349. [Phase 4: Hall of Trust!]
349. [Phase 4: Hall of Trust!]
***
"..."
As she walked, Serin let out a shallow breath.
She knew Sua and Yujeong, right beside her, were watching her with worried eyes. But right now, even for Serin, fully controlling her emotions felt like too much.
Still, she tried to pull herself together.
'I need to get a grip.'
Even if the situation kept throwing me into turmoil, I didn't want to make others worry about me like this.
So I barely managed to swallow the sigh that was about to escape.
That was the best I could do right now.
The figures who had appeared before me moments ago were seared into my mind, refusing to fade, and my head felt numb.
When Roselia appeared and vanished with Zernati—from that moment on, simply steadying myself had been a struggle.
Because controlling my emotions was nearly impossible.
My troubled heart showed no sign of easing, and endless questions gripped me like an abyss.
—Another World, and Black Ark.
One was a game, and the other was another world.
And although it was an absurd assumption even by my own reckoning, I believed those two were deeply connected.
That was the one conclusion I could now state with certainty, after Phase 3 ended.
No matter what assumptions I made, that much was undeniably true. Another World was not simply a game, and Black Ark was not some dreamlike illusion—it was reality, beyond any doubt.
Every circumstance was telling me that this was the truth.
Splash.
My thoughts halted at the sound of water as I stepped into a small puddle, and then the voices of the two reached my ears.
"I really hope Phase 4 is at least a little easier."
"Me too. I don't know if I'd call it exhaustion, but if we finish this and contact support only to hear it was a bug, it's going to feel so empty. The only consolation is that as a project, it's really impressive..."
At their words, I slowly opened my mouth.
"I hope so too."
The two looked at me with slight surprise, and I met their gazes with a small nod.
As if to say I was fine. As if I was the same as always.
Even if inside I was anything but, I wanted to at least appear composed on the outside.
Sua smiled first and spoke.
"But really, you have no idea how reassuring it is having you here."
"Honestly, if it weren't for you, Rin, I think I would've suggested we give up right away. Even now, I'm not sure we can clear this. But with you here, it feels like it might be possible."
Even Yujeong added in a playful tone, and I shook my head.
"That's only because you two have supported me so well. Please don't overpraise me like that."
I answered, pushing the thoughts away—and then my gaze turned forward.
Beyond the dark cave lit only by small lanterns, at the far end, an incredibly faint light was leaking through.
It meant a new space.
Phase 4, already. Or rather, it now felt like Phase 4.
I had no idea what kind of place or content would appear this time. But at the very least, I hoped it would be a Phase 4 that had nothing to do with me.
With my mind already in turmoil, I hoped this wouldn't stir up the confusion further—that I could just fight without having to think about anything else.
So that even these complicated feelings could stop.
Then, suddenly, I remembered what I'd heard about the raid.
Phases 1 and 2 had fixed, predetermined patterns. Phases 3 and 4 continued with random patterns and unpredictable situations, and after that, in the final Phase 5, they would face Zervallua, the Beast of Destruction.
I hadn't thought much of it at first, but now I could only let out a hollow laugh.
Even by my standards, this raid didn't feel easy at all.
Sure, it was hard enough that the word "bug" had come out of Sua's mouth. But this structure looked like it would exhaust anyone, no matter who attempted it.
"...!"
In that instant, a thought pierced through my mind like a flash of lightning, and I bit my lip without realizing it.
There was no reason, no process.
It was a question that suddenly surfaced—a complete shift in perspective.
'Wait...'
Until just now, I had been focused on the idea that Another World was clearly connected to Black Ark. That had been my sole focus.
Because the systems and structures were so eerily similar, and now even beings who knew me had appeared.
After that, I had tried to recall my memories of Black Ark and find connections, but nothing in particular stood out.
Another World was more than just a "game"—it was Black Ark, which I had experienced for nearly ten years.
If I assumed it was another world like that one... yes, if I thought of it as a transcendent space connecting the two worlds.
There was one thing that created the greatest sense of dissonance.
'Why did I think Phase 3 was the past?'
Why the past?
Even thinking about it briefly, several points came to mind.
First, beings who knew me had appeared. Beings I had killed with my own hands.
That was why I had thought it was the past.
Before I had killed Zernati. Before I had completely suppressed the rebels.
That it was simply a reenactment of my memories from Black Ark.
