I opened the basement door and stepped in. No, I didn’t even take a single step. There was no ground to step upon. In an instant, I plummeted with no end in sight below me. I was bungee jumping without a rope, or perhaps skydiving without a parachute?
─!
Collar fluttering, the air resistance pressed against me. I felt it whipping around me with my eyes closed as gravity drove me down.
─.
The descent continued for some time, but just when I grew used to it.
Boom–!
I arrived. My body, which was stretched out in a straight line, now touched the ground.
“…”
I lay still and managed the pain in my lower back. I didn’t know if it was my tailbone, my ribs, or both that had broken. It was a definite fracture, but this Iron Man body quickly recovered. In the meantime, I looked up to the sky. A clear blue greeted me, text from the status window glistening over it.
「The Darkness of the Imperial Palace · Devil’s Mirror: Episode 1」
◆ Quest Overview: In Sophien’s Regression, Exploring the Devil’s Mirror
Episode 1. In other words, it was Sophien’s first year.
“…Hmm.”
This area appeared to be the garden of the Imperial Palace, but no one was visible. It was a world that was noticeably empty. However, if I looked closely at the paths crossing through the area…
Rustle— Rustle—
With the sound of a rake, the messy leaves were being neatly arranged. The garden shrubs were also being pruned, as their cut branches floated in the air before being placed in a sack. The things people did were happening on their own.
“…”
I suddenly found a piece of glass that had fallen to the floor. I lifted it with Psychokinesis and let it catch the reflection of the world behind me.
…Definitely, there was nobody in my world.
—Retel. Are you done pruning?
There were people reflected in the glass, living their lives in the world beyond the mirror.
─I am. Her Majesty likes a neat look, so how about making it square like this?
─Does she? Isn’t it too square?
The gardeners of the Imperial Palace were arranging the garden while consulting with each other. Suddenly, one of them found the piece of glass I held aloft.
─Huh? What. That piece of glass is floating over there, right?
He pointed at the glass moving with Psychokinesis. Startled, I dispelled the magic.
“… I see.”
I figured it out easily. The medium of this quest, The Devil’s Mirror, was this world. In other words, I had entered the world in the mirror. Therefore, from their point of view, I couldn’t be seen, and if I moved something, they would have no choice but to regard it as the work of a ghost. The current me resided in the behind-the-scenes world — a creature in the mirror.
“Then, there is a demon in it.”
That assumption alone set a fire in my heart.
“Hah…”
I walked through the garden to the Imperial Palace.
Stomp- Stomp-
There was no one to stand in my way. No one in Episode 1 could see me without a mirror, nor could I see them. The scenery of the Imperial Palace, which I entered, was not very different from its appearance in the future. Marbled floors, mana stone lamps lining the walls. The golden lion, the symbol of the imperial family, was embroidered on the ceiling.
I slowly set out to find Sophien. The most important character in this quest was her, not only for me but also for the demon.
“Is she here?”
Now, Sophien would not be the Emperor but the Crown Princess. Fortunately, the heir’s room wasn’t kept far from the emperor’s private bedroom. It was kept sealed off by a luxurious door studded with all sorts of jewels as decoration.
I opened it and went inside, but there was nobody inside. No, I just couldn’t see anybody. I looked in the full-length mirror on the right side of the large room, seeing Sophien in the reflection.
—Who opened the door?
She spoke coldly. She was talking with the escort knights, not me. It appeared they were guarding her room.
─We thought that Your Highness opened it.
─Me?
—Yes. We apologize, but neither of us opened the door. How could we dare to?
The Eight-year-old Sophien frowned. She closed the door after staring down the two escort knights. Then, she turned around and looked in the mirror on the right, seeing me as I saw her.
─…!
Sophien’s slender and sickly body stiffened. Without a word, she swallowed hard.
But, even with her body shaking, she managed to squeak out a question.
─…Who are you? Are you an assassin?
I shook my head. At that moment, Sophien shouted.
─Escort!
Her instinct was to call the knights. I retreated to the mirror’s blind spot for a moment.
─Yes! We’re here!
─An intruder here…
─Where?!
I could predict the situation given just that.
─That mirror…
—The mirror?
Neither the guards nor Sophien could see any intruder.
─…There was someone in the mirror.
—I will break the mirror.
─What? …No. Forget it. Go.
—Yes. All right.
The two knights left. Even then, Sophien continued to stare blankly into the mirror. I appeared before her again.
─…You.
This time, Sophien didn’t call for the knights.
-Who are you?
“I’m…”
─Where?!
Sophien turned her head before I could answer. To be precise, she looked back to where I should be standing. But she found nothing.
─What is it? Why are you only in the mirror?
“….”
—Damn it. Is it an illusion created by my headache?
“I am not an illusion.”
I shook my head slightly. Sophien’s eyebrows twitched.
“But, what a shame. This way, we can’t see each other.”
─A shame? How dare you face me, cough. Cough. Cough!
Sophien coughed dryly. As she composed herself, I looked around the spacious room.
