[ Welcome to the new realm. Earth - 207 has been synchronized ]
The message didn't appear on any screen.
It didn't come from satellites or machines.
It echoed directly into the minds of every living human.
For a single moment, silence covered the Earth like a blanket.
Then came the chaos.
Screams filled the streets. People collapsed. A woman dropped her groceries and fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. A man clutched his phone and kept refreshing the screen, as if some update could explain everything. A child stared up at the sky, his small face filled with confusion and wonder, unaware that life had just changed forever.
Within the hour, the truth descended like a storm.
Earth had been swallowed by something beyond comprehension. A realm above all others, known only as ORCA.
"What is ORCA?" people asked each other in frightened whispers.
There were no answers. Only domination.
Days later, the invaders arrived.
The Skadi Empire.
Colossal beings wrapped in ancient armor. Some floated, some walked, but all of them carried an invisible weight that pressed on every human chest. Just standing near them made it difficult to breathe.
"Submit, and you may live," they declared.
But humanity resisted.
And so began another World War. One that could not be won.
In a matter of weeks, Earth was reduced to a vassal world.
Its people became little more than tools.
But that was only the beginning.
Hidden within ORCA were anomalies known as World Dungeons.
Gateways to other realms where Earth's logic didn't apply.
Places filled with monsters, magic, and madness.
Those who entered these dungeons did not go in body. Only their minds traveled, diving into distant worlds to fight, survive, and return stronger than before.
These rare individuals were called World Divers.
But the Skadi Empire controlled it all. The portals, the training grounds, the power, and the right to dream. Ordinary people were cast aside. Left to live in the shadows of gods.
Worse still, some humans betrayed their own. They joined the Skadis willingly.
Among them were five powerful military families.
One of those families had once been respected. Now, they were nothing but a broken name.
The Vance family.
For 18-year-old Igaris Vance, it still felt like a dream.
A quiet, lingering nightmare that never ended.
He was just a child when the war ended. When humanity fell.
The screams, the gunfire, the blood... he remembered all of it. Some nights, he still heard it.
His family had chosen survival over pride.
During the early stages of the war, the Vance family submitted to the Skadis. They fought against their fellow humans, hoping to save themselves in the process.
It was seen as betrayal.
That's what common people believed, at least. The truth behind their treachery runs deep. It is the story of a helpless struggle against fate.
For the Vances, it was a desperate choice. One they believed would save them and the Earth by making a secret rebellion.
For a while, it worked.
The Vance family rose in power. Along with the four other military houses who made the same choice, they ruled what little was left of Earth.
But time erodes everything.
The last 3 years had taken everything from them.
Now, the once-grand Vance estate was in ruins. The marble floors cracked. The halls silent. The winds that passed through the windows sounded more like whispers than breezes.
In the courtyard, Igaris sat quietly in his wheelchair.
His black hair was uncombed, though he still wore a neatly pressed black coat.
His face was handsome but pale, his eyes tired.
His legs no longer worked.
They had been shattered. Not by disease, but by someone's hands.
But even in that broken body, something endured.
In his hand, he held a small paper ball. Something simple and fragile.
And yet, he focused on it as if it were the most important thing in the world.
Behind him stood an old butler. The man's back was bent with age, his face lined with grief, but his eyes still burned with hope.
"Just a little more, young master," he whispered. He did not breathe too loudly, afraid to disturb the moment.
The paper trembled. Then, slowly, it lifted.
Floating. Like a feather caught in a gentle breeze.
The butler gasped. His cane slipped from his hand and hit the stone floor.
"You did it!" he cried. "You finally awakened the God Particle!"
Igaris opened his eyes.
A smile touched his lips. A quiet one. Not of pride, but of relief.
Tears rolled down his cheeks.
"I can Dive now," he whispered. "All those years... All that pain... It wasn't for nothing. I finally did it."
The old man laughed. He wiped his tears with trembling hands.
"This is it. The beginning. You'll bring back the name of House Vance. Your father, your brother... they would be proud."
At that, Igaris fell silent.
"My father... and brother?" he repeated softly.
The butler nodded gently. "They would have wanted you to rebuild. To live. To carry on the family name and the honor—"
Igaris looked up at the sky.
"I don't know what they would have wanted," he said.
His voice wasn't angry. It wasn't loud. Just quiet. And clear.
"But I do know what I want. I want to protect what's left. I want to stand on my own. Even if I have to drag these useless legs across the floor, I will walk forward."
The butler said nothing.
"I want revenge. Those four families betrayed us, and revealed the plan of secret coup to the empire. To bring our family down. They have killed everyone. Father, brother, mother. Their pain... it's already carved deep into me. I will never be able to forget it. And I will make sure those people suffer the way we did," he said while shedding hot tears.
He clenched his fist.
"One day, I will enter the Dungeon. I will Dive. I will return stronger. Not to destroy the world. But to change it."
The air buzzed.
It was no longer the cold wind of a broken family.
It was something else. Something Unknown yet dangerous.