But within that "past," a being who should not have been alive was alive and exerting influence, and I had felt an inexplicable chill and dissonance.
A being who should never exist, even in the "past."
A being who should already be dead.
Because Roselia had appeared and exerted influence beyond the system.
The existence of "Heroes"—something that had never existed in Black Ark. Only they could influence the system, and although their category was hidden and never revealed, circumstantially, they seemed to belong to the Heroes as well.
Under that assumption, I had felt that I—who had killed them in Black Ark—was "evil"... and in that moment, I had been struck by a massive shock.
Certainly, I couldn't claim that everything I had done in Black Ark was right. But looking at the whole picture, my actions had clearly been "good."
It was never something that could be called "evil."
I could say with absolute certainty that I had never once thought of myself as evil.
Even if I'd stained my hands with so much blood, I'd seen it as unavoidable—simply doing what someone had to do.
At the foundation of my belief was one truth that no one could deny.
'...Because I cleared it.'
Because I had cleared the game called Black Ark. That was a single truth.
Black Ark had countless Main Stories, and to me, with experience clearing many of them, how to navigate Black Ark had been as clear as if it were laid out before my eyes.
That was why I had never harbored a shred of doubt about my actions.
Even if the process of continental unification shed much blood, I knew peace would come at the end.
Compared to other stories, there had actually been less chaos, and the ending had grown better the further it went.
At first, I had merely chosen the best route to survive. But even so, the fact that continental unification led to the best ending was an undeniable truth.
I would quell the great forces of evil and eliminate the crises threatening the continent.
And among those who held the right of imperial succession, almost no one was as worthy as Princess Cecilia.
She had innate brilliance, the charisma to earn the trust of countless people, and the qualities of a sovereign walking the path of domination.
However many dangers lay along that path, she was a woman with the makings of a ruler, not a tyrant.
Even if her delicate hands, pale legs, and frail body were stained with blood, she would not be ruled by its weight.
Thinking of how the empire had enjoyed an era of peace under her reign after continental unification, I had no regrets about my choice even now.
'That's why...'
Rather, that was exactly why I had been shocked by the signs that seemed to paint me as evil.
Because if I judged them as "Heroes," then I, who stood opposed to them, was inevitably evil.
The tangled web of information had muddled my mind, but only now did I feel I had realized something important.
—The past I remembered and the beings I encountered today were different.
Their personalities themselves were as I remembered, but the strength of their existence, and the reality that beings who should have been dead were alive—all of it felt alien now that I thought about it.
I had thought of it as the past from Black Ark, but now, considering each detail one by one...
'It wasn't the past.'
Looking at the Phase 3 quest content and objectives, I couldn't be seen as evil.
Eliminate the rebel leader. The being who would divide the empire, the seed of a great catastrophe. Every single one described them as dangerous beings.
Slide.
As strength entered my hand gripping the Crescent-Moon Weight, it felt as though my mind, lost in a suffocating fog, was waking.
It had felt like falling into a maze with no exit and wandering endlessly, but now, a thread so thin and small seemed to guide me.
It didn't show me the exit completely, nor did it tell me the path wasn't blocked.
But my heart felt as light as a clear blue sky.
And then.
The light that had seemed faint and endlessly small was now shining brilliantly upon me from straight ahead.
Ding!
*
————
[Phase 4: Hall of Trust!]
The Grandelia Empire has fallen into chaos.
With endless confusion filling the empire, there is a need for beings with strength great enough to dispel the chaos.
The members of the empire hope that they will stand at their side.
Each must earn the trust of the empire's key figures through their own strength.
Party members will each move to separate spaces.
【Phase 4 Clear Condition: Earn the trust of the Grandelia Empire's key figures (0/3)】
————
*
Even within the brilliant light, the notification blocking my view entered my sight with perfect clarity.
'Grandelia.'
I flinched at the name of an empire I could never forget.
And only now did I realize I was alone in this space. Sua and Yujeong, who should have been beside me, were nowhere to be seen.
Even the cave background had vanished into the light, leaving only a space filled with brilliance. Had I been too lost in thought? I hadn't even noticed when they had disappeared.
My heart felt lighter, and I let out a relieved breath.
The message on the hologram—"Party members will each move to separate spaces"—caught my eye, and I understood.
—Moving in 5 seconds.
When the five-second timer appeared, my heart suddenly began to pound.
—1.
Who would I meet this time?
—0.