Baek Do-Yun was an ordinary man.
At twenty-eight years old, he lived a life so unremarkable that most people would forget him the moment they looked away. He worked a stable office job, paid his bills on time, called his mother every evening, and dreamed of nothing grander than a quiet, peaceful future.
February 23rd, 2026, began like any other day.
He stood on the rooftop of his office building with a coworker, the cold wind tugging at his sleeves as they waited for the clock to crawl toward five. The city stretched endlessly beneath them — glass, steel, and noise — all of it comfortingly normal. All Do-Yun wanted was to go home early, stop by a shop on the way, and surprise his mother with a small gift.
Nothing heroic. Nothing extraordinary.
Just a son wanting to make his mother smile.
Work ran late.
By the time he left, the sky had already begun to dim into evening. He stopped at a flower shop to buy lilies — her favorite. The white petals reminded him of her gentle laugh, of childhood mornings, of a home that still waited for him with warm food and warmer affection.
He never made it home.
On the way back, he noticed a crowd gathered near a narrow alley. At first, he thought it was just another accident — something mundane, something human.
Then he saw the body.
A man lay crumpled against the wall, eyes wide open, throat torn apart as if something had ripped it open with savage force. There was too much blood. Far too much. The wounds were not made by any blade… nor by anything human.
The air itself felt wrong.
Heavy. Suffocating. Alive with something unseen.
Before Do-Yun could process what he was looking at, a voice descended from the sky — vast, echoing, impossible to locate. It did not sound like it came from speakers or machines. It sounded as if the heavens themselves had begun to speak.
"The protection of the guardian gods over Earth ends here."
Panic spread like wildfire.
Cars screeched. People screamed. Some fell to their knees in terror, others ran blindly, trampling anything in their path.
"What awaits you now is battle… and blood."
The sky trembled. Clouds twisted unnaturally, as if something immense lurked behind them.
Then the voice spoke again, calm and merciless.
"By the mercy of the gods, humans between the ages of twenty and forty-five will be granted a chance to survive."
Golden light began to descend across the world.
"You will be transported to the Dimensional Academy — a place of training beyond your world. There, you may gain the strength required to defend your planet… if you survive."
A glowing number appeared before Do-Yun's eyes.
10
"Teleportation will begin at zero."
People cried. Prayed. Denied. Bargained with a sky that did not listen.
Do-Yun simply stood there, lilies still clutched in his trembling hand, unable to move, unable to think.
He did not know that this was not the beginning of a typical salvation.
Not an adventure.
Not a blessing.
But the first step toward a future so catastrophic… that even the gods would one day regret allowing it to begin.