Killing Constellations with Love
"How is it?"
The Wrathful Magitech Engineer lets out a thoughtful hum as he ponders.
I tensed up, waiting for my investor's reaction.
It was just a first draft, but I'd pulled three all-nighters to make this episode.
I couldn't afford to get shot down here.
...Our constellation looked utterly exhausted after yesterday. If I have to tell her to remake it, I don't know if I can handle that.
The Wrathful Magitech Engineer points to himself, appearing as the villain Orpheus.
"Yes. I'm all ears."
Was he mad that I'd used him as a villain?
He said it was fine to use him however I wanted, so he wouldn't go back on his word now, right?
The Wrathful Magitech Engineer asks why he has to fake his death with a false identity in the early part when it's not necessary.
"Ah, you're talking about that part."
Whew, good. He wasn't complaining about using his character as a disposable villain.
"It's to shock the players with a dramatic twist and etch it deeply into their memories."
The magitech engineer had to be a villain who enraged players but exited charmingly at the very end.
Only if the character was appealing would more constellations support our game.
That meant we needed a special villain, even if it required extra hassle.
The Wrathful Magitech Engineer asks if players won't get confused.
"That part's fine. Orpheus's backstory will be revealed at the story's climax anyway."
The monumental first act episode of Akashic Archive, Orpheus of the Abyss.
In this episode, Orpheus—one of the seven archdemons of the Abyss forces, a member of the Seven Stars of Ruin—appears as the main villain.
And that villain was a character inspired by the magitech engineer himself.
Throughout the episode, Orpheus hinders the protagonist's adventure.
Using the Abyss's power, he persistently threatens the protagonist without being bound by the story.
At the climax, after defeating Orpheus, the protagonist glimpses his memories and confronts the character's tragic past.
"And once this story is complete, the saga of Orpheus's beloved, the saint Carthesia...or rather, Kate, will be strongly imprinted on the players too."
The Wrathful Magitech Engineer nods, saying he gets it for now.
The Wrathful Magitech Engineer says he's satisfied as long as it shapes the public's perception of her.
"You'll definitely be satisfied."
Killing Constellations with Love.
A desperate act to revive his beloved woman.
For isekai folks unfamiliar with such narratives, it'd stick even harder in their minds.
Struhl Empire
Imperial Palace at the Heart of the Capital
The Deepest Chamber Within—Crown Prince Raizeol's Room
"Let no one enter."
"Understood, Your Highness."
The guards reinforced security upon the crown prince's command.
Thud.
Closing the door behind them, the crown prince lightly hopped onto his bed, grabbing the magitech terminal.
"A new update! I thought I was gonna die waiting!"
The first story update for Akashic Archive.
His mind had been buzzing with it all through his grueling schedule—how had he endured?
Trembling with excitement, the crown prince launched the Akashic Archive program.
The black intro screen fades, and the lobby welcomes you with your pulled 4-star and 5-star characters.
"Hey, everyone been good?"
Aside from Knight Ren, they were all always-available characters from sub-stories, not the main storyline—but to the crown prince who cherished every saga, they were all favorites.
"New story. A fresh saga."
Until now, Akashic Archive's story content consisted of Knight Ren's Act 0 tutorial main story and five side sub-stories.
The sub-stories were light-difficulty content for players who'd cleared Act 0, but their massive scale meant few had finished them all.
Clearing every sub-story amid the crown prince's assassin-like imperial schedule showed just how serious he was about Akashic Archive.
"Finally, your time to shine has come."
As the crown prince hit the new story start button, the characters around him were absorbed into him.
The protagonist's ability in Akashic Archive was essence absorption.
This let him borrow power from defeated Abyss monsters or figures from history he'd connected with.
It was a gimmick to make the protagonist special and let players use their gacha-pulled characters' abilities.
"The first trial was perfect, Jeol. Not only repelling the Abyss erosion but perfectly restoring the original saga too."
