As a daughter, as a goddess.
The scene unfolding in the hand mirror was something that made me question my eyes. Elen’s hands trembled, but she kept breathing deeply, again and again, refusing to look away.
Even though she’d been warned beforehand by the Dual Goddesses, the reality before her felt like it was tearing her soul apart.
But then, one word from Amiel—everything turned crimson with fury in an instant.
“…!! You won’t be a princess!!”
Van’s voice seemed to pass faintly through my ears, but my entire mind had gone blank—drowned in a single, suffocating shade.
(What… just… did I say?)
The same phrase repeated like a broken record, stabbing into my head, into my chest.
Rage exploded from within me.
It surged out as power, blasting everything around me into splinters in an instant.
“Please… stop, Your Highness…!!”
The main current of power raged wildly around Elen. Furniture in the mansion was flung against the walls like it was caught in a storm, shattering into splinters. Glass exploded outward, and the ground trembled beneath us.
Van noticed Kai’s face, pale as a corpse and nearly white with shock, and instinctively shielded his head from the debris.
Kai gritted his teeth, fists clenched so hard blood dripped from between his fingers. He was only enduring because he was still drawing on Van’s spirit’s protection. A normal human would’ve already been dead.
Van screamed desperately—but his voice was swallowed whole by the fury raging inside Elen.
In the white-hot haze of anger, for no reason at all, a distant memory flickered: Gadiel’s smile.
She hovered there, fidgeting, like she was waiting to see if it was okay to speak.
I couldn’t help but notice, and before I knew it, I’d let her make the suggestion—she lit up with a smile so bright it made the poison in my veins vanish, and for a moment, even the fact that he was cursed felt like it had blown away.
At that lonely stone monument, she lowered her head and didn’t raise it again even after the sun had set. She kept praying, hands clasped, until a guard finally called out to her.
Truth is, ever since the first time I met him, I’d been hearing Gadiel’s voice. All along.
I kept pretending I didn’t notice. Kept telling myself it was just a misunderstanding.
Spirits hear the voice of the soul. That’s how bonds form—drawn together, pulled by that whisper, and then they make a pact with a person, wanting to stay.
At the very same place where my father and mother first met, I’d heard Gadiel’s soul’s voice too.
＊＊＊
The darkness pressing in front of me, Lovell heard a voice.
Horrible... help me... no, don't... it hurts, it hurts!
Amid the wailing of the tormented spirit, a voice of rage rose, as if feeding the suffering.
Why me? Why am I being taken away because of him? Why, why, why?
The voice comes from the dark, saying that it's the people around you who are wrong for not acknowledging you, and that it's strange for the people around you not to give you what you want.
(Nausea)
Lovell had been dragged around by the royal family’s whims for ages, but somehow managed to endure—thanks to the pride of a noble.
It felt like the cry of despair from that time—when I was torn between what my life truly meant and my honest feelings, on the verge of giving up—so I snorted through my nose.
There was Origin who saved Lovell. Like a quiet embrace from behind, wrapping around the self that had given up on everything, offering peace, teaching love, and growing together.
Lovell poured every ounce of strength into the barrier. Not here. Not now. Not allowed to end, she glared into the dark—when suddenly, there it was: a familiar, beloved little back, right in front of her.
A blinding light erupted from the small back, as if fighting against the darkness. The wave of power slammed into the shadow and erased it in an instant.
"...what...?"
Lovell couldn’t believe what was happening right in front of her eyes. Somewhere far away, a shape resembling Amiel was screaming in pain, torn apart along with the darkness—but even that didn’t register in her vision.
I tried to speak, but my mind couldn’t catch up—words just wouldn’t come out.
The small back in front of me didn’t even turn toward Lovell as it shouted.
"He should be nearby! Take Father with you!!"
The great spirits who’d been hiding, waiting—now surrounded Lovell. His arms were seized, the world shifting around him like he was being dragged off, and only then did he finally grasp what was happening.
“Stop it!! Let go!!”
Lovell struggled desperately—how could he leave his precious daughter here like this?
But even with the goddess’s blessing, he was still just human. No match for the might of the great spirits.
In an instant, everything changed. He was left behind in a world where his daughter—everything—had vanished.
“!?”
Looking around, Lovell realized he was in a completely white void. Nothing but white. Just him, standing alone. The ground felt like it might be there, but he stood as if on water—strange, unsteady. Each step sent ripples spreading out, then fading away into nothing.
“What… what is this…!?”
My head was reeling, but I tried to teleport back—only to realize I couldn’t summon any power.
Lovell stared at his trembling hands. Tried again and again. No spirit energy would come.
He’d become nothing but a regular human, before he’d ever made a pact with the Origin.
“Someone! Is there anyone here!?”
He screamed into the white void. Called out Elen’s name, the Origin’s, the name of someone he loved.
