THE WORLD BETWEEN SWORDS
Chapter 1 — The Day Everything Changed
The first thing Kian noticed was that his mother had forgotten to buy milk.
Again.
He stared into the refrigerator with the seriousness of someone investigating a national crime.
"Mom."
From the kitchen came an irritated voice.
"What?"
"We're out of milk."
"I'll buy it tomorrow."
"You said that yesterday."
"And you're still alive, aren't you?"
Kian sighed.
"I can't believe I have to live like this."
His mother laughed.
"You'll survive."
Kian closed the refrigerator.
He was sixteen years old, reasonably average in almost every way, and had absolutely no idea that his life was about to become anything but average.
He grabbed his school bag from the sofa.
"I'll be back around five."
"Don't take too long."
"I won't."
His father looked up from his phone.
"Your homework?"
"Done."
"Really?"
Kian paused.
"...Mostly."
His father shook his head.
"That's what I thought."
Kian smiled and walked toward the door.
It was an ordinary afternoon.
That was what made what happened next so terrifying.
---
The streets were busy.
Cars moved through traffic.
People walked home from work.
Students in uniforms crowded the sidewalks.
Kian put his earphones in and opened his phone.
One message from his friend.
Where are you?
Kian typed:
Going home.
He barely sent it before his phone lost signal.
Kian frowned.
"Seriously?"
He looked at the screen.
No network.
Then the streetlights went out.
Every single one.
Cars stopped.
People looked around.
A strange silence spread through the street.
Kian removed his earphones.
Something was wrong.
A woman pointed toward the sky.
"Look!"
Everyone turned.
Kian followed her gaze.
And forgot how to breathe.
The sky was splitting apart.
A black line stretched across the clouds.
At first, it looked like a crack in glass.
Then it grew.
Ten meters.
A hundred.
A kilometer.
The crack expanded across the entire horizon.
People began screaming.
Phones came out.
Cars abandoned the road.
Someone shouted for everyone to run.
Kian couldn't move.
Behind the crack was something impossible.
Mountains.
Not Earth's mountains.
These were enormous.
Their peaks disappeared into clouds.
Ancient towers stood on their cliffs.
A waterfall poured from a mountain hundreds of meters high.
And floating above one of the peaks was a gigantic stone platform.
Kian stared.
"This isn't real."
The sky cracked again.
This time, the sound was deafening.
BOOOOOOM!
Every window in the surrounding buildings shattered.
Kian fell to his knees.
A wave of pressure swept through the city.
People were thrown across the road.
Cars flipped.
Buildings shook.
Then—
the world changed.
For one brief moment, Kian saw two worlds occupying the same space.
His apartment building became an ancient wooden mansion.
The road beneath him became a dirt path.
A modern shopping center transformed into a massive martial sect.
Then everything snapped back.
Kian stared in disbelief.
"What..."
A scream came from behind him.
"Mom!"
Kian immediately stood.
His heart began pounding.
His family.
He grabbed his phone.
No signal.
He called his mother anyway.
The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then—
CALL FAILED.
"Come on."
He called again.
Nothing.
His father.
Nothing.
Kian started running.
He pushed through the crowd.
"Move!"
Someone grabbed his shoulder.
"Don't go that way!"
Kian pulled free.
"My family is there!"
He ran.
The streets were chaos.
People were crying.
Cars had crashed into buildings.
Somewhere nearby, an alarm was screaming continuously.
Then Kian saw his neighborhood.
His stomach dropped.
A huge wall of blue-white light stood between him and his home.
Beyond it—
nothing.
His house was gone.
Kian stopped.
"No."
He walked closer.
"No, no, no..."
He searched frantically.
His house wasn't destroyed.
It wasn't damaged.
It simply wasn't there.
In its place stood a forest.
A real forest.
Ancient trees covered the area where his neighborhood had been.
Kian stared at it.
His mind refused to understand.
"Mom?"
Nothing.
"Dad?"
Nothing.
He stepped toward the forest.
A police officer grabbed him.
"Kid! Get back!"
"My family is in there!"
"We don't know what's inside!"
"My house is there!"
The officer looked at the forest.
Then back at him.
"Your house?"
Kian pointed.
"It was right there."
The officer's expression changed.
He looked confused.
"There hasn't been a house there for hours."
Kian froze.
"What?"
"I said—"
A roar interrupted him.
Not a human roar.
Not an animal he had ever heard.
Something enormous roared from inside the forest.
Everyone went silent.
The officer raised his weapon.
"Back."
Kian stepped backward.
The trees began shaking.
Something was coming.
People started running.
The officer shouted.
"EVERYONE MOVE!"
Kian turned.
Then he heard it.
A voice.
Faint.
Almost lost beneath the chaos.
"Mom..."
Kian froze.
He knew that voice.
It was his mother's.
He turned toward the forest.
"Mom?"
No answer.
Then again.
"Kian!"
His eyes widened.
"Mom!"
He ran.
The officer shouted after him.
"HEY! COME BACK!"
Kian didn't listen.
He crossed the barrier.
