AN: It's been a long time since I posted anything here. At the moment, my Persona stories are on hiatus, but I've been developing an SMT fic idea for quite a while. This is only the prologue, of course, but I'm looking forward to showing you what else I've got planned. Please read, review, etc!

Shin Megami Tensei: Nephilim

Prologue: Hour of Destiny

History of the New Expanse, an update by 'Stephen' on the Demon Summoning Program

It has been 996 years since mankind first settled here. Therefore, I have decided to make this entry, so that you all can learn what led to the mass exodus of humans from Earth to the land originally only inhabited by demons. With nearly a thousand years since that day, and many records being lost to time, I have chronicled the past to the best of my ability.

In the 21st century AD – the old calendar - a gate to this very world was opened in our old planet, which you may well know was called Earth. From that vortex, creatures began to invade. These invaders would come to be known as demons. Not all of them had malevolent intentions, but with the massive influx of them all over the planet, the ones that did soon caused devastation on a gigantic scale. To the billions of people around then, it was like an alien invasion.

To people completely unfamiliar with the demons, they reacted with mass panic and confusion. Without any means to defend themselves, they quickly were slaughtered by these powerful beings, and entire nations fell. It was the end of civilisation as the people then knew it. And despite military intervention and desperate measures from the governments that survived, the demon hordes did not cease. Yet, some people thrived in this world, able to survive on their own strength alone, no longer chained by the society that had collapsed around them. Yet those same people were prone to cruelty, not unlike the demons.

The angels appeared around this time too. Many accused them of being the schemers behind this catastrophe, yet they truly had no involvement. In truth, they found themselves being beckoned to earth against their will, and seeing the devastation around them, they decided to seek control of what was left, in an attempt to secure peace. However, their plans did not take into account what humans desired. It would have been a world governed by the angels in perpetuity, with mankind's destiny perfectly guided to what a higher power deemed best for them.

Yet, all was not lost. A means to combat the demons did exist, created by myself. This was the application called the Demon Summoning Program, which I made sure was distributed over the internet on devices called smartphones. With careful use of this program, a human could recruit other demons to their side, and even fuse them to create new ones. These demon summoners managed to find each other and used a teleportation network to meet across the nations of Earth.

Finally, they found the root of the demonic disaster that had claimed so much of the planet. The destined ones to face the true demon were three young summoners, each with different beliefs as to what the world should be. One saw a more peaceful world of order and angels, another saw a demonic world shaped by the strongest, and another saw a world of neutrality guided only by mankind.

Before they made their way to confront the true enemy, however, they knew they had to achieve a very important task. The battle they would face would destroy everything, and they had to guide the humans to a safe place. One that they would live in for a very long time. And through their powers, and research into the teleportation network, they were able to enter the demonic world of the Expanse. From there, they were able to ferry many others over. That first land of humans was named Atziluth.

Through both the hard work of humanity and the ability to harness the energies within this world, they were able to create a gigantic city, influenced by many metropolises across the old world. This new city is Da'at, the first of its kind in the Expanse. A barrier was formed to seal the domain from the wilderness, to prevent demons from destroying the new sanctuary mankind had worked so hard to build. The three heroes soon departed, and thus, something changed in that hour of destiny.

The Terminal within Da'at could no longer link back to Earth. Thus, there was no hope of saving any others still trapped on the doomed planet. And the three youths never returned. However, three new territories manifested within the Expanse, connected to Atziluth. Each one seemed to align with what each of the young men had desired for the new world.

One, Beri'ah, was designed to be a holy land of peace and order. The angels flocked to it immediately and fiercely protected the humans that had chosen to live there. Those same angels govern the people to this day. New cities were founded almost immediately, those being Binah, Hesed, and Hokhmah.

The second, Yetzirah, was a more violent place, where the strong thrived. Demons and humans were able to exist freely and could choose how they wanted to live, without any higher power dictating their every move. The cities were named Gevurah, Tiferet, and Netsah.

Finally, there was the neutral land of Assiah, seeking to achieve a balance for humans, without either the strict governance of the angels or the violence incited by demons. It was intended to move into a new future of powerful technology only possible in this world, rather than trying to recreate the old world. Here, the three cities were titled Hod, Yesod, and Malkuth.

While these new lands did have a small number of people already living there, having been spirited away from Earth before the Terminals there were deactivated, they needed more to ensure the prosperity of their kind. To that end, they offered the people of Da'at a choice, to move to one of the three new lands. Some took them up on that offer and left the first new city of the Expanse forever. Others, however, did not want to leave.

For a long time, the four new nations existed in relative peace. However, tensions increased at 500 NE (New Era), culminating in a short war. Yet, many died in this ordeal. In an effort to prevent a future conflict, they created new barriers between all four lands, and the people of Da'at were no longer allowed to leave their country. Yet, a compromise was reached a century later.

Every year, everyone in Atziluth who had reached the age of adulthood – eighteen – would be expected to take a test called the Kadmon Exam. Each nation would select a small number of the entrants to live there – permanently. This number was originally ten, but due to concerns over the diminishing population of Da'at, this was decreased gradually. Now only one person per nation is chosen. Those unlucky to be picked must stay behind, and eke out a meagre living – one far removed from the potential heights they could reach beyond their borders.

Da'at has managed to survive relatively unchanged since its founding. However, large portions of the city have become uninhabited, due to the huge numbers of people that departed to live in one of the other three new lands. What will become of the forgotten first country, no one knows. Mankind still possesses devices largely identical to the original smartphones from a millennium ago, and the Demon Summoning Program remains unchanged.

What will happen next, as we approach the end of the new millennium? It is nearly time for the next three young ones of Da'at to be chosen. Those selected before forged new lives for themselves, away from the declining old city. Will the next three do the same? Whatever happens, I shall watch with great interest. Perhaps those three will be reading this right now.