Mirien had a memory more precious to her than anything else.
The memory of when she first welcomed a new life from within the rift.
Before her eyes was the Ruler, Actor—an omnipotent being infinitely close to a god.
Though his face was hidden behind a mask, she could tell from the blue light glowing through it.
This person wants me, she thought.
Actor’s gaze was different from that of the mage who had cut her limbs and embedded magic stones in her, intending to use her as an experiment.
His gaze was kinder than anything else.
The Ruler Actor extended his hand.
Though it was a hand without substance, Mirien could feel a warm touch through the icy, cold glove.
[The Ruler of the Rift, ‘Actor,’ gifts 5★ Mirien of the North Sea’s Storm with a 5☆ Pulsating Heart of the Moon.]
The artificial heart gifted by Actor.
Mirien gained a new reprieve in her short life.
She also grew fond of life within the rift.
Here, no one oppressed her.
She wasn’t betrayed.
She wasn’t blamed for her sins.
And so, Mirien found new solace under the Ruler Actor.
But one day, an inexplicable emotion arose in a corner of Mirien’s heart.
She was a person of sharp intellect.
It didn’t take long for her to define this emotion as love.
For Mirien, who was born and raised as a machine without emotions, the feeling of love was more precious than anything.
Yet, she couldn’t reveal this feeling to anyone.
It was something the Ruler Actor wouldn’t desire, and it would ultimately plunge the dimensional rift into chaos.
Though she didn’t reveal it, she wanted to protect it.
The feeling of love.
The blind devotion of the girl Mirien towards the Ruler Actor.
And that creed remained the same even after Mirien was expelled from the rift and cast into a new dimension.
She built a tower.
It was a staircase for Actor to ascend to the heavens when he would reign anew.
She tamed a storm dragon.
To save Actor, who had been reduced to a human, from danger.
She killed people.
They were all dangerous elements who sought to harm Actor.
She formed an organization for ascension.
To become a powerful driving force when Actor would place the world beneath his feet.
But Mirien’s efforts were thoroughly betrayed.
Actor chose the charred saint, Selene.
She was indignant, but she didn’t despair.
Selene, who had selfless emotions, would be a better servant to Actor than herself, who harbored personal feelings.
Thus, Mirien endured.
But to Actor, she was nothing more than an obstacle.
[S-Rank Awakened Nam Jooyeon declares the conquest of the Tower of Yeouido.]
Not long ago, during a battle, she saw it.
The Ruler Actor had come to conquer her tower.
To kill her.
‘No, that can’t be.’
It couldn’t be.
Why would Actor want to kill her?
Being abandoned was something she had experienced before and had grown accustomed to, but she couldn’t stand being treated as a hindrance in his life.
He could be cruel. He could ignore her. He could get angry or resort to violence.
But a death sentence from Actor was something she couldn’t accept.
‘It’s a mistake, there must be some misunderstanding.’
Mirien chose to deny reality.
But just moments ago, she heard it.
She heard it clearly.
‘Once that tower erupts, it will be too late. Countless citizens will die. A great catastrophe will occur in the heart of Seoul, and I cannot stand by and watch. No matter the sacrifice, I will eliminate this potential threat.’
Below the tower, Actor’s public declaration to the world.
From Actor’s own mouth, she heard the words ‘potential threat.’
She even heard his declaration to eliminate her.
Mirien could no longer escape reality.
[Intruders have entered the dungeon ‘Tower of the Rift’.]
[Activate the defense mechanisms.]
The system coldly urged Mirien to eliminate the intruders.
But she couldn’t comply.
How could she, with her own hands, kill the Ruler Actor who had gifted her with new life?
And so, she sat in her chair, waiting for Actor.
“…”
Soon, the Ruler Actor—no, Nam Jooyeon—reached the top floor of the tower.
Mirien raised her head and took in Nam Jooyeon’s appearance.
The face behind the mask she had longed to see was right before her eyes.
But instead of joy, despair overwhelmed her.
Actor.
He was right in front of her.
The being she had yearned for so deeply.
The name she had whispered in her dreams, like a prayer with blood-stained hands.
But as soon as she uttered that name, her heart shattered.
Fear and anger surged within her.
“…Why?”
Mirien continued in a trembling voice.
“Are you here to kill me?”
Actor didn’t answer.
She wanted to hear his voice.
She wanted him to call her name.
But at the same time, she was terrified.
He had come to kill her.
To call her a hindrance.
The image of Actor saying those words haunted her.
“…Huu.”
She thought it couldn’t be true.
But Actor had arrived here, and just moments ago, he had publicly declared his intent to kill her.
No matter how much she shook her head in denial, her body reacted first.
The lightning surrounding her began to surge.
With every beat of her heart, the lightning within her pulsed, as if her blood was boiling.
In her confusion, Mirien’s thoughts naturally reached a conclusion.
“Did Selene tell you?”
Mirien had a hunch.