In a world that answered nothing, Lovell felt himself drowning in panic and despair.
“Not good.”
“You’re not supposed to be here.”
The Dual Goddesses’ voices cut through the silence. Lovell turned sharply.
Floating in midair, they spoke in turn.
“Not good.”
“You mustn’t be here. If you stay, you’ll destroy this world—because of you.”
“What… what do you mean…?”
He strained to understand, his mind still spinning. Inside, he was desperate to return to that place—his thoughts kept stalling, frozen by urgency.
“I see all.”
“And I shall pass judgment. To protect this world.”
“N… no…”
The word “judgment” only deepened Lovell’s confusion. He almost asked if she was here to condemn him—then the Dual Goddesses laughed, their gaze already seeing through him.
“No, not you.”
“That’s right~. What on earth are you imagining?”
The two women gave him looks that said it all—utter disbelief. Lovell narrowed his eyes.
“It’s that girl who’ll be judged.”
“The verdict’s already been passed. The executioner is Elen.”
“What!?! What the hell do you think you’re making my daughter do!!”
He snapped into a rage in an instant, baring his teeth at the Dual Goddesses, who only laughed.
“Ah ah ah.”
“Speaking to goddesses like that? Oh my, oh my.”
They giggled, but in an instant, cold dread seized Lovell. Still, he clenched his fist, glaring back at them with stubborn defiance.
"Elen’s a goddess. She’s bound by duty to oversee this world as a goddess."
"That girl’s already become something beyond human. By now, judgment’s out of the question. She must be purified."
"…Purified? That’s what you’re saying?"
"We’re each given a single purpose. It grows stronger as we grow. …Just like Elen, too."
"Elen… was it ‘origin’ or something like that?"
Lovell couldn’t grasp the meaning of “element.” But he did remember being told she was a goddess of matter.
"That’s the source of all things. Elen can’t govern life— that’s Origin’s job."
"But Elen’s abilities are so varied. Healing wounds? That shouldn’t be possible at all. Yet Elen just… managed it, so smoothly."
"……"
"Elen can reshape the fundamental essence into any form she pleases. She can even manipulate her own growth. But that means the opposite is possible too."
"Cleanse... that's what it is..."
"Reconfiguring the original components, scattering them into mist by rearranging their sequence. Erasing them entirely."
"Elen is the goddess entrusted with the duty of purification, to protect this world."
Why Elen had appeared there.
The reason was clear now. Still, Lovell couldn’t help but shout.
"So why the hell am I here?! Send me back!!"
The Dual Goddesses looked down at him with impassive expressions.
"You still don’t understand your position."
"Or perhaps you’re still too unaware of your true nature as a spirit?"
Fighting back against the cold words of the Dual Goddesses, Lovell suddenly realized he was being gently embraced from behind.
"...Ori?"
Origin, clinging to Lovell’s back like a child, was quietly crying.
The moment Origin appeared, the Dual Goddesses vanished.
Aware that she was crying, Lovell gently held Origin, stroking her back with soft hands.
"Ori... you have to go to Elen. Please..."
Lovell’s words, but Origin didn’t nod.
Head bowed, she kept crying in silence.
"...Ori?"
"I'm sorry... I can't."
"What do you mean?"
"This world was made by my sisters. I can't interfere..."
"Wha—"
Anger surged again, and Lovell felt like he might lose it.
"Stop it."
"What are you talking about? Elen’s in danger!"
"Love... I'm sorry. I don't have the power to save Elen..."
Speechless, Lovell froze. Origin continued.
"I am the Mother Goddess of all mothers. I can only give birth... But Lovell, if something happens to you again, I can't bear it anymore..."
"...Huh?"
"I can't control my power right now... I'm sorry..."
It was because Origin was pregnant. In her unstable state, even the smallest thing could trigger a surge of magic.
Realizing he’d forgotten that fact, Lovell panicked.
"If you fell into that woman’s hands... I... I..."
Staring at Origin, who could only cry, Lovell felt lost.
Honestly, if Elen hadn’t saved him back there, he’d have been swallowed by the darkness for sure.
Thinking about it gives me chills. But worse still—how could I have been so blind to what would’ve happened *after* that?
The Dual Goddesses had said it: you still don’t understand your own position.
I’d sworn it when I became half-spirit. I’d chosen to stand with the spirits.
"What kind of mess is this..."
Sorry... Sorry... Lovell held Origin close, trembling, praying with clenched fists as they clutched Origin’s shaking shoulders, praying for Elen’s safety, for the miracle that had saved her.
All that remained after I fell was war—war that saw spirits as utterly, irrevocably human.
Elen had appeared there not to destroy, but to save her father, to fulfill her duty as a goddess, and—most importantly—to stop the war between humans and spirits.