A man with a face marked by years of hardship and torment looked up at the colossal blue dragon with nine severed heads. He was in an ancient jade hall that hummed with the mystery of cosmic law. Time and space divine mana flowed through the surroundings like fish gliding through a pond. It was calm, serene—and ancient.
But Ethan only saw the dead colossal dragon the ancient immortals once called "Chaos Harbinger."
"Cough, cough... God, I'm about to die," Ethan muttered, blood trickling from his white teeth. His insides screamed with unbearable pain. The beast was a Heavenly-level creature, yet its strength rivaled that of a Hellish beast.
[ You are about to die. Choose your next course of action. ]
A voice chimed in his head—soft and calm.
"Fuck, I know," Ethan gritted his teeth, clutching his chest.
Looking back, he saw flashes of his family and fallen comrades. They were all gone now.
He wished there had never been a dungeon break—then maybe he'd still have them by his side, living as a normal man, going to work like a mundane.
He remembered how his comrades were brutally slaughtered as if they were just bags of meat. The thought pushed him to the edge. Though he had mastered his emotions long ago, this one wouldn't fade.
These were his close comrades—those he believed would reach the end of this bitter road with him.
He cursed under his breath. Such is life.
In the end, even the strongest fall. Even the old immortal who once controlled the cosmos and balanced life and death now stood on the brink of dying.
Shouldn't a being who could control life and death be terrifying?
Then why was he dying?
How did it even begin?
He remembered—just like the countless stories he read back in elementary school.
It started a hundred years ago.
---
The day began like any other.
Children ran. Couples laughed. The world was calm—until it wasn't.
A deafening boom shook Central Park. Panic spread instantly. Many thought it was a terrorist attack. But they were wrong.
In the middle of the blast, a massive yellow portal appeared—circular, glowing fiercely, hovering in the air. Everything around it melted under its heat. The atmosphere turned heavy, dread filling every breath. People began backing away, terrified. Some influencers pulled out their phones to record.
Thirty minutes later, the army arrived, surrounding the area with a one-mile barricade. Silence hung over the park.
Then—
BANG!
A massive scaled arm ripped through the portal, followed by a monster with pale skin, bulging muscles, claws sharp as blades, and fangs dripping with hunger. It dropped onto all fours, radiating pure killing intent.
The commander froze—then roared:
"Open fire! Kill that abomination!"
Gunfire rattled the air, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off its skin.
ROAAAAAR!
The beast lunged, ripping a soldier in half before anyone could blink. Chaos erupted. Screams filled the park as more creatures spilled from the portal. Bombs became the only effective weapons—but even then, it took ten elite operatives to bring each monster down.
By the time the wave ended, over five hundred people were dead.
The government declared martial law.
The world, horrified, named the incident—
The Doom Dungeon.
---
Two months later, a reckless group snuck into the portal. Inside, they discovered another world—swarming with the same horrors, later named Skin Crawlers. Their strength, speed, and agility defied human comprehension.
Yet strangely, those who fought them began to change.
They started to feel and control a strange energy—mana.
Some bent fire and water. Others gained monstrous strength. Some twisted their bodies into new forms.
They were later known as the Awakened.
For two long months they fought. Through blood and death, they learned to harness mana. In the end, they struck down the dungeon's boss, and the survivors returned to Earth.
From that day onward, dungeon breaks began appearing all over the world.
Years passed, and countless heroes rose.
Awakened fighters grew so powerful they rivaled governments themselves.
Eventually, under the pressure of martial law, a coup erupted.
The military seized control, and from the ashes rose the Top Nine Guilds—the most powerful forces in the new world.