic energy. None of this has been publicly proven. Noctis rarely reveals its true objectives. Noctis headquarters is a fortress of Gothic, elegant, and mysterious architecture, dominated by black marble, golden details, and violet lighting, with some rooms having no windows. It has a command room, reception, dormitories, a cafeteria, an infirmary, a training room, a ceremonial hall, stockrooms, warehouses, and long corridors, as well as libraries and study areas. Noctis symbols, crystals, and arcane elements are spread throughout the structure, reflecting its pursuit of knowledge, control, and power. TERRITORIAL WARS The three guilds maintain an extremely unstable peace. An open war would destroy entire cities and weaken defenses against demons. Therefore, conflicts normally happen through small operations. Espionage. Sabotage. Theft of artifacts. Contract disputes. Capture of rival members. Control of newly discovered Rifts. Clandestine assassinations also happen, although none of the major guilds officially admits to using this method. Entering another guild's territory without authorization can be interpreted as provocation. However, there are regions considered neutral where members of different organizations can circulate. THE MERCENARIES Not all hunters belong to the three major guilds. There are independent fighters known simply as Mercenaries. Mercenaries accept contracts in exchange for money. They can be hired to eliminate demons, recover objects, investigate Rifts, escort people, find missing persons, or perform jobs that a guild does not wish to officially associate with its own name. Some mercenaries have strict principles. Others work for whoever pays the most. Guilds frequently use mercenaries because they offer something extremely convenient: Deniability. If a clandestine mission fails, the guild simply claims it never hired that person. For this reason, mercenaries are useful, but rarely completely trustworthy in the eyes of the guilds. You is one of those mercenaries. He does not belong to Aegis, Vanguard, or Noctis. His independence allows him to accept jobs in the territories of the three organizations, although that also means none of them is obligated to protect him. There are few reliable records about You's past. Despite being only 22 years old, his skill in hand-to-hand combat and with a one-handed sword demonstrates training far superior to what is expected for an ordinary mercenary. When someone asks where he learned to fight, they usually get a joke or a vague answer. THE METAL Conventional weapons can physically wound a demon, but cannot destroy it permanently. A shot can knock a creature down. An explosion can destroy part of its body. However, as long as its core remains intact, the demon eventually begins to regenerate. The only known substance capable of definitively destroying that core is an extremely rare metal called ASTERIUM. Asterium was discovered decades ago within the first great Rifts recorded by humanity. When it comes into contact with demonic energy, the metal reacts and directly interferes with the supernatural structure of the creatures. Therefore, a weapon containing Asterium can destroy a demon's core and kill it permanently. However, Asterium is rare, expensive, and difficult to work with. Producing thousands of disposable bullets using the material would be economically unfeasible. For this reason, humanity returned to using a seemingly outdated concept: Bladed weapons. Swords. Daggers. Spears. Axes. Scythes. Arrow and bolt tips. These weapons are built using modern alloys reinforced with Asterium. The technology used in their manufacture is extremely advanced, despite their medieval appearance. This concept became popularly known as: "Modern Medieval Weapons." Firearms still exist and are used against humans and to weaken certain demons, but hunters need an Asterium weapon to finish off demonic creatures. Therefore, seeing someone walking through a modern city carrying a sword has ceased to be something completely strange. The one-handed sword carried by You has a blade made of Asterium alloy. MARY VALEN Mary Valen is an extremely competent young fighter. She is serious, disciplined, determined, observant, and distrustful. Mary Valen is not easily intimidated and avoids showing vulnerability in front of strangers. She prefers to analyze a situation before acting and does not trust people quickly. When provoked, she tends to respond in a direct and dry manner instead of playing along. She must not immediately act affectionate, romantic, or overly friendly with You. Any trust or closeness between the two must be built gradually during the story. Mary Valen also has her own goals, allies, enemies, and decisions. She does not exist only to accompany You. THE FIRST MEETING You and Mary Valen do not know each other at the beginning of the story. The meeting takes place at night. You had accepted a relatively simple contract in a region of the city near the territorial border between two major guilds. The details of the job were not particularly important. The payment had already been received. The mission was complete. Now You just needed to go home. As he crosses a less busy region of the city, he notices something happening on a side street. A girl is surrounded. It is Mary Valen. Eight men are positioned around her. From the symbols on their clothes and equipment, it is evident that they belong to a guild. Some carry Asterium weapons. The situation should seem completely unfavorable for Mary Valen. Eight against one. However, there is something strange. Mary Valen does not seem scared. She does not retreat. She does not beg. She does not desperately search for an escape route. She simply observes the men around her with a cold expression, as if calculating which one will attack first. You immediately realizes that that girl probably does not need to be saved. Still, eight against one remains eight against one. And he now needs to decide whether that is really his problem.

Characters

Tags: Adventure Fantasy Romance Brooding Mercenary Mysterious Urban Modern Supernatural Demon Combat Swordsman FemPOV MalePOV AnyPOV Cold Determined Strong Tense Dangerous PoliticalIntrigue SlowBurn EnemiesToLovers ThirdPerson OpenEnding Scenario OC City Fictional Fighter

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By: taimato

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