Chapter 1 : A Strange Yet Romantic Return Report (1)

I was just timid.
Yes.
I was so timid that I wondered if I should open a new horizon for MBTI.
Forget making eye contact; if someone spoke to me, I’d spend half a day pondering a reply.
That deliberation time was so long that most people felt ignored, and thanks to that, I had no friends.
No acquaintances either.
It wasn’t different in this world either.
Except here, I was praised.

“Sinner, ‘White Calamity,’ listen!”
But that too was a thing of the past.
The King’s voice rang out.
The gentle voice that had called to me kindly right after I was summoned to this world was gone, and only a stern voice, somehow filled with anger, remained.
‘Why?’
I felt it was unfair.
I had only acted as I always did.
Summoned to this world like something out of an old island-nation light novel, I just kept my mouth shut and stayed still, going ‘Uh, uh?’!
I just did that, and they, on their own, praised me, made a fuss on their own, and on their own, elevated me to the position of Magic Tower Head.
I knew.
I had fallen into what they call a ‘misunderstanding trope’.
But it was okay.
It wasn’t in a bad way.
I didn’t particularly want to go home either.
If I just sat there, looking dignified and silent, the voices praising me grew louder, and matters were resolved smoothly by those around me.
Yes, I’ll admit it.
I enjoyed it a little.
The situation where I was praised and things were done for me without me having to struggle was the best moment of my life.
But that too was now over.

“White Calamity, Seonibaek Lin, was negligent and neglected her duties, and at the Magic Tower, she conducted human experiments, taking the lives of thousands of children. Among those children were…”
The King listed names I had never heard of.
No, seriously, who were they?
Besides, ‘White Calamity’?
When did they stop praising me as the ‘White Magic Tower Head,’ saying my white mana was dazzling…!
First, I had to refute it.
At this moment, as unknown charges were listed, I had to say I didn’t do it.
“Furthermore!”
But the mana restraints fastened behind my back were heavy.
“The Hero, who was meant to slay the Demon King, ‘Tilted Nebula,’ perished in vain during the process.”
The lamentations of those around filled the courtroom.
I lifted my trembling head and looked at the King.
The King, whom I barely managed to look at, stared down at me coldly with a resolute face, his eyes like frost, causing me to lower my head again.
This shouldn’t be happening.
“This is not only a national but a global loss! Therefore, White Calamity Seonibaek Lin is stripped of her position as Magic Tower Head, and due to the gravity of her crimes, she is sentenced to immediate execution!”
‘No!’

It was a false accusation.
No, was it a false accusation?
Thinking about it, it might not have been.
I just might not have known.
Since I delegated the Magic Tower’s work to others, I wouldn’t have known even if they had hidden it roughly.
But I, Seonibaek Lin, was the perfect Magic Tower Head in their eyes.
Everything that happened in the tower of the perfect Magic Tower Head happened under Seonibaek Lin’s command.
Therefore, the human experiments, and the murder of the Hero candidate, were all considered done by my hand.
I had to speak.
‘It wasn’t me!’
“Did you hear?”
My mouth, which had barely started to open, clamped shut like a clam again.
The murmurs of the observers echoed loudly, as if meant for me to hear.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart pounded so fast it felt like it would leap out of my throat.
“How could she do such cruel things with that angelic face…”
“They said Viscount Roklo’s son was among the dead children, right?”
“Viscount Roklo attempted suicide after losing his son.”
“And yet, she has such a shameless face, without any guilt.”
“And what about the Hero? The Demon King’s army will cross the front lines now, what should we do…”
“The Magic Tower Head… no, if that woman hadn’t killed the Hero, if she hadn’t touched the experiments at all!”
The clamor grew louder.
“Kill her!” someone shouted.
“Kill her!” someone else echoed.
“Kill her!” everyone shouted.
I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut.
I couldn’t speak.
How could anyone speak in this situation?
Even the most confident person would surely freeze if everyone was calling for their death.
Not even tears came out.

“Sinner, Seonibaek Lin.”
The King spoke.
“The execution will be carried out.”
The executioner’s axe touched the back of my neck with a chilling sensation.
With a desperation I’d never felt before in my life, I thought.
‘I don’t want to die.’
Imagining the axe swinging down with full force, I squeezed my eyes shut.
‘Please, I don’t want to die.’
The sensation of the axe digging into my neck was vivid.
‘If I were given another chance….’
My head rolled on the floor, and an overturned ceiling greeted my retinas.
There was no life flashing before my eyes.
‘I want to live confidently, without any misunderstandings.’
That was my…
Last memory as Seonibaek Lin.

[Lost soul detected.]
[No.7619… Earth—Republic of Korea confirmed.]
[Initiating return protocol.]
[ERROR!]
[Target soul’s rank is too high!]
[Retrying.]
[ERROR!]
[Target soul’s rank is too high!]
[Retrying.]
[ERROR!]
[Target soul’s rank is too high!]
[Retry…]
[……]
[Measuring Awakener grade…]
[Measurement impossible.]
[ERROR!]
[Target soul exceeds Awakener grade limits.]

