Baek Do-Yun was never meant to be special.
He was born to Han Mi-Sun and Baek Seong-Min, two people the world would never remember — but who meant everything to him.
They lived in a cramped apartment where the wallpaper peeled in corners and the winter air slipped through unseen cracks. Money was always tight. Sometimes painfully so.
But love?
Love was abundant.
His father, Seong-Min, worked long hours and came home smelling of engine oil and metal. He would ruffle Do-Yun's hair and say, "You'll live easier than me."
It wasn't a dream.
It was a prayer.
When Do-Yun was ten, that prayer shattered.
A drunk driver ran a red light.
Metal twisted. Glass shattered.And Baek Seong-Min never came home again.
The hospital corridors were white and merciless.The adults spoke in low voices.His mother did not cry in front of him.
She only held him tighter that night.
From then on, Han Mi-Sun became both mother and father.
She stitched clothes late into the night, fingers pricked and raw. She skipped meals so he wouldn't notice the refrigerator getting emptier. She smiled even when exhaustion hollowed her eyes.
Do-Yun noticed.
He just pretended he didn't.
He was never the top student.Never athletic.Never popular.
Average grades.Average height.Average dreams.
He didn't want to change the world.
He only wanted to protect the small one he had left.
A steady job.A stable life.A comfortable home for his mother.
That was enough.
---
The countdown continued in front of his eyes.
3
2
1
Around him, the world screamed.
But Do-Yun only thought of one thing.
Mom.
0
The world went white.
Not darkness.
White.
Absolute.
Sound disappeared. Weight disappeared. Even fear disappeared.
There was nothing.
Then—
Something tore.
A violent distortion rippled through the void, like glass cracking across reality itself.
A mechanical voice echoed, different from the divine one before.
[System Notice]
Transmission Error Detected.
Soul Integrity: Stable.
Physical Vessel: Critical Failure.
Reassigning Host Body...
Warning: Compatibility Below 30%.
Warning: Vessel Severely Deteriorated.
Pain.
It was the first thing he felt.
His lungs burned.
His body felt wrong.
Too light. Too fragile.
Too unfamiliar.
He gasped—
And air rushed into his lungs.
---
He opened his eyes.
A ceiling made of carved stone stared back at him.
The room was large. Elegant. Sunlight poured through tall arched windows framed in intricate designs.
His hands trembled as he lifted them.
They were thin.
Far thinner than before.
His arms were narrow, almost delicate. His hair brushed against his shoulders — longer than he had ever kept it.
He stumbled toward a mirror.
The reflection staring back at him was not Baek Do-Yun.
The face was pale. Sharp-featured. Almost aristocratic. But the body looked frail, like it had been sick for years.
[System Notice]Host Body Condition: Malnourished / Mana Pathways DamagedCause: Dimensional Strain During Forced TransferSoul Successfully IntegratedIdentity Update Pending…
His heart pounded.
"Where… am I?"
He turned toward the window.
And froze.
Outside was not Seoul.
Not Earth.
The city below was vast and breathtaking.
Stone roads interwoven with golden lines. Carriages moved alongside individuals wearing robes and light armor. Towering spires rose high into the sky, carved with glowing runes.
At the center of the city stood an enormous structure — a colossal academy-like building made of white marble and dark obsidian, its peak piercing the heavens.
And above it all—
Two suns.
Not identical.
One larger. One slightly smaller.
Both burning softly in a sky tinted faintly violet.
He staggered back.
"This isn't… Earth."
[System Notice]
Welcome to the Dimensional Academy.
Survival Probability: 7%.
Objective: Become Strong Enough to Defend Your Original World.
Failure = Extinction of Earth.
His hands clenched.
His body was weak.
His world was gone.
And somewhere, his mother was alone.
Baek Do-Yun lowered his gaze slowly.
"I just wanted… a normal life."
Outside, bells began ringing across the city.
The Academy had welcomed its new students.
And in a broken, fragile body not meant to survive—
The first thread of destiny quietly tightened.