Chapter Text
The Surface. For so long, the Monsters dreamed of it, imagining it a paradise where all their hopes would be realized. In many other universes, that would be true. In other universes, the surface is an endless expanse of life and wonder, with blue skies and fluffy clouds.
But that is not so in this universe. Years ago, an apocalypse struck, devastating the lands. The sky turned black, the lands cracked with fear, and the world was enveloped in devastation.
And humanity, rather than banding together to survive, became more divided than ever, nearly wiping themselves out. Small pockets of survivors existed, all fighting and competing to live another day. Over the years, these groups gradually killed each other or died off.
Save one.
On a dark day, years after the apocalypse that befell them, a group of humans trudged across the devastated landscape, their numbers supplemented by a motorized convoy, which was just barely puttering along.
They had traveled for miles, desperately trying to survive to reach their destination. And soon, in the distance, they could see it. A tall mountain, rising above the others.
Mt. Ebott.
It was a desperate move, but they were definitively out of options. Each snowless winter that had come and gone, they lost more of their number to the cold and starvation.
But they had heard the legend from an old man who had lived in the city near it, before he had succumbed to an illness. A myth of a massive underground cavern that was a prison for monsters sealed away for all eternity. Some weren’t sure that this cavern existed and felt they were making this trip for nothing. But they had no choice. They would soon run out of fuel and power for their vehicles, and without them, they would all freeze during the upcoming winter.
So, cold, starving, and helpless, they chose to take the desperate gamble that such a cavern existed, and that they could hole up in it until more temperate weather came. Many knew that it would be pointless, and that all they were really doing was just staving off the inevitable at this point. But they had decided to do this, as it meant at least one more day alive, and they had to take it.
Upon reaching the slopes of the mountain, the leader sent a group of scouts, led by his young daughter, to find an opening, as well as a place where they could park their vehicles.
As the scouts climbed the mountain, they found an opening which spelt salvation and hope. Little did they know that another, much smaller group had made the same climb almost five years ago, following a lone child who had sought to escape, and had found a home and a lost civilization. The Monsters within the mountain didn’t know it yet, but they would soon. Soon, they would find that humanity was still alive, and that this would be their last chance to survive.
End of Prologue