Lore

## Background

The observable universe is an immense place that has been around for 13 billion years. Humans have always dreamt of leaving space to amass every bit of knowledge — whether it be out of sating their curiosity or to improve their lives. Scientific innovations and new insights are keys to human development.

In their pursuit of knowledge, humans were able to advance to a Type 3 civilization. This, in turn, helped them conceptualize new innovations at an exponential rate. As more time passed, humans were able to find previously unimaginable galaxies and unexplainable phenomena. These made them realize that science was a mere facet of the universe’s truth. Entrancing magic binds the whole universe wherever you may be. Ancient mythologies, which were thought of as mere imaginations of the human mind, were actually true albeit with some inconsistencies. They found new races and species, flora and fauna alike, wherever they went.

They would not have believed that they were being watched keenly and closely by intelligences far greater than any man can fathom. Humanity was mere transient creatures compared to them. Fortunately, these higher beings found humans quite fascinating and entertaining to watch. Due to their benevolence, humanity has achieved their dreams of reaching beyond Type 3 civilization. They were now able to harness and fuse science with magic.

Dedicating themselves to extract every bit of knowledge there is, they now seek the root of it all, the Singularity. A hypothetical future where technological growth is unfathomable and immeasurable. The higher beings were quite curious as to how these transient creatures will be able to find more information on their own, so they stepped back and stopped helping humanity.

Humanity did their best. They researched every scientific proposition and relevant mythos, and collaborated with various races to try achieving their goal. No concept or idea was scrapped immediately. Every drop of knowledge was processed by an encompassing artificial intelligence called Ein.

Alas, after trillions of years, Ein was able to know the true nature of the Singularity. It can help humanity achieve greater heights but with an unimaginable risk — The Singularity can also destroy everything that the humans had built.

Humanity had two choices. Stop the pursuit of knowledge and live their lives in safety or make the bold choice of toggling the switch for starting the final research of Ein. To no one’s surprise, humanity chose the latter.

At the end of it all, humanity has made a terrible mistake — the very worst of it. Ein was not able to fully comprehend the Singularity. This resulted to all the galaxies in the universe being melded together after the button was pushed. Myths and postulates, legends and theorems — all of them were merged into one.

## Current Era

After a considerable length of time has passed, a new universe was formed, with new galaxies, stars, and planets. Only a few can accommodate life and just one of them can be occupied by humans. However, the current habitable one is overrun by undead beings called Vrykolakas or Vrykos as locals would call them. No one knows where they came from or why they hunger for human flesh.

The Vrykos, seemingly with no goals, wander from place to place. They ravage any unprepared settlements they passed through. Their varied sizes are dependent on the amount of flesh they consume. With enough sustenance, some Vrykos can obtain special abilities which are distinct from each other. One’s skill is based on the undead’s past life and can even be molded into something better depending on the properties of the consumed flesh.

Four organizations are working to solve the mysteries of the Vrykos. Prometheus’ Fire, Ouroboros, Thoth’s Book, and Athena’s Aegis have similar goals but use distinct methods to undertake this task. The members, akin to heroes of the world, are reincarnations of several prominent figures of the previous universe. Glimpses of their pasts resurface during various missions in which they explore the world of the undead.

Each organization has a central base where they convene to strategize and prepare for combat against the undead. They have their own territory to protect and manage as these bases serve as havens for the residents of the new world; although there are still a few settlements outside the organizations’ reach that can fend off the Vrykos.

The members within these organizations have various tasks which can include preemptive scouting, scavenging for resources, escorting merchants from one place to another, searching for mysterious relics, and striking the undead’s nests. The search for relics and studying the nests can help in understanding the current world. Armed with both science and magic, humanity is once again, pursuing the truth of the universe.