I slowly opened my eyes to complete darkness, the cold, damp ground pressing against my body. My clothes were stained with dirt from lying there for far too long, though I couldn't tell whether days, months, or even years had passed. In this place, time had long since lost its meaning.
As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, the memories I had just regained resurfaced.
Right.
After the fight with the outsiders, the twelve constellations fought for me. They fought alongside me, protecting me with everything they had. But a fight with the Outsiders with just mere constellations and myself who barely understood the system less than them was bound to be a loss.
So, they had sacrificed themselves to save me.
The last people I had left to care about had sent me to another world, stripping away my memories of the one I had left behind.
They wanted me to live a better life.
Just as I had repeatedly turned back time to save my family, allowing them to live on without the memories of their own deaths, they had made the same choice for me. For my sake, they had decided that it was better for me to forget everything and live like a normal human being.
A life without wars, without political struggles, without the burden of having to save an entire world.
Just an ordinary girl who could grow up, fall in love, and live out her days in peace. And thanks to their sacrifice, I had finally come to understand what that kind of life could mean.
But the price they had paid for it... It wasn't what I wanted.
"Are you guys here?" I called out, lifting my gaze and searching the empty space above me for any sign of a familiar blue screen.
『 Under The Oak Tree 』
We are here with you.
『 The Shiniest Gem 』
Do not worry child. I'll never let you be alone.
『 Above The Broken World 』
Fear nothing. I am here.
Their messages brought a sense of relief to my heart. Even though I felt disheartened by everything that had happened, knowing the constellations were still by my side gave me the strength to keep going.
I had already lost so many people. I didn't want to lose anyone else.
I left the dungeon soon after and wandered down the familiar streets where my café had once stood.
If I somehow managed to survive all of this, I thought I'd like to build another café.
There was something comforting about the idea of serving coffee to people who needed a place to rest, even if only for a little while. No grand ambitions, no world-ending crises. Just a small café where people could come and go as they pleased.
A small smile crept onto my face, only to fade a moment later.
"Should we go find them?"
『 The Shiniest Gem 』
Let us go! Those ******* deserve some beating.
I chuckled. "Your words are censored."
『 The Shiniest Gem 』
It is? ****, this is unfortunate. I suppose the system has a filter too.
I chuckled at her words before lifting my gaze to the sky.
I didn't have an ability that allowed me to see what was happening from afar, but I knew the Outsiders were out there, watching us. Watching me.
It must have been frustrating to be forced back to their own world after everything they had gone through to get here. After all the effort they had put into invading this world, they had been sent back empty-handed.
Unfortunately for them, I wasn't planning on letting them stay there for long.
I focused my eyes on the codes woven throughout the world, studying them carefully. Manipulating causality had never been easy, and as much as I hated having to touch the System again, I needed it to bring all of this to an end.
Taking a deep breath, I began rewriting the codes.
One of the greatest things about the System was that the more I used it, the more I came to understand how it worked. After everything I had done with it, combined with the memories I had gradually regained, I had accumulated more knowledge about the System than the Outsiders had in their entire lives.
The first thing I changed was the code that governed the constellations' existence. I wanted to materialize them in this world, just as they had been before. They would fight alongside me and protect everyone while I searched for a way to erase the Outsiders from existence once and for all.
Of course, the price would be enormous.
But with Han Jinhyuk and the others here, along with the constellations fighting by our side, we might just have a chance of surviving it.
"I can't believe I'm back in my original form."
Under the Oak Tree looked as though he might burst into tears from sheer happiness. His real name was Atticus, a name he had told me a long, long time ago.
A name I had forgotten.
Still, I thought Tree-nim suited him much better. Didn't it?
"I'm absolutely overjoyed to have descended!" Shining Gem exclaimed, practically radiating excitement. "Once we're done dealing with the Outsiders, this noona is taking you shopping!"
I couldn't help but chuckle.
Her real name was Diana. Elegant, wasn't it? Certainly more elegant than her actual personality.
She was eccentric, endlessly energetic, and sometimes downright ridiculous, but she was also one of the most protective and lovable people I knew. It was hard not to smile whenever she was around.
"At last. I've been itching for a proper fight."
Above the Broken World stood quietly beside us, his expression far calmer than the other two. Of course, that didn't mean he was any less eager to fight.
Prometheus had always been the quiet one among them. Their world was one where strength determined everything, where prowess decided a person's worth. He rarely wasted words, preferring to let his actions speak for him.
"I'm glad to see you again." he added, inclining his head toward me.
With the three of them finally gathered in their original forms, I felt a familiar warmth settle in my chest.
Then, before I could say another word, they lifted me into the air and ascended toward the sky.
