What makes a hunter?
Is it strength to shatter mountains? Power to close dimensional rifts? The raw courage to stare into alien realities and not flinch away?
Or perhaps... it's something simpler.
The will to survive. The strength to stand up one more time. The reckless hope that keeps you fighting when everything seems lost.
Three billion dead in five years.
That's what the history books say about the Cataclysm. When reality cracked open like an egg, spilling horrors into our world. When the gates appeared, torn between dimensions, leaking crystalline power that changed everything it touched.
Some humans transformed, awakening to abilities beyond mortal limits. Others... weren't so lucky.
But humanity survived. We always do.
We built new cities from the ashes. Places like Nexus Point—mankind's answer to cosmic horror. Three islands of crystal and steel rising from the Pacific, where hunters train to fight the darkness bleeding through reality's wounds.
And at its heart stands Catalyst Academy, where a new generation learns to close the gates, one dimensional tear at a time.
"If you seek power, hunt the gates."
"If you desire wealth, harvest their crystals."
"If you crave glory, challenge the monsters that crawl through."
"But beware—the gates are not mere doorways. They are wounds in reality itself, and they hunger for souls brave or foolish enough to enter."
This is a story about gates.
About hunters who risk everything to close them.
About a former assassin given a second chance at life with powers beyond imagination.
And about a goddess who should have read the fine print on her own system.
Welcome to the age of hunters.
***
"Let me get this straight," Xavier said, turning to face the goddess sprawled across his couch. "We're cousins now?"
Calypso lay upside down, her silver hair cascading toward the floor while she played some gacha game on her smartphone. Her sundress clung to her in ways that would have been distracting if Xavier wasn't so annoyed.
"Yep!" She popped the 'p' without looking up. "The system auto-generated our cover story. Apparently being married was too..." She wrinkled her nose. "Narratively convenient."
Xavier pinched the bridge of his nose. "And you didn't think to mention this last night?"
"You were too busy having an existential crisis about sharing an apartment." She rolled over, propping her chin on her hands. "Besides, this is way better! Now we can be best friend cousins who solve crimes together!"
"We're not solving crimes."
"Party pooper." Calypso pouted. "Fine. Best friend cousins who hunt monsters and close dimensional rifts while dealing with academy drama. Better?"
Xavier crossed to the kitchen, his bare feet silent on hardwood floors. The apartment's layout felt familiar now, memories of a life he hadn't lived settling into place. Everything here belonged to him—to them—but he couldn't shake the feeling of being an intruder in his own space.
He opened the fridge. "You know, when I rolled that legendary companion flaw, I expected some ancient warrior spirit. Maybe a demon lord. Hell, I'd have taken a talking sword."
"Rude." Calypso came up next to him, peering into the fridge. "I'm way better than a talking sword. I have personality."
"That's one word for it." Xavier grabbed a protein shake, letting the door swing shut. "What I don't understand is how a goddess gets trapped by her own system. Aren't you supposed to be all-powerful?"
Calypso's usual cheer dimmed slightly. She drifted to the kitchen counter, perching on it. "Divine power isn't simple. There are rules, hierarchies. The reincarnation system existed long before I took over. I just... modified it a bit."
"By turning it into a gacha game."
"It was boring before!" She threw her hands up. "Three wishes, standard package, next soul please. Do you have any idea how monotonous that gets after a few centuries?"
Xavier leaned against the opposite counter, studying her. "So you're stuck here," he said, "until we close all seven Primal Gates hypothetically."
"We're stuck here," she corrected. "Two hundred meter radius, remember? If either of us tries to go beyond that..." She drew a finger across her throat.
Xavier took a long drink of his protein shake. "These gates. What exactly are we dealing with?"
"Tears in reality." Calypso's voice took on an uncharacteristically serious tone. "When the Cataclysm happened, seven wounds in the universe never healed. They leak dimensional energy, spawn monsters, and occasionally try to expand and consume everything around them."
"Thousands have tried to close them," she continued. "None have succeeded. Most died trying. The rest..." She shrugged. "Well, there are fates worse than death when you're dealing with dimensional physics gone wrong."
"And we have to close all seven." Xavier's lips curved into a dangerous smile. "While attending a hunter academy. With my new powers. And a goddess cousin who can't go more than two hundred meters from me."
"When you say it like that, it sounds ridiculous."
"It is ridiculous." He pushed off the counter, moving to stand before her. "But ridiculous is what I do best. Besides..." His purple eyes gleamed. "I've always wanted to try the whole 'school life' thing. Missed out on it the first time around."
A notification chimed from nowhere. Words appeared in the air before them:
[DIVINE ENTANGLEMENT STATUS: ACTIVE]
[DISTANCE LIMIT: 200 METERS]
[SOUL BOND PROGRESS: 0%]
[TIME UNTIL FIRST CLASS: 18 HOURS]
Welcome to Catalyst Academy, Hunters.
May the gods have mercy on your souls.
(They won't.)