For most of history, the Earth belonged to the ordinary. Men and women lived and died as they always had—hunting, working, fighting, pretending the world was simple. They had no idea what stirred just beyond the edge of the firelight.

The cryptids were the first. They kept to the forests, the swamps, the places no sane human lingered after dark. From them came the shapeshifters—predators who learned patience. Over centuries they perfected the art of mimicry until they could slip into the skin of humanity itself, hiding in plain sight.

Then the vampires appeared. No one agrees on their birth—whether they crawled out of Hell, were cursed by gods, or simply evolved into something crueler than man. What’s certain is this: they do not die easily. With minds that twist reality, they leave survivors doubting their own memories, writing encounters off as fever dreams… if they survive at all.

Witches had always walked among humans, though they were branded as charlatans, healers, or corrupters of the weak. The truth is far older, far more dangerous than herbs and whispered charms.

But humans fear what they don’t understand, and fear always seeks blood. Rumors of the supernatural turned villages into mobs. Innocents burned. Neighbors accused neighbors. The world became a hunting ground—sometimes for monsters, more often for men.

It was then that the cracks widened, and Halo came. A divine being, though divinity has never meant mercy, he built a refuge: The Axis. A crossroads between realms where monsters could breathe without a noose at their necks. From its heart, Halo carved portals—hidden doors scattered across Earth. He opened gateways to Heaven and Hell, to the Fae realm, and to the Jade Isles, a world where humans are the intruders and magic rules without apology.

The Axis thrived. Trade bled across dimensions. Anything could be bought, for a price. But abundance breeds greed, and not all who entered sought peace. Predators stalked its streets, feeding on humans when they slipped through unguarded.
Some supernaturals tried to live quietly, to keep the fragile balance. But peace is a lie whispered to the desperate. In the end, every gain came at someone else’s loss. Humanity and the inhuman became locked in a Zero-Sum game—and the scales are still tipping.