When the first Gate cracked open above the skyline of New Avalon, the world changed forever.
No one knew where they came from—those swirling rifts in space, pulsing with shadows and strange light. From them spilled creatures of nightmare: beasts made of bone and black flame, things with too many limbs and hungers that could never be satisfied.
In the first days, the great cities fell. Millions died. Humanity stood on the edge of extinction.
But from the chaos, new power awakened.
Runes—ancient symbols of unknown origin—appeared in the minds of those with the will to fight back. These chosen few learned to etch the symbols into the world, to burn them into the fabric of reality itself. With runes came magic, strength, and the chance to strike back.
They became the first Hunters.
A hundred years have passed since the Gates began to tear open the sky.
New Avalon stands as a beacon of defiance—a city of neon lights and rune-tech towers, built atop the bones of the old world. The Gates still open. The monsters still come. But humanity has learned to fight.
Children dream of joining the Hunter Academies, training to become licensed Gate hunters who protect the city and earn their rank.
Power determines your worth. Runes determine your power.
And in the darkest corners of New Avalon…
There are secrets no academy teaches. Runes no scholar has ever seen. A deeper truth about the Gates… and about those who are Voidborne.
Enter Kael Thorn.
A nameless kid from the city's slums. A boy with no connections, no rank, no hope of ever entering the Academy.
Until the night a Gate opens before him. Until the moment a forgotten rune burns itself into his soul.
Until the moment he realizes — the Gates aren't just doors for monsters to enter.
They're calling him.
Voidborne: Runehunter of Neon Gates
This is the story of a boy born with nothing… who will rise to face the Gates, the monsters, and the truth of the runes themselves.
End of Chapter 0