Page 121

One of the 38 bad endings.

The Otherworld.

This bad ending occurs when the Otherworld and reality merge through the medium known as Grantoni.

When the bad ending, the Otherworld, is triggered, a transcendent entity appears—one that exists only in the Otherworld, different from the Demon Sovereign of the real world.

The Abomination.

Unlike the Demon Sovereign, the Abomination is a separate entity that belongs to the Otherworld.

To be precise, it was a transcendent being that was slain in the real world before the Demon Sovereign emerged.

‘If you were dead, you should have accepted your demise and vanished quietly.’

Yet, the Abomination clung desperately to the remnants of its existence, anchoring itself in the Otherworld.

It relentlessly devised ways to break into reality.

Thus, the bad ending, the Otherworld, does not come into existence through Grantoni alone.

The Abomination had been preparing for far longer than expected, manipulating countless elements across the ages to establish a foundation for its escape.

‘The reason I didn’t take immediate action against the Abomination was because of that.’

The Abomination exists only within the Otherworld.

Therefore, no matter how dangerous it may be, it does not pose as immediate a threat as the Demon Sovereign.

This also meant there was no feasible way to deal with it.

The Otherworld was essentially the Abomination’s domain.

Stepping into that realm would only lead to certain doom at its hands.

That’s why, even in the original scenario, Lucas could do nothing to the Abomination.

Act 4, Chapter 5: The Thread of Tragedy

In Act 4, Chapter 5, Lucas rescues Grantoni and completely seals off the Otherworld.

This completely thwarts the Abomination’s grand scheme.

From that moment on, Grantoni ceases all of their bizarre antics at the academy.

However, there are occasional scenes depicting Grantoni standing on the special department’s rooftop, gazing at the stars.

‘The Otherworld was everything to Grantoni.’

A friend, a first love never to be forgotten.

One destined to become the world’s greatest Soulmaster.

‘Musika.’

Additionally, one more title was attached to her name.

Among the six great hero reincarnates, who would take the spotlight in Act 5—

The Watcher of Souls, Aquiline.

Musika was the reincarnation of Aquiline.

However, unlike Saintess Acrede, she did not cross the River of Oblivion with a divine blessing.

Thus, she had no recollection of her past life.

Even so, her immense talent remained intact—enough to reach the pinnacle of soul magic without any memories.

But it was precisely that talent that caught the Abomination’s eye.

To the Abomination, she was the sweetest fruit in existence.

With her power, the Abomination could build a true bridge to reality.

But Musika’s spirit was unyielding.

No matter how the Abomination tempted her, her soul stood firm.

So the Abomination changed its target.

Someone who had studied under the same mentor.

Vinesha.

She became the perfect pawn.

The Day Vinesha Reached Into the Otherworld

The moment Vinesha touched the Otherworld, the Abomination dug into her deep-seated emotional void—her desperate need for affection—and amplified it to its breaking point.

And so, the tragedy was set in motion.

Vinesha offered Musika to the Abomination.

In return, she dragged the Abomination into the real world, but at a cost—

she lost control, spiraling into a frenzied rampage.

As her life teetered on the edge of death, her mentor burned away their own soul to save her.

But the price was their own death.

A Shattered Mind.

A mere desperate need for affection—

Could such a thing truly justify so much destruction?

Vinesha’s emotional void had indeed been overwhelming.

But she had not been broken enough to sacrifice both her fellow disciple and her own mentor.

Yet, that one moment ruined everything.

Vinesha lost all her memories due to the Abomination’s manipulation.

Her emotional dysfunction grew even worse.

To suppress her unstable emotions, she used the Veil Bandages.

But even that was meaningless—

The Abomination had already melted her mind beyond repair.

She forgot her mentor.

She forgot her fellow disciples.

She was left with nothing but an unquenchable thirst for affection,

sinking deeper into the abyss.

‘Her obsession with the magic of the Transcendent Sage, Zerion…’

Perhaps, in the shattered fragments of her memory,

she clung to a faint hope—

A desperate wish to bring back her mentor and save Musika.

The True Tragedy of the Bad Ending: The Otherworld

I stood still inside the empty classroom.

On the floor lay a pendant, passed from the mentor to Vinesha, then to Grantoni.

It was the same pendant I had given Grantoni on the day we made our deal.

I picked it up and opened the locket.

Inside was an old photograph.

Vinesha, Musika, Grantoni—

And their mentor.

A moment frozen in time, capturing their happiest days.

Every single person in this photograph had their life utterly destroyed by the Abomination.

I clenched the pendant tightly in my hand.

"Grantoni doesn't know the full truth about Vinesha."

On the day the tragedy unfolded, Grantoni had returned home late with their mentor.

By the time they arrived, Vinesha had already sacrificed Musika to the Abomination.

Grantoni was caught in the shockwave of Vinesha’s rampaging power, which disfigured his face.

