Ch.100100. Pain of the Past

Two eyes stained with fear capture the image of death.

Like a deer caught by a predator, Ragnis could do nothing at that moment.

‘Get up.’

She struggles within her deeply submerged consciousness.

Ragnis tried with all her might, whipping herself mentally, but—

Once trauma had been triggered, no amount of willpower could manifest.

Deeper, even deeper.

Like a swamp made of despair, Ragnis’s consciousness continued to sink lower.

She needed to prove herself.

That she was useful, that she wouldn’t disappoint her god.

That was the essence of life filling Ragnis’s current identity, her newly begun existence.

‘Please get up…!’

Ragnis felt another deep sense of frustration.

“Ah, ah…!”

Her fragile body, consumed by fear, trembles violently.

Though her mind had matured, her body reconstructed in the mental world was the very image of her past self.

With no familiarity whatsoever in handling urgent situations—

Just the fate of the weak, endlessly taken from.

Ragnis truly resented and hated her past self.

Her consciousness gradually darkened.

It meant the “Hero’s Trial” given by the Child of the Lost Star was coming to an end.

Failure.

The guilt of not meeting her patron deity’s expectations tormented Ragnis.

‘Black Abyss.’

Please do not forgive this unworthy one.

I have no courage to face you.

“Hic.”

The girl abandoned by the harsh world squeezed her eyes shut.

—Saaah…

She could feel the aura of death approaching her feet, a chilling sensation creeping over her body.

“…”

But only that far.

“…?”

No matter how long she waited, no further change came.

Ragnis’s eyes slowly opened again.

The shadow kept a certain distance, unable to approach her any further.

Like something alive that was genuinely terrified.

—Whoosh.

At the warm sensation that gently settled on her shoulder, Ragnis’s eyes naturally turned behind her.

There was light there.

A brilliant light incomparable to anything else.

It was warm, and so wondrous it brought tears to her eyes.

Ragnis knew whose presence this was.

‘Ah… you, you.’

He had been watching over her.

Seeing this pitiful form of hers, even now warmly encouraging her.

The Black Abyss knew everything.

Embracing even her past pain, awakening in her the strength to move forward.

—Saaah…

The aura of death had been frightened by that light.

“…”

She made her decision.

Ragnis stood up and glared at the shadows.

“Move.”

She no longer had the luxury of being bound by the past.

She had to move forward.

Because her patron deity was waiting for her there.

—Thud.

She takes one step forward.

The dynamic between the two realms had completely reversed.

The shadow retreated in fear.

Ragnis advanced with fierce determination.

But all relationships must end.

Finally approaching near the shadow, Ragnis reached out with fierce will.

—Crunch.

Though formless, something was definitely caught.

And in that moment, an indescribable cold sensation pierced her skin.

“…ngh!”

It was painful.

As if containing all the pain in the world, it once again shook Ragnis’s very existence.

Before, she would have collapsed again, becoming so tangled that maintaining her identity would have been difficult.

But.

‘Watch me.’

He was there beside Ragnis.

Clenching her teeth, planting her feet firmly on the ground, she faced them with even stronger determination.

—Keeee…!

Faced with her death-defying attitude, the death aura finally gave in first and began to howl like a beast.

All for the name of the Black Abyss.

‘Begone.’

At the final moment, Ragnis swung both arms and tore the malevolent energy apart.

—Swoosh!

Like dawn-infused curtains being parted, the death aura scattered helplessly to both sides.

“…”

A heavy silence suddenly fell over the space.

She might have felt emptiness, but Ragnis was busy sinking into deep contemplation.

Instinctively folding her hands, she offered a prayer of gratitude to the deity she devoted herself to.

By embracing even her ugly and base self, Ragnis was able to maintain a clearer and purer mindset than ever before.

‘I will be with you for life.’

When she finished her brief prayer, no more ominous memories of the past remained.

“…?”

Instead, there was a faint light.

Weak and insignificant compared to her patron deity’s.

But enough light to illuminate the area.

And at its center, she discovered a peculiarly shaped sword firmly embedded in the ground.

Marking the end of the trial.

The hero’s sword.