“What is this?”
Beneath a sky where the Milky Way stretched endlessly, a handsome man with pale blue hair muttered, looking at the blue error window spread before him.
“Why is its rank so high?”
His purple eyes, sharp and keen, gazed at the lost soul he had just found.
Lost souls—that is, souls who died and escaped the trap of what Earthlings call ‘isekai summoning,’ where beings from other worlds arbitrarily summon them and burden them with heavy responsibilities—are mostly forcibly returned to their original world and original timeline.
It’s a ‘return.’
However, occasionally, individuals who have accumulated a rank exceeding the standards of an ordinary person appear.
In such cases, time is moved forward or backward to a period when ‘Awakeners’ exist in their original world, and then they are inserted into that world.
Awakener.
A being who contracts with a Constellation to possess power unattainable by humans.
Usually, in these cases, the standard procedure is an Awakener ‘parachute’ deployment, contracting with an Administrator.
Indeed, individuals chosen this way have become powerful Awakeners in their respective worlds.
But…
“Huh, exceeding Awakener standards. This is a first.”
The man, who had managed the system for a long time, muttered.
Awakeners were powerful enough to contain almost any level of rank.
High-grade Awakeners could even become God Slayers, killing gods.
But a rank so high that even an Awakener couldn’t contain it?
The finely featured face observed the soul once more.
The lost soul, a pure white light, was exceedingly pure but didn’t shine so brightly as to hurt the eyes.
A gentle light flickered, soft even without touching.
It wasn’t particularly special.
After watching it for a while, the man—the Administrator—muttered.
“Well, it can’t be helped.”
Then, with a flick of his hand, he opened the starry sky.
It was something opened only when there was an urgent matter to announce to all the gods in existence—now called Constellations—tearing space like this to convey the Administrator’s words to every Constellation in the world.
When was the last time he had opened it…?
Through the starry sky, so unfamiliar he couldn’t even remember, the Administrator spoke.
“Listen.”
“Open the Nebula and welcome our friend.”
“Her name is…”

“Heok!”
I opened my eyes.
The stuffy air of the city instantly rushed into my lungs.
The gray ceiling, the blaring horns, everything felt unfamiliar yet familiar.
‘Don’t tell me… am I ba-back in my original world?’
Fumbling, I touched my neck; I could feel it was properly attached.
I don’t think the memories of being the Magic Tower Head in a fantasy world were false.
I was there for too long for it to be a dream, and the sensation of my neck being cut was vivid.
For a moment, my throat felt parched, so I grabbed an open water bottle from the sink and chugged down the mineral water.
After tossing the instantly emptied plastic bottle into the trash can, I looked around the room and paused.
The room’s layout was strangely different from my memory.
No matter how long I had lived as the Magic Tower Head in another world, I still remembered what my original room looked like.
First, my room didn’t have an air conditioner, but this one did, the TV was a newer model, and there was a whole display of goofy-looking teddy bears.
I liked the goofy-looking teddy bears, but that wasn’t important.
‘This… isn’t my house, is it?’
Who on earth put me in this house like this?
Could it be that even after I went to the other world, the ‘me’ here, Lee Seonbaek, was living well?
All sorts of imaginations flashed through my mind.
How had time passed on Earth during the years I lived in the other world, what was the identity of this room, and what year was it now? I was extremely curious.
But even amidst all that, a thought occurred to me.
‘Then, isn’t this body not mine either?’
Why, if I could be summoned to another world, I could also be possessed into someone else’s body!
I quickly checked the mirror.
It was a bit late, but the mirror reflected an appearance that didn’t disappoint my suspicions.
My face, which had been just average even when I was the Magic Tower Head, had become delicate and cute, and my black, back-length hair had turned into a snow-white bob.
To be honest, it was damn pretty and suited me well, but that wasn’t important.
In eyes the color of a clear, refreshing sky, a white pattern shimmered like a heat haze, as if the sun had been embedded in them.
Anyone could see it was not a human appearance.
There wasn’t just one or two problems.
It was serious!
There was also a blue, diamond-shaped line around my neck, and seeing it made my stomach churn.
It felt like the sensation of my neck being cut was reviving.
“What is this…”
Just as I was about to mutter in disbelief, my throat felt blocked, and no words came out.
Feeling flustered, I tried to make a sound, but only choking gasps escaped, not language.
‘What?’
Could it be because my neck was cut?
Just as panic began to set in, a sparkling, translucent window appeared in the corner of my vision.
I instinctively tried to grab it, but for some reason, the translucent window filled my entire view.
On the translucent blue screen, which looked like a so-called system window, was written:
[Welcome!]
[Welcome to the Azure Sky of the Starry Heavens, Silent Calamity!]