The Revival of the First Apostle
Idaine, the first apostle of [Darkness], opened her eyes for the first time to a sky brimming with beautiful stars of light. The starlight seemed ready to cascade down, all blended together in a sight straight out of a dreamy fairy tale.
I died, didn't I? So is this the afterlife?
Thank goodness. With a sky like this, it can't be hell. Idaine smiled faintly.
Korea should be safe, right? In my final moments, I confirmed the strongest monster in that horde had breathed its last. There weren't many left, so the other hunters and soldiers must have handled them.
It was regrettable that she could no longer remain in the living world, but it hadn't been a bad life. Wasn't I pretty cool at the end there? Of course, she felt nothing but sorry toward her constellation.
Constellation... will she be okay without me? I'm a little worried.
Idaine floated through the heavenly space between the skies. Like swimming underwater, she could fly freely through the heavens.
...If this is heaven, shouldn't there be angels?
She flew for a long time, but the scenery never changed. No bright cloud palaces or heavenly paradises, not even a single angel in sight.
Is this really heaven?
Just as doubts began to creep in, she sensed something off.
"...Huh?"
The stars filling the surroundings weren't the celestial bodies that emitted their own light from the universe she knew. Each one radiated a lofty presence.
Like... yeah. Just like what she'd felt from her constellation.
"No way..."
All those lights... constellations?
Whenever she'd heard messages from constellations in the Tower, the system described them as stars in the sky. If they were all constellations... was this the top of the Tower?
But I definitely died. What the hell is going on? Did I... become a constellation?
Only then did she notice the immense power flowing through her body. An omnipotence that made her feel like she could do anything. It was like becoming the god she'd always imagined.
If this is where the Tower's constellations reside, then my constellation should be here too.
She sought out the familiar power of [Darkness]. Perhaps because she'd become a god, navigating the heavenly space was effortless. The heavens were vast. Even though it was inside the Tower on Earth, it was larger than the solar system.
Idaine traversed that immense expanse. And she arrived at a place where traces of [Darkness] lingered.
There were no stars there. Or rather, there had been a star, but it felt like it had vanished, leaving only remnants behind.
"Is this my constellation's home?"
Beyond it, Idaine discovered a room in utter chaos. The room of a shut-in who never went outside and didn't even bother cleaning.
"...She was here just a little while ago."
Through the surrounding divine pressure, she could tell her constellation had been here not long before.
"There's no way my constellation went out somewhere?"
Where could she have gone? As Idaine tilted her head in confusion,
Thud!
A thick aura of [Darkness] burst forth. It was far away. But she leaped toward it anyway.
Because it felt like she could.
Flash! Something dark red briefly obscured her vision. A spatial jump that made her stomach churn.
She had left the Tower.
The next moment, she stood in the middle of an ordinary-looking room. A woman she could identify—thanks to their apostle contract, despite never meeting in person—and a man she'd never seen before.
She couldn't grasp the situation. But one thing was clear: her constellation was naked, wrapped only in a blanket. And the man facing her was making creepy gestures toward her constellation.
"Back off, pervert."
She stepped in front of Rijette. The power of [Darkness] gathered in her hand, forming a sword. The [Darkness] authority she'd wielded in life manifested at her will.
She eyed Min-su warily, like a creep with a sleazy face trying to seduce her innocent little sister.
Whoosh!
At that moment, [Darkness] surged up and flew toward Min-su.
"Huh?"
I hadn't meant to attack. From navigating the heavenly space to now, [Darkness] had been moving at her will, but this was a sudden outburst.
[Darkness] hurtled toward the man with enough momentum to pierce his body clean through.
And then...
Screee!
Like a puppy reuniting with its owner after ages, it rubbed against the man's body.
"...Huh?"
It was a side of [Darkness] she'd never seen, even after becoming an apostle of the [Dark Lord] and an S-rank player.
Now even dead people are coming back to life? What the hell is going on anymore.
The situation had settled, but Min-su's mind was a mess. He stroked the belly of [Darkness], which had flopped over like an excited dog, exposing its underside to him, as he sorted his thoughts.
The target of his summoning ability had been the [Dark Lord]. That much was certain. He hadn't applied it to anyone else.
The usual summoning effects hadn't occurred either. Probably because she was already by his side.
Instead, when he used the summoning ability, Rijette regained her power as the [Dark Lord].
Maybe because she escaped the Tower, she's normally in a human state connected to me, but when I use the summoning ability, she regains her constellation powers.
That would mean she could wield godly power for the six-hour daily limit.
Then what about Player Idaine?
The presence emanating from her was similar to the [Dark Lord]'s. Had she become a constellation and revived?
...Why? Well, her achievements were extraordinary, so maybe. But why did she appear here?
She'd arrived with the lightning of [Darkness]. Meaning she wasn't summoned by his ability.
...Now I have no idea what's what.
Min-su watched Idaine talking with Rijette.
"S-Sorry, junior."
She bowed her flushed face to him in apology.
"...I just woke up, so I wasn't in my right mind."
"It happens when you're not fully awake. No worries."
There was no real harm done, and it was an easy situation to misunderstand. A naked woman on the bed, covering herself with just a blanket.
But she's a god, right? To think a human was about to do something vile to her constellation and jump in to protect her.
What does this woman think the [Dark Lord] is, exactly?
...Or maybe I would've done the same.
"More importantly, 'junior'?"
"Oh, I heard you're Min-su, my constellation's new apostle. Since I'm the first apostle, that makes me the senior and you the junior."
Idaine puffed out her chest proudly at being the first.
Well, technically an honorary apostle, but...
It felt awkward to correct her now.
Maybe because of what happened during the night.
"From now on, as your senior, I'll teach you how to handle the power of [Darkness], so don't worry, junior."
"Ah... yeah..."
His head was starting to ache, so he decided to let it slide for now. Lessons from an S-rank player were priceless anyway.
And this woman was taking her own revival in stride. Was she always like this?
Min-su petted [Darkness], which was licking his cheek.
But seriously, why is this thing acting like this?
The pinnacle of the Tower, a hidden layer even beyond the heavens—
—...Escaped, has it.
The Twisted Will clicked its tongue. One of the constellations had slipped its control. No, it wasn't just slipping control—it had been liberated from the Tower entirely.
A first since the Tower's birth. To completely break free of the Tower's bindings.
At first, the rift hadn't been large. Sure, even temporarily nullifying control was unprecedented, but it had assumed infiltration of the mind via the Tower's authority would resolve it quickly.
Yet the fragment of Twisted Will sent to possess it had vanished. Shattered into pieces too fine to even confirm what happened inside.
The rift had led to collapse, and the constellation [Dark Lord], once part of the Tower, had vanished from it. Free to leave the Tower at will.
—The Tower must be complete.
Just as the [Dark Lord]'s rift led to her liberation, a small crack could lead to total collapse. This new rift called [Dark Lord] threatened to shatter the Tower's order.
It had to recapture her. Unless it was devouring a perished world, the Twisted Will had no means of intervention.
But it had a fine tool: the soul of the deceased player Idaine, apostle of [Darkness].
It had preserved her soul in the Tower to turn her into a constellation if Earth fell. She could drag back the [Dark Lord].
The plan would veer slightly off course, but it was necessary to seal the rift.
The Twisted Will decided to make Player Idaine a constellation right then.
Its gaze turned to the Tower's vault.
—...?
But Player Idaine's soul was not there.
—...I put it here?
It had placed her there itself, anticipating the day to make her a constellation. It had definitely been here.
But now it was gone.
—??? Tilt
The Twisted Will's head tilted quizzically.