Lumenis was torn apart by the gods he had imprisoned and vanished beyond the imaginary space.
Even after losing his heart and suffering a body full of holes, Lumenis did not die.
That immense existence of his—ironically—would not allow him to die even in such a grotesque state.
For Ludger, that was a welcome outcome.
The creature would feel the agony of being ripped apart for a very, very long time as it slowly died.
A fitting end for him, to say the least.
However.
Because Lumenis had destroyed the Crystal Corridor, reaching the exit beyond was now impossible.
“W-What do we do? Should I try using my magic instead?”
“No matter how much spatial mana you possess, trying something like that in imaginary space will only bounce you past every coordinate anchor.”
The distance to the exit was roughly ten meters.
Under normal circumstances, one could cross it easily—but the problem was that this ten meters existed inside imaginary space.
Imaginary space was an unknown realm—unexplained by both science and magic.
Even Rine’s spatial-movement magic would not work properly here.
Rather than using such tricks, simply leaping the distance with their own legs was almost the safer option.
That was why Ludger had constructed the Crystal Corridor in order to reach Earth.
He had researched it for an incredibly long time—again and again.
Now that its end had been shattered by Lumenis, the path back to the continent was blocked once more.
“The backlash is approaching.”
“Huh?”
“Look behind you.”
As {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Ludger said, Rine turned around—and her expression paled.
The corridor they had walked through was collapsing from the far end, steadily crumbling toward them.
The way the corridor disintegrated into dust and drifted into the imaginary space beyond resembled being swallowed by a beast’s open maw.
“It was never designed to last long in the first place. This is natural.”
“T-Then what should we do?!”
If they stayed where they were, they would be caught in the collapse behind them and fall into imaginary space.
“We’ll have to cross over.”
“I-Is there a way?”
“I prepared an escape device for this kind of situation.”
Ludger raised his right hand.
A ripple of shadow flowed over his palm—and a small crystal sphere appeared.
“It’s a crystal escape sphere with a preset coordinate that leads to the exit. It’s made the same way as the Corridor, so it will remain safe from imaginary space’s dangers for a short time.”
“T-Then—!”
Rine’s face brightened—only to collapse again at Ludger’s next words.
“But it can only be used by one person. I built it assuming I alone would use it.”
“N-No way...”
Biting her lip at the shock, Rine nodded with resignation.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t have followed you and gotten in the way.”
From the beginning, Rine had not been meant to come here.
Ludger’s purpose had been to return alone to Earth to see his mother.
In a situation like this, Rine was, bluntly speaking, an impurity.
“I’m fine. So you can go. This is something I have to accept.”
Rine, steeling herself, spoke with a determined voice.
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
“Huh?”
“You’re the one who will use this—not me.”
Before she could even ask what he meant, Ludger shoved the crystal sphere into her hands and activated it.
The sphere expanded with a burst of light and swallowed Rine whole.
Rine was suddenly trapped inside a large bubble-like crystal shell.
“W-Wait! What on earth are you doing?!”
She struck the sphere with both hands, but it did not budge.
Her trembling eyes turned to Ludger.
“You said you were wrong to follow me on your own, but honestly—I’m grateful.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden...?”
“Everything I did was something I could never explain to anyone. No one would understand. Even if I returned and told them the truth, no one would believe me. Everything I spent my life building would be dismissed as lies.”
“Oppa...”
“But you saw what I did with your own eyes. And you accepted me.”
Ludger let out a faint laugh.
“Maybe... this is what I’d been wanting all along.”
He laughed at the absurdity of it.
He had lived his life wearing the mask of a strong man, yet at the very end—he was showing this kind of weakness.
“So if someone has to live... it should be you.”
Ironic and contradictory.
But that was what it meant to be human.
A privilege granted only to one who had abandoned the road to godhood.
“Rine. I enjoyed our time together. Give my regards to the others.”
Ludger gently pushed the sphere.
Drifting away, the crystal shell carrying Rine moved toward the open portal beyond the imaginary space.
Rine stared desperately at Ludger as he grew farther away.
“Heathcliff Oppa!”
“Take care.”
Those were the last words—
Rumble!
The floor beneath Ludger collapsed with the Crystal Corridor—and his body fell into the abyss below.
