Stepping Up

Stepping Up (formerly known as Level Up in its initial drafts) is one of the few stories in the Thornverse. Its plot, along with Kaimuh Recycle's and possibly many others center around the worldbuilding of said universe, but it has the most connection to Light Separation.

Its concept was developed in 2016, but considerations of rewriting were thought of by Al in the 2020s.

About
The story centers itself around the fictional country of Olana, with it along with Kaimuh, is also dealing with their long history of fighting monsters from the dark. This time around the darkness and corruption is infecting their environment. Unlike in Light Separation, the darkness and corruption is more successfully contained by another small town in Olana. It was contained almost perfectly that the citizens of said town thought it was already safe enough to travel outside, which proved false. After hundreds of disappearances that involved investigating the nearby forest, the town had thought to barricade and protect the citizens even stricter than before.

This however, did not stop young little Yuka, who couldn't accept the fact her brother Blake, who had disappeared years ago, may be considered dead at this point. She along with her best friend Seo-Hyeon snuck out of the town to find them.

Characters (so far)

 * Yuka Tori Akaiha (she/her) - The protagonist. An aspiring pilot who idolized her older brother growing up. Is in a deep state of denial about his disappearance, and thus her exploration is where the plot advances.
 * Seo-Hyeon Haneul (she/her) - The protagonist's best and close friend. Is more hyper and cheerful than her somewhat pessimistic friend, but is less likely to take risks, so she was initially hesitant about the journey she's in. She only joined in just to look after her.
 * Blythe Akaiha (she/her) - Considered the middle child among Yuka and Blake, but is more accepting of Blake's fate than Yuka is. Knows about Yuka's predicament, but doesn't want to take the risk of going out of the town.


 * Blake Akaiha (he/him) - Yuka and Blythe's older brother, known for being a leader one would want to look up to. Went missing years ago, but isn't actually dead...
 * Casper Bencana (he/him) - Blake's close friend, is considered the playful rowdy one. Like his friends, he went missing years ago, but isn't actually dead...
 * Agatha Keleshek (she/her) - Blake's close friend, is considered the sensible one of the group. Like her friends, she went missing years ago, but isn't actually dead...


 * Niilo Siyam (he/him, they/them) - A close friend of many, but not alot know he's also a friend of a fairy. Is one of the wary ones when it comes to the town's problems.
 * Fae Diwata (she/her) - A fairy in hiding, mainly because she is one of the last ones of her fairy bloodline and doesn't want to be taken by the corruption.
 * Putra Sahut (he/him) - One of Niilo's close friends, and one of the very few ones who knows about Fae's existence. Is more afraid about the town's problems than anyone, and has been paranoid ever since he had been aware of such.

Trivia

 * it's w