The instant he entered the forest, everything became silent.
The city disappeared.
No traffic.
No sirens.
No people.
Only trees.
Kian turned around.
The glowing barrier was gone.
He was alone.
His phone showed:
No Signal
Battery: 1%
He swallowed.
"Okay."
His voice trembled.
"Okay... just find Mom."
He walked deeper into the forest.
Branches scratched his arms.
The ground was wet.
Every few seconds, he called out.
"Mom!"
Nothing.
"Mom!"
Nothing.
Then he saw something.
A piece of fabric caught on a tree branch.
Kian rushed toward it.
He recognized it immediately.
His mother's scarf.
He grabbed it.
His hands began shaking.
"She was here."
That meant she was alive.
At least recently.
Kian looked around.
There were footprints in the mud.
Several sets.
Some looked human.
Others didn't.
He followed them.
The deeper he went, the stranger the forest became.
The trees were enormous.
Flowers glowed faintly beneath them.
He saw an animal with antlers larger than his entire body watching him from a distance.
Kian slowly backed away.
"Definitely not India."
Then he heard metal.
Clang.
Kian froze.
Another sound.
Clang!
Someone was fighting.
He moved carefully toward the noise.
Through the trees, he saw two people.
Men.
Both wearing ancient robes.
One held a sword.
The other held a long spear.
Kian stared.
The swordsman moved.
Too fast.
He crossed nearly ten meters in an instant.
The spear wielder blocked.
CLANG!
Sparks flew.
Kian's mouth opened.
"What the hell?"
The sword struck again.
The spear wielder jumped.
He landed on a tree branch nearly six meters above the ground.
Kian stared.
"No."
He rubbed his eyes.
"No way."
The man jumped down.
He didn't fall.
He landed effortlessly.
Kian took a step backward.
The two fighters suddenly stopped.
Both looked at him.
The swordsman narrowed his eyes.
"Who are you?"
Kian didn't answer.
His brain was struggling to process what he was seeing.
A man with a sword.
Ancient clothing.
Impossible movements.
Then the swordsman slowly pointed his blade toward him.
"Answer."
Kian swallowed.
"I'm Kian."
"Which sect?"
"I don't know."
The man frowned.
"Which clan?"
"I said I don't know!"
The two exchanged a look.
The spear wielder spoke quietly.
"Strange clothing."
The swordsman nodded.
"His accent too."
Kian looked between them.
"Where am I?"
Neither answered.
Kian's voice became desperate.
"Where is my mother?"
The swordsman stared at him.
"I don't know who your mother is."
Kian tightened his grip on the scarf.
"She came through here."
The man's expression remained cold.
"You are not from this region."
"Neither are you!"
Silence.
The spear wielder almost smiled.
"What is that?"
Kian looked down.
His phone.
The spear wielder pointed at it.
"That object."
Kian held it tightly.
"It's a phone."
"A what?"
Kian realized something.
These people didn't know what a phone was.
That shouldn't have been possible.
Unless...
He looked around.
The ancient forest.
The swords.
The impossible martial arts.
The mountains he had seen through the crack.
His mother's missing scarf.
His missing home.
Kian's face slowly went pale.
"Where am I?"
This time, his voice was barely audible.
The swordsman answered.
"You are in the territory of the Azure Mountain Sect."
Kian stared blankly.
"And what country is that?"
The two men looked at each other.
Then the spear wielder laughed.
"There are no countries here."
Kian's heart sank.
The swordsman continued.
"This is the Murim."
Kian didn't understand the word.
But somehow—
he knew it wasn't good.
A thunderous roar echoed across the forest.
The trees shook.
Birds exploded into the sky.
The swordsman immediately turned toward the sound.
His expression changed.
"Beast."
The spear wielder grabbed his weapon.
"Third-grade?"
"No."
The swordsman looked toward the darkness.
His face became serious.
"Fourth."
Kian stared.
"What does that mean?"
Neither answered.
The trees ahead suddenly exploded.
Something enormous burst through them.
Kian fell backward.
A creature nearly three meters tall stood before him.
Its body was covered in black scales.
Its eyes glowed red.
Its mouth opened.
Rows of teeth filled its jaw.
Kian couldn't breathe.
The creature roared.
The swordsman stepped forward.
"Run."
Kian stared at him.
"Where?"
"Anywhere."
The swordsman raised his sword.
The beast charged.
Kian turned and ran.
Behind him, steel collided with something far stronger.
He didn't look back.
He ran through the forest as fast as his legs could carry him.
Branches tore at his clothes.
His lungs burned.
His mother's scarf remained clenched in his fist.
He didn't know where he was.
He didn't know what the Murim was.
He didn't know where his father was.
He didn't know where his mother was.
And he had no idea whether Earth still existed.
But one thing was certain.
He was going to find them.
Even if it took years.
Even if this world was filled with monsters.
Even if he had to learn how to wield a sword himself.
Kian would find his family.
Somewhere behind him, the battle continued.
And somewhere far beyond the forest—
the first chapter of a new world had begun.
