I had that dream of falling again.
It was the same as always, yet subtly different from the previous ones.
The backdrop was the sky. The three swords pierced into my back, and the endless descent remained unchanged. But what had changed?
I realized it soon enough.
Even as I was plummeting, I was reaching out with one arm toward the sky.
And the moment I swung my hand downward, the sky suddenly began to turn red.
Was the sun setting?
No, it wasn’t something that simple.
The sky was filled with countless meteors, raining down endlessly.
With that single motion, countless balls of fire blanketed the heavens, burning through the clouds, turning the entire world red.
What is this?
It was a sight I had never seen before in the hundreds, no, thousands of times I had dreamed this dream.
And yet, why did it feel strangely familiar?
…!
Instinctively, I touched my face and discovered something unbelievable.
In the dream, I was smiling.
A chilling, eerie smile.
How could someone like me, with barely any emotions, make such a face?
“Haha…”
This time, laughter escaped my lips of its own accord.
Even as I fell, I couldn’t stop laughing.
Hahahaha!
The laughter faded, swallowed by the flames that consumed the world.
…
…
“……!”
Hyesung bolted upright in bed.
As soon as he woke up, he blinked.
What was that?
His mind felt oddly tangled.
He had seen something important in that dream, but he couldn’t quite recall it.
Was it just my imagination?
Dreams were always vague.
As the images blurred and faded, Hyesung decided to stop thinking about it.
If it was just another dream of falling from the sky, then it was nothing new.
That day, everything felt off.
Even while washing up and getting ready for his shift at the convenience store, he couldn’t shake off the strange feeling from the morning.
And then, as soon as he arrived at the subway station, his steps suddenly stopped.
The video playing on the advertisement screen next to the platform doors was far too familiar.
Wait, that game is…
Countless floating islands stacked layer upon layer in the sky.
Airships battling various enemies as they attempted to reach the highest point.
Sky Islands?
[June 1st, 10 AM, Global Simultaneous OPEN! (GMT +9)]
“Sky Islands! If you don’t pre-register now, you’re missing out on half your life~!”
Hyesung’s gaze was locked onto the subway station advertisement.
Was this real?
A top-tier celebrity—one that everyone knew by name—was promoting Sky Islands, the very game he had been playing until dawn.
His mind filled with questions.
It’s already launching? And they’re using a celebrity this big? That’s a massive investment.
A mid-sized company like the one his sister worked at wouldn’t usually have the budget for such an extravagant marketing campaign, no matter how well-made the game was.
Wait, June 1st… isn’t that today?
Hyesung checked his phone’s home screen and realized something even more important.
It was 8:30 AM.
That meant there were only 1 hour and 30 minutes left until Sky Islands launched.
If they planned to release it this early, why did they have me test it?
There hadn’t even been enough time for him to report any bugs or feedback to his sister, let alone for the developers to fix anything before launch.
Could it just be a different game with the same name?
Just in case, he opened the game file his sister had sent him.
The opening screen, the developer’s logo—it was all an exact match to the advertisement.
He placed a hand over his chest.
His heart, which hadn’t felt excitement or doubt in ages, stuck once before settling back into stillness.
She’s not answering.
He tried calling twice, but there was only a dial tone.
So he left her a simple message: Call me when you have time.
If this really was his sister’s project, then she must have been in a far higher position at the company than he had thought.
Unlike him, who had thrown away a stable career and was now working part-time.
But the real shock was yet to come.
What the…
He arrived at a busy intersection downtown.
Hyesung blinked multiple times, looking around.
Advertisements for Sky Islands were everywhere.
No, everywhere wasn’t even an exaggeration.
It was like the game was pouring out from every possible screen—giant billboards covering entire buildings, small TVs in front of convenience stores, all playing the same ad he had seen in the subway.
Even life-sized figures of the game’s characters lined the street.
“Sky Islands? Is this a new game?”
“Oh, it looks fun. Might give it a try.”
Even in the random chatter around him, the game’s name kept popping up.
Something’s off…
Shouldn’t he feel proud that a game his sister worked on was getting so much attention?
Instead, he felt unsettled.
The scene unfolding before him was too unreal.
