The story revolves around a normal student, Sakai Yuuji (坂井悠二). After school one day he visits the music store, and as he was just leaving the whole world froze before him. In front of him appeared a monster who was eating up everyone around him. And before he could run away, the monster had caught him. But then, out of thin air a girl with ember red eyes and hair appeared and effortlessly saves Yuuji from the monster... But after the battle, the girl tells Yuuji that he's already dead.

The Story (more like an explanation) *WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS* :

As Yuuji left the music store, the world froze before his eyes. In front of him appeared a monster which came from another world, eating everyone around him. Before Yuuji could flee, the monster had him in its grasp. As Yuuji panicked and struggled, a girl with ember red eyes and hair appeared. With a few swift slashes of her sword, the monster was defeated.
The girl explains that she is a Flame Haze (フレイムヘイズ), one who hunts the Guze no Tomogara (紅世の徒) as they try to disrupt the world's balance. The monster she just defeated was a Rinne, a mere tool that Tomogara use. Then she tells Yuuji that the "real" him has died already and that he is just a Torch, a temporary replacement for those who have been killed by the Tomogara and their Rinne. After learning the truth, Yuuji follows the girl and eventually names her "Shana"(シャナ) , which was from the name of her sword. The fact that Yuuji could move when the world was frozen puzzled him, but then he is told that he wasn't a normal Torch but rather a "Mistes", a special Torch with a treasure hidden inside. This puts him in danger as the Tomogara desire these treasures to take "power of existance" for their own use, throwing off the world's balance. And as Shana protects Yuuji and fights against the Tomogara, a new visitor comes to town....