That woman beside Actor was the source of all her anxiety and pain.
The charred saint, Selene, was trying to separate her from Actor.
Whispering lies, trying to have him kill her.
“That woman, she’s trying to tear me away from you?”
If that was the case, then the solution was simple.
Her lips dried, and a tingling sensation spread from her fingertips.
Before Actor could eliminate her.
She had to act first—.
“Mirien, listen to me. It’s not what you think.”
Actor tried to speak, but she could no longer hear him.
In fact, Actor was even engaging in friendly conversation with Selene beside him.
The entire tower was Mirien’s eyes.
Nothing here could escape her sight.
“…”
In the end, Mirien could no longer observe herself.
She slowly rose from her seat.
A natural manifestation of mana.
Her feet floated off the ground.
“Actor, why are you…?”
Mirien opened her mouth.
Inside, she wanted to beg and plead.
But what came out were different words.
“Why do you hate me so much?”
Her voice trembled.
A crushing sense of loss tightened around her chest.
“…I didn’t want this.”
If Actor truly intended to kill her—.
[5★ Mirien of the North Sea’s Storm activates ‘Blessing of the Storm’.]
Then, why had she deluded herself into thinking that Actor needed her?
*
“My lord, step back.”
Before she could say anything, Selene stepped forward.
“No, if we can just clear up the misunderstanding…”
“You’re wrong. Mirien is no longer listening to anyone. She is a natural disaster in human form. A calamity.”
“What?”
“It’s the same skill she used on the storm dragon.”
Before the words even finished, Selene swung her flaming stake.
It wasn’t a preemptive strike.
A lightning orb had already risen into the sky and was now plummeting to the ground.
Selene skillfully used her flames to dismantle the orb.
Electricity spread around, and a searing heat washed over their faces.
“…Ugh.”
“My lord, step back. We need to calm that foolish mage down, even if it means cutting off an arm.”
“…No, you don’t have to go that far!”
It was just a misunderstanding.
Of course, the declaration to conquer the tower was real, but it was only a show to divert public attention.
Despite desperately trying to explain the truth, Mirien wouldn’t listen.
No, it was more accurate to say she couldn’t hear.
“…Blessing of the Storm.”
She saw the black lightning coursing through Mirien’s body.
A buff skill used during the Tempest Storm Dragon subjugation operation.
The effect, as seen before, was an explosive increase in stats.
But the penalty was equally severe.
Berserk.
In other words, Mirien had lost her rationality, just like during the storm dragon subjugation.
“…Sigh.”
Why is it that there’s not a single sane person around me?
Is it too much to ask for rational judgment from calamities that have destroyed worlds?
[5★ Charred Saint Selene activates skill ‘Hellfire Blaze’.]
[5★ Mirien of the North Sea’s Storm activates the skill ‘Black Lightning Spear’.]
Soon, Selene’s crimson flames and Mirien’s black lightning collided.
An enormous shockwave erupted.
Even from a distance, both feet were lifted off the ground.
I was helplessly thrown back, rolling across the floor…
Thud!
“Ugh!”
My head hit a pillar of the tower, and I lost consciousness.
*
The first thing I felt upon regaining consciousness was intense pain.
Next was a burning sensation.
“…Ugh.”
I endured the sharp pain throbbing in the back of my head and lifted my gaze.
My entire body was hot.
It wasn’t an illusion.
A woman with ash-colored hair, engulfed in flames, stood before me.
“Selene?”
“Yes. Your loyal servant, Selene. Are you alright?”
“Well, not too bad.”
At my words, Selene let out a sigh of relief.
It seemed she had been guarding me all this time.
I straightened up and asked,
“What happened?”
“As you saw earlier, there was a slight clash with Mirien.”
“Did you kill her?”
“I couldn’t kill her. This is her domain, after all. It was beyond my strength. But I didn’t lose.”
Selene emphasized the last sentence.
Her competitive spirit was truly something.
I rubbed the back of my head and examined Selene’s condition.
Then I frowned.
“Uh… are you really okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Selene nodded nonchalantly.
But I noticed her nun’s habit was more tattered than before.
Not only that. I realized there were lightning-shaped scars etched deeply into various parts of her body, worse than burns.
“No, you don’t look fine. Shouldn’t you recover? Let’s head back to base first…”
“My lord.”
Selene cut me off.
It was unusual for her to interrupt me.
“…While my current condition isn’t the best, compared to the situation outside, I’m doing fine.”
“Situation? Outside?”
Selene stepped aside.
Thanks to that, I could see the state of the top floor of the tower.
Blackened marks and lightning-shaped scars were everywhere.
But what caught my attention more was the view outside the tower.
“…Crazy.”
Dark clouds had gathered over Seoul, pouring down torrential rain.
Only then did my eyes fall on the status window before me.
[The dungeon ‘Tower of the Rift’ is erupting.]
“…We’re screwed.”
“Indeed, we are.”
Selene gave a bitter smile.