At some point, it seemed like everyone on the streets had started talking about Sky Islands.
Even an elderly man—someone who looked like he’d never touched a game in his life—was staring, mesmerized, at the giant screen playing the ad.
It was as if everyone except him had fallen under some kind of hypnosis.
This… isn’t possible.
He pulled out his phone and checked the internet.
It was already flooded with Sky Islands-related posts.
Not just one or two celebrities—dozens had participated in the promotions.
Even the biggest gaming companies in Korea, the so-called “Big Three,” wouldn’t be capable of a marketing campaign on this scale.
A mobile game targeting primarily younger players? There was no way this kind of marketing could be profitable.
What made even less sense was that this absurd campaign was actually working.
Am I the weird one here?
For a moment, Hyesung doubted his own reality.
It felt like the boundary between real life and imagination had crumbled.
Was his mental state deteriorating? Was this some kind of new symptom?
“Ah, Hyesung! You’re here for your shift!”
“Uh, what’s that…?”
Even at the convenience store, things weren’t any different.
His eyes landed on his coworker’s phone.
“Oh, this?”
She gave an awkward smile and showed him the pre-registration page for Sky Islands.
“It looks fun, so I thought I’d try it.”
“…You like games?”
“Nope! I’ve never played one before. Not even on PC.”
Never…?
“If you don’t pre-register, you’re missing out on half your life~!”
Then, suddenly, the cashier mimicked the voice from the ad, giving him a knowing smirk.
“…So? Want to try it too, Hyesung?”
This wasn’t right.
There was no way a game nobody had even heard of yesterday could explode in popularity overnight like this.
Was this some kind of elaborate prank?
To Hyesung, it looked like the entire world had been hypnotized.
Ring-ring.
As soon as his shift ended, he tried calling his sister again.
She was the only one who could clear up his confusion.
…!
Bzzzt!
Suddenly, his phone vibrated.
It’s her!
Hyesung quickly checked his smartphone, and his eyebrows twitched.
The message from his older sister hadn’t been sent in real-time.
-[This is a missed scheduled message!] Hyesung, sorry I couldn’t answer your call earlier ㅠㅠ. Things have been so hectic that even sending a message isn’t easy.
-I don’t have much time, so I’ll get straight to the point. The reason you feel so indifferent to everything… it’s probably because this world isn’t truly yours.
It was difficult to comprehend.
-In games, even if you become a hero or lose a comrade, happiness or sorrow lasts only briefly, right? That’s natural. Higher-dimensional beings can’t easily empathize with lower-dimensional ones. That doctor who diagnosed you with a mental illness back then? A complete quack.
And it felt unfamiliar.
-I don’t know when we’ll meet again. But even if I’m not by your side, don’t panic, and make sure to eat properly…. Hmm, one last piece of advice—In this new world, you’ll have to use your real self completely. The world ahead… won’t be as dull as the one you’ve lived in.
What was she talking about?
One thing was clear—she knew something he didn’t.
-Then, little brother, let’s meet again at the top. By then, I should be able to tell you everything.
That was the end of the message.
Hyesung stood frozen in place, stunned.
Snapping back to his senses, he quickly tried to call her back, but the response was completely unexpected.
“The number you have dialled is not in service. Please check and try again.”
“……”
A silence filled with confusion settled in.
Tick. Tick.
The only sound echoing in the quiet convenience store was the ticking of a clock.
But there wasn’t even a clock nearby—where was the sound coming from?
As he glanced around, something caught his eye, and he narrowed his gaze.
In a corner of the convenience store.
A floating blue holographic digital clock hovered in midair, in the middle of empty space.
Like part of a VR game interface.
[Time Remaining: 53 seconds]
And before he could even process What the hell is that?, messages began pouring down before his eyes.
[Pre-registration is about to close!]
[Complete your pre-registration before the dimensional merge begins! Otherwise, you’ll lose half your life~!]
Holographic messages appearing out of nowhere.
Thud!
A sense of dread gripped Hyesung as he kicked open the convenience store door and ran outside.
The once-peaceful city was now filled with screams coming from all directions.
What’s happening? What’s going on?
Then, the moment he looked up, a groan slipped from his lips before he even realized it.
