The Chosen

Broken Balance

A thick blanket of uneasiness covered the whole kingdom of Hallyu with the disappearance of their ruler and protector, IOI. Nobody really knew how IOI disappeared. Even in the last known location of IOI, only their magic was detected in the immediate area. And as far as every magic-user knows, the Chosen were highly resistant to most kinds of magic once they have gathered as a collective. All they know was that IOI was gone with the heavy rain.

Even that heavy rain was a mystery. It just came out of nowhere, in clear blue skies. Even though rain was common in the kingdom, the mystery deepened as it only rained in the area where IOI was last detected and nowhere else. Not a single drop of rain fell outside the 11-meter diameter area where IOI was. It greatly messed up the minds of the best magical scholars of the kingdom. In this confusion, they knew only one person who could answer these questions.

Their last hope was the first Kingdom Seer, the National Producers' representative, who performed the ceremony to select IOI. Basically, the Kingdom Seer was the only one in the kingdom capable of both casting spells and sensing the location of the current members of Chosen. But to make matters worse, the same seer went AWOL some time after IOI was gathered and was rumored to had embarked on a pilgrimage to distant lands. And just like any mystical magical beings, the first Seer set off and left no trace behind. Hallyu's last and only hope went down the drain.

On the other side of things, however, the rulers of Essim, Whygee, and Jeewyphi, or the Big 3 provinces, and even that of medium-sized province, Hitbig, were pleased of the current development. When news of IOI's disappearance swept across the whole kingdom, no one was more delighted of the current events than them. They had always hated the idea that ordinary citizens would become their superiors. They wanted complete control over the kingdom. They wanted to reign supreme above every province in the alliance. They wanted the thrones. They only saw the Kingdom as a powerful tool for them to control, similar to how they treat their magical squads. As such, the four provinces with their insatiable thirst for power began devising a plan on how to take over the kingdom.

Not much long after IOI's disappearance, war and chaos spread across Hallyu like wildfire. Neutral provinces were invaded while some managed to survive thanks to their own magical squads. The battle of supremacy raged in every corner of the kingdom as magician forces from the four power-hungry provinces conquered province after province. Amidst all the battling forces, five troops emerged stronger among others or the so-called "Five Pillars". Essim was bannered by its two strongest forces, X-O and Velvety Red. Whygee was being led by its elite magicians, Plackbink. Jeewyphi's top arsenal was Two-Times. Medium-sized province Hitbig's group was the Bulletproof Scouts. The five were said to be highly-skilled, well-trained and equal in strength yet their members were still young, ranging only from 8-16. The balance of power in Hallyu was now broken and literally hanging in the balance. With no IOI to protect the kingdom and restore order, Hallyu was currently an easy prey.