Look, let's be honest, Seal Online—affectionately known to veteran players by the mascot nickname Kkaedori—is actually a successor built upon the foundations of a title called Seal: Travel of Destiny. While Seal Online leans heavily into eccentric cheerfulness, its predecessor is widely praised by fans for serving up a remarkably grim atmosphere and a thoroughly intricate plot.

Currently taking pre-orders, Seal M2 similarly tackles a narrative that inherits the lore of the original games. Judging by the details and footage dropped so far, several familiar connections immediately stand out, though one particularly eye-catching element is the presence of the Vales. According to the official world lore, humans and Vales shouldn't even be able to coexist at this point in the timeline, which suggests something major has shifted. Before you dive into the action, KookminTree has kindly rounded up the background of the Shiltz Continent and the original Seal: Travel of Destiny lore for any adventurers curious about the backstory.

The Creation of the World and the War of Elim and Balie

The lore of Seal kicks off in a primordial void where darkness, light, rigid solids, and soft fluids were all mashed together in a state of constant tremors. From this chaos, the Lord of the Void, Elios, conjured the white-winged angel Elim to forge the universe.

According to the creation myth, when the Markud of the World sprayed countless sparks from a sea of fire, they transformed into the glittering stars filling the sky, with the largest chunk becoming the sun. Next, the foundational Isod filled the world with water to cool the blazing fires, the radiant Hord sculpted the earth with soil to conceal deep valleys, and the righteous Dean erected iron pillars. Finally, the harmonious Tiferet planted trees upon the land, giving the world its final shape.

Following the creation, all existence flourished under the protective grace of Elim. However, seeking a higher vantage point to oversee more of creation, Elim soared into the sky, leaving behind a crimson-winged angel born from Elim's own heel: Balie. These shadow-born entities promptly set out to tear down everything Elim had crafted, unleashing disease, famine, and endless warfare upon the land.

The brutal conflict between Elim and Balie dragged on for 7,000 days, refusing to stop until the entire world stood on the brink of total collapse. The boundaries separating water, earth, iron, wood, and fire completely shattered. The sky could no longer shelter anything, and the ground failed to support a single thing. As a consequence, the world plummeted endlessly into a bottomless crevasse. Both Elim and Balie suffered devastating wounds from the clash, tumbling into the abyss either dead or hovering on the absolute threshold of death.

That was when Elios planted four colossal pillars to prop up the broken earth, catching both Elim and Balie upon its surface. The world, which had been hurtling toward complete extinction, and its dying creatures managed to claw their way back to life within this sanctuary now known as Shiltz.

Elios subsequently handed down a strict verdict to Elim and Balie: 'I will never again permit your war upon this land. The two of you shall never cross paths again.' In response, Elim and Balie each selected a proxy race to champion and protect. Elim chose humans in their own likeness, while Balie selected the Vales, mutated descendants born from flora and fauna during the great upheaval.

Erasnets, the Archmage Who Sealed Balie Galadriel

Humanity in Shiltz initially wandered about like nomads, but the true history of Shiltz kicked into gear once they settled near the Glacis River. Because they had to constantly scrap with the Vales just to survive, practically every human was a warrior.

Then a Balie known as Galadriel of Chaos awoke and began tearing through human territory. The surviving humans huddled together at the Blueeye Fortress in southern Shiltz. Despite putting up a desperate resistance, they were simply heavily outnumbered against the Vales infesting every corner of the realm.

Just as everyone was ready to throw in the towel, a young boy barely over the age of ten stepped forward and unleashed a blinding beam of light straight at Galadriel. Moments later, nothing but a crystal remained where Galadriel had stood. That boy later went on to become the legendary Archmage Erasnets. Erasnets championed the human leader Clements as king and introduced the wonders of magic to Shiltz.