The interior of Her Highness room was magnificent; not a single bit left undecorated. Then, I looked out the window. Spring, as expected.
The Imperial Palace Garden was the most famous magical space on the continent. The four seasons coexisted in the east, west, north, and south, but spring remained eternal in this southeastern garden. The scattering pollen, the brightly blooming peaks, the flying butterflies and bees, the setting sun, the vivid colors brightened up the entire garden.
─….
Sophien stopped coughing and looked at her hand, noting the red covering it. She was bleeding
─…Ugh.
Seeing her death shortly, Sophien began to cry. The current Sophien was the Sophien who had never regressed, so she didn’t know she would continue. Therefore, she thought that this death was indeed her only and last.
“…Nice to meet you, Your Highness. I am a professor.”
—Professor?
“Yes.”
Sophien looked at me. She wiped the tears from her eyes and the blood from her lips.
—Do you mean like a professor at a university or the magic tower?
“Yes. I’m a professor at the magic tower. In the future, let’s have a lot of conversations with each other.”
* * *
On the other hand, Rohalak of the Yukline estate. The Red Garnet Adventure Team visited the Rohalak concentration camp due to a request to obtain 50ml of Rohalak scorpion poison.
“The camp is wide…”
Lia murmured as she looked around. Was it that wide originally? She couldn’t remember exactly.
“Yeah. The Professor must have made up his mind because of the terrorist incident~.”
Lia bit her lip at Ganesha’s response. Professor Deculein, Lia knew his dignity well.
Fortunately, the camp was built in Rohalak. Rohalak wasn’t such a rugged land, so clearing it was plausible enough. Rather…
“Red Garnet Adventure Team.”
A cold voice rang out.
“We only meet now.”
“Oh.”
Lia looked back, startled, to see Yeriel. Although she was Deculein’s younger sister, they weren’t related by blood. She was a Named who later would be threatened by Deculein using that fact as an excuse, and in the end, either she would kill Deculein or be killed by him.
She was currently staring at them sullenly.
“Yeriel?”
Ganesha’s eyes widened as Yeriel crossed her arms.
“Why weren’t you answering my calls? Did you set up your blacklist?”
“Oh~, that~. I can explain~.”
Ganesha pondered how to explain.
‘I ignored you because you’re not Deculein’s real sister’ — she couldn’t say that.
“…Huh?”
At that moment, Carlos let out a questionable sound. This was her chance! Ganesha hastily responded to Carlos.
“Why? What is it, Carlos?”
“Over there…”
Carlos pointed into the sky. The Red Garnet Adventure Team glanced up, and Yeriel and her vassals followed their gaze.
“There’s nothing.”
“No!”
Carlos quickly responded to Ganesha. As an eleven-year-old boy, he hated being told he was wrong.
“What… there was a strange thing flying around.”
“Didn’t you just see a bird?”
“It was too big to be a bird…”
Carlos still looked into the sky as Yeriel pressed Ganesha again.
“Forget it. I have something to tell you, come to the castle.”
“Oh, hahaha. We would love to, too, but we have a mission…”
Ganesha smiled bitterly at her.
─Immediately after.
“…Huh? What is this?”
Ganesha murmured to herself, her eyes widening slightly.
“Leo? Lia? Ross? What are you, why are you here? Why am I here, again?”
Everyone tilted their heads at Ganesha’s words, except for Yeriel, who watched her with narrow eyes.
“Don’t be weird. Quickly follow me.”
“Huh? Oh, that…”
“Hurry! I’ll give you as much money as you want!”
Yeriel and her vassals dragged the Red Garnet Adventure Team away.
* * *
「The Darkness of the Imperial Palace · Devil’s Mirror: Episode 1」
…Here, the rule of the world in the mirror was easy to understand. The flow of time was the same. Sophien on the other side of the mirror and me in the mirror were sharing the same time. No one was faster or slower.
So, today was the second day since I entered the basement.
—I am dying.
It was a sad confession from an eight-year-old child.
-It is an incurable disease. Everyone knows it. They watch me with pity… those damn eyes are disgusting.
I did not avoid Sophien’s gaze as she looked into my eyes through the mirror. Then, she offered me a small smile.
—There is no emotion in your eyes, so it’s not bad… but there are many more annoying things these days.
“What?”
─At night, every night, mosquito-like things appear in my dreams…
“Can you describe their appearance?”
Sophien sighed.
-They look like bats. They just fly around. But at other times, they look like flies, and at other times they look like monsters. But they always fly around.
I nodded.
“They are demons.”
—Demons?
“Yes.”
A demon that flew but had no specific shape. I knew this guy’s setup all too well with Kim Woojin’s memory and the Yukline bloodline’s instinct. The demon – Nescĭus. They floated like ghosts and were difficult to deal with as they had no set appearance other than to take on the visage that their target was most afraid of.
─A demon.
I still didn’t know what their purpose was. However, it was certain that this demon was related to the Altar. This Nescĭus was a demon directly summoned by the Altar in the story.
─Hmm, cough- cough-!
