[The world is overflowing with elements that evoke fear, such as ghosts, kidnappings, murders, and terrorism.]

[Of course, if we could only anticipate or prophesy these things, they wouldn't have come to us as fear.]

However,

There exists a fear that no one but 'I' can stop.

[And that is]

[ PHOBIA]

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♤ Records of the Beginning ♤

In the distant beginning.

An era when the stars did not even have names.

There was a transcendent being who looked over all the order of the universe.

His name was Owal.

His mission was to watch the birth and death of galaxies, govern the lifespan of stars, and maintain the balance of the universe so that the flow of life would not be distorted.

The moment he became the ruler of the universe, he was granted a single power.

『Owal's Heart』.

Every ruler of the universe seals their deepest fear within their heart.

That fear had to sleep forever, never leaking out into the world.

That was the law of the universe.

---

Owal, who had seen countless planets and lives, one day discovered a very small blue star.

Earth.

There lived immature and fragile beings.

Beings who walked on two legs,

laughed,

cried,

loved,

and dreamed of tomorrow.

Owal gave them the name 'Phobia'.

They were fragile, but they strove to live more strongly than anyone else.

They stood up again even when they fell,

They comforted each other even when they were sad,

And they tried to live each day happily.

Watching them eventually became Owal's joy.

He watched their lives and quietly cheered for them to survive another day safely.

---

But the universe was vast. Very, very, very vast.

While Owal looked only at Earth,

other stars began to fall ill.

The order of the galaxies slowly collapsed,

and the cycle of life began to shake.

The rulers and ancient guardians who watched this turned their backs on Owal.

"Do you intend to abandon the universe for a single planet?!"

They said so and rose in rebellion.

Among them were the beings who raised Owal, namely his parents.

But Owal did not bend his convictions.

Eventually, he banished the opposing forces beyond the solar system, to the edge of the universe.

---

Those who were banished swore revenge.

They knew they could not defeat Owal directly.

So they chose the most cruel method.

To destroy the beings Owal loved most.

They descended to Earth and handed a single treasure to the 'Phobias.'

『Owal's Heart』.

It looked like an ordinary gemstone,

but inside, a deeply aged fear was sealed—one that even the ruler of the universe could not handle.

They warned, with a smirk

"You must never open it."

But curiosity was the instinct of fragile life.

Eventually, someone opened the heart.

---

『Metus.』

The moment the seal was broken,

a black mist covered the world.

That mist did not harm the body.

It was a disaster that seeped into the mind,

endlessly amplifying fear.

It made people distrust each other,

made them doubt their loved ones,

and finally led them to their own destruction.

Earth was instantly filled with screams.

The 'Phobias' Owal loved most lost their lives just like that.

---

After everything ended,

Owal arrived on Earth too late.

It was already far too late.

He broke down.

And for the first time, he realized.

The fact that the fear he had sealed

had killed his beloved children.

That guilt could never be erased.

---

Owal went to find those he had banished.

One.

And another.

He absorbed their existences into his own body.

He swallowed every last bit of fear remaining within them.

To keep from going mad,

to ensure the same tragedy would never happen again,

and to protect his loved ones,

he has swallowed fear alone for hundreds of millions of years.

His body slowly fell ill,

but he did not stop.

"It's okay."

"It will be okay now."

"Because I've eaten it all."

---

Time passed,

and Owal's life gradually came to an end.

He looked at Earth until the very last moment.

Though most had vanished,

a few children survived and were carrying on a new era.

Owal let out a labored breath.

"My children."

"If an inexplicable fear blooms within your hearts."

"It may be the remnants of a fear that hasn't ended yet."

"So remember."

"Even if you overcome the fear."

"Your heart... you must never lose it." . . . . . . [Now, once again. Summer, 20XX.]

[From now on, you will experience extreme fear. The fears Owal dreaded most, the culprits he was uniquely unable to defeat. They will soon come looking for you.]

[Because Guest, you are the descendant of Owal.]