Thousands of meteors were falling through the clouds, turning Seoul’s sky redder than it had ever been.
[Time Remaining: 38 seconds]
“Pre…registration…”
His heart, which had been pounding wildly, suddenly calmed.
For once, he was grateful for his condition.
Regaining his composure in an instant, his mind finally started working again.
While screams and cries echoed throughout the city, Hyesung pulled out his smartphone from his pocket.
Accessing the pre-registration page and clicking the registration button took another 10 seconds.
But—
[Your account is already registered!]
What…?
[Your account is already registered!]
[Your account is already registered!]
No matter how many times he clicked, the result was the same.
Meanwhile, the burning debris raining from the sky was drawing ever closer to the ground.
Staring up at the crimson-stained heavens, Hyesung felt something resembling fear for the first time.
His heart alternated between racing and calming in erratic bursts.
Am I… going to die?
Emotions surged beyond his control, flaring up, then crashing down, only to explode again.
As he changed between composure and terror multiple times within a single second—
A new message appeared.
[Entering a higher dimension! The two dimensions will temporarily overlap! Quickly escape from your original dimension!]
[An unknown force is pulling you into the higher dimension! You are no longer subject to physical or magical interference from your previous dimension!]
[Time Remaining: 1 second]
“Ugh…!”
Kwoooom! Kwooooom!
Massive meteors, each the size of buildings, crashed into the ground.
Hyesung clenched his eyes shut.
The earth itself flipped, and for a moment, it felt as if his breath had stopped.
And yet—that was all.
I’m… alive?
Realizing he was still conscious, Hyesung opened his eyes.
The once-bustling streets of Seoul—no, perhaps all of Earth—had been completely shattered.
The shocking part was that, even amidst the infernal ruins, a handful of people, including himself, were still alive.
The survivors stared blankly at their own bodies, unscathed despite the meteor strike.
Some were so stunned that they mistook themselves for spirits, believing they had already died.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
A piercing cry snapped Hyesung’s attention sideways.
Despite the chaotic noise of the apocalypse, that scream rang crystal clear.
And in that moment, he understood.
Humanity had been split into two fates.
One group remained unharmed despite the hellish destruction.
The other… had lost either their upper or lower halves, melted vertically, or had their bodies grotesquely torn apart, their flesh evaporated by the intense heat.
[Pre-registration has ended!]
[Missed the registration? Try again next time!]
[Though, who knows when the next chance will be…?]
That was the last message Hyesung saw on Earth.
CRAAASH!
With the sound of shattering glass, the entire scene before him fractured into pieces.
When he opened his eyes, the scenery had changed.
The scorching heat of the apocalypse was gone, replaced by a cold wind brushing against his cheek.
And once again, glowing blue holographic text scrolled across his vision.
[You have arrived in the Higher Dimension!]
Hyesung stood straight and looked around.
First, he needed to confirm whether he was alive or dead.
Where… is this…?
It didn’t take long to figure it out.
He stood on the deck of a massive ship, one that had medieval and modern aesthetics at the same time.
Ships were meant to cross seas, yet there was no ocean in sight.
Instead, what stretched infinitely in every direction was the sky and pure white clouds.
Yes—
The ship he stood on was sailing through the vast sky.
Before he could sort out his confusion, more messages appeared.
[This world is the Dimensional Sea. The starting point of all dimensions, and also their final destination.]
It was a familiar explanation.
It felt familiar because he had seen the exact same words recently.
Dream or Illusion, he still wasn’t sure.
But if this was neither—
Then humanity had just lost the world it had lived on for millennia in an instant.
[At the peak of this world, where the fragments of dimensions drift, the desires of all souls lay dormant. May fortune be with you.]
The place he had arrived in—
It was the setting of Sky Islands.
But unlike Earth, this was no place for humans to thrive.
In a game, where dying and reloading was possible, it might be a world of thrilling adventure and wonder.
But if this was real—
[The tutorial will begin shortly.]
Then this was hell.
A world where Earth’s logic held no meaning, where human rights were nonexistent.
A world where survival meant devouring others—even your own allies.
That was the Dimensional Sea, the setting of Sky Islands.
