Once, I had a dream…
A dream of myself floating in a void.
Even now, I can't shake off the feeling it left behind— as if something had been missing from the very beginning.
Ever since the cataclysm started, the once-peaceful world fell into despair and chaos. What we now call dungeons began appearing all over the globe.
The first one emerged in Mongolia.
December 3, 2003
A strange circle of blue light formed on the ground, glowing and humming like a living thing. Live video of the dungeon gate spread everywhere very quickly. Millions watched, fascinated by its unnatural beauty.
"Hey everyone, welcome to my vlog!"
Tourists started flooding the city, desperate to see the unnatural phenomenon with their own eyes.
Then, three days later…
At the peak of the tourist craze, the dungeon released a deafening boom.
Shiiiiikkki—BOOOOM!
I was watching a news livestream when it happened.
Everyone near the dungeon was wiped out in an instant… reduced to dust.
And then they appeared…
Grotesque creatures, alien to anything we knew, crawling out from the ruptured light.
TV news stations around the world were stunned the moment those creatures emerged. They immediately began attacking the city.
The survivors who had escaped the initial explosion were slaughtered and torn apart by the monsters.
People around the world could do nothing but watch and listen to those terrifying screams.
And this was how humanity realized that the end of the world had begun.
I kept hopping between livestreams as feeds were cut off one after another.
The military moved in quickly, but they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of monsters overrunning the city.
Within days, Mongolia was overrun.
Many Mongolians evacuated toward the borders of China and Russia.
Panic spread throughout the world.
Monsters were appearing and killing everything in sight.
Thankfully, the monsters weren't immune to bullets and fire.
After a week of brutal, endless combat, the creatures were finally eliminated.
The world cheered.
With the sacrifices of countless soldiers, the surviving people of Mongolia had survived the first blow.
But that hope didn't last very long.
A new gate appeared in Kenya and Sudan.
Two separate gates appeared at the very same time, only four hours after the Mongolia disaster had finally been contained.
"Welcome back to Channel 7. Just in—reports show that two new circular lights have been spotted in Kenya and Sudan, similar to what we've seen in Mongolia. Experts believe these gates may lead to another world if we attempt to enter them. Once they reach maturity, like what happened in Mongolia, they could cause the same explosion, allowing monsters to emerge into our world once again. Authorities in Kenya and Sudan are urging the immediate evacuation of people living near the gates."
The reporter's words sent a wave of fear across the world.
Hope shattered instantly.
This topic became the number-one trend across countless platforms and countries in less than an hour.
"Is this punishment from God?"
"How could this be happening?"
Doom posts flooded Twitter and Facebook.
"Repent for your sins! God is coming!"
Ten million posts and fifty-two million reposts appeared within three hours.
The panic spread like wildfire.
Powerful countries such as the United States, China, and Russia took the matter seriously, as extraterrestrial beings were now appearing through these mysterious gates.
At the White House
USA President: "What seems to be the situation in Kenya right now?"
USA Soldier: "It's still unknown for now, sir. We still don't know the outcome of this unprecedented situation."
USA President: "We must prepare in case one of these gates appears in our nation. We won't send troops to help them directly, but we can provide weapons for them to fight."
Russia
Russian President: "How are the weapons being sent to Sudan?"
Russian Soldier: "They're already being delivered, sir, and some troops are already on standby outside the gate."
Russian President: "This is as far as we can go. Don't let a single one of my soldiers enter that gate. Keep them ten kilometers away from it. We're only going there to gather intelligence on what's happening, disguised as a helping hand. If the situation escalates, tell the soldiers to retreat immediately. We can't risk losing a single soldier."
China
Chinese President: "All we can do for now is offer money to help those countries. I won't be sending troops like the United States and Russia. Those gates might appear in our nation too. Prepare the soldiers and begin a rally march to get everyone ready."
Chinese Soldier: "Yes, Mr. President."
December 7, 2003
The Kenyan and Sudanese troops began their mission to enter the gates.
Soldiers and tanks disappeared into the glowing portals.
The world held its breath.
Only thirty seconds later…
The remaining soldiers rushed back out.
Reports revealed that time inside the portals flowed differently.
Months had passed for the soldiers inside, while only seconds had passed on Earth.
They described landscapes that felt like alien planets.
Worse yet, something unimaginable had happened.
