The Void, the shallow layer of the Black Abyss.
Across a black wasteland covered in strange rocks, a fierce wind swept past, whipping up large swaths of black sand. A bone-eating rat that had just crawled out of a burrow was caught in it.
The fierce wind instantly tore through the bone-eating rat's fur and skin, stripping away its flesh and leaving behind a skeleton covered in red blood vessels.
With a clatter, the bone-eating rat's skeleton shattered and drifted away with the fierce wind.
Thud, thud, thud...
A gigantic beast with bone spikes covering its back, resembling a rhinoceros, walked across the black wasteland. It stood at least a dozen meters tall and was over thirty meters long. Its four hooves were covered in black patterns, while its body was wrapped in slabs of black bone armor.
"Uuuu~"
The giant beast raised its head and growled, seemingly calling out to its kind.
Beside a black rock not far from the giant beast, there was a black mound on the ground. The mound was not obvious. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that some animal's hide had been spread across the ground, its surface covered in black scales.
The thing hidden within the scaled hide moved. Soon, a fair arm reached out from beneath it, dried blood still visible on the arm.
"I slept... for about three hours. It's been a long time since I've had such a good sleep."
A woman's voice came from beneath the scaled hide. A moment later, its owner sat up. She had a head of golden hair that was somewhat tousled, with a single cowlick sticking straight up.
The golden-haired Girl looked as though she had just woken up. Her expression was utterly blank, as if silently asking, *Where am I? Who am I?