𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐀

Chapter 01

During the year 2XXX, a rift leading to another dimension have opened up in the sky. These rifts are called “Gates” and within these gates are dungeons where monsters that are called "Reapers" reside. The first time this happened, an entire city was wiped out within seconds and the military forces are not able to subdue these monsters no matter how much they try. The world thought that this was going to be the extinction of humanity but then individuals with superhuman and supernatural abilities came and were able to eliminate these monsters.

These individuals are called “Espers” and each Esper is ranked through levels of how strong they are from D to S but these Espers have a drawback. When Espers used their supernatural abilities too much, they will experience “Corruption”, a side effect which hurts the Esper both physically and mentally causing them to go on a rampage which harms both the Esper and Humanity. In order to prevent this, the Government found a way to stabilize these Espers in order for them to continue fighting without experiencing Corruption.

“Guides” are individuals who are blessed with the power of calming Espers down with just a touch and when a Guide and Esper connects with one another, this process is called “Guiding”. However, it’s not easy for an Esper and Guide to go through the process of Guiding and so, before Espers are deployed into the Gates, they are first matched with a compatible Guide for them that is made through various tests within the “Center” in order to determine their compatibility level between an Esper and Guide. Just like an Esper, a Guide is also ranked from D to S because the greater the difference in rank, the less effective the Guiding becomes.

The paired Esper and Guide are called “Twain” however, matching an Esper and Guide of the same level is not easy as it sounds. Various tests are conducted to fully determine the level compatibility between the Esper and Guide, the lowest compatibility level between an Esper and Guide is at 30% and even at that level, the Twain can be deployed to Gates and the highest known record of a compatibility level of a Twain is at 88%.

“Corruption” has also levels to determine the threat of an Esper once corrupted, it started from a measly “Storm” level that can destroy a city to the catastrophic and cataclysmic of all levels, “Extinction”. The highest level of damage that a corrupted Esper can cause, the corrupted Esper at this level would cause the extinction of all living species.

A young woman with fiery orange locks and bright blue eyes walked through the bustling streets of the loud city. She gripped her bag as she was making her way to the largest building at the far north of the city which is the “Center” where all the Espers and Guides are gathered and facilitated and are deployed to the Gates that are open around the world is in dire need of closing immediately. This young woman is Hestia Etienne, D ranked Guide, she is one of the few Guides who have still not been paired with a compatible Esper.

Most of the tests she had went through when being paired up with new D ranked Espers were at the low 20% with one being 1% being her lowest compatibility with an Esper. This have discouraged Hestia as for the longest time she had been discovered to be a Guide when she was in high school, she had never found a compatible Esper to become a Twain with. Although, Hestia doesn’t seem that she can hurt a fly, she had always wanted to go inside a Gate and experience exploring and closing the Gate with her paired Esper.

“Tia!” Hestia heard a familiar voice called for her and upon turning around, it was her friend, Melissa Heyers, a B ranked Guide who is paired with an A ranked Esper. “Slept in again? You’re later than last time.” She smiled.

Hestia sighed but still smiled at her friend. “Yeah.” She answered as she and Melissa walked side by side with each other. “I mean, it’s not like I’m not allowed to be late anyways.”