Some soldiers had returned with… powers.
Magic.
657 people were identified as having magical powers in Kenya—a tiny number considering that more than 20,000 people had entered the gate.
In Sudan, 2,209 magic users were identified out of the 60,000 soldiers who had entered the gate.
The world was thrown into chaos once again.
#1 TrendingHeadline: MAGIC USERS AFTER GATE CLEARING.
People who came out of the gates have now developed magical powers they can use to fight monsters.
It is said that when they entered the gate, they suddenly felt a strange surge of energy. Then, a screen-like figure appeared in front of their faces.
The details of this mysterious screen remain unknown, but it appears to record a person's powers and abilities. It functions almost like a video-game interface, allowing people to upgrade their talents and magical abilities.
These people have been named Awakeners by the system.
Even more shocking, many Mongolian people had also become Awakeners after the explosion.
All the world's leaders were both threatened and amazed.
"We need some of our soldiers to become Awakeners too."
"I believe having Awakeners is absolutely necessary to strengthen the military forces of a country."
"If another gate appears, we will send troops to clear it. We must do everything we can to become part of these raids."
Then, a new gate appeared in Russia two days after the Kenya and Sudan raid.
But this one was massive.
Far larger than the gates that had appeared in Mongolia, Sudan, and Kenya.
Russia was careless.
They treated the gate like a treasure. They were confident because their military was advanced, and they refused to let any other country participate in the raid.
People also assumed that it would be cleared just like the others because Russia possessed such a powerful military.
#1 Trending"MASSIVE GATE APPEARS IN RUSSIA"
Comments flooded the screen.
"That one will be cleared easily."
"God blessed us with magic users."
"Another gate? Let's hope it's nothing serious…"
December 9, 2003
The Russian gate raid began.
One by one, soldiers entered the colossal gate.
Tanks followed behind them, and even two fighter jets entered the portal.
Russian President: "It's a good investment. I can see that this will be the future of the world. Magic users will become sought-after military weapons in every nation. So we must keep this to ourselves."
Once the last soldier vanished inside, silence fell.
Everyone waited for the thirty-second return.
But minutes passed.
Then an hour.
No one came out.
Livestream chats exploded.
"It's been an hour! Did anyone survive?"
"Is the time flow inside different again?"
"Why is it taking so long?!"
Days passed, and people began doom-posting about the event.
"The Russian government ultimately failed this raid. A gate of that size will explode like a nuclear bomb!"
"If the third most powerful country in the world didn't stand a chance against the gate, then what can small countries like mine do?"
Panic spread across the globe.
The Russian troops were nowhere to be seen after entering the gate.
USA President: "Well, it was a greedy move by Russia, and the explosion of that gate is inevitable. But we still need to send troops near the gate, just like what happened in Mongolia. Many people were awakened simply by the explosion of the gate. We'll send an 'aid force.'"
China and other countries thought the same.
They offered military troops to assist Russia once the gate exploded and the monsters emerged.
The Russian president's pride was crushed as he finally admitted that his remaining forces could not repel whatever monsters were about to emerge.
Other countries allied with Russia offered help evacuating citizens living near the gate.
As the days passed, the gate in Russia grew larger and larger.
There was enough time for many Russian citizens to evacuate.
However, not everyone wanted to leave.
Some reportedly preferred to die in their own country rather than die on foreign soil.
12:56 P.M.
The gate finally began to explode.
GRIIII—KIIIBOOOOM!
It was almost like a nuclear bomb.
The moment the gate exploded, the city surrounding it was consumed in an instant.
Monsters began pouring out of the gate.
Not just small monsters came out.
Gigantic monsters emerged one after another.
Different countries prepared their forces and charged forward to stop them.
Cannons were fired, and Awakened people also joined the fight, helping to kill the monsters.
Country after country bombarded the creatures emerging from the gate.
At first, people thought they could handle it.
Then…
A powerful roar suddenly shook everyone.
It had come from the gate.
"Impossible… How did we hear that? We're almost four miles away from the gate!"
Then, a gigantic dragon emerged.
It immediately breathed fire toward the fighter jets.
The jets were destroyed instantly.
They plummeted from the sky and exploded upon impact.
Almost everyone in the world was horrified by the sight.
The monster was larger than ten airplanes combined.
"We're finished."
