Location: Cracked Realm – Between Dimensions
The air felt heavy, electric, and vibrating with unstable magic.
Lee Gon raised his sword, keeping Dephnie behind him, his eyes never leaving the scarred woman before them.
"You said you're the original," Dephnie asked cautiously, "but how is that possible?"
The scarred Dephnie stepped forward from the shadows, her silver eyes dim with years of sorrow and rage. She wore the royal symbol of the kingdom, but it was faded and torn, as though she'd been lost in time.
"I was born before either of you," she said. "I crossed the gate… before the worlds split."
Lee Gon's voice was quiet, stunned. "You're from the Prime World?"
She nodded.
"Before the accident that created two timelines… before the King's gate malfunctioned… I was Dephnie Choi. A researcher at the palace's Temporal Mechanics Division."
She looked at Dephnie and her double with a tragic smile.
"Both of you are versions of me... echoes. One raised in the Republic. One raised in the Kingdom. I was erased. But the timeline couldn't erase me completely. I became trapped here—between worlds."
Location: Blue House – Presidential Office, Seoul, Republic of Korea
The alternate Dephnie stood in front of a conference table, addressing top military and intelligence officials. Surveillance images of the dimensional rift, Dephnie, and King Lee Gon played on the monitors.
"They're a threat to this world," she said coldly. "The more they cross between dimensions, the weaker our own timeline becomes."
One of the generals raised an eyebrow. "And what's your plan?"
"Simple," she replied. "Seal the gate permanently. And eliminate any version of myself that doesn't belong here."
Another agent leaned forward. "What about King Lee Gon?"
Her expression hardened.
"He dies first."
Location: Royal Library – Kingdom of Korea
Back in the Kingdom, Woo-jin raced through ancient scrolls with Court Historian Ji-eun.
"This can't be real," Ji-eun whispered. "Three Daphnes?"
Woo-jin pointed to an old sketch—three mirror fragments surrounding a single star.
"It's not just real. It was predicted."
Ji-eun looked up. "The Prophecy of the Tri-Echo."
He nodded. "If all three versions exist in the same dimension for too long, time will begin collapsing inward. Creating a singularity."
Ji-eun paled. "And who is the Echo of Chaos?"
Woo-jin didn't answer—he already knew.
Location: Jeonju – Abandoned Shrine, Republic of Korea
Back in the Cracked Realm, the scarred Dephnie stood before a mirror that shimmered with light and memories. She looked at the younger Dephnie, the one from the Kingdom.
"You have to listen to me," she said. "The timelines are converging. The third eclipse is approaching. If all three of us are in the same world… everything ends."
Lee Gon stepped closer. "Then what do we do?"
The scarred woman handed Dephnie a folded piece of parchment. It was fragile, ancient, and covered in runes and symbols. The Seal of Balance.
"It must be reactivated during the eclipse. You'll need the Sword of Echoes and the Mirror of Beginnings."
Dephnie frowned. "Where are they?"
The scarred woman sighed.
"One is guarded by my counterpart. The other… is in a place that doesn't exist anymore."
Location: Seoul – Underground Research Lab
Meanwhile, the alternate Dephnie opened a vault deep beneath the Republic's capital. Inside it was a broken sword—shimmering faintly with blue light.
"The Sword of Echoes," she whispered.
Agent Ryu Da-bin stood behind her. "They'll come for it."
She turned slowly, her eyes colder than ice.
"Let them."
Location: Haneul Cliff—Border of the Kingdom
Dephnie and Lee Gon stood atop a cliff where sky met sea, the sun setting in shimmering gold over the horizon. She held the parchment in her hands, heart pounding.
"Do you believe her?" she asked softly.
Lee Gon nodded. "I do. Because when I looked into her eyes, I saw you."
Dephnie looked up at him. "What if I can't do it? What if I'm the reason this world falls apart?"
He reached out and touched her face gently.
"You're the reason it still exists."
Their fingers intertwined, and for a moment, time felt still—whole.
Location: Crack Between Worlds – Eclipse Approaching
The sky above both worlds began to darken… slowly. Not with night, but with something else.
A third eclipse was rising.
The realms were merging.
And the war between the three Dephnies… was just beginning.
🌀 To be continued