Remnant of Malachus

Rain. I like them, well, most of the time. They're refreshing, they're cool, and I like the sound when they splash against the floor, well, most of the time. But they can make the atmosphere gloomy and lifeless. Droplets fall onto my bleeding body. They remind me of how truly alone I am. ~ Gods have blessed the lands with mana, every living thing is said to produce mana, they flow through the air and flow through our bodies, they are everywhere. We have grown dependant on the energy called mana. Through desires and craving, mana manifests and forms skills. As a result, many great nations have appeared around the world, but standing on the very top is the Kingdom of Malakai. Ruled by the monarchs, Malakai is placed in the middle of two other nations, resulting in a multi-raced nation. Malakai is incredibly wealthy for a kingdom its size, foreign nobles would come sight-seeing, merchants would flock to buy products from Malakai, young lads would come to Malakai hoping for a bright future, all of this is possible because of the place that is considered to be the identity of Malakai, the Malakain Dungeon. Stories as old as time tells of a battle between two brothers, Anethus and Malakai. The two brothers were the rulers of the lands, together they grasped the stars in the sky, and reached heights unbeknownst to mankind. But a conflict sprung up between the brothers, and they fought in cold blood. The sky was clear as day, yet there was a rumble, greater than the sound of thunder. Fueled by anger, Anethus shot down his brother with a great meteor. Malakai was struck down by his brother and felt the wrath of Anethus. As the meteor hits the ground, mountains collapsed, and the world itself shook. The impact left a crater behind, pieces of the original meteor scattered throughout the interior of the crater. The scattered pieces held properties like none other, they produce and radiate mana. Like living things these pieces produce their own mana and become a mana source as if they were alive, they became known by the name mana crystals. But the mana crystal wasn't the only thing that seems like it was alive, the dungeon itself seems to be alive as well. It grows, rocks seem to grow bigger, the crater is slowly getting buried by dirt and getting covered by stone, every damage it sustains it seems heals. Eventually, as the dungeon gets destroyed and healed over and over again, it becomes a labyrinth that descends down into the abyss. By default, every resource in the dungeon is now considered unlimited, everything will eventually be regrown and replaced. Malakai grew rapidly under the royal family. However, the dungeon is not a safe place, the competition is high, feral beasts and vicious monsters lurk deep within. They constantly fight with humans for control over the dungeon. The first king of Malakai established the Malakain Hunter Guild to combat these monsters, the guild deploys hunters to hunt down monsters, under an organization, the hunters slew monsters and kept Malakai safe. Hunting became commercial and everyone wanted to be a hunter, hunters became the strength of Malakai, always finding a way to hunt every monster... until they couldn't kill one... ~ 9 years ago, it appeared. I was living a peaceful life, I was eight years old and had a brother, my father was a chef who owns a tavern, my mother was an ex-noble, who was driven out by her father, and now is working with my father as a waitress. Occasionally from men asking for my mother and making a fuss about it, life was pretty simple normal. October 25th, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky, no signs of rain, yet there was a rumble, a rumble greater than thunder. Out of the hole of the dungeon in the middle of Malakai, stood a beast taller than any building, standing silently. Its breath could be heard from far away, its body casts a shadow on every street and corner. Four eyes on its dull head that seems to just be an extension of its neck, gray skin that seems to be rough and lizard-like, four arms grappling on the edge and holding the beast above the crater, and a blue, glowing crystal on its back. I knew that I had to run instinctively, so does everyone, but only the sound of the beast breathing could be heard, no one dared to run. We were scared, no one could comprehend the terror that was in front of us. As it looks up, a roar could be heard, a roar that signals the end. And with that roar comes screaming and confusion, panic and distress. Sounds of explosions could be heard as the monster unleashes its attack, crystal meteors were falling from the sky, everything in my surrounding was burning, and for some reason, buildings are engulfed in clear, blue crystals. I was holding my brother's hand, and we started running, for the first time, we saw corpses, but we didn't mind, because we were focused on one thing, surviving. Flames soon engulfed everything, the roar of the monster was echoing across Malakai, streets were covered in blood, screams, and cries can be heard from every direction. We were running towards the gates or at the very least, out of all the chaos, but the plan was short-lived, I was holding my brother's hand, I still remember his tear-filled face, dirtied with ashes and dirt, then a meteor