Into a space of swirling colors where nothing could be seen.
No—
Before Rine could shout, the sphere around her reached the exit.
With a flash of light, her vision changed completely.
No longer the empty imaginary space—but the open grounds of the Galahad Fortress where the final battle had taken place.
She had returned.
The people nearby gasped and ran to her the moment she appeared out of thin air in a burst of light.
“Rine!”
“W-What happened?!”
“Where’s Ludger? What happened to him?!”
They all had countless questions.
Ludger had suddenly vanished—Rine had chased after him—and then she returned alone. Their reactions were natural.
But the onslaught of questions ended far more quickly than expected.
Because Rine collapsed to her knees and began crying uncontrollably.
Ah.
Only then did everyone understand.
Whatever had happened beyond that space—
Ludger Cherish—
No, Heathcliff von Bretus—
was not coming back.
Rine knew it too, and she bowed her head as tears fell endlessly.
As the mood grew heavy and somber, someone finally spoke.
“Wait. What’s that in your hand?”
With his sharp senses, Alex pointed at the object clutched tightly in Rine’s hands.
Only then did Rine realize she was holding something.
“T-This is...”
It was a tiny jewel.
A gem glowing faintly blue—clear and vivid, like looking into Ludger’s eyes.
When had he given it to her?
Confused, Rine soon understood.
It must have been placed in her hand when Ludger activated the crystal escape sphere to send her away.
She had been too shocked by his sacrifice to notice at all.
Wiping her tears, Rine raised the blue gem.
All eyes focused on it.
“Is that... a Magic Record?”
Clinton Rothschild was the first to recognize it.
As befitted a 7th-Rank Archmage, he immediately saw that the gem contained a highly sophisticated magical structure.
Rine instinctively channeled her mana into it.
The gem responded to her mana, trembling as the grand spell formula sealed inside was projected outward.
Complex diagrams encoded in pure white Code Language—so intricate that even the mages present struggled to understand them.
But Rine could tell. No—she could feel it.
The magic inscribed in this Code Language was something only she could use to its fullest.
“Not yet.”
Rine clenched the gem tightly.
“It isn’t over.”
* * *
Three years later.
Three years had passed since the holy war ended.
It was the third anniversary of the war’s end, and a parade filled the streets outside.
For three years following the war, the continent had enjoyed peace.
There had not even been the usual, inevitable conflicts between people.
A new era had begun.
Beyond the Eastern Giant’s Spine—once revealed to be an unexplored realm—
explorers had discovered a new continent and a new nation there, sending shockwaves through the entire world.
And after the holy war ended, a massive earthquake had struck the region around the Giant’s Spine.
The mountain range that once seemed to divide the world had partially collapsed, creating a passage leading to the other side.
Because of that, countless people flocked to the human frontier region where the Giant’s Spine lay, each hoping to seize new opportunities.
A new age of exploration had opened.
With every nation directing its attention toward that frontier, no one had the time—or reason—to fight one another anymore.
Thus continued an era of peace.
Before they knew it, the continent was celebrating the third anniversary of the holy war’s end.
Hearing the noise of people outside the window, Rine finally put down the book she had been furiously scribbling in.
At that moment, a knock sounded.
“Ready?”
Entering through the door was a woman with long, snow-white hair falling to her waist—Julia Plumhart.
She had been mature even as a student, but now, three years later, she exuded a fully ripened beauty that made people turn their heads when she passed.
At her voice, Rine turned and smiled brightly.
“Yeah. I just finished.”
As Rine rose from her chair, her hair slid down like a waterfall.
Once only reaching her nape, her hair had grown over the past three years, now flowing almost to her waist.
The two walked together down the corridor.
Outside, fireworks burst, and a cavalry parade marched through the streets.
People cheered, and giant balloons lined the avenues.
Children ran past Rine and Julia, laughing innocently.
“It’s already been three years.”
“Indeed. More importantly, today is the day, right?”
“Yeah.”
Rine nodded to Julia’s question.
Their destination was the Dvalk Imperial Citadel.
The palace gates were thrown wide open in celebration of the festival, and the knights, recognizing the two of them, let them pass immediately.
Inside the citadel, there were far more mages than usual.
They bowed their heads politely when they saw Rine and Julia.
Rine and Julia accepted their greetings and continued deeper inside.
