Shade, a child slave in Inanimatum, endures daily humiliation and brutal training in the city's sewers, where his "group" of fellow child-immortals faces literal monsters – slimes. During one such encounter, a crucial door breaks, trapping three missing slaves. When the overseers order Zanders, now collared and controlled by his revealed name, to hold the broken lever, Shade watches his friend's helplessness. As a monstrous "lizard-thing" attacks, taking down one overseer and mortally wounding Zanders, Shade is forced to make a choice. He holds the broken lever, sealing the gate, then, as the remaining slaver approaches to claim Zanders and the others, Shade "accidentally" lets the rusty lever break, impaling the slaver on the falling bars. This isn't just an escape; it's a calculated, brutal act of vengeance. He then discovers he can see a green mist – a soul – emerging from the dying slaver. Driven by a sudden, instinctual memory of a name, "Azir," Shade absorbs the soul, gaining a surge of power and the terrifying realization of his soul-mage ability. This act sets him apart, cementing his identity not just as a "shade" but as a predator of souls, leaving his remaining friends, Manticore and Legna, horrified and confused by his callous act and newfound power.

While Shade navigates the horrors of Inanimatum, Elona endures a different kind of brutal training under her mother, Chloe, and father, Shawn, in Carissimi. Her mother pushes her to develop an eidetic memory, forcing her to recall intricate details of the city after a single glance, often with a whip. Her father trains her physically, culminating in a brutal sparring session where Shawn, an ogre, strikes her with a metal club. Instinctively, Elona condenses mana into her skin, blocking the blow, a powerful display of "inner mana manipulation." This triggers a flashback to "Celestial," a past self who was a master of this art. Later, at age eight, Elona is thrown into a labyrinth beneath the World Tree Yggdrasil as an initiation rite. There, she confronts and kills a group of goblins, absorbing their life force, a visceral confirmation of her succubus nature. This violent act, initially disgusting, also grants her physical transformations: horns, black, leathery wings, and a dragon-like tail, fully manifesting her succubus/angel hybrid form. Emerging from the maze, she is met with celebration, but her anger at her family's callousness boils over, leading her to throw her glowing orb at Doreen, her grandmother, securing a beating but also a new scar on Doreen's forehead. This sequence is a face-slapping moment for her family, revealing the depth of Elona's power and her growing resentment towards their harsh methods, despite her love for them.

Shade, now seven, escapes Inanimatum with Legna, Manticore, and Aswang. His journey through the treacherous swamp is a test of survival, culminating in a harrowing moment where Legna, paralyzed by fear in a pond, is accidentally drowned by Shade in a desperate attempt to save both of them. He absorbs her soul, adding her voice to the cacophony in his mind, a heavy burden of guilt. He eventually reaches the Ice Tundra and confronts Ishaan, a colossal figure who senses Shade's souls and immediately identifies him as a "shade and soul-mage." Shade, desperate for help, begs Ishaan to help him remember his past. Ishaan, revealing himself as Shade's father, agrees, but demands a steep price: Shade must release the souls he holds captive, including Legna's. This is a gut-punch moment, forcing Shade to choose between his newfound power and his friends' freedom, a choice he makes with agonizing pain. He releases both the old man's and Legna's souls, Legna's fading after a silent embrace. Ishaan then takes Shade's eyes, not to blind him, but to remove the "hatred" within them, marking the beginning of a brutal, transformative training under his father. This sacrifice, and the subsequent "blinding," is a powerful reversal, stripping Shade of his easy power and forcing him onto a path of true mastery and self-discovery under a ruthless mentor.

Years later, Elona, now a powerful succubus and a respected figure in Carissimi, attends a clan meeting. She is frustrated by her clan's vulnerability after a devastating attack by Parle, which resulted in her sister Quianna's abduction. At this meeting, she encounters Shade, now 25, who has become the leader of the newly formed Semper Fidelis after leading a slave rebellion in Inanimatum. Their meeting is electric; they instantly recognize a deep connection, a soulbond that transcends their current lives. They share an intimate night, during which they trigger profound flashbacks of their intertwined past lives as Angrod and Celes, and discover that Legna, Shade's lost friend, is now Seria, their unborn soul-child. Elona, pregnant with Seria, learns of Shade's true nature as Angrod, the creator of the multiverse, who repeatedly reset existence to defeat a monstrous "Calamity." This revelation is a massive payoff, explaining their fragmented memories, their immense powers, and the very nature of Dedessia itself as a "backup server" for the multiverse's iterations. Their shared past as cosmic deities fighting for existence binds them with an unbreakable oath, forcing them to confront not just clan politics but the fundamental purpose of their reincarnation in Dedessia.