"Wait, can I even breathe in space? What if I freeze to death?" I blurted out, suddenly realizing that I hadn't thought this through.
I mean, any modern human would know that space wasn't exactly a place you could casually visit without the proper equipment. There was no air, the temperature was extreme, and one wrong move could get you killed.
"How could something as trivial as temperature bother you when you have the System at your disposal?" Tree-nim asked, sounding genuinely baffled by my concerns.
"That's right, child. The System extends far beyond this planet, throughout the galaxy itself. Neither the temperature nor the lack of oxygen will hinder you."
I nodded, deciding to trust them, and braced myself as we finally broke through the atmosphere.
And then...
I forgot how to breathe.
Not that I actually needed to anymore, but the sight before me left me utterly speechless.
Even the most expensive movies couldn't have captured the breathtaking beauty of space. The darkness stretched endlessly in every direction, scattered with countless shimmering stars. Some were little more than distant specks of light, while others shone so brightly that I couldn't help but wonder how many worlds existed around them.
And beneath us was Earth.
Our planet looked impossibly beautiful from up here, wrapped in a delicate veil of blue and white. The oceans gleamed beneath the sunlight, while swirling clouds drifted across the surface like brushstrokes on a painting. The thin blue line of the atmosphere curved around the planet, so fragile and delicate that it was difficult to believe it held an entire world together.
A world filled with billions of people. A world with countless stories, conflicts, and lives unfolding every second.
From this distance, none of its borders were visible. No wars or political disputes, no divisions between people. Just one beautiful planet floating in the vastness of space.
For a moment, I couldn't help but feel small.
All my struggles, all the sacrifices I had made, and all the lives I had desperately tried to save suddenly seemed so distant against the endless expanse surrounding us.
Yet, strangely enough, that didn't make them feel meaningless.
If anything, it reminded me of why I had fought so hard in the first place.
I wanted this world to keep existing. I wanted the people living on it to have the chance to see this same beauty for themselves, even if they never knew how close they had come to losing it.
I stared at Earth for a long time, committing the sight to memory.
No matter what happened next, I knew I would never forget this view.
I spent a while admiring the scenery around us as the constellations carried me through space. Before I knew it, we had stopped in front of a ship floating not too far away, yet distant enough that I couldn't make out its exact shape.
At first, I thought I was looking at some kind of crystal-clear vessel. Its transparent surface allowed me to see everything inside, almost as though it were a home rather than a ship. There was something strangely familiar about its appearance, as if it had been designed to resemble the Outsiders' own world.
And there were plenty of them inside.
Some had already noticed our arrival. I could see them watching us through the transparent walls, their figures motionless as they observed our approach.
"We will buy you time."
I nodded, watching as the three constellations moved ahead and left me behind.
The moment they drew closer to the ship, its transparent exterior began to change. A dark surface spread across it, turning the entire vessel black until it blended seamlessly into the surrounding darkness.
Then, almost as if in response, an army of Outsiders emerged from their ships.
Some carried weapons, while others came out empty-handed. Judging by their numbers, they had no intention of letting us leave peacefully.
I didn't have time to examine them properly, however. My attention was already fixed on the codes surrounding their bodies.
I couldn't help being fascinated.
The Outsiders had found a way to manipulate the System to their advantage. Although they were originally physically weak, their understanding of its mechanics had allowed them to develop abilities far beyond what their bodies could naturally achieve. They could temporarily enhance themselves, summon weapons, and use the System itself as a tool in battle.
The more I studied the codes, the more I began to understand just how deeply their existence was intertwined with it.
Wait.
They were originally physically weak?
I narrowed my eyes, turning that thought over in my head.
Their strength didn't come from their bodies. It came from the System. They had learned to exploit its functions so thoroughly that they could compensate for almost any physical limitation, even using it to fight opponents who were naturally far stronger than themselves.
The System wasn't simply a tool to them.
It was the foundation of their power. Their entire civilization had been built around it.
Which meant...
I didn't need to defeat every single Outsider.
I just needed to erase the source of their System.
With that realization, I began searching through the countless codes woven around them, tracing each connection and trying to uncover where their version of the System originated.
But something was wrong.
Their System must have changed considerably over time. The codes I was examining were far more complicated than I had expected, with layers of modifications that made it difficult to identify the original source. Every time I thought I had found a lead, another sequence appeared, forcing me to reconsider what I had just learned.
I didn't know how much time had passed. I was so absorbed in studying one particularly complex sequence that I failed to notice the movement approaching from my blind spot.
One of the Outsiders had broken through.
The constellations were too occupied fighting the others to come to my aid, and by the time I sensed the approaching presence, it was already too late.
"Watch out!"
I turned toward the warning.
But I was too late.