Eventually, they reached a large indoor testing chamber tucked within one wing of the citadel.
“We’re here.”
“You’re late.”
A sharp voice answered Rine—belonging to Flora Lumos.
Now the head of House Lumos, she was also a major investor who had poured immense funds into this experiment.
“Don’t be so harsh. She was double-checking the spell formula one last time.”
“Hmph. Even if you didn’t do it, others could have. Have you forgotten? You’re the one person who absolutely cannot be absent from this experiment. Manage your condition. Stop losing sleep over spell checks.”
Flora’s tone was sharp, but the concern beneath it was unmistakable.
Rine responded with a gentle smile.
“Okay. I know.”
“And there are others waiting for you too.”
“Lady Flora is right.”
Answering as she approached was Sedina Roshen—
No, Sedina Plantain now. She was also one of the indispensable core members of the project.
“Sedina. How have you been?”
“I’m always fine.”
Sedina, now taller than before, had a noticeably more mature face.
Her hair, once cut short, now reached a semi-long length.
The tips, once brown, now shimmered faintly with transparent silver.
“Is the device ready?”
“It was finished ages ago. With Grandpa Clinton and the Empire’s brightest minds suffering to build it—there’s no way we’d treat it lightly.”
Sedina pointed to the center of the room.
There stood an arch-shaped metallic gate.
Supporting that arch were thick, sturdy roots made from the cells of the World Tree.
“It’s really complete...”
“Thanks to everyone’s hard work. Something that should’ve taken over five years—we finished in three.”
Creating it had cost an astronomical amount of money.
But funding came more easily than expected.
The Yuta Kingdom donated funds, Violetta—the new owner of Royal Street—had contributed generously, and both House Roshen and the Imperial Family supplied constant support.
Seorn had also invested heavily.
For Seorn, it was a massive financial burden—so much so that Hugo Brutegh, recently appointed Chief of Planning, had been losing hair from nightly overtime.
Back when he’d first taken the position, feeling like he had the world in his hands, he could never have imagined this.
“You girls are here.”
Selina approached, pink hair swaying.
She looked exactly the same as she had three years ago.
“Professor Selina!”
“You look younger every time we see you.”
“Do I? Thanks for the compliment.”
Selina, too, had joined the project—for emergency contingencies.
Her dark spirit, [Esmeralda], possessed outstanding suppression ability in case something went wrong with the experiment.
“Ahem. I see everyone has gathered.”
At that moment, Princess Aileen I appeared with her personal guard.
Beside her stood Fassius.
Her presence, still proud and imposing, dominated the atmosphere around her.
“Rine. It’s been a while.”
Next to Aileen stood Princess Erendir III.
Out of Aileen’s sight, she mouthed a silent hello to Rine and waved—only to receive a scalding glare from her elder sister.
“A royal behaving so frivolously.”
“S-Sister...”
“Normally I wouldn’t let this slide with a mere scolding, but today is special. I’ll overlook it.”
Leaving the dejected Erendir behind, Aileen stood before Rine.
“Are you prepared?”
“Yes.”
“That level of resolve isn’t enough. I am asking if you are ready to risk everything for success.”
“That’s...”
Though the pressure was immense, Rine did not falter.
“It has been the same for me since three years ago.”
Aileen let out a small, approving smile.
“Good. I expect great things.”
The experiment began.
Rine draped a white robe over her clothes.
At a glance, it looked like an ordinary robe—but it was an artifact designed to withstand dimensional pressure inside imaginary space.
Created jointly by the continent’s most renowned artifact makers, mages, and researchers, its cost alone was astronomically high.
Wearing it, Rine stepped in front of the metallic arch.
“Activating the device.”
The researchers, voices taut with tension, operated the surrounding machinery.
A heavy mechanical sound echoed as energy flowed through the World Tree roots.
That energy reached the metallic arch, causing geometric symbols and languages to etch themselves across its surface.
Ziiiiing!
A bluish gate opened at the arch’s center.
Rine took a deep breath as she faced it.
Everyone was watching her back.
Some with worry, some with anticipation.
Carrying all those emotions on her shoulders, Rine gathered her courage and spoke clearly:
“Then... I’ll be back.”
And without hesitation—
Rine threw herself through the gate.
