Legend of the Demons From Beyond

Legend of the Demons From Beyond

The legend of the demons from beyond has always been an eternal theme in Planarcadia's artistic creations. However, the endless stream of adaptations and reinterpretations has long since stripped this ancient tale of its original form. I've scoured through countless fragments and filtered out the more credible accounts in an attempt to restore the legend to its earliest incarnation, which wasn't some power fantasy where justice sweeps away evil, but rather a tragic ballad of civilization's fall into an abyss of suffering. In 2148 AE, after sweeping through countless star systems, the Antimatter Legion extended its claws of Destruction toward what is now known as the Consternation Starzone. Naturally, the planet once called "Benzaitengoku" could not escape this fate, and thus began the Cindearth Age. People were shocked to discover that towering structures had risen from the ground overnight, and simultaneously, countless unspeakable monsters poured forth from within. These monsters came to be known as the "demons from beyond," and this war was called the "Demonic Apocalypse." Though much of the historical record has been lost, we can still glimpse the despair of that era through the eyes of those who came after: an entire segmentum was set ablaze, and a century later, neighboring worlds could still witness the stars burning fiercely across the heavens. In the face of this crisis, the survivors of the ancient Benzaitengoku came up with four strategies: The first group is the "Defectors." Seeing no hope in resistance, they gave in to despair and threw their lot in with the Destruction... I won't waste ink on them. The second group is the "Resisters." Under the leadership of the legendary artist "Graphia," this faction wielded the art of imagenesis with the tip of their brushes, bringing powerful creations from canvas to life and granting them sentience. Had these first "imagenae" not significantly slowed the onslaught of the demons from beyond, Planarcadia would have long since become a barren wasteland. The third group is the "Evacuators." They had both power and wealth, though they were the smallest in number, mostly former elites. Years later, descendants of the survivors returned to Planarcadia and claimed: "If it weren't for us seeking help from the Interastral Peace Corporation and subsequently salvaging the World in Canvas, where would Planarcadia be today?" Without delving into the veracity of such shameless rhetoric, history will render its own fair judgment. The fourth group is the "Help-Callers." Their accounts are the hardest to verify and a hotbed for fictional history. The numerous versions currently circulating claim aid from practically every Aeon. For example, "the Abundance's Blessing Gifted Dimension Reduction Meds," "Akivili's Resurrection to the Rescue," "Aha's Roaring Laughter Scaring Off Nanook," and so on. There's even a bizarre spin-off claiming "Preservation Hammered Planarcadia Straight Into a Cartoon," which really shows just how warped these legends have become. I'm making a serious appeal here: dramatization doesn't mean fabrication, and adaptation doesn't mean distortion. I hope creators will stick to basic logic in their future work. Yet the fate of the ancient Benzaitengoku took a fifth, unforeseen path: "Into the Canvas." At the final hour of the war against the demons from beyond, using the ancient Phantasmoon Games, Graphia miraculously concealed the entire ancient Benzaitengoku, along with all its living beings, from the real world, by painting them into the Duomension "World in Canvas." The enemy won the war, yet lost the chance to eradicate their civilization. The ancient Benzaitengoku forfeited reality, yet secured the survival of its civilization. The legendary Cindearth Age came to an abrupt end, and the ancient Benzaitengoku entered a new chapter of recorded history, the Canvas Age. Though the legend of the demons from beyond ends here, the resonance of this history still ripples across the seas reflecting Phantasmoon to this day. Beneath that seemingly tranquil azure surface, many unknown truths remain hidden, waiting for those who seek the truth to explore them.