Among the wreckage of amusement park rides—bumper cars, carousels, Viking ships, and the like—scattered haphazardly everywhere….
In the distance, a Ferris wheel slowly rotating as if still functional.
From what I could see looking around, this place was undoubtedly Heartland.
‘What in the world is this place? And why is it like this…?’
Heartland had become a wasteland.
Suddenly, one game scene came to mind from this sight.
‘…A similar scene appeared in the story’s final episode, too.’
According to the game’s progression.
Gang Hanbyeol’s group would stage their final decisive battle against Tacheon in Heartland.
If they were defeated in this battle, the player could see Heartland transformed into ruins just like this.
‘After that, it switched to a bad ending. So, is this a world right before that bad ending?’
I didn’t know for sure. Only questions sprouted.
Having suddenly opened my eyes in this world, I decided to start moving.
My destination was the Ferris wheel, rotating beneath a night sky where not even starlight could be seen.
‘With the surroundings so desolate, there’s nowhere else to go…. Somehow, it feels like it’s calling me from over there.’
I moved my steps toward the Ferris wheel.
Along the way, I found people dead with their bodies mangled as if a war had broken out.
They seemed to be Hunters and Villains.
My gaze went to them for a moment before I turned my thoughts back.
‘I thought I saw light coming from the Divine Staff, and when I came to, I was here. In other words, the circumstances suggest it’s highly likely the Divine Staff’s doing…. What is its intention?’
Since it is, for all intents and purposes, a divine artifact of the World Tree, it didn’t seem to have done so out of malice.
Rather, if there was an intention, I suspected it might be a gesture of goodwill.
For example, perhaps the reason it pulled me into this world was to show me something….
The moment my thoughts reached that point, sudden curiosity arose.
‘What kind of world is this? How should I define it? A world inside the game? Or…’
A future that hasn’t happened yet?
It wasn’t long before I realized it was neither of the two.
I stopped my steps as I had drawn near the Ferris wheel.
“….”
In an area rife with traces of battle, people had collapsed.
Gang Hanbyeol, Go Eunbi, Min Arin, Yong Haerang….
Hong Yena, Yu Noeul, Su Hoguk….
Gwon Boram, Do Sieun, and Eun Suhyeok wearing different uniforms….
First-year juniors who hadn’t yet enrolled in the Academy, Yu Gaeul, Ham Minju….
And second-year juniors Eun Suro, Seong Siwan….
They were all familiar faces.
However, Yeon Haneul was nowhere to be seen.
Lastly.
“They’re all dead…. Because of me….”
“….”
I, Do Gyeonu.
He, who seemed to be the sole survivor, was pounding the ground with his fist.
I approached him.
Tears streamed down his face, stained with blood, sweat, and soot.
“If only I hadn’t been so indecisive, if only I’d been a little faster, it wouldn’t have ended like this….”
I—Do Gyeonu—was reproaching himself.
His body trembled with emotion.
Soon, our eyes met, and I intuited.
‘Haneul isn’t here, and it’s not the future me.’
Nor was it a world inside the game.
Because in the game’s story final episode, Gang Hanbyeol’s group was depicted as all dying.
Then this place was….
That was when a voice rang out.
“Yes, if your sword had reached me even a little faster, perhaps it wouldn’t have ended this way. You might have won.”
Now I saw that this world’s Do Gyeonu wasn’t looking at me, but at the opponent behind me.
Toward Tacheon, the leader of the Demon Society, standing atop a Ferris wheel gondola.
The two, who seemed unable to perceive my existence, glared at each other.
Tacheon, wearing a white suit splattered with blood and broken sunglasses, cackled with red light flashing in his eyes.
“But what meaning would there be in such hypotheticals? The brats aside from you are all dead, and I am alive and well. There is no longer anyone here who can stop me, and soon my long-cherished desire will be fulfilled. Therefore, you have lost. You have been thoroughly defeated.”
“Tacheon….”
“Do you still intend to fight? With that body, no less? Child of the Divine Sword Do Family, give up. Throwing yourself at me is no different than a dog’s death.”
Even though it must have been hard to keep his body steady.
This world’s Do Gyeonu picked up the Guncheon Sword that had fallen to the ground and staggered to his feet.
His eyes blazed with hostility as he took the Jungdanse stance.
