A Maze of Unrequited Love

It was an anticlimactic confrontation for all the buildup.
It was actually harder to approach when I was outside.
The staff shattered.
It turned to dust and scattered, disappearing into the air as if it knew its role was done.
“How pathetic.”
The severed head, Spesha, couldn’t say anything.
It was utterly pathetic, unable to do anything but roll its eyes in panic, shedding golden blood.
It had more dignity when I was with my contractors.
Back then, it was even difficult to get close.
Diverting gazes, creating paths, adding to the confusion… it was quite a mess.

“Are you going to kill me?”

“What a stupid question.”
There is no grand narrative between you and me, and seeing your past doesn’t make me feel sorry for you.
Well, it’s not that I feel absolutely no pity, but there are too many lives on the line for me to get caught up in that.
‘Administrator.’

[The Administrator responds.]

‘How are my contractors?’

[Yeon Taeseon and Han Sion are in critical condition. Baek Jiye may shed her human shell.]

‘And the starry heavens?’

[They are watching your every move.]
[The Administrator is being squeezed.]
[Honey. Save me.]

I ignored the nonsense.
Baek Jiye’s condition was ambiguous, but in conclusion, three were in critical condition.
Two could be treated within the realm of human medicine, but if I didn’t return quickly, Jiye would be in real danger.
I placed my hand on the extravagant golden hair.
Spesha’s red eyes turned to me.

“A pity.”
“But I must say, it will not be easy to return.”
“It is inherently more difficult than anything for a great being to retrace their steps.”

Hmm.
He was long-winded.
“I’ll handle it myself.”
A magic circle appeared above my hand.
[Enhance], [Compress], [Destroy], [Annihilate], [Extinguish], [Revenge], [Eternity]….
Only destructive symbols meant solely to obliterate a being were drawn.
Spesha’s eyes close.
White mana gathers and becomes a blue-glowing magic circle, and the golden head melts away.
A sharp scent flowed out.
The scent of resentment and revenge, the dead starlight told me, as it scattered into the air.
It turns black.
The sky, the white castle, the white city, the golden tombs, the burning guillotine, nothing remains.
After three blinks.
Only darkness filled my vision.

• There it is.

• It’s there.

• I want to be at ease.

• It’s there.

The dead starlight guides me.
I slowly walked through the strangely brightening darkness.
The dead starlight was working hard to fight off the darkness, and though I shouldn’t think this way, it felt quite cute.

• Not cute.

• We’re going to be at ease.

• We’re going to turn pretty and sparkly.

• We’re going to be reborn.

• This way!

How long had I been walking, listening to the chattering voices?
Flash, a red light brushed past my eyes.
‘That’s it.’
The speed at which the dead starlight was making a path increased.
My steps also quickened, until I was almost running.
The red light that had been far away quickly drew closer.
A rhombus-shaped red jewel came into view.
A jewel about the length of an adult woman’s hand, with a gleam like a rhombus-shaped garnet.
It’s the same color as the one Yeon Taeseon broke inside the holy relic.
This is the heart.
‘If I break this.’
It ends.
The younger brother that the Tilted Nebula was so happy about, The Crow’s Ruins, Spesha’s uncharacteristic revenge plan.
All of it will end and disappear.
Those wretched, cowardly Constellations will probably laugh and be happy.
But…
I was uneasy.
My survival instincts, a natural feeling for any living being, not just a Constellation, were sounding an alarm.
‘Administrator.’
No answer.
‘Administrator.’
I called again, but it was the same.
From the moment this space turned black, the blue system window that had been darting around so frantically was gone.
‘System.’

[Communication-disabled area.]

The system window that barely appeared before my eyes disappeared after leaving only this message.
“…….”
The red jewel glowed.
The gleam, a mixture of black and red, seemed to be urging me to break it quickly.
In the lightless space, the majesty of the Sun’s Eye flashes one last time.

[Spesha’s Distorted Heart]
A heart created from a mass of revenge and resentment. It is still not fully born, so it is small, about the size of a palm. However, after its birth, it will gradually grow larger each time it consumes a world, and eventually, no one will be able to break it.