Ragnis silently approached it and grasped the sword’s handle.

A familiar sensation, as if she had wielded it many times before.

“The devotee, ‘Ragnis,’ has successfully cleared the Hero’s Trial!”

Ragnis became the owner of the Holy Sword.

#

“Wow…!”

An exclamation of admiration escapes at the devotee’s highlight reel I witnessed after so long.

The Star Child had been silently observing everything until then.

“How is it? Pretty good, right?”

—….I.

As if having realized something, the Star Child couldn’t easily convey his thoughts.

“Whether she’s human or not isn’t important. You have to see what dwells inside.”

In truth, every being has pain.

What I wanted to convey was merely a kind of cheat key.

‘But I convinced you, right?’

After hearing my words, the Star Child fell silent again for a while.

—…I thought you would bestow ‘absolute power’ again.

Honestly, I was planning to do that.

I was going to go pull her hand, or clear away whatever that death form or shadow was.

But before I could directly intervene, Ragnis suddenly gained enlightenment on her own.

It wasn’t my involvement.

Just purely.

She gained enlightenment on her own and overcame everything through her devotion to me.

The sight of her standing tall with her wounded body, facing her past memories like a comeback warrior, made me want to applaud.

And she overcame it.

‘This is why being a constellation is worth it.’

I don’t ask for much.

I was satisfied just being even a slight motivation in the process of my devotee overcoming her painful memories on her own.

—How is that possible? She was clearly about to collapse…

“Don’t other heroes do that?”

—There are no cases of rising again from rock bottom like that. Usually, a helper forms in the memory…

“Then that’s it.”

A helper in memory.

For Ragnis, the only helper in her life was me.

My existence had subtly pushed her forward.

“Anyway, do you acknowledge it?”

—Since she passed my trial, I can no longer deny it.

Ragnis pulled out the somewhat peculiar Holy Sword and held it high.

Seeing my excited devotee, I smiled back and decided to end the trial.

“The trial is now ending.”

After another brief darkness, the now familiar scenery began to come into view.

A room with an antique bed.

Ragnis was still closing her eyes, undergoing the trial.

But after waiting a moment, her eyelids fluttered as she regained consciousness.

“Are you awake?”

“B-Black Abyss.”

As the devotee carefully raised herself, I spoke as if I knew nothing.

“The trial?”

“I…”

Ragnis rose from her seat with eyes full of expectation and concentrated her energy.

—Pop.

Then appeared the Holy Sword I had seen earlier.

“I have acquired a Holy Sword to fight for you…!”

“Oh.”

Like a parent seeing their child’s high score.

I smiled genuinely and patted Ragnis’s head.

“Mmh.”

She closed her eyes, savoring the touch.

‘Where did such a cute thing come from?’

Is this really the world that tormented her so terribly?

Answer me, Source of the World.

When everything is over, I will do my best to ensure such things never happen again.

Even at this moment, somewhere, someone is suffering unreasonable treatment.

“Well then.”

The most important constellation radar, no.

Now that we have obtained the Holy Sword made from the Star Child, all preparations are complete.

‘How are you doing?’

Thinking of the constellations who must be plotting somewhere even now, I couldn’t help but smile.

#

—All preparations are complete.

In the darkness.

One of the Past Remnants conveyed their intentions with a confident voice.

—Now we will dethrone the Absolute One and usher in a new era.

—They’re still just chasing after the magical anomalies we created.

—Because there’s nothing the Absolute One can do.

That arrogant constellation can only be on the receiving end.

—We will strike the Regalium Kingdom and start from there.

Rather than playing petty tricks, they planned to engage in a massive power struggle from the beginning.

Anyway, if the headquarters is breached, the Absolute One won’t be able to do anything.

Headquarters.

The primary target of the Past Remnants was, from the start, the “Sanctuary” established by the Absolute One.

—It’s only natural that the most important institutions and the constellations he’s gathered would be there.

—After taking all of those, I’ll violate them in front of the Absolute One.

The constellations began to act gradually, longing for that day to come.

“I’ve missed you.”

And with a voice that shattered their expectations, silence fell over the scene.

—…..?