Tacheon shrugged his shoulders as if pleased by such a display.
“How delightful. Child of the Divine Sword Do Family, as a swordsman, your talent rivals that of the Suwang. No, perhaps you may even approach the Second Suwang, evaluated as the strongest in the history of the Divine Sword Do Family. The young Tugwi’s talent was excellent as well, but as a swordsman, your talent can be said to be even more outstanding.”
“….”
“It seems a great waste to kill even one with such talent, to die like those brats. It is not beneficial to the world. Excellent beings such as ourselves must lead the world in a better direction. That is precisely the destiny, duty, and right of we who are born as superior beings. Therefore, I make you an offer.”
Tacheon leaped down from the Ferris wheel gondola and landed on the ground.
He extended his hand to this world’s Do Gyeonu as if bestowing a favor.
“Come under me, child. Kneel at my feet and bow your head. Then I shall spare your life. But why stop at merely sparing it? I shall carve out a portion of the world for you. In that world, as a god-like being, you will be able to accomplish everything you desire. It would not even be difficult for me to revive the dead brats. You could enjoy eternal happiness with them in that world. Now, how does that sou—!”
—nd.
Tacheon’s words were cut short.
Because this world’s Do Gyeonu had exploded off the ground and rushed forward before he knew it.
Tacheon reflexively blocked his attack, tearing his lips into a long grin.
“So, this is your answer. A pity, but it cannot be helped. Then you shall die as well.”
Tacheon deployed a spell emanating a murderous aura.
A magical inferno of light and explosion engulfed this world’s Do Gyeonu.
The world was dyed white….
* * *
“Gyeonu! Do Gyeonu!”
“Ah….”
The world had returned to normal.
Coming to my senses at Yeon Haneul’s urgent calls, I blinked my eyes repeatedly.
She came into my vision, holding my hands with a worried face.
The friends around me were all looking with similar gazes.
“Are you awake? Are you okay? Everyone was worried because you didn’t respond no matter how much we called.”
“Right. At first I thought you were admiring the Divine Staff, but your condition looked strange. Like your consciousness had gone somewhere else….”
“It might be a side effect of the Warp Gate. After all, it’s your first time moving between countries like today. I felt similar symptoms when I first went to Academy City…. Anyway, Gyeonu, it would be best not to overdo it today and rest well. We should simplify today’s schedule too.”
Yeon Haneul, Gang Hanbyeol, Risa, and the others examined my condition.
I felt grateful but shook my head at their concern.
Then, to change the atmosphere, I put on as brave a front as possible.
“Sorry, like Risa said, I guess I got a bit of Gate sickness for a moment. But I’m fine now. It feels like it went away completely after experiencing it once?”
“Really, are you okay? If it’s hard, go back to the lodgings and rest. I’ll go with you.”
“That’s right, Gyeonu. Wouldn’t it be better to rest comfortably at the lodgings today? We can start sightseeing tomorrow.”
“No, that’s not necessary. I know my own body best. I’m not feeling strange at all right now, right?”
“….”
I placated Yeon Haneul and Risa, and my friends.
Only then did they reluctantly stop trying to insist.
“But if you feel even the slightest bit unwell, you have to tell us, okay?”
“Got it. So relax.”
I stroked her arm as if brushing away Yeon Haneul’s anxiety.
Gradually, her face softened.
‘Haneul seems very surprised, but I’m glad she seems to have calmed down.’
I was relieved inwardly.
Meanwhile, my thoughts drifted to the ruined Heartland I had seen moments ago.
‘What was that world?’
Strangely enough.
It had felt so real, as if I had experienced it firsthand.
So much so that I could even sense the feelings of that Do Gyeonu, who had not faltered despite losing his friends and opposed Tacheon.
‘It’s not mere emotional immersion. The emotions are still so vivid, as if I had become that world’s Do Gyeonu…’
The sorrow of losing friends, self-reproach, patheticness and regret toward himself, rage and hatred toward Tacheon, and so on.
Even now, recalling the memories, I could feel the heart-wrenching emotions that world’s Do Gyeonu had harbored.
That made me all the more curious.
‘For what purpose did the Divine Staff show me that world?’
Leaving the Divine Shrine with my friends, I glanced back at the Divine Staff—Endless Platina.
