Prologue – One night two beginnings
Midnight 25th December 1888 – England, Europe
"MANA!"
A shrill scream pierced the still night air. Huddled on the ground, surrounded by ash, a small boy sobbed uncontrollably. Blood dripping from the newly made scar a 4-year-old Allen Walker was mourning the second loss of his father, Mana Walker. Reliving the terrifying events of only moments before all he could remember in his traumatised state was the sound of screaming, a flash of light and the strange mechanical noise caused by his now still left hand. Allen sat there weeping while unnoticed by him his formally brown hair slowly turned stark white.
He was roused from his despair by the faint sound of someone talking to him. Dragging himself from the memories he saw a strange sight before him. Crouching before him was a very tall man. Allen noticed that he had long scarlet hair; hiding behind that hair was a half mask covering the stranger's right side of his face. He was wearing a long black coat with gold trimmings and was wearing a matching black hat. On top of the hat was a stranger golden creature. It was spherical with two feathered wing coming out of the side, on its 'face' was a cross. The creature had four stubby legs and two small horns.
Groggily Allen tried to make out what the other was saying.
"A soul trapped inside an Akuma is doomed forever. It is bound to be the Millennium Earl's toy for eternity. There is no other way to save a soul except to exorcise it.
You are a human born with an Anti-Akuma weapon within you. Such a mercurial destiny... Yet another soldier of life doomed by fate..."
Allen dimly wondered what he was talking about. What was this Anti-Akuma weapon that he talked about?
The man stopped and drew breath as if deciding what to do.
"Do you want to become an exorcist?"
Midnight 25th December 1888 – South-eastern Algeria, Africa
A soft blue light illuminated the surrounding rocks. After thousands of years undisturbed something was happening in a place named by the locals as the forgotten caves. The still, lifeless air is disturbed by a soft melodic note. Growing in volume the note pierces the cave and reverberates around the surrounding land.
The light slowly fades to leave a small figure sprawled in the dust.
Slowly the figure stirs. Bright blue eyes fluttered open as it slowly regained consciousness. Groggily the figure tries to stand up and sways drunkenly in the attempt. Tottering slightly the figure shuffles towards the exit of the cave where it could just about make out the light of thousands of stars. Eventually the figure arrives at the entrance of the cave and is greeted by the soft moonlight filling the land. The figure carefully looks around before setting off in a westerly direction. As the sounds of its footsteps recede the stillness of the night resumes and the only indication that anything was there is the absence of a wall that used to block the cave. In the distance the figure could be seen making its way unsteadily towards a small town on the horizon.