D. Gray-man Fan Fiction ❯ Twilight Generation ❯ Prologue ( Prologue )

The year is 2008, nearly over a hundred years after the defeat of the Millennium Earl and the Noah Clan. Still, when all thought that the evil was vanquished once and for all… it seemed that the Earl was only the beginning. Before he succumbed to his destruction, the Earl left mankind a chilling message…

Do not be quick to rejoice humans; this war was merely the prologue to the grand play that is your inevitable destruction. Hihihihihiiiii…

Despite this, a great peace settled across the world. The heroes who saved it, the Exorcists of the Black Order, were still rather tense at the Earl's parting words for fear that they might come true. But in time, it seemed that they too thought that the battle was really over and one by one they all withdrew from the world in order to finally enjoy the rest that was long due to them. With the threat of the Earl's creations, the Demons, finally no more, the war itself seemed like a bizarre dream.

Unfortunately, after many decades, things certainly seemed to go that way. With the rise of modern technology and the rapid progression of science, people have started to doubt that the Demons, the war, even the Exorcists themselves really existed. Some even went as far as to say that it was all a fabrication, created by the Vatican to boost its image and influence.

Though there were still countries who truly believed in the events that took place, the many nations of the west had slowly begun dismissing the war against the Earl as a mere urban legend. A great legend, but to them, it was still a legend nonetheless. The Black Order itself had slowly begun to shrink into the ranks of modern myth.

Though many Exorcists and their allies gave their lives to protect humanity, all humanity gave in return was a fading memory. Their legacy forgotten, their bravery disregarded, and their sacrifice… taken for granted.

However, around the year 1960, it seemed that the Earl's last words would come back once more to haunt humanity and remind the world that what it thought was a bad dream was in fact, a horrifying reality. The Demons have once again begun to emerge and are thriving within the throngs of modern-day society. Their numbers secretly preyed upon the unwary populace. The truth was the Earl was merely one of the many agents of darkness that would be sent to avert they will of the Almighty and bring chaos upon His people and His creation. These agents were called the Millennium Nobles, beings with powers that are more or less similar to that of the Earl and each having the ability to create and control Demons. Still, despite this, hope is not yet lost to the shadows.

Right after the appearance of the Millennium Nobles, a bright pillar of light was seen shooting towards the sky and revealed a shocking discovery: the existence of another Innocence Cube. It seemed that there was indeed more than one of these powerfully divine cubes and it too broke into many smaller fragments. However, unlike the previous one, whose shards were used in the last war, the Heart that connected these Innocence shards went into a deep sleep, consequently placing all the other shards in the same state, making them impossible to locate. It seemed, though, that the threat of the Millennium Nobles had greatly disturbed the slumber of this cube and triggered what is now called the First Awakening. Awakening is a term given to the phenomenon where the sleeping Heart of an Innocence Cube is awakened by the presence of great evil and as a result revealing more Innocence Fragments than originally were.

All of these events could only mean one thing. It was once again time, to seek out those who have been chosen by God to be His soldiers in the fight against this new evil. The ones who would free the souls trapped by they deception of the Nobles. The legendary Apostles of Innocence… the Exorcists.

Sadly, despite the hope that these events would prove the existence of what these people deemed myth, many members of the Church had become bitter and cynical as the result of the world's ingratitude towards the Black Order. Because of this, the Vatican has ordered that all knowledge of what happened, from the Millennium Nobles to the First Awakening, be kept from the public. Besides, the state of the world was already chaotic as it is with wars, terrorism, along with crime, corruption, and rampant immorality. Telling them about the existence of such fearsome entities such as the Millennium Nobles felt like it would only make things worse.

Thus, the newly reinstated Black Order was forced to become a secret organization. While the Order did resume its infamous Demon-hunting activities, the fact that it was the only one with knowledge of separating normal humans from disguised Demons made it difficult for modern civilization to see them as heroes. This was the result of the Millennium Nobles' deceptive cunning. They were no fools and were not intending to repeat the Earl's mistakes. They deployed new, more devious tactics which, more often than not, forced the Order into making very hard decisions. As a result, the Order itself was eventually coerced to drop its conservative nature and became deceptive and cunning as well with its members resembling more like vigilantes and assassins rather than God's Apostles.

Still despite this, the Order still remained true to its mission of defending the good and the innocent from this great evil. The second Secret War between the Black Order and the Millennium Nobles continues to rage in secret. The legacy of the heroes who saved the world in the past continues to live on in this new generation of young Exorcists…

And this… is their story.