Location: Royal Palace—Seoul, Kingdom of Korea
Rain tapped gently on the palace rooftop. The moon glowed pale white over the capital, and the guards stood silent at every corner. Deep inside the palace walls, King Lee Gon stared at a sealed velvet box placed on his table.
Dephnie stood beside him, her reflection caught in the polished gold frame of the old royal map.
"This box was left behind by my uncle... the traitor," Lee Gon said grimly.
"The one who tried to steal the key to time," Dephnie whispered.
Lee Gon nodded and opened the box.
Inside:
An ancient watch, frozen at 11:11
A single black chess piece: the Queen
And a letter sealed with wax bearing Dephnie's name
She trembled. "This is... for me?"
Flashback: Republic of Korea – Seoul, Year 2005
A young Lee Gon stepped out of the dimensional gate for the first time.
Disoriented. Alone. Hunted.
He had one goal: protect the girl from the lab accident that could shatter the balance between both worlds.
In a hospital room, a 6-year-old Dephnie Han lay unconscious, a strange energy circling her hands—something she had absorbed from the gate.
Lee Gon left the black chess piece on her pillow.
"One day, you'll need to remember who you are. Even if the world forgets."
Location: Busan – Research Lab (Republic of Korea)
Professor Kim Min-jae worked under flickering lights. He decoded the journal left by his late mentor, Professor Han.
Lines read:
"The girl is the anomaly. Born across two mirrors. She carries fragments of the real timeline."
"Erase her… and the gate will collapse. Protect her… and the war of kings will begin."
Suddenly, his screens all turned black.
A distorted voice spoke from the speaker:
"Professor Kim, step away. You're too close."
He froze. "Who are you?"
"I'm the monarch that never ruled. The shadow of the crown."
The power surged, and all lights died.
Location: Jeonju Hanok Village – Hidden Temple (Kingdom of Korea)
Lee Gon took Dephnie to a forgotten shrine, carved into the cliffs. Inside were walls full of mirror symbols, some glowing faintly.
Woo-jin translated:
"Only when the chosen mirrors their true self will the time blade awaken."
Dephnie looked at her reflection again… but this time, her reflection blinked independently.
She stepped back.
"I saw myself blink… before I did."
Lee Gon drew his sword instantly. "We're being watched."
Location: Republic of Korea – Seoul
In the alternate timeline, a second Dephnie walked the streets of Seoul—but this one worked for an intelligence agency. Sharp-eyed, cold, and emotionally distant, she looked exactly like Dephnie… but had no memory of Lee Gon.
A phone call buzzed in her earpiece:
"Agent Han. Target Alpha has crossed the gate again."
She whispered: "Then it's time I met the girl… who looks like me."
Final Scene: Kingdom of Korea – Time Chamber
Inside a newly revealed chamber deep beneath the palace, the Time Blade pulsed with blue light. Woo-jin read the inscription aloud:
"The one born across both stars must make the cut that rewrites fate."
Dephnie stared at the blade. "Am I supposed to use it?"
Suddenly, a red ripple pulsed in the air. The masked figure from the hybrid world stepped into view—now unmasked.
It was General Lee Jae-shin.
Lee Gon's most trusted man—long thought dead.
But his eyes were wrong. Too dark. Too calm.
"You weren't supposed to find her," he said."She was supposed to remain hidden."
Lee Gon stepped forward, sword raised."You crossed into a world that was never yours."
Jae-shin smiled coldly."I didn't cross... I was born here. Just like her."
He looked at Dephnie.
"Welcome to the war of mirrors."
🌀 To be continued