That was what almost everyone was thinking.
When the monster suddenly reached the city, missiles were immediately fired at it.
But they had no effect.
The monster retaliated against the soldiers, unleashing an enormous stream of fire.
The soldiers were instantly burned and melted.
Chaos erupted.
Soldiers began dying one after another.
Then suddenly—
An enormous blast of fire struck the monster and knocked it from the sky.
The hopeless soldiers looked up and saw three Awakeners possessing fire-based powers.
They had joined forces.
"When the gate exploded, it released an enormous amount of mana throughout the entire area. That's exactly what we felt inside the gate when we awakened. Try to awaken yourselves. You can fight the monster too!"
Many soldiers were confused and desperately tried to create magic.
But they couldn't understand how to use it.
Other Awakeners continued attacking the monster together.
The monster retaliated.
It summoned an enormous ring of fire spanning nearly 100 miles.
Everyone inside the area began to suffer from the intense heat.
Fortunately, there were also Wind Awakeners and Ice Awakeners among them.
The battle continued.
They fought again and again.
Until some of the soldiers suddenly felt something change inside them.
They had awakened.
They began using magic.
The secret was simple.
They had to breathe in the mana surrounding them in the air.
Doing so released the restraints inside their minds, allowing them to perform things they had never thought possible.
And there, they joined forces and fought the dragon until it finally died.
From that day onward, Awakeners became highly respected throughout the world.
It marked the beginning of a new world—
The World of Magic.
8 Years LaterAtisha — 22 years old
Working as a civil servant for the Awakeners Association.
A non-Awakened woman simply trying to live the best and most peaceful life she could.
Atisha's POVIt was like any other day I'd experienced during my two years working as a civil servant.
I was sitting in my office, doing paperwork.
"Hey, did you hear about the new A-rank Awakener in Brazil? That's the highest-ranked Awakener they've ever had representing their country, right?"
"Yes. It's a historical moment for the Brazilian government to have its first A-rank Awakener."
"The abilities are still unknown, though. But at least they finally have their first A-rank Awakener. Unlike here in the Philippines, where we only have B-rank Awakeners. Hahaha!"
"Yeah. Maybe it's because only a few portal gates have appeared in the Philippines. They're extremely rare here, so that's probably why we don't have many Awakeners."
Awakeners, huh…
Sounds like one of the most dangerous careers out there. Your life is literally on the line.
I still remember the day those monsters entered our world and how they killed people without hesitation.
I thought about it as I continued working on my computer.
"What about you, Atisha? Have you ever dreamed of becoming an Awakener?"
My colleague suddenly asked me.
"Ahahaha, well… it's the highest-paying job out there, so… if I were given the chance, I think I'd give it a try."
I didn't even know why I lied.
I absolutely hated the idea of becoming an Awakener.
Especially becoming a hunter.
The thought of entering gates connected to another world already made me sick.
"That's not the answer I was expecting, but I guess it's very reasonable."
My colleague said that before returning to his cubicle.
"How about you?"
I followed up with a question.
"Hmm… I don't think I'd want a noisy life. I'd rather be a civil servant than a hunter going into those gates. But that's just me."
He paused.
"Although, if I were awakened—especially if I became an A-rank Awakener—or if I somehow dreamed of becoming an S-rank, I'd be delighted. I'd become famous!"
He laughed.
"Living quietly is good, but being the center of attention and satisfying my ego is even better. Well, I should stop talking now because I'm starting to sound weird."
"Hahahaha. Not weird at all. We all have to feed that delusional ego we have inside us."
I replied.
"See? You get me."
My colleague laughed.
The office became quiet for a few seconds.
Then suddenly—
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The fire alarm went off.
"Oh my God! What's happening?"
A female colleague asked.
Several people began running through the hallway.
Then one person rushed into our office and shouted.
"There's a gate that suddenly appeared outside our company building! Hurry up! They're already evacuating everyone!"
Everyone inside the office froze.
Then they immediately stood up.
The surroundings began to shake.
Suddenly, everything went dark.
A small hum of wind filled the room.
Then—
The office suddenly became intensely bright red as a strange light began glowing throughout the room.
"What happened?"
A voice came from the hallway.
Then a man shouted at the top of his lungs.
"FUCK, BRO! WE'RE INSIDE THE GATE!"