Sophien coughed, blood staining her palm. Taking a deep breath, she continued.
-How do you know that? Oh, you are a professor, after all… well, anyway. Last week, I hired an escort under my direct control.
I looked at Sophien. At only eight years old, she appeared more mature than the current Emperor Sophien.
—It’s a guy named Keiron… I don’t think it will be necessary for long. I will die soon. I might not get even tomorrow.
Sophien stretched out her index finger and pointed at me. More precisely, she pointed at the mirror.
-Maybe I’ll say goodbye to you too. The mysterious and cheeky professor who clings to this mirror, a guy who I can talk to with ease. I like that look in your eyes.
Saying that Sophien laughed. Blood dripped from the corners of her lips. I shook my head.
“No.”
─…What?
“This is not a farewell.”
─What?
“I will always be a part of your process. And at the end of this process, I will be there too.”
─….
Sophien looked at me; then she shook her head.
—I hope so, but it won’t happen. Because you’re an illusion created by my disease. Hahaha.
Sophien laughed and bled.
-Ugh-!
Painful groans filled the room, and the blood of an eight-year-old kid covered the mirror.
-Waaaaaaahhh…
The last cry of a child who acted like an adult.
─At that moment.
The whole world was engulfed in darkness. I saw the status window floating in the air.
“Episode 1”
Chichik—
The number ‘one’ shook and trembled, then advanced.
“Episode 2”
Just now, Sophien had died.
“…Your Majesty.”
The whole world slowly broke simultaneously as Sophien regressed, shards raining down like a shattered mirror.
“We will meet again.”
Boom–!
The door to the basement closed.
* * *
“Deculein.”
Keiron’s voice shook my mind to consciousness. With my eyes wide open, I quickly grasped my situation. I was back at the Imperial Palace.
‘The real Imperial Palace.’
I was expelled right after the first episode concluded.
“Keiron, how many days have passed?”
I asked again, having understood.
“It hasn’t even been a day. Don’t get me wrong and listen.”
However, Keiron wore an unusually bewildered expression.
“I’m back from the next day, tomorrow.”
“…”
I looked at Keiron, noting his embarrassed expression.
“Are you talking about the ‘regression’?”
“…Oh! Yes. That’s the right word. I’ve been looking for a way to explain this phenomenon, but that was the word. Right. I regressed, just one day.”
Without a word, I turned my eyes to the basement door. That rustic wooden door.
Knock, knock-
I knocked and shook the doorknob. Nothing changed, and yet the door wouldn’t open. It was probably not time to start the second episode yet.
“Deculein. It’s hard to accept, but you have to believe me. I regressed from tomorrow to today-“
“Yes, I believe you. It seems that Nescĭus has escaped from this underground prison.”
“…Nescĭus?”
“It is a kind of appearances. By any chance, have you ever cut down an unknown entity?”
Keiron’s eyes flickered.
“Yes. Tomorrow night, it’s weird, but something came out of this basement hallway, and I cut it down.”
I nodded.
“Then, this is probably right. It must have been carrying her regression.”
“Carrying it?”
“Yes. Just as a bee collects nectar from a flower and delivers it to the hive.”
Though still vague, the true purpose of this quest was growing clearer. Why the demon touched Sophien’s memory, and why the Altar covered Sophien’s power.
“Explain in detail.”
Keiron, at least for now, was the most reliable person.
“This is the correct way to resurrect God.”
“God?”
“Yes. They were looking for a body. Then, all that is left will be the spirit.”
The Altar had entrusted the body to Arlos. Whether it was created by Arlos or obtained from someone else, once they had a body, the next was the soul.
“Ordinary humans have one body and one soul, so if the soul regresses, it regresses to the past with the body. Keiron, just like you.”
Tomorrow’s Keiron had regressed to today. The body and soul were the same- living.
“What if it’s not ordinary?”
“If you are not an ordinary human being, that is, already dead, the body and soul cannot be separated. Therefore, if the artificially manufactured body is fixed in the present and only the soul is regressed….”
What if Sophien’s power (Regression) was collected for tens, hundreds, or even thousands of years and implanted into someone that had already died? What if, while fixing the body in the present, only the soul is returned to its living days?
“He will surely rise again.”
The most important part of the main quest was how the Resurrection of God occurred.
“…But why did I regress? Has Her Majesty’s power flowed out?”
Hearing those words, Keiron also seemed to be aware of Sophien’s regression.
“No. It’s because you cut down the Nescĭus. What he was carrying has flowed into you. As I said, it’s just like a bee. You captured some of the honey carried by a dead bee.”
“Aha.”
Keiron’s eyes widened. It was a pretty cute reaction for a knight in his late 30s. I glanced again at the wooden door.
“Keiron. From now on, it’s urgent. If this door opens again, please contact me as soon as possible. Also, if you run into any more Nescĭus, you can keep cutting them down as you do now. Contact me through this.”
I handed him a Bibliography.
“I’ll do that.”
Keiron nodded, determination scrawled upon his face.