A little brighter.

[Spesha’s Distorted Heart]
Revenge…

As brilliant as the sun.

[Spesha’s Distorted Heart]
…….

• Revenge: A maze of unrequited love.

I blink.
I wipe away the trail of blood I had mistaken for tears.

[Revenge: A Maze of Unrequited Love]
The one who breaks this heart will never be able to return to their loved ones.

Spesha, The Crow’s Ruins, was vicious to the very end.
It was a curse.
‘And it’s a curse on the heart, of all things.’
If I break this, I will become something forever trapped in a corpse.
Since it’s the heart, it won’t be easy to get out.
No, it wasn’t just ‘not easy,’ it was nearly impossible.
My contractors, the world I was supposed to live in, the starry heavens waiting for me to arrive someday, I would gain none of it.
“…….”
But, even so.
I clenched the jewel in my fist.
A cold, yet throbbing pulse was transmitted through my hand.
‘Even if I don’t do it here, nothing will change.’
Even if I kill the distorted Spesha and become trapped in this black space.
Even if I give up without killing it and escape.
My contractors, the world I was supposed to live in, the starry heavens waiting for me to arrive someday.
All of it will disappear.
I have no choice.
“You must have hoped I would hesitate, Spesha.”
I am not afraid.
No matter how much time passes in this black space, I will get out.
Because the place where I belong is waiting for me.
Even if it’s close to impossible, the possibility is not zero.
“I am not a coward.”
I break it.
Cracks form.
Golden blood seeps out from between the cracks in the jewel.
The dead starlight cheers.
Their cheers are heard.
And then.
With a soft crumble,
As if there was nothing in my hand.
“…….”
Silence fell.

Golden wings are falling.
That’s what people said.
“Look, over there!”
“That monster is collapsing!”
A wing feather the size of a building fell, then the wing fell, and when all one thousand minus one wings had fallen, leaving only a small single eye.

【Ah.】
【So sad….】

With only a weak last word, all the gold collapsed.
“…….”
“What?”
“I-it collapsed?”
The golden angels that remained on the ground, the newly appearing powers.
They turned into gold dust and were scattered into the sky, disappearing.
Like ashes on a wind full of lingering regrets.
The monsters that were wielding swords vanished in an instant.
At such a sudden disappearance, people were tense, wondering what kind of trick this was.
One day.
Two days, three days, a week.
Two weeks, a month….
When nothing appeared even after time passed.
“It’s over….”
They finally began to feel relieved.
It was peace after two months.
“We’re alive, we’re alive!”
“The Nate Guild did a great job. Without them, the number of casualties would have been double.”
“The Association President is alive too, right? This is a miracle.”
“Our country’s situation is good, so let’s check on other countries too!”
While the relieved people were bustling, the Nate Guild was quiet.
The third month.
“Why isn’t the Constellation returning?”
Because their Constellation had not returned.
Han Sion, with a bandage wrapped around his head, looked up at the sky with lifeless eyes.
Ever since the golden things in the sky disappeared, his gaze had been constantly fixed on the sky.
“How’s Jiye?”
“Well, same as always. Healing skills don’t work on her.”
Cheon Seona answered Han Sion’s question.
Baek Jiye’s body had become transparent, with only her heart visible.
Seeing the heart, which looked like the Milky Way embedded in the night sky, was both beautiful and grotesque.
“Daisy?”
“Doing relief work.”
“And Yeon Taeseon….”
“Squeezing Sanho oppa dry again today.”
For some reason, Yeon Taeseon was squeezing Cheon Sanho dry every day.
He kept talking about the Administrator and whatnot, and I don’t know why he’s saying that to a human like Cheon Sanho, but…
One thing was for sure.
Most of the Nate Guild members were desperate to find a way to find their Constellation.
The world had returned to normal, but their Constellation had not returned.
“In the sky?”
“It’s still there.”
But there was a reason why they hadn’t given up yet.
“How could we not recognize that star?”
Because a star more brilliant than any other was visible in the sky.
Other people might not know, but the contractors recognized the star’s identity.