For the first time in seven years, every major Hunter Association in the world called an emergency summit.
The appearance of the second sphere had shaken every government. Nations that had disbanded their hunter forces were now begging for new recruits.
News reports filled every screen.
The anchor's voice trembled as she spoke.
"Yesterday, at precisely three twenty-two in the afternoon, a catastrophic event struck the Busan region. The source of the incident appears to be an unknown energy field resembling pre-cataclysmic gate phenomena. Casualties are still being counted, but early estimates suggest over ten thousand injured."
The world had forgotten the fear of the old days. Now, it remembered.
Inside the Hunter Association headquarters in Seoul, a meeting room buzzed with tension.
Dozens of top-ranked hunters and government officials sat around a wide circular table, the air thick with nervous energy.
One of them, an elderly man named Baek Yoonho, slammed his hand on the table. "This energy signature is identical to the old gates, but stronger. Someone or something is forcing them open."
Across from him, Cha Hae-In listened quietly. Time had softened her expression, but her eyes were still sharp. "I felt his power," she said finally. "It was him. Jinwoo."
The room went silent.
Another hunter, younger and more impatient, leaned forward. "If Sung Jinwoo is back, then maybe he caused this. The gates disappeared because of him. Maybe they are returning because of him too."
Cha Hae-In's gaze darkened. "He saved the world once. Be careful with your words."
Before anyone could reply, the lights flickered. The monitors on the wall suddenly displayed strange static symbols. Lines of ancient text began scrolling across the screen in patterns none of them recognized.
"What is this?" someone whispered.
The lights dimmed entirely. For a moment, the entire building was wrapped in silence. Then the symbols faded, leaving a single message written across every display.
System Notice: The Second Wave is in motion. Prepare.
A chill swept through the room.
Cha Hae-In stood up slowly. "He's not causing it," she said. "He's warning us."
Outside, clouds began to swirl over the city once again.
---
Far away, beyond the stars and the human world, another realm stirred.
A black throne floated within an endless sea of shadow. Around it hung countless fragments of shattered worlds, drifting like broken glass.
Upon the throne sat a being whose presence bent the air. His eyes glowed silver, reflecting the light of distant stars. His voice echoed softly through the void.
"So, the Shadow Monarch's power has reawakened. I thought the cycle ended when the last gate closed."
He raised his hand. The air rippled, and a vast screen of light appeared before him, showing images of Earth — the cities, the frightened people, the reappearance of beasts.
"Interesting," he murmured. "The System still functions. That means the foundation remains intact."
A figure approached from behind, kneeling. It was a creature of smoke and bone, its body held together by veins of red energy. "My lord Agnorath, the lower worlds have begun to stir. The first wave was only a fragment. Shall we proceed with the next?"
Agnorath rested his chin on his hand. "Not yet. Let them tremble a little longer. Fear will ripen them faster than war."
He rose from his throne. The void itself seemed to bend beneath his weight.
"The Shadow Monarch will try to stop it. He always does. But this time, his power will only feed mine."
He turned toward the vast emptiness, his cloak moving like living smoke. "Send the Watchers to Earth. I want to see how much of his strength has returned."
The creature bowed and vanished into the shadows.
Agnorath looked once more at the image of Jinwoo on the screen — standing alone in the ruins, surrounded by his fading shadows.
A faint smile curved across his face. "It begins again, old king."
He closed his hand, and the image shattered into darkness.
---
Back on Earth, Jinwoo stood at the edge of the same crater where it had all begun. The city had been cleared, but the mana in the air remained heavy, unsteady.
He reached out his hand, feeling the faint pulse of the world beneath his palm. The ground was still bleeding magic.
Something whispered faintly from the shadows behind him. A voice not his own.
"You can feel it too," it said.
Jinwoo turned sharply. Nothing was there. Only the cold wind and the distant sound of sirens.
He frowned. His instincts screamed that something was watching him, something not from this world.
The System flickered again before his eyes.
System Notice
Unknown Entity Detected.
Designation: The Watcher.
Origin: The Abyssal Domain.
Level: Classified.
Jinwoo's eyes narrowed. The first scout had arrived.
---
That night, across the world, gates began to open again — small, unstable, and countless.
From each one stepped creatures with glowing eyes and ancient symbols burned into their bodies.
People screamed as the skies filled with light.
The world of hunters had returned, but this time, the threat was not survival.
It was extinction.