fell, right unto us. I was blown away, but I was in my father's arm, so was my mother, and I was now holding my brother severed arm. It hurts, it really did, it still hurts now, I couldn't hold back my tears anymore, I didn't want to let go of my brother, so I sat there crying. And I saw a bright light, coming from the monster, it unleashes an energy beam, the beam was headed towards me, and right as it was about to hit, my mother pushed me away, I was knocked back. I remember my father carrying me up, he had blood on his face, and he was crying. My mother had been struck by the beam, but instead of evaporating, clear crystals forms everywhere the beam struck, my mother was now trapped inside the crystal, me and my father didn't move away, we sat next to my mother, crying, at that moment, the only thing that mattered was that we were going to be next to mother. And we were one of the survivors of the attack. All of Malakai was destroyed, the casualties were high, and the economy suffered a lot, yet everything was rebuilt within 2 months, but those who lost their home still have where to go, and no money, poverty was common and the rate of unemployment was at an all-time high. Me and my father were the only ones left, mother was taken by a research lad to conduct experiments on and be treated. The crystals that my mother was stuck in had properties of the mana-crystals, it gradually grows and extends itself, though extremely slow. But the problem was that it was unbreakable. During the aftermath of the attack, we realized that the crystal was unbreakable,  no matter how efficient a tool was at breaking, not a single dent would appear. We didn't have a lot of money, my father was working several part-time jobs, and I would help as much as I can, sending newspapers, help out with some stalls, etc. But the payment kept increasing, the research lab requested more and more money to fund their research and for mother's treatment, so much so that father borrowed money from loan sharks, that was a decision we came to regret. We couldn't pay for mother's treatment and the loan sharks are asking for the money with high interests, a heavy debt was put upon our shoulders. Father started working harder, sometimes coming back in the morning. 4 years later, I'm now 12, a servant came knocking at our door, he came to deliver the news that, mother's family would like to take us in and make us nobles, and will also take over our dept since we are mother's family. My mother's father is one of the dukes of Malakai, he drove mother out of the family because she fell in love with father, a commoner, he told us through the servant that he regretted it,  so he would like to invite us to join the family. To us it was hope that we would get rid of this dept and save mother, but how wrong we were. In Malakai, the area where the nobles live is placed on a man-made plateau, there are several slopes that lead up to the noble area, our destination was at the very edge of the southeast section, overseeing the slums below. When we got there, father and I were restrained by guards once we told them our names. "This is retribution for stealing my daughter away and making her live like a commoner."  One of the great three dukes of Malakai was standing in front of us, and with one command our fate was sealed. " May God condemn you for your sins," Spears struck down from above, just as I was about to breathe my last breath, once again I was pushed away from the clutches of death. My father pushed me away, as hard as he could while being restrained, the spears ripped through his body. He only said a single word, "Live!" And so I ran, I ran away from death again at the cost of my loved one's death and suffering. The guards ran after me, and in the heat of the moment, as my last hope of escaping, I jumped off the edge, I could feel the wind clash against my body as I fall down into the slums. And I saw the great city of Malakai, the great city that these despicable humans live in. Buildings that stretch across the horizon, as far as the eye could see, I could see them all. I was woken up by the refreshingness of rain as I slept on a heap of dirtied cloth. The strings of hanging clothes have reduced the fall and I was saved by the cushion of cloth. I was now truly alone, with an added weight of my father's final wish for me to live on my shoulders. I worked in many different places, restaurants, construction sites, shops, stalls, just to name a few. But I was fired from all of them, some were because I was only working part-time and substituting for someone, but when I was working full-time, loan sharks would track me down and collect my dept, as a result, the owners get scared and don't want to get involved with me, then fires me. I have lived in constant control of the loan sharks, they always track me down somehow, to the public I should've been dead. 12,590,000 coins, dept to the loan sharks. 1,152,000 coins for mother's treatment that is unpaid,  and 24,000 per month. A total of 13,742,000 debt left unpaid and more to come. It's been 3 years since then, 3 years of working tirelessly, day and night. And currently... ~ "Nerooooooo! Wake up! We gotta quickly prepare before the first customer arrives!" A feminine voice calls out to me. "ok, coming...."