<span style="color: #80FFFF"><span style="font-style: italic">Not too far in the future, the city of Elra flourished. Technology advanced at an unprecedented pace, new discoveries were made almost daily, and this one city was at the forefront of it all.<br/><br/>That's when everything changed.<br/><br/>A gate to the demonic realm was unleashed atop the city's largest skyscraper, standing tall in the innermost section of the city. From this portal came everything Hell had to offer - it wasn't long before we were completely overwhelmed. The city's walls were raised at the last moment, preventing the horror from spreading to the rest of the world, but for the people of Elra, life as we knew it was over.<br/><br/>Amidst the chaos, there was a glimmer of hope. Humans learned of the existance of demons that wished to aid in our plight, and through their powers, we became Hunters - a fusion of both Human and Demon, with far greater power than either one on their own. Slowly but surely, our numbers grew. We formed hideouts and began to fight back, but when our enemies learned of our demonic synthesis, they turned our only weapon against us, and Silencers were born - nearly identical to Hunters, save for their allegiance. Much like us, some Silencers were more powerful than others. The most powerful of them are called the High Silencers, and through our operations we learned of their intention to wipe out the Hunters in one fell swoop with an army of demons. One group in particular worked tirelessly to stop them.<br/><br/>Ayl Taveirn, a mysterious Hunter who wielded a variety of weapons, each with frightening levels of skill. None of us knew much about him, other than the fact that he was easily our greatest asset.<br/>Sam Rose, a short but incredibly fierce girl who used a massive switchaxe. She was fused with a demon named Ahriman, a beast with unbelievable strength.<br/>Hatsu Hikari, a relatively new but surprisingly skilled Hunter with an affinity for electricity and telekinesis. His demon was one named Yami, the Demon of Guardianship.<br/>Hiei Kurashima, a man who shares as much in common with demons as he does humans. His partner is Alastor, Demon of Control.<br/><br/>It was these Hunters primarily that spearheaded the majority of our operations and led us towards our goal of reclaiming Elra.. and we might have made it, too, were it not for The Reverend.<br/><br/>A frightful man wielding unbelievable power, Reverend Blaine Carter has bonded with Lucifer - the Lord of Hell himself - and it was he who opened the gate between realms. We can't imagine his reasons for doing it, all we know - and all that we need to know - is that we have to stop him.<br/><br/>It all happened shortly after we found out about the invasion. In the midst of Ayl's attempt to prepare the less talented Hunters for the coming battles, the hideout is attacked by an incredibly powerful Silencer named Vaan. Ayl intervenes and the two face off. It was then that we all learned the truth, that Ayl wasn't even human. He was the Grim Reaper, masquerading as one of us to help us and preserve the world's balance.<br/><br/>After that, The Reverend destroyed the entirety of Elra in one fell swoop by summoning a meteorite down that decimated every building that was left. We narrowly escaped by going through a portal into the Void, Death's dimension. An uneasy alliance was soon formed between us and Vaan, who no longer wished to follow The Reverend, and we deserted the remnants of the city to try and find a safe place to prepare for the eventual battle..</span></span><br/><br/>----------------------------------------<br/><br/>"...What?"<br/><br/>The Reaper's words were the first thing to penetrate the deafening silence that enveloped the crowd of weary Hunters after they stepped through the portal. What had been described as a lush forest rife with flora and fauna was now dead, blanketed in a gleaming surface of pure white snow and translucent frost. It was a beautiful, picturesque sight - but with the glamour came an overwhelming feeling of unease, largely in part due to the remnants of the scenery that could be seen beneath the icy layers that veiled their surroundings. Blades of grass could occasionally be seen, mingling with and buried under snow at least a foot thick; trees were covered in a thick coat of frost, luminous in the sun that shone brightly overhead; even the corpses of animals lay under the ice, long since done in by the bone-piercing chill. It was as if the change happened overnight.<br/><br/>"Yami - what is the meaning of this?" Death spoke again, regarding Hatsu with a tense gaze.<span style="font-style: italic">Could it be that Elra wasn't the only part of the world affected by the demon's invasion?</span>he reasoned, though in the moment he decided against vocalizing the theory for now - the rest of them were probably thinking the same thing, anyway.