The morning sun rose weakly over Seoul, its light filtered through a haze of mana that shimmered faintly in the air. The city's usual rhythm was there—cars moved, people hurried, birds sang—but something beneath it all was wrong. The world no longer felt alive in the same way. Every sound seemed dulled by an invisible pulse, every shadow flickered unnaturally. Hunters had started calling it "the hum."
It was faint at first, a quiet vibration that crept through the soles of one's feet and climbed up the spine like a whisper. But now, it was constant—an endless thrumming that refused to fade. Scientists couldn't explain it. Mages couldn't suppress it. And Sung Jinwoo knew exactly what it was.
It was the sound of the Nexus converging.
He stood at the edge of the Hunter Association's training field, overlooking the skyline. The faint morning breeze stirred his coat as his shadow shifted beneath him, restless, alive. His aura had grown deeper, darker, like an ocean hiding its true depth. Each movement of his mana made the ground shiver.
Cha Hae-In stood beside him, her golden aura glowing softly in the light. She looked toward the horizon where the mana haze was thickest. "It's spreading faster," she said quietly. "The hum wasn't this strong yesterday."
Jinwoo nodded slowly. "It's accelerating. The veil between dimensions is thinning faster than we thought."
He raised his hand slightly, and a small ripple of shadow energy spread outward. The vibration in the air responded instantly, almost alive, resonating with his power. "It's no longer just a leak," he murmured. "The Nexus is pushing through on its own."
Cha Hae-In turned toward him. "Then the SS Rank entities…?"
"They're close," he finished, eyes narrowing. "Closer than anyone realizes."
---
Inside the Hunter Association, chaos brewed under the surface. Dozens of hunters moved back and forth, carrying reports and scanning mana detectors that beeped endlessly. The readings were unstable—off the charts and inconsistent.
Baek Yoonho slammed his hand on a table. "The frequencies keep changing! It's like the gates are forming and collapsing at the same time!"
Go Gun-Hee's successor, Director Nam, rubbed his forehead. "Or like something is forcing them open before they're ready."
At the far end of the room, Jinwoo entered quietly. The noise died down the instant his presence filled the hall. Shadows stretched subtly along the walls as he approached the main display.
He studied the holographic projection—a world map littered with mana breaches, each one glowing in deep red pulses. "Five major concentrations," he said. "Asia, the Atlantic, North America, Europe, and one deep beneath the Arctic shelf."
Nam frowned. "We've been tracking those, but the Arctic one—there's no gate activity there."
"There doesn't have to be," Jinwoo replied. "That one isn't opening from our side."
The words hung heavy in the air.
Baek Yoonho's expression hardened. "You mean—"
"Yes," Jinwoo said calmly. "Something is breaking in from the other side."
The room fell silent. Even the hum outside seemed to grow louder.
---
Later that evening, Jinwoo stood on the Association rooftop again. The sunset bathed the world in gold and crimson, yet the light didn't soothe him. Every color in the sky seemed wrong—oversaturated, distorted, bending slightly as if reality itself were struggling to stay aligned.
Igris appeared from the shadow behind him, bowing slightly. "My liege, the mana distortion around the southern gates has doubled. Our shadow scouts are unable to maintain form for long durations."
Jinwoo didn't look away from the sky. "Withdraw them. I need them intact when the breach opens."
"As you command." The knight's crimson eyes glowed briefly before he vanished into the shadows once more.
A moment later, Beru's familiar buzzing voice came through, calm but strained. "My king, I sense presences moving… far beyond our plane. They do not resemble beasts or demons. Their energy carries a resonance similar to Agnorath's."
Jinwoo's eyes flickered with violet light. "Then it's confirmed. The Nexus itself is waking."
---
Across the world, phenomena began to occur that no one could explain.
In Tokyo, rain fell in reverse—rising from the streets to the clouds.
In New York, shadows moved a few seconds out of sync with their owners.
In Norway, the Northern Lights formed symbols in the sky that no one could decipher.
And in the Sahara, a gate appeared upside-down—its light glowing downward into the sand instead of upward into the air.
Every country went on high alert. The United Nations issued an emergency statement. Yet no amount of human preparation could stop what was coming.
Deep beneath Seoul, where the ley lines of the earth intersected, a rumbling began. The hum turned into a pulse. The ground itself started to glow faintly with mana.
Cha Hae-In rushed into the control room. "It's starting again!"
Jinwoo arrived moments later. "Show me the readings."
A hologram displayed a sphere of energy beneath the city. The mana density was incomprehensible—denser than any S Rank gate ever recorded.
"Seoul's ley core is resonating with the Nexus frequency," Director Nam said, sweat forming on his brow. "If that thing breaches—"
"It won't," Jinwoo interrupted firmly. "Not yet. The first convergence point is still forming."
"But if it completes—"
"I'll stop it before it does."
He turned to leave, his shadow trailing behind him like smoke.
---
Outside, night had fallen. The hum grew louder, now joined by a faint whisper that only those with mana could hear. It was as if the world itself was speaking—calling, pleading, or warning.
Cha Hae-In stood beside Jinwoo again, watching as small fissures of light began appearing across the sky. "Do you think it's Agnorath?" she asked softly.
Jinwoo shook his head. "No. This isn't him directly. This is his influence. The Nexus responds to power like his—it's feeding off it."
He stared upward as one of the cracks widened, revealing a deep crimson void beyond. "This is only the beginning."
Cha Hae-In took a slow breath. "Then what's next?"
Jinwoo's expression hardened. "The world's about to meet the first sign of true convergence. And when it does… no hunter will be safe."
The hum shifted suddenly into a single, deafening tone that echoed across every continent. The sky pulsed once—then fell silent.
And in that moment of silence, deep above the atmosphere, five massive distortions began to form, stretching across the fabric of space.
They pulsed once, twice, and then stabilized—each one glowing with mana signatures of an impossible scale.
The SS Rank entities had arrived.
Far in the shadows of another world, Agnorath opened his eyes, a slow grin spreading across his face.
"So the first ripples have reached him," he murmured. "Good. Let the storm begin."