“They called it the Awakening. But what truly awakened was the death of the world as we knew it.”
Long before the cities burned, before the skies bled fire and the earth opened its scars, there was a man who saw the end coming.
His name was Jack though the world would later remember him as Zero, the Warden of Sta. Mesa.
The Apocalypse didn't arrive with a single blast or plague. It came as whispers first dreams shared by too many, anomalies in the air, and then... it erupted. Vaults of otherworldly origin tore open the crust of the earth, spilling horrors that had no place in any natural order. Humanity awakened to powers, but not all were gifted many were consumed.
In the center of this calamity stood Sta. Mesa a small district of Manila turned last bastion of resistance. There, a lone condo became a fortress, and a young man forged his purpose in fire and blood. Jack became the Tech Warden, an architect of survival, protector of kin, and the rallying banner for the broken.
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But every hero leaves shadows in their wake.
For every ally rallied, a traitor was born. For every vault sealed, another opened. For every life saved, a dozen more were lost. And behind it all, unseen hands moved corrupt politicians, ancient beings, and forgotten relics that whispered of greater wars still to come.
Now, more than 1,000 days into the apocalypse, Jack lies on the edge of life and death, betrayed by those he trusted most. His fortress is under siege not by monsters, but by men with hunger for power. His people scattered. His name, whispered as both legend... and liability.
Yet the fire has not died.
From the hidden sanctums of Fort Sta. Mesa, a spark stirs a mission to revive the Warden, to reclaim the shattered world, and to reveal the truth behind the Awakening.
This is the story of those who dared to hope.
This is the war for the future.
This is the saga of ash, betrayal, and rebirth.
This is Ashes of Sta. Mesa.