The Akashic Archive Curator materializes before the eagerly awaiting crown prince as story mode begins.
'Restoring the original saga. He means Knight Ren's sacrifice during the queen boss fight.'
The crown prince had defeated the final boss queen and cleared the tutorial, but failed to prevent Knight Ren's sacrifice.
The tutorial was designed so you had to let her sacrifice for a full clear. Saving her and clearing was a special case—the real Ren's reality.
'Restored actual history, but it leaves a bitter taste.'
Collapsing the Abyss army and saving humanity, yet the hero had to sacrifice. The crown prince wasn't thrilled with the curator's policy of pursuing true history over a happy ending.
Whoosh.
The curator flicked his hand, and a new book flew into it.
"Now for the second trial. Same deal—another story eroded by the Abyss."
The book's pages turned on their own atop the man's hand.
"This one's different, though. The Abyss sent one of their minions here. Don't worry—it's no top brass. Judging by the observed power, it's not one of the Seven Stars of Ruin, the highest executives. Probably just some low-level lackey under them. ...What? Still dangerous? Well... if a Seven Star infiltrated via erosion, they could exert influence outside the story. Our special curator powers wouldn't work on them. Even resetting to the start wouldn't affect them."
The Abyss's top executives, the Seven Stars of Ruin.
Were they Akashic Archive's main antagonists?
"But no need to fret. If something that powerful snuck in, I'd know. And I wouldn't have pulled this for a trial. The power measured here is several grades below—just a lowly minion. Go in worry-free. Even if trouble brews, I've got your back."
The curator flashed what he thought was a killer smile.
The crown prince scowled. He had zero interest in some guy's grin.
"If that happens, I'll save you. No worries."
Hah. Whatever. If it got dicey, just close and reopen the game. It was entertainment made for fun, after all. The crown prince had no regard for danger warnings.
The curator's long, boring explanation ends. Light pours from the book.
"Let's begin. Trial number two."
White light enveloped the crown prince.
Flash.
The crown prince opened his eyes to find a pristine white space surrounding him.
"Hero! You're awake!"
As he sat up from the stone coffin to assess the situation, a woman popped out and grabbed his hand.
Hero Born to Repel the Otherworld Invasion
📍 You are the hero summoned to the underground sanctuary to repel otherworld monsters.
📍 Humanity has fled underground from the invading Abyss.
📍 Reclaim the surface from humanity's last bastion, the sanctuary.
📍 And stop the Abyss minion infiltrating through erosion cracks.
...Hero?
The crown prince's eyebrow arched.
Apparently, the protagonist's role in this story was hero.
The saint who introduced herself as Carthesia led the crown prince—now in the hero's body—around the sanctuary, giving a tour.
"This is Sprite, captain of the holy knights."
"The hero joins us. Victory draws one step closer!"
"This is Salornir, chief grand mage overseeing the sanctuary's magic legion."
"Pleased to meet you, hero."
"This one handles sanctuary rations...."
"This one is......"
The crown prince compared the visible sanctuary to his empire's reality.
It looked woefully inadequate against invading Abyss monsters.
With facilities and forces like these, extinction seemed imminent.
'Is this world like the sub-story worlds—not from our continent's history, but another dimension's?'
No records of heroes or Abyss-eroded sanctuary falls.
Unlike Knight Ren's tale, this world seemed disconnected from reality.
"Finally, this is our sanctuary's magitech division, handling our tech."
The crown prince followed the saint to the lab at the sanctuary's edge.
"This is Ian, head of the magitech division."
A man adjusted his glasses and shook the crown prince's hand at her introduction.
"Ian Kaliuga. Nice to meet you."
Ian Kaliuga.
His intellectual, kindly appearance screamed quintessential researcher.
So at this point, the crown prince couldn't even imagine it:
This character would be the story's core, the villain threading through it all...and the role model he'd most aspire to become.