The sky cracked open like glass.
Jin-Woo stood still, shadows writhing beneath his feet as the portal tore itself into existence before him. Colors bled through the rift—shades he had never seen in his own world. His eyes narrowed. This was not some Gate. This was not a dungeon. This was something else.
He could feel it.
A different world. A different reality. And it called to him.
Behind him, his army stood at attention. Thousands—no, tens of thousands—of shadows, silent and loyal. Igris, Iron, Beru. His generals. His first creations. His oldest companions. They waited, as always, for his command.
He didn't speak. He didn't have to.
He stepped through the portal.
The world on the other side greeted him with chaos. Cities were burning. The ground trembled. People screamed in terror, running from towering beasts that crushed buildings beneath their feet. The air was thick with smoke and blood.
And fear.
But it wasn't his fear.
Jin-Woo's boots crunched against broken concrete as he emerged from the portal, calm as ever. The monsters took no notice of him at first. They were too busy slaughtering whatever unfortunate souls crossed their path.
That changed quickly.
One of the towering creatures—a grotesque thing with multiple limbs and glowing red eyes—turned its gaze toward him. It roared, shaking the ground, and lunged.
Jin-Woo raised a hand.
From the shadows beneath him, a spike erupted upward, skewering the creature mid-charge. It stopped, twitching, screaming—and then collapsed in a heap.
Dead.
The screaming around him stopped. People stared, frozen in disbelief.
"W-Who is that...?"
Jin-Woo ignored them.
More beasts began to notice him. A dozen. A hundred. The air vibrated with roars and shrieks as they converged on his position.
He smiled.
"Come."
His army surged forward like a black tide. Igris led the charge, sword gleaming. Beru leapt from the shadows, wings flaring wide, his screech splitting the air. Iron barreled forward with thunderous steps, plowing through the enemy like a tank.
The battlefield changed in seconds.
Where there was once chaos, there was now discipline. Where there was once fear, there was only dread—for the monsters.
Jin-Woo walked through the carnage, untouched. His eyes scanned the horizon. He could feel it again—that strange pressure. The distortion of a new reality. Someone here... something here was bending this world.
Not a Monarch. Not a Ruler. But something close.
He needed answers.
He found them in the ruins of what looked like a fortress. Dozens of wounded warriors were holed up, defending their last line. Their weapons glowed with energy, their bodies enhanced with strange abilities—power systems alien to him, but not unfamiliar. Every world had its rules. Its laws of strength.
They fought with heart. With desperation. But they were losing.
Until he stepped in.
He didn't announce himself. He didn't ask to help.
He simply moved.
In an instant, the largest of the invading creatures was split in half. Jin-Woo blurred forward, his dagger sinking into skulls, necks, hearts. Shadows rose where corpses fell. In less than five minutes, the entire enemy force was eradicated.
The defenders stared.
One of them, bloodied and exhausted, stepped forward. "Are you... with us?"
Jin-Woo turned to him. "No. I'm not with anyone."
The man flinched but nodded. "Still... thank you. That thing was wiping us out. We thought we were dead."
"What was it?"
"We call them World Eaters. They've been appearing out of nowhere—tearing through dimensions, corrupting everything they touch. They came through a breach weeks ago. Nothing's worked against them."
Jin-Woo's eyes narrowed.
So this was the pattern. These invaders weren't native to this world either. Something was sending them across realities.
A ripple ran through his spine. Something watching. Something distant.
He looked up at the sky.
It shimmered.
Like glass ready to break again.
He turned to Beru. "Track it. Find the breach they came through."
Beru screeched and vanished into the sky.
The survivors tried to follow him, tried to ask questions. Jin-Woo was already walking away.
He had no time for explanations.
Minutes later, Beru returned, his claws dripping with the blood of something unnatural. "My king... the gate is unstable. But it leads further."
"Further?"
"To another world."
Jin-Woo's eyes gleamed.
Perfect.
He looked at his army, now bolstered with the shadows of this world's monsters and defenders alike. A hundred thousand strong.
He raised a hand.
"We move."
The portal opened with a roar.
Another world awaited.
Another system to break.
Another throne to steal.
Jin-Woo stepped through.
And the first world fell silent.