Kang Min-jae was twelve years old. A sixth-grader, the epitome of ordinary. He'd scrape his knees playing games with friends, buy chocolate milk at the convenience store on his way home, and hum along to idol songs—his daily routine. His dream was to become an artist. His bedroom walls were plastered with colorful sketches drawn in crayon and colored pencils. But on May 16, 2025, that dream shattered into pieces.
He'd stayed late at school for the art club, working on a painting, and was walking home through a dimly lit alley. The streetlamp flickered, casting an uneasy glow. The chilly May breeze cut through his thin school uniform, raising goosebumps on his skin. The upbeat melody from his earphones lightened his steps, but a faint unease gnawed at his chest, like a shadow trailing just out of sight.
He stopped at a crosswalk, waiting for the signal. Then he felt it—a low, rumbling roar growing closer behind him. The sound of a machine's howl shook the alley. Instinctively, he turned his head. And he saw it: a massive truck tearing through the darkness, hurtling toward him. Its headlights burned his eyes with blinding white, and the ear-splitting honk swallowed the world.
Min-jae's legs froze. He wanted to move, to run, but his body betrayed him. Fear gripped his heart like a vice. In that split second, amid the truck's deafening roar, a faint whisper slipped into his ears.
"The Order does not forgive unjust deaths… Judgment awaits thee."
The voice wasn't human. It was deep, cold, as if the universe itself were speaking. Min-jae had no time to process it. The impact came—a bone-crushing jolt, a sensation of the world twisting around him. His body was flung into the air, then slammed onto the cold asphalt.
Blood trickled from his mouth. His vision blurred. A freezing chill enveloped him, as if his heart were turning to ice. His heartbeat slowed, each thud more labored than the last. His final thought was of his mother's face.
"Mom… I'm sorry…"
And then, everything went black.
When Min-jae opened his eyes again, he was no longer in the alley. The cold asphalt was gone, replaced by a writhing mass of black mist beneath his feet. The mist coiled around his ankles like a living creature, its touch sticky and damp. The air was heavy, humid, resisting every breath he took. A strange, acrid stench stung his nose, like something ancient and decayed. There was no sky. Instead, an endless void stretched above, dotted with flickering violet stars. Their light wasn't warm—it was the cold, unblinking gaze of a watcher.
Min-jae looked down at himself. His school uniform was intact, pristine, not a drop of blood on it. His hands trembled as he touched his face. The sensation of being alive felt alien. The memory of the crash, the pain, the darkness—it all swirled in his mind, refusing to settle.
"Am I… dead?"
His voice was small, cracked, barely a whisper. Fear and confusion crushed his young heart. He scanned his surroundings. The space seemed empty, yet something stirred in the darkness. Shapes—human-like, beast-like—slunk through the shadows, their eyes glinting with a ravenous hunger. Min-jae instinctively stepped back, but the mist clung to his feet, slowing him.
Suddenly, a sharp voice pierced his mind, resonant and chilling, as if pronouncing a divine verdict.
[O Summoned Soul, the Order of Shadows has called thee. Accept the first trial, or face eternal oblivion.]
Min-jae froze, his breath catching. The voice stabbed directly into his brain. He spun around, searching for its source, but found nothing.
"Who's there? How do you know my name?"
His voice quavered with fear, yet a spark of defiance flickered within. He was terrified, but he needed to understand.
[Questions are futile, Kang Min-jae. Thou art dead, yet the Order has chosen thee. This is the Order of Shadows, a battlefield where souls of unjust deaths are judged. Survive, or be consumed by the dark.]
Min-jae's heart thundered. The words "dead" and "consumed" pressed down on his childish mind like a lead weight. But before he could respond, a glowing blue hologram materialized before his eyes. Its edges were etched with ancient runes, pulsing with dark energy that seemed to breathe. It resembled a game interface, but its weight was suffocating, almost holy.
Oath of Judgment
[Summoned: Kang Min-jae]
[Rank: 0]
[Role: Unassigned]
[Attributes: Strength 5, Agility 7, Intelligence 10, Shadow Affinity 15]
[Authority: None]
[Trial: Complete the First Judgment. Limit: 24 hours.]
