Ten years ago, the world changed forever.
The first Gate Outbreak happened in America year 2115 in the skies over New York City, a swirling rift of energy tore through reality and opened the first known Gate. What followed was chaos: monsters poured into the world, cities fell, and the global balance of power was shattered overnight.
It wasn't just an invasion. It was a shift — a merging of dimensions, a blending of magic and reality. The world was never the same again.
Soon, Gates began appearing everywhere — in Tokyo, Rio, Berlin, Mumbai. And with them came a new system of power. These gates were ranked based on their danger: F, E, D, C, B, A, S, and Mystical rank . The higher the rank, the deeper the threat — and the greater the mana inside.
With this new world came The System, a mysterious force that altered humanity itself. Certain individuals underwent a process called Awakening, transforming them from ordinary humans into potential wielders of power.
But Awakening was only the beginning.
After Awakening, the warrior offered Contracts — binding pacts with higher beings in exchange for supernatural strength and abilities. Those who accepted became known as Contracted Warriors, granted stats and skills by their patrons.
These entities were known only as the 12 Supreme Beings — powerful figures revered as the saviors of humanity during the early days of the Gate Crisis.
But there are some who don't get "The contract".
---
Mumbai — Present Day
The city was still healing.
A skyline filled with broken towers and glowing rifts. Temporary walls to contain unstable gates. People living in fear, warriors walking the streets like celebrities — and monsters lurking just out of sight.
Arjun Verma, 21, He was Awaken at the age of 19 but he was "Non Contracter" Warrior . He had no skills, no stats, no flashy armor or ranking badge. What he did have was a cheap sword, quick reflexes, and a body trained through raw survival.
He was a non-contract — someone who fought inside gates with no system support. His only goal: survive long enough to take care of his family.
At home, his life was harder than any dungeon.
His mother, Divya, once a minor mage, had been cursed during a raid gone wrong. The curse was called the Hourglass Sigil — a magical mark that appeared on her chest, glowing faintly like drifting sand. It didn't kill instantly, but instead ate away at her lifespan, day by day, breath by breath. There was no known cure.
The only thing that could slow it down was high-purity mana stones — rare, expensive, and harvested from dangerous gates.
Arjun's sister, Ananya, was sixteen and studying hard to get into a scholarship program. His little brother, Ayaan, was eight and still drew crayon pictures of the father he couldn't remember — Kabir Verma, who had died in a gate-related incident 5 years ago.
To support them, Arjun entered F-rank gates, day after day, killing low-tier monsters and harvesting low-grade mana crystals. They weren't enough to buy the strong mana stones his mother needed, but it kept her stable… for now.
---
A small, unstable F-rank gate had opened behind the garbage dumps in the Mahim slums. The Warriors Union didn't bother closing gates this weak; instead, they let scavengers like Arjun clear them and take whatever scraps of mana they could find.
Arjun stood at the cracked threshold, his worn leather jacket shielding him from the damp wind that blew from the gate.
With a deep breath, he stepped in.
Arjun crouched behind a rock, watching three Black Bunny Carnivores sniff around the misty clearing. Fast, aggressive, and deadly — especially for someone with no powers.
He gripped his broken knife, its blade chipped and dull.
One shot.
He tossed a rock to the left. As two of the creatures darted toward the sound, he slipped behind the third, slashing its throat before it could squeal.
The others spun — too late.
One slipped on moss Arjun had smeared earlier and crashed. He plunged the blade into its chest.
The last one charged. Arjun dodged, grabbed a shard of broken steel, and jammed it into its eye.
Panting, bleeding, he gathered the low-grade mana crystals from the corpses.
"Still alive," he muttered.
That evening, after barely surviving another F-rank dungeon under the Ghatkopar bridge, Arjun made his way through the crowded back alleys of Crawford Market.
He carried a pouch of mana crystals — cracked, low-quality, worth almost nothing — but every rupee mattered.
He stopped in front of a metal shutter painted with the word "Ganpati's Deals" in red letters.
Ganpati was a sleazy dealer. He had connections with the underworld and the Union alike. Arjun wasn't allowed to sell on official markets, so this was his only option. No one else bought from non-contract warriors like him.
"You're late," Ganpati muttered, not looking up from his seat.
"I'm alive," Arjun replied, tossing the pouch onto the table. "Count it."
Ganpati opened it, weighed the crystals, and grunted. "Same garbage as always. Maybe next time bring me something worth polishing."
Arjun clenched his jaw but said nothing. Just as he turned to leave, he noticed a young girl, no older than seventeen, stepping forward with a smaller pouch of crystals.
She looked like a first-timer. Small frame, torn kurta, bruised fingers. A scavenger, just like Arjun.
But before she could even speak, two of Ganpati's thugs — thick-necked men with iron rods tucked under their arms — stepped forward and grabbed her pouch.
"What the hell are you doing?!" she cried.
"Union tax," one of them sneered. "First-timers gotta pay double."
The girl lunged forward, trying to grab it back, but was shoved to the ground. Her cheek hit the cement.
Arjun's fist clenched. He took a step forward.
"Let her go," he said quietly.
The gang looked up. Ganpati raised a brow. "You're interfering, Arjun?"
"She earned those crystals."
One of the thugs turned to him, laughing. "Big talk, non-contract. You wanna die over some girl?"
Before he could respond, the first punch landed — hard and fast across Arjun's jaw. He staggered back, hitting a crate.
The next few minutes were a blur of fists, boots, and concrete.
But somehow, Arjun got up.
Bleeding from the brow, ribs aching, he pulled the girl up, shoved the stolen crystals back in her hand, and whispered, "Run."
She hesitated, then bolted down the alley.
The gang looked at Arjun, now slumped against the wall, barely able to stand.
Ganpati stood above him, silent for a long moment. Then he spat on the ground.
"You just ended our deal, Arjun."
Arjun looked up, a smile breaking through his bloody lip. "Guess I did."
Ganpati walked away, the thugs trailing him.
Arjun leaned back, chest rising and falling, pain radiating from every bone — but for the first time in a long while, his conscience felt clean.