[ Welcome to the new realm. Earth - 207 has been synchronized ]
The message didn't appear on screens. It didn't come from satellites or any machine.
It echoed directly into the minds of every living human.
For a moment, silence ruled the world.
Then chaos erupted.
Screams. Collapsing bodies. Hysterical sobbing. A woman on the street dropped her groceries and knelt, weeping. A man clutched his phone, frantically refreshing his news feed as if it could offer an escape. A child looked up at the sky, eyes wide with innocence, unaware that everything had just changed.
Within the hour, the truth came crashing down like an avalanche.
Earth had been devoured by something incomprehensible. A higher-dimensional realm known only as ORCA.
"Wh-what the hell is ORCA?" people whispered, begged, demanded.
But no answers came. Only domination.
Within days, the Skadi Empire descended. Colossal beings wrapped in unnatural armor. Some walked, others floated, all of them possessing an aura so suffocating that people could barely breathe in their presence.
"Submit, and you may live," they said.
But humanity didn't submit.
There was another World War. One with no hope of winning.
In the blink of an eye, Earth became a vassal world.
The humans? Reduced to little more than tools.
Slaves.
And yet, this was only the beginning.
Hidden within ORCA were strange anomalies known as World Dungeons. Portals to other supernatural dimensions where the rules of Earth no longer applied. Where swords clashed with spells, where beasts spoke, where magic and madness coexisted.
Through these portals, a rare few could journey beyond their bodies. Their consciousness would dive into distant, powerful worlds.
And if they survived, they could return stronger. Transformed.
These people were known as World Divers.
But of course, the Skadi Empire controlled it all. The portals, the training grounds, the artifacts, the very right to dream. Earth's people were left with scraps, abandoned in the shadows of gods.
Even worse, some humans turned traitor.
They served the Skadis with eager smiles.
Among them, five powerful military families.
And one of those families, once respected, now fallen to ruin — was the Vance family.
....
For 18-year-old Igaris Vance, it still feels like a dream. A cold, lucid one.
He had been just a small child when it all happened.
The brutal war, the massacre, the enslavement; every moment remained vivid in his mind to this day.
Fortunately for Igaris, his family had a great military background back on Earth.
Although it's a bit shameful, the Vance family submitted to the Skadis early in the war and joined forces with the Skadi Empire to defeat their own kind.
It was an act of betrayal to humanity.
But for the Vance family, the odds of winning against the Skadi Empire were simply too small, almost negligible.
So they chose the winning side, however opportunistic that may sound. And they weren't the only ones.
Four other great military families joined them too.
Naturally, with the Skadis' victory, the Vance family and the other four rose to power.
The land once known as Earth was now a vassal state of the Skadi Empire, governed by the Five Great Families.
For the next 10 years, everything seemed to go well for the Vance family. They flourished exceptionally.
But the last 3 years had been hell.
Things had deteriorated so badly that now, the once-mighty Vance estate, the proud home of Commander Izroth, was now nothing more than a deserted, dilapidated building.
It appeared the estate was cursed. Even the slightest movement or passing wind echoed like ghostly howls.
In the courtyard, Igaris sat quietly alone in his wheelchair.
He had tousled black hair, a handsome face, and wore a fine, neatly tailored black outfit.
But he looked worn out, his features weary from exhaustion.
More unfortunately, he was a cripple.
But he wasn't born that way. Something or someone had made him this way.
His deep blue eyes carried a sorrow he couldn't hide as he gazed into the unknown sky.
Then he closed his eyes, as if deeply concentrating on something.
In his palm was a small paper ball.
It looked insignificant, but from the way he held it with deep concentration, it was clear he was trying to do something important.
Behind him, an elderly man watched in silence. The butler's back was bent with age, but his eyes burned with something deeper.
Hope.
"Just a little more, young master," the butler whispered, barely daring to exhale.
The paper in the boy's hand trembled. Then rose.
Floating. Slowly, gently, as if guided by invisible fingers.
The old man gasped. His cane fell from his hand, clattering on the stone floor.
"You did it!" he cried. "You awakened the God Particle!"
The boy opened his eyes.
His lips curled into the softest, most fragile smile.
Tears slipped down his cheeks.
"I... I can Dive now," he murmured. "I can finally leave this cage."
"Yes, yes!" The butler laughed, wiping his eyes. "This is it! The rebirth of House Vance! You'll make the family proud again, young master. Your father, your brother—"
"My father and brother?" Igaris interrupted.
His tone was calm. Too calm.
The butler blinked. "Yes. Surely they would have wanted you to— to marry. Carry on the Vance name. Rebuild everything from—"
"Marriage?" Igaris suddenly let out a laugh. A strange one. Mad, unhinged.
The butler froze.
"Oh dear… has the young master lost his mind?"
Igaris's laughter echoed off the stone walls. Then stopped. Instantly.
His face was no longer soft or weeping.
His expression turned cold. Colder than the wind.
"No," he said, voice quiet but firm. "This Igaris Vance is not going to live a pathetic, quiet life."
He looked up at the sky, his eyes sharp as blades.
"The world of ORCA will kneel before me. So will the Skadis. So will the other families. So will those cowards who mocked me while I crawled in the dirt."
The butler's heart pounded. The aura radiating from Igaris was no longer that of a broken boy.
It was the birth of something else.
Something terrifying.
Something divine.