The Divine Staff that had flashed light at me moments ago existed as placidly as if nothing had happened.
‘This is definitely suspicious.’
Whether it was the being modeled after Gang Hanbyeol, or the red eyes that seemed related to the bad ending.
Or the ruined Heartland the Divine Staff had shown me this time.
Elements that had never been mentioned in the game, ones that seemed to want to interfere with my path, kept catching my eye.
At this point, I couldn’t help but be suspicious.
Until now, I had dismissed them as mere coincidences and tried not to dig too deep.
‘Could it be… does my reincarnation have some purpose that I don’t know about?’
But as had been the case until now, it was a question without an answer.
Unable to reach a clean conclusion, I turned my back on the Divine Staff.
* * *
My friends and I, having exited the Divine Shrine, continued to admire the scenery visible from the World Tree.
‘It should be about time now….’
According to the game’s progression, it was time for an episode to properly begin.
Pretending to enjoy the view, I watched the sky.
The sky, with uncleared Gates floating here and there, boasted clear weather.
Not long after….
‘It’s started.’
Just as the sky seemed to be gradually clouding over, the atmospheric mana became visible to the naked eye without even trying.
It happened before anyone knew it.
People couldn’t hide their shock at the situation where blue mana, rippling like heat haze, covered the capital.
“There were no warning signs. So why all of a sudden…?”
“The mana flow is abnormal. At this rate, we might….”
“….”
Even at a glance, it was ominous.
Uneasiness lurked in the voices people let out.
That was when the world shook.
*Thud!*
“….”
The cloudy sky shook violently.
A large crack formed in the air where mana had begun to permeate.
It was a fissure.
Before anyone knew it, fissures were occurring throughout the sky of the capital.
Immediately after.
*Szzzt!*
From the largest and first-occurring fissure, pieces of the sky fell like shards.
From the space where pieces had fallen away, a giant monster revealed its form.
“….”
A monster rivaling the buildings of the capital.
I knew its identity.
Rank 5, Livid Equuleus.
That thing which had emitted red eyes from the Void was baring its face to the world.
That was when the world cried out again.
This time, it was much louder than before.
*Rumble, BOOM!*
In that instant, pieces of sky with fissures shattered completely.
It had kicked off from the Void to emerge into the world.
And so, it had completely appeared.
Immediately after.
────!!!!
An armored giant with a head reminiscent of a horse let out a monstrous shriek.
At that moment, as if responding to it, monsters appeared from simultaneously occurring fissures.
It was a sudden monster wave occurring without any prior warning.
As an air-raid siren blared, people fell into panic.
They began urgently evacuating under Yeshika’s guidance.
“Everyone, please come this way quickly!”
Yeshika called to us.
We decided to evacuate quickly as well.
That was when Risa, unable to take her eyes off the capital under assault by the monster legion, muttered.
“…I must protect it. Otherwise, I have no face to show Lady Elena.”
Lisa took out her device from her pocket and murmured the activation phrase.
Soon, holding a stone staff in her hand, she spoke to us.
“Please follow those people and evacuate to the nearby air-raid shelter. As the Imperial Princess of this country, I will handle the situation.”
“The same goes for you, Lisa. You take the kids and flee. I’ll handle the cleanup.”
“No, Brother. I am the Imperial Princess. A member of the Imperial Family like me cannot pretend not to see a wave occurring in the heart of the capital and hide. Besides, this is the capital that Lady Elena protected with her life.”
“I’m not telling you to hide. I’m telling you to comfort the Imperial citizens who are trembling in fear at the shelter. That is also the role of the Imperial Family. And they’re your friends—you should take responsibility and help them evacuate.”
“But Brother….”
Lisa expressed her will to step in and handle the situation.
It was flowing according to the game’s progression.
‘Except for Brother Mihail, who didn’t appear in this episode, quarreling with Lisa out of worry.’
At this rate, Mihail might break Lisa’s will, creating variables in the progression.
If that happened, we might fail to handle the situation and lead to a bad ending.
Even an ending where, starting with the Grace Empire, the world falls into a monster colony and is destroyed.
I decided to mediate between the two to prevent the worst-case scenario.
“Is this the time to argue? Let’s all just move together. We’ll help too. Let’s use this as an excuse to have the Imperial Family owe us a debt or something.”
I had become the childhood friend of the mid-boss.