They said curiosity killed the cat.But nobody warned the cat what happens when it stumbles into a portal through time.
Seoul. 11:42 PM.
Rain poured like a shattered sky, soaking Kang Mujin to the bone as he stood at the edge of a forbidden excavation site hidden deep in the northern mountains.
His breath steamed in the cold night, eyes fixated on the clearing below.A month ago, his junior—an eager young reporter—vanished here without a trace.
And tonight, something felt… off. Wrong in a way only instinct could whisper.
"This can't be real… Yakuzas and Korean mobsters trading ancient relics?"
Below him, beneath floodlights, Japanese men in suits and Korean gangsters with tiger tattoos surrounded a raised stone platform.
In the center: a bluish metallic tablet. It pulsed faintly like it was breathing.
Mujin adjusted his lens. Focused.
Then—A high-pitched ring stabbed into his skull.
The tablet was humming.
"Get rid of the witness."
The words, sharp and cold in Japanese.
Mujin turned—Shadows moved. Guns raised.
"You nosy little journalist..." growled Lee Sung-pal, the Cheolryong enforcer.
Panic surged. Instinct screamed.
He bolted—Crashing through a wire fence marked DO NOT ENTER.
BOOM!
Lightning ripped through the sky and struck the cave mouth.
Blue fire ignited.The metallic tablet glowed violently as Mujin's hand brushed against it.
Symbols erupted across the surface.
"The True One has arrived."
His body lifted—weightless.Time unraveled.The world folded inward.
24th Year of King Uija's Reign. Baekje Dynasty.
"Ghost! A ghost!"
Steel armor. Spear tips. Shouting voices.
Mujin gasped, drenched and dazed, surrounded by soldiers.
His shirt, jeans, and smartwatch looked like heresy in this world of robes and bronze.
"Avert your gaze! Do not defile Heaven's will!"
A commanding voice rang out.The soldiers knelt in unison.
An old man approached—his silver hair slick with rain, his eyes sharp and ancient.He studied Mujin's necklace… then his wrist.
"…The Heaven's Seal. The mark of prophecy."
His name was Un Gihyun, an elder of the Woonryong Order, a secret martial clan loyal to Baekje's shadow court.
"You wish to live? Then learn.This land, its fate… and the arts that rule it."
He led Mujin through the forest, deep underground to a chamber lined with scrolls and moonlight.
Before him lay a black-bound book:'Heavenly Cloud Movement Technique (Cheonun Shinbeop)'
Its first line read:
"Hide your energy. Guide the world."
Mujin blinked.
"…Is this death? A dream?"
He pinched his cheek. Pain.
"No… It's real."
His hand trembled as he reached for the book.
Behind his breath, thoughts of his missing junior flashed.His wife. His life. The world he had just left behind.
"I have to go back."
"But first…"
He placed his palm on the page.
"Hide your energy. Guide the world."
Not just a martial technique.A message. A map.
"Then let this be my first step."
The chamber pulsed with forgotten power.
And far above, in the red-tinted night sky of a world that should not exist—something ancient opened its eyes.
(Chapter 1 – End)