The Proper Conclusion
It was a hastily thrown-together episode, but maybe because we'd poured our hearts into it with help from the gods themselves.
Players were utterly immersed in the new story.
...Well, even I was shocked when I first witnessed those scenes through dreams inside the Goddess of Wisdom. ...Players seeing the game story we'd deliberately amped up with dramatic flair would only be more gripped, not less.
Thanks to that, players' hatred for the lab director was off the charts, and their motivation was sky-high.
I'd initially considered slotting him in as a weekly boss like that abyss creep from before—a punching bag for their rage.
'Personality jelly... what a horrific, terrifying concept.'
If the victim whose personality was extracted hadn't been the lab director, and the one doing the extracting hadn't been the victimized constellation Wisdom, I'd have shut it down on the spot... it was that gruesome an idea.
I chopped the jelly into tiny bits and sprinkled them throughout the game.
'Jelly's perfect for that kinda use anyway.'
To leave a lingering aftertaste, I killed off the character Muria-13-07 at the very end of the story.
To heighten the tragedy, she crumbled to dust and scattered right before the players' eyes.
You can't release a dead character as new gacha fodder.
But what if an identical-looking character showed up with amnesia?
Act 3, Chapter 3 now available!
Crown Prince Raizeol flipped through the documents in a daze.
Flip.
"Ugh."
A fresh wound appeared.
Blood trickled down his finger.
No.
Get it together.
I'm the next emperor to lead the empire.
I can't waver.
He tried forcing the memories away, but that final moment kept replaying.
'...My beloved prince.'
Her last words, right before she dissolved into motes of light, wouldn't fade.
The crown prince shook his head.
It was just a game.
A mere fiction even within that game.
She wasn't real.
He tried steeling himself, grabbing official papers to bury himself in work, but the words wouldn't register.
'Hngh, ahhk! P-Prince!'
Her voice echoed in his ears.
Bam!
So when he heard about the "new story update," it was only natural that he bolted without a backward glance.
"You okay, Jeol?"
The warden eyed the crown prince cautiously.
"I'm always fine. Why ask?"
"Well, you were in rough shape after the last training session."
"That was... hmph. Nothing."
"Good, then."
The warden beckoned, and a book floated into his hand.
"...That book."
He'd never distinguished one from another before, but the one in the warden's grip now was different.
"Recognize it?"
No way he'd forget.
It was her story—the one where she was the protagonist.
That book.
"It's nothing big... just a new training task for you."
"A task?"
"It was intact when you went in last time, but the abyss eroded it."
Abyss... erosion?
"Think of it like an abyss assassin sneaking inside. No worries—there's just the one."
"I just need to take it out?"
"Yep."
"Easy."
Just one enemy.
With his characters at endgame specs, it was no issue.
They could skip patterns on the weekly boss [Abyss Assassin] with their max breakthroughs and top-tier gear.
...How dare it defile my memories with her. Unforgivable.
Meanwhile, a thrill stirred in his heart.
The excitement of maybe meeting her again.
"You'll handle it fine. Still, it's training—don't overdo it. Call me if it's too much."
"Got it."
The storybook activated as usual.
Before he knew it, the crown prince was inside the tale.
"...Hold on."
Not lab researcher garb?
He wasn't in the lab's heart as a test subject overseer—he stood smack in a bustling street, people streaming past.
Nothing like his previous entry.
Not starting in the lab?
Did that mean no meeting her?
As his mind burned with anxiety—
Tap tap.
Someone patted his shoulder.
He turned.
!!
Not her lab-rat look, but academy uniform, makeup done up pretty.
She seemed like a different person at a glance, but the crown prince knew.
The girl staring up at him matched the one he'd longed for exactly.
"Um... have we... met somewhere?"
She hesitated, biting her lip.
"Met?"
"N-No, it's just... you seem familiar somehow..."
Her cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment.
His heart ached.
"D-Don't think I'm crazy, okay? I dreamed of dating this prince, and he looked just like you..."
It clicked for him then—like puzzle pieces snapping together.
The warden had said this was an ongoing story, not finished.
Meaning the protagonist—her—hadn't fully vanished; the tale continued with her remnants.
So this was her reincarnated, living anew after that death.
"I'm just Versia Dalang..."
Versia Dalang.
Her name in this life.
He gripped the pendant item in his pocket.
Show her this, reveal the truth.
Tell her of her past life, convince her of their bond.
...But should he?
Her past memories were pure nightmare fuel.
He'd issued an empire-wide audit of the lab's human rights abuses after finishing that story—nothing but agony.
Telling her would drag her back into that hell.
...He hated that idea.
"N-No, I mean, I'm not going insane! It was really in a dream! ...Haa."
The girl hung her head, flustered.
"I believe you."
"...Huh?"
"I've been having dreams lately where someone calls me 'prince.'"
Even though I'm a crown prince.
"...For real?"
"The dreams were hazy, so I didn't see who... but I never guessed a little squirt like you."
"I'm not a squirt!"
"Heh. Sure."
He walked with the girl.
"Attending the academy now?"
"Yeah, second year!"
She flashed a V-sign with her index and middle fingers, grinning brightly.
Good—unlike her past life, this one seemed happy.
"Show me around the academy."
"The academy? Ours is famous for being boring, y'know?"
"Doesn't matter. It's yours."
"...Prince, you're so sly. Hitting me with that?"
She turned away, mumbling.
"What was that?"
"N-Nothing! Let's go see the academy first?"
She grabbed his hand and ran.
"Hey? Versi! Where you going?"
As the crown prince toured the academy with her, a female student called out.
"Ah, Sercula!"
"Hold up. You with a guy...!"
"No, it's not—"
"Always pretending to be so pure."
"That's not—"
"Sorry for interrupting. Have fun~."
"Hey! Listen to me!"
The girl named Sercula—who'd approached Versia—vanished quick.
Muria-17-06, was it?
Even Yukyuk reincarnated.
Off in the distance, another tiny girl lurked behind a wall with Sercula, peeking slyly.
Probably Muria-25-03.
All three reborn, living happy lives this time.
"Q-Quicker, Prince!"
The girl yanked his wrist again, dashing off.
"This is my secret base—my private hideout."
The rooftop of a remote academy lecture hall.
"The night view from here is amazing, right?"
"...I see."
The crown prince chuckled.
Gazing at the scenery in awe, giggling freely—she was just a normal academy girl now.
Freed from the lab director's curse, finally living right.
"Huh? Why're you laughing? Something on my face?"
"...No. Just..."
You're happy. That's why.
The proper conclusion.
The right life.
All the nagging doubts tormenting him since the last update seemed to vanish.
If not for the abyss erosion, he'd never have imagined this ending.
...Huh?
Abyss?
Come to think of it, the warden said the abyss had eroded this story...
A bolt of lightning struck his mind.
The crown prince shot to his feet.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
He ran.
Something jelly-like emerged behind the girl.
A sharp blade protruded from the jelly.
Aiming straight for her back.
The world slowed.
Maybe because he was pouring everything into saving her.
In a world too fast for normal perception—
The crown prince activated skills left and right as he charged.
I'll protect her.
No matter what, this time.
KABOOM!
"Prince!"
I won't lose you again.