MapleStory 2, welcome.

Thought so too and while checking what they said on their little FAQ once they announced the game (check it here: http://orangemushroom.wordpress.com/2013...lestory-2/) they actually didn't say it wont have anything to do with the current maple,

Q2. Will ‘MapleStory’ and ‘MapleStory 2′ have the same worlds, characters, and monsters?

‘MapleStory 2′ takes place in a world from a previous time period. Some monsters and areas from ‘MapleStory’ might show up but ‘MapleStory 2′ is being developed to have different and interesting characteristics.

so I guess the "previous time period" is somewhere in those 300 years we know not much about between both black mage periods.

So... that means we'll see Athena?