[Choice: Wilt thou embrace the dark, or resist it?]
Min-jae blinked, his breath shallow. "Choice? What is this… a game?"
His voice trembled, but curiosity began to edge out fear. He reached out to touch the hologram, but his hand passed through it, stirring the air. Then, a deep thud echoed through the darkness. The ground quaked faintly. Min-jae's heart surged again, pounding against his ribs.
A monstrous shadow creature emerged. It was a grotesque hybrid—part wolf, part human. Towering twice Min-jae's height, its muscular form was cloaked in writhing black mist. Its crimson eyes bored into him, not with animal instinct but with a deep, calculating malice, as if weighing his soul.
[Decree of Judgment: The First Trial begins. Objective: Defeat the Shadow Wolf.]
Min-jae swallowed hard. He had nothing—no weapon, no shield, not even the faintest idea how to fight. He was just a twelve-year-old boy. But a faint black aura sparked at his fingertips, swirling like smoke. It felt like an extension of his fear, his anger, his desperate will to survive.
"Run?"
The thought flashed through his mind, but he shook his head. Running wouldn't end this nightmare. Gritting his teeth, he thrust his hand forward.
The black aura coalesced into a jagged spear, hurtling toward the wolf. It grazed the creature's flank, scattering wisps of dark mist and eliciting a shrill howl. But the wolf didn't falter. It charged, swinging a massive paw.
Min-jae dove to the side, his reflexes barely saving him. The wolf's claws raked his uniform, tearing the fabric and grazing his skin. Cold air stung the scratch.
"Damn it… why me?!"
His voice was raw with fear and fury. But amidst the panic, a strange heat surged in his chest. Something was awakening. He thrust his hand out again, the black aura surging with greater intensity. This time, it formed not a spear but a hooked blade, slashing at the wolf's leg.
The hook pierced the creature's limb, drawing a guttural roar. The wolf staggered, its crimson eyes blazing with rage. Min-jae, gasping for breath, seized the moment. He summoned another hooked blade, this time aiming for the wolf's throat.
Thud!
The blade struck true. A burst of black mist exploded outward, and the wolf collapsed with a final, anguished cry. Min-jae fell to his knees, panting, his hands trembling as if stained with blood—though there was none. His heart felt ready to burst.
[Oath of Judgment: First Trial completed. Reward: Shadow Essence 1, Rank +1.]
Min-jae stared at the black crystal shard in his hand. It pulsed like a heartbeat, whispering faintly, "Deeper… deeper…"
Then, a new shadow appeared. A girl in a flowing black robe stepped forward. Her long, raven hair shimmered even in the darkness, and her silver eyes gleamed like captured stars. Her face was strikingly beautiful, yet chillingly cold. A faint smirk curved her lips, sharp and unreadable.
"Kang Min-jae," she said, her voice soft but edged, like a blade brushing skin. "You passed the first judgment. Impressive."
Min-jae looked up, catching his breath. His eyes flickered with fear and curiosity. "Who… are you? What is all this?"
The girl stepped closer, her robe swaying in the still air. "I am Eun-ha, Arbiter of the Order." She reached out, lifting his chin with a cold finger. Her touch sent a warm, electric jolt through him, unsettling yet strangely alive. "Your guide… or perhaps your final judge."
Min-jae swatted her hand away, his eyes flaring with defiance. "What do you want from me? What is this place?"
Eun-ha's laugh was clear, almost musical, but laced with menace. "Oh, the little one has spirit." She crossed her arms, stepping back. "The Order of Shadows isn't just a world, Min-jae. It's a battlefield where the dead fight for a second chance. But that chance comes at a cost. You must fight. Survive. And…" Her eyes sharpened, glinting like knives. "Find the truth of the Order."
Min-jae mulled her words, his heart still pounding. Fear clung to him, but a new resolve was taking root.
"Fine," he said, clenching his fists. "I'll survive… and figure this all out."
Eun-ha smiled, a real smile this time, but its shadow remained dark.
"Then let's begin, Kang Min-jae. I'll be watching… until the end of the Order."
And so, Kang Min-jae's journey in the Order of Shadows began. In the darkness, his fate had already stepped onto an irreversible path.