[Two Weeks After the Merge]
The edge of the Seoul Sanctuary was no longer quiet.
Aiden stood beneath a sky that still bled fire where the Gate of Dethra hung open, its rim pulsing like a wound that refused to close. Around him, the air smelled of ash and mana—half holy, half sulfuric.Behind him waited soldiers, healers, and guild envoys; in front of him, ranks of Demonkin watched with unreadable eyes.
The first contact between species in human history was happening on a cracked highway outside a half-collapsed city.
[The Envoy of Dethra]
She approached first: tall, wingless, her crimson eyes dimmed to a cautious amber.Her armor was black stone veined with silver light, and the symbol of the Nine Gates was carved over her heart.
"I am Serath Vael," she said in fluent Korean—each word a little too precise.
"Commander of the Fifth Legion. We did not come here to conquer. We were thrown through."
Her voice carried exhaustion, not menace. Behind her, more Demonkin lowered their blades. Several of them carried wounded—both their own and human captives who, oddly, were still breathing.
Aiden stepped forward alone, hand raised in peace. "If you're not our enemy, prove it."
Serath gestured. Two soldiers brought forward a sealed crystal—inside it flickered an image of a giant sigil burning in the sky of Dethra.
"The Architects tore our world apart to build yours a new stage. We fought to close the Gate. We lost."
Dr. Lee whispered from Aiden's earpiece, "A mirror invasion… forced migration, maybe. The energy signature matches their reports."
Aiden looked back at his people—their weapons half-raised, their fear ready to burst—and then at the tired soldiers from another world.He made his decision.
"Then we'll talk," he said. "But not here. The barrier is thinning."
[Neutral Ground — Old Subway Station E-42]
The meeting took place underground, lit by mana lamps and trembling nerves.Serath sat across from Aiden at a scarred metal table; beside him, Commander Yura glared like a drawn blade.Behind Serath waited a mixed retinue—Demonkin with dull horns, a slender woman with pointed ears and green-silver eyes, and a stocky man whose hands were blackened with soot and callus.
Aiden frowned. "You're not Demonkin."
The woman bowed slightly. "I am Lira of the Verdant Vale, an Elf. My kin followed the Demonkin through the breach. We had no choice—the collapse would have devoured our forests."
The stocky man grunted, voice deep as gravel. "Gorim Stonehand. Dwarf of the Hollow Halls. The ground itself cracked beneath us. Either we fell into this world or into the void."
Aiden exchanged glances with Yura. "Three races in one gate. And we thought our world was the experiment."
Serath folded her wings against her back—ghosts of flame shimmered there. "Now you understand why we seek truce. The Architects are not gods to us. They are jailers."
[The Negotiation]
For hours they spoke—about mana resonance, about feeding the displaced, about shared enemies.Every proposal felt like walking a blade.
"Humans will never trust you," Yura said bluntly.Serath met her gaze. "Then let your fear serve a purpose. Point it at the ones who made us both."
Aiden finally rose. "If we form an alliance, you fight under our laws. You harm no civilians. You share what you know about the Architects' world."Serath inclined her head. "In return, your sanctuary shelters our refugees."
The pact was written in mana on an iron plate—signed with blood, sealed with the root sigil of the World Tree.
When the symbols fused, the ground trembled.Outside, the sky shifted from red to violet—the first stabilization since the Merge.
[Aftermath — The New Races Emerge]
Within days, more gateways flickered across the horizon.
Elven scouts appeared in forest ruins, purifying poisoned rivers with song.Dwarven caravans began repairing collapsed tunnels beneath the city, trading metalwork for food.And among humans, strange children were born—those with faint horns or glowing veins—the first Hybrids.
The world no longer belonged to a single race; it was becoming a patchwork of survivors bound by necessity.
[Private Log — Aiden Park]
Day 310 after the First Merge.
The Demonkin kept their word. Serath fights beside us now, though half my command still flinches when she passes.Dr. Lee says the system is fluctuating again—new skill trees labeled "Inter-World Affinity."I dream of Evelyn. Sometimes I hear her voice through the roots, whispering warnings.The Architects are watching, but so is something else.If this alliance holds, maybe humanity still has a chance.Or maybe we've just invited our next extinction inside the walls.
[ — The Pact at the Burning Gate]
[System Notice: New Factions Registered — Elf, Dwarf, Demonkin, Hybrid.]
[Global Alignment Parameter Unlocked.]
[Observer Activity Detected — Signal Distortion at 0.08%.]