As time rolled on to the year 60 of the Shiltz Era, Erasnets went into hiding to dodge people, leaving behind ten volumes of compiled prophecies entrusted to Clements. Known as the Prophecies of Erasnets, the manuscripts were ambushed by Vales while en route to the royal palace, resulting in only a few surviving pages making it through. Those remaining fragments detailed the eventual ruin of Shiltz and the resurrection of Galadriel, whom Erasnets had previously sealed away.

The Resurrection of Galadriel and the Five Travelers Who Stood Against Her

In the year 287 of the Shiltz Era, exactly as Erasnets had prophesied, Galadriel rose from the dead and began pulling strings from the shadows. Caught up in the chaos, Duran, a survivor of the Lion Knightage; Baldea, a half-elf; Arus, a rookie knight tracking down the Balie cult; Claire, a princess ousted by a coup; and Beolin, a mage who joined along the way, set off on a quest to seal Galadriel once and for all. Along the way, the entirety of the Prophecies of Erasnets comes to light, though to avoid massive spoilers, we will leave the details right here. If you are dying to know, we recommend playing Seal: Travel of Destiny or digging into the lore yourself.

Following the grueling showdown with Galadriel, Claire struck a unique bargain in her capacity as the rightful ruler of humanity. At the time, Galadriel had split Shiltz into two, effectively forging another dimension of Shiltz in a separate plane. Claire realized that if the currently feuding humans and Vales each inhabited their own separate dimensions, they could live out their days without ever crossing paths. Thus, Claire initiated a massive undertaking to permanently separate humans and Vales, a process that could take decades or even centuries.

During the final battle, just as Galadriel attempted to hijack Arus's body, Claire's promise and Arus's earnest persuasion convinced Galadriel to choose reincarnation as a human before being sealed away. Wrapping up all loose ends, Claire ascended the throne as the ninth monarch of Shiltz, marrying her former travel companion Arus a year later in the year 301 of the Shiltz Era. Shortly after, Duran and Baldea simultaneously vanished into thin air, bringing the tale of Seal: Travel of Destiny to a close.

A Familiar Yet Distinctly Different World in Seal M2

Fast forwarding further down the line to the year 330 of the Shiltz Era, Joan, Iris, and Peterson enlist the help of an adventurer from the year 305 of the Shiltz Era to uncover why the Vales suddenly vanished into thin air, prompting the summoned adventurer to time-jump back to the year 315—which serves as the backdrop for Seal Online. However, according to the official timeline laid out in Seal M2, things pick up ten years after that in the year 340 of the Shiltz Era, where an adventurer wakes up completely stripped of their memories next to an unfamiliar graveyard.

In a recently dropped developer commentary video, the team described the setting as 'a Shiltz that feels distinctly familiar yet strangely alien,' confirming it takes place in an alternate timeline separate from both the original game and Seal Online. The developers also explained that the core narrative aims to pick up the next chapter directly following the events of Seal: Travel of Destiny and Seal Online.

Think back to Claire's promise to Galadriel regarding the separation of humans and Vales. Creative Director Choi In-ho explained that the team wanted to showcase the choices players make alongside the characters to see that promise through. While players already knew the ultimate outcome of the Vales' disappearance and the vows made by Arus and Claire thanks to characters from the future, the connective tissue in between remained shrouded in mystery—a gap that Seal M2 intends to fill with the player right by its side.

Given the heavy, brooding atmosphere of the original source material, you might worry that Seal M2's continuing story will be an absolute downer. Rest assured, you can drop those worries. The original title masterfully balanced its heavy plot points by weaving in breathing room and witty comedic elements to keep the pacing sharp.

Furthermore, Seal M2 channels the upbeat vibe of Seal Online straight into its character designs and costumes, ensuring you can still experience that signature brand of goofiness.The released footage already showcases classic antics, such as characters wearing newspapers like blankets or suddenly riding hobby-horses clad in cardboard box armor during dead-serious combat encounters. If you loved Seal Online back in its 2000s heyday or are simply familiar with the franchise, you are bound to get a massive kick out of this. Seal M2 makes its grand debut on October 22. If you are a fan of the Seal IP spanning the original and past titles, mark your calendar.