As a result, he lost clear memory of that night.

By the time Vinesha let out a final hysterical laugh and disappeared—

his mentor was already dead.

Grantoni barely regained consciousness and hurriedly pulled his master's lifeless body from the Otherworld.

However, in her effort to save Vinesha, she had expended even the power of her soul.

As a result, she could only manage simple gestures of communication—proper conversation was impossible.

Left alone after losing both his first love and his master, there was little Grantoni could do.

That day, Grantoni set out in pursuit of Vinesha, crossing from the Fantasy Kingdom into the Empire.

"Sister Vinesha!"

"Huh?"

But Vinesha, whose memories had been shattered, did not recognize Grantoni at all.

"Who are you?"

That fact ignited an unbearable fury within Grantoni.

He had lost Musika.

He had lost his master.

Yet Vinesha, erasing her memories, was living her life as if nothing had happened.

Grantoni’s eyes landed on the pendant around her neck.

It was the pendant his master had placed on her at the very end.

A pendant given in the desperate hope that she wouldn’t completely lose her memories.

It was his master's final keepsake.

"You don’t deserve that."

Grantoni’s voice trembled with grief.

"That belongs to Master. Give it back!"

Driven by that conviction, he attempted to take the pendant from her by force.

But Vinesha was strong.

Grantoni was utterly defeated by her.

"Why do you keep asking for this? This is mine. It’s something I can never give away."

Vinesha refused to let go of the pendant, no matter what.

Having lost, Grantoni trudged away from her.

Afterward, he enrolled in Zerion Academy to study how to bring Musika back from the Otherworld.

‘After that, Vinesha’s memories gradually eroded.’

Memories and emotions naturally fade over time.

But her memory core had been completely shattered.

No matter how precious something was, eventually, she would forget it.

One day, while working as an assistant professor at the academy, she discarded the pendant.

And the one who happened to pick it up was Lucas.

Lucas, intending to return the pendant, sought out Vinesha.

In doing so, he discovered that she was attempting to steal Zerion’s magic and that she was a mystic.

The day she lost to Lucas at the academy, Vinesha, in a fit of rage, hurled the pendant at him.

She no longer remembered how much it had once meant to her.

The only thing that remained vivid was the tears that had silently fallen from her empty eyes as she stared at the broken pendant.

‘That’s why I stole the pendant before it could be discarded.’

Even I couldn’t predict when Vinesha would decide to throw it away.

The world’s timeline had already been distorted.

If she discarded the pendant somewhere unknown, it would have been a disaster.

So, I deliberately took it and gave it to Grantoni.

But now, once again, the pendant had been abandoned here.

I didn’t know how Grantoni ended up crossing into the Otherworld.

I couldn’t tell which of my actions—taken to restore the world’s true timeline—had triggered the butterfly effect.

One thing was certain.

There was only one reason Grantoni would have entered the Otherworld.

‘To bring back Musika.’

I clenched the pendant tightly in my hand.

Leading this world back to its proper timeline.

That was my obsession, my conviction.

Since maintaining the true timeline was the only way I knew to protect this world, I pushed forward at all costs.

But the day I saved Nia and rescued Nikata—

I made up my mind.

I would create the happiest ending for this world.

And that determination remained unchanged.

Grantoni and Vinesha.

A tragedy tangled like a knotted thread.

I would unravel it.

‘Skip Act 4, Scene 4—the Autumn Demon Palace—and proceed straight to Act 4, Scene 5 to conclude the scenario.’

Act 4, Scene 5.

The tangled tragedy.

To set the scenario right, I would enter the Otherworld.

And the first thing I needed to do was clear.

‘Run!’

Clutching the pendant in my hand, I sprinted at full speed.

Now that Grantoni had crossed into the Otherworld, every second counted.

Even though Grantoni possessed the unique trait of a "Otherworld Inhabitor,"

The longer he was exposed to the Otherworld, the greater the danger.

Especially since, in the Bad Ending, the Otherworld would fully manifest the Abomination that had consumed both Grantoni and Musika.

If the Abomination absorbed Grantoni and Musika’s traits, it could fully emerge into existence.

A world where the Otherworld and the real world had completely fused.

A world where life and death had collapsed into chaos.

The worst possible outcome.

That, I had to prevent at all costs.

Just as I burst out of the magic arts building—

A streak of blue hair flashed before my eyes.

Without hesitation, I grabbed her wrist.

Her round eyes widened in surprise as she realized who I was.

The Unyielding Azure Flame.

It was Eve.

Her expression was just starting to furrow when—

"Eve, someone’s life is at stake. Can you help me?"

At my words, her expression shifted immediately.

Gone was the frown, replaced by the unwavering determination befitting the protagonist of the side story.

"What do I need to do?"

Her response was as steadfast as ever.

That was why I trusted her.

Otherworld Grantoni Rescue Team.

For now, I had one member.