Chapter 50: The Broken Puppet

This is enough.

To quietly find a corner, watch her sister ascend to the highest throne of the continent, and then silently die—that was the ending she had chosen for herself.

It was for everyone’s sake, and for her sister’s. She truly believed that this was the right thing to do.

She couldn’t become her sister’s weakness or burden.

But—

‘Why… why did Sister have to die under divine punishment to protect those people?’

Her sister’s research into rewriting talent had long since surpassed the limits of human knowledge, and in doing so, she had finally angered the gods. To appease their wrath, the girl on the throne faced her death with calm resolve.

To Shadow, it felt as if her sister had died for the sake of those people.
On the day she witnessed her sister’s death, Shadow’s heart changed.

‘Why did you all survive, but she didn’t?’

With her longing for her sister, her guilt, and hatred toward the world, Shadow finally awakened her innate gift.

—She could become anyone.

And so, she became her sister. She ascended the throne, and with the power she gained, she cursed all those who had been saved by her sister!

In her eyes, it was those people who had taken her sister from her. It was they who caused her sister’s death.

‘Repent. Until you fully realize your sins, this curse will never be lifted. You will not live, nor will you die. You will wander endlessly within this Magus City, becoming monsters who forget even their own identities!’

The vision ended there.

Amid the cries of every soul in the city of Endymion, the entire city was completely sealed off from the outside world.

So the scraps of information she’d seen in the library… this was what they really meant?

Shadow had loved her sister. For her sister’s sake, she had ‘killed’ herself.
But in the end, she couldn’t bear the fact that her sister had died for others.
And so, she became a tyrant who cursed the world.

The previous theory hadn’t been wrong—why were there no traces of residents in the city? Because every last one of them had been cursed into magical creatures by the King’s Shadow!

The seal on the city wasn’t placed by the gods at all—

It was a mechanism created by Shadow to prevent anyone from escaping!

Irene was drenched in cold sweat as she watched—especially the final words spoken by the girl on the throne before vanishing into the wind:

‘Stop my sister… and free this city. That is what we must do.’

“…There’s no way I can do that! No matter how I look at it, I’m completely unqualified!”

Irene was in total shock after witnessing it all. What right did she have?

Her combat power was barely at 5! Even if that great person gave her a full set of divine equipment, it wouldn’t matter! Her base stats were just too low—no matter how good the gear was, it wouldn’t make a difference!

Fight against Shadow?

Please. The ‘Shadow’ she saw in that memory world—the twin sister of the Holy Magus King—had awakened the power of Incarnation! Unlike a mere transformation spell that changed only appearance, Incarnation allowed her to perfectly replicate someone’s abilities!

And the person she ultimately transformed into… was the Holy Magus King herself!

She had sealed the entire city for a thousand years and cursed all its inhabitants into magical creatures. That alone showed the terrifying level of power she possessed.

Now, the throne stood completely empty. The last lingering trace of the Holy Magus King’s will had already faded away.

No matter how much Irene complained, no answer would ever come.

With the disappearance of the Holy Sorcerer King, the sea of flowers within the White Tower rapidly withered away. By the time Irene came back to her senses, she was already back inside the previous tower building—right between the two thrones.

“The true King resides in the White Tower… So that means where I’m standing now is the Shadow Tower?”

Irene muttered to herself, glancing around. When her gaze landed on the skeleton seated on the throne, her eyes narrowed slightly, a strange sense of sorrow welling up in her chest.

“So that’s it. The incarnation gave the Shadow power, but her frail body remained unchanged. Not long after cursing the world, she succumbed to illness. That book of law became her soul vessel. So that means—”

Irene let out a long sigh, finally calming down. “The so-called Book of Law that rewrites talents… was a lie! Froya was also a victim of this deception?”

As that thought struck her, Irene suddenly realized something. She looked closely—the Book of Law on the skeletal throne had vanished!

Which meant… While she had been meeting with the true Holy King in the White Tower, Froya must have arrived at the Shadow Throne and taken the Book of Law that sealed the Shadow’s soul!

Damn it. Things were spiraling in the worst possible direction!

Both she and Froya had been deceived by the one who spread the intel about the Book of Law!

She had no idea what that person’s true objective was, but it clearly wasn’t anything good. As she thought that, Irene withdrew her gaze from the throne and looked toward the other side of the room—only for her eyes to suddenly freeze.

She saw Lilisah.

But something was off. Lilisah was half-kneeling and completely still.

A dreadful premonition surged within Irene. Suppressing her unease, she slowly approached. Near Lilisah, she also spotted a member of the Crimson Flame party, posed like a devout worshipper, his face still wearing a fanatical expression.

But there was no trace of life left in him. His face was covered in wrinkles, as if all the vitality had been drained from his body.

The sight startled Irene—this corpse’s death was far too brutal! And yet his face bore no pain whatsoever. It was as if having his life drained away had been a great honor.

To Irene, this kind of fanaticism only appeared among Defilers—those deranged cultists who blasphemed against the gods.

He had died in ecstasy.

Which meant… the Crimson Flame party knew the Book of Law that rewrote talents was a lie! In fact, they were probably the ones who spread the false rumor, all to lure Froya here?

“Froya is the vessel for the Shadow’s soul?!” Her magicless constitution might have been artificially created, precisely so the soul and body could achieve perfect fusion without magic interference! And the Crimson Flame members had offered themselves up as sacrifices to the Shadow King!

In an instant, Irene understood everything—why the Crimson Flame party had so suddenly added the powerful mage Master Garlhai to their team. In their eyes, he was just another offering for the Shadow King!

By now, Froya had most likely been possessed by the Shadow King’s soul. She was no longer in the tower. Her next destination—

Irene felt a chill run down her spine. The companions at the foot of the tower had just survived a bloody battle. They were drained of both stamina and mana. If they encountered the Shadow King now—

Instinctively, Irene started descending the stairs, but after just two steps, she stopped.

“No. With my current strength, charging down there would be suicide! Scrolls alone won’t be enough to stop a Shadow who has transformed into the Holy Sorcerer King!”

Her gaze returned to Lilisah. The condition of the doll-like girl was heartbreaking.

The magical circuits across her body had been almost completely destroyed, and her eyes had long since lost their